Preview: Sailmaking at Nat Wilson’s Loft, Part 4 – Ropework, Rings & Grommets

17 Responses So Far to “Sailmaking at Nat Wilson’s Loft, Part 4 – Ropework, Rings & Grommets”

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  Tom Regan says:

  Are there any videos on sail repair? Thanks

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  Michael Werneburg says:

  These guys make me want to try my hand at making my own sail for the 12ft. Acorn skiff I am building. I”ll

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  Michael Werneburg says:

  These guys make me want to try my hand at making my own sail for the 12ft. Acorn skiff I am building. I”ll

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  Thomas Morley says:

  Very talented young man and extremely beautiful work, I wish you were making my new sails..

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  Tim Leary says:

  Amazed by the skills shown in these video’s. I can only imagine the aches and pains these guys must suffer for their art! Outstanding workmanship!

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  Jeep Gulliver says:

  This looks like fun. Driving awls into our living room floor might not go over so well, but I’d like to build a sail sometime. Nice video. Thank-you much.

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  Andrew Yen says:

  I taught myself the basics of sailmaking from the book “the sailmaker’s apprentice” by Emiliano Marino and without having ever seen a sail loft. I wish I had seen these video’s too – there are little nuances that you can’t pick up from a book, like how much tension to put in the luff rope, and stiffening up the ropes with stain.

  These guys make it look easy, which in principle it is, but in practice it took a lot of patience to feed 25′ of leach seam under the foot of my sewing machine in the kid’s rumpus room. I suggest anyone who wants to try sailmaking should get Marino’s book and make sure they have plenty of space to work with – but it is a great skill, an enjoyable and productive activity.

  Andrew

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  Richard Schneider says:

  How is rope stained and with what type of stain? Thank you

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    Maynard Bray says:

    Nat Wilson and his crew used a thinned-down mix of Cabot’s #0806 water-based solid-color acrylic stain tinted to “Salt Marsh” (1 part stain to 4 parts water). The rope passes through three joined-together lengths of 1-1/2” PVC pipe connected by 45° elbows, with the middle piece perforated and submerged in the mixture. The end pieces serve as inlet and outlet, the three-foot-long outlet being important, as it allows the rope to drain back into the mixture so there’s no waste.

    In use, the rope is gradually fed down through the inlet pipe, passes through the mixture inside the submerged-and-perforated middle section, then is pulled upwards through the outlet pipe. The temperature should be 60° or higher and the rope should be thoroughly dry before it’s used or gets drenched with water.

    Hope this answers your question.

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      Jonathan Mc Donald says:

      I had the same question. You answered it well, but I’m sure the pipe set up is worth a video!

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  Steven Lewis says:

  Excellent video… Looks like I found where I’ll get the sails for my own design/build which has similarities to the CY

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  Gustavo Krause says:

  It is so nice! very nice sail!

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  John Hughes says:

  Nice to see that the sailbag they provide is a reasonable size — large enough that you could stuff the sail in it if you had to in a hurry. Not every sailmaker is that thoughtful.

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  malcolm kerstein says:

  Those young fellows are true artisans and the sails are works of art!
  The sails on my Somes Sound 12.5 were made at Nat Wilson’s loft and 10 years ago and are as good as new.Keep up this great work.
  Cheers,Malcolm

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  gregorio cheskis says:

  I don’t know why, but when i see people doing such a professional/passionate/carefull/artistic job, i get emotional. And like Livio said, i do see the wind caressing these sails. thanks.

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  Livio Muench says:

  Brilliant! Another great video. It’s always great to see such skilled makers sharing their knowledge. In my mind I can almost see the wind in the sails. Still wonder what the colour will be?! Livio

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  Suhitha Edirisinghe says:

  There seems to be an issue with the video. I’m getting a 200 error:file not found