Sailmaker

[wombat88]

Who is flavour of the month when it comes to sailmakers. I want a new set for our Tideway dinghy so it is not a big deal but both the sails and the price need to be right!

 

[johnalison]

I don't know about dinghy sails but, other things being equal, I would go for someone fairly local. If nothing else, you can always pop them round for cleaning or alteration without hassle.

 

[B27]

One-offs for an obscure class could be expensive!

There may be similar sized boats where you could get a second hand pair of sails from a serious racer at a much better price.
Unless there's some sort of 'Tideway Worlds' you're keen to win?

Possibly whoever made the previous set will have the patterns stored, or do you want a more modern design of sail?
You perhaps need a small local loft who is unlikely to get a recommendation on here.
Or one of the Far-East operations might be able to generate a design with a few mouse clicks, computer cut and just sew it together.
That works for yachts but most dinghy sails are mass produced or seriously expensive, or have a lot of development cycles behind them.

 

[Tranona]

Who is flavour of the month when it comes to sailmakers. I want a new set for our Tideway dinghy so it is not a big deal but both the sails and the price need to be right!

Easier if you say where you are located if you want personal measuring and fitting service.

 

[Daydream believer]

66 years ago I had a Walker Super 12, made by Walker of Leigh on Sea Essex, which is almost the same as a Tideway. The sails were made by Jeckels of Wroxham & that is the sort of company that would probably stock dozens of designs for 12 ft gunter rigged clinker dinghies. The sails would be nicely made tan sail & I expect of average price.
So that would be my first port of call.
The second would be to contact the Tideway owners Assn. They may have a preferred sailmaker.

 

[DownWest]

Back in the day, my father used Jeckels for most of the boats, then Rockall. Not sure why the change.
If you are slightly adept at sewing, there are kits from Sailrite.
Personally, I DIYed with the Sailmakers Aprentice book on 'how too' and was very happy with the result, at a big saving on the quote from 'one of the outfits' mentioned..

 

[Taliesin]

Jeckells the sailmakers, they possibly already have the patterns

 

[jlavery]

Any information available from the class association? Link here.

 

[dunedin]

Any information available from the class association? Link here.

Simply read the sailmaker logos off the photos on that site and contact one of them.

The first I spotted was Jeckells who, as posts above state, are an abviouscstart point anyway

 

[jlavery]

Any information available from the class association? Link here.

(We had a Tideway in the early 2000s, lovely boat).

 

[wombat88]

Thanks all, most sailmakers have the dimensions for Tideway sails after all there are around 4-500 of the things bobbing around our coast. Yes Jeckells offer a discount to the Association so I will try them first but I do not remember them being particularly cheap, indeed more expensive than our local sailmaker Batt.

 

[Daydream believer]

So basically, you already knew the answer, before you asked it

 

[wombat88]

So basically, you already knew the answer, before you asked it

No, I was looking for a good quality/keenly price alternative. I think I have found it/him...Ian Morgan/Morgan sails

 

[ridgy]

Pinnell and Bax have fixed published prices for nearly all dinghy classes:
Sail Loft – Tideway