Request a Quote

News & Results

Fresh from the water — page 16

Race results, technique, podcast episodes, and news from the lofts — performance, design, and the people behind both.

Photo © UK Sailmakers

Cruising sloop with a Swedish courtesy flag sailing past a rocky coastline

COMPANY

3-D SAIL DESIGN PRODUCES VIRTUAL WIND TUNNEL

UK Sailmakers uses very powerful 3-D CAD/CAM software for sail design, which create virtual 3-D molds that can be digitally sliced into two-dimensional panels that when joined back together…

February 20, 2020

Cruising sloop with a Swedish courtesy flag sailing past a rocky coastline

TECHNIQUE

How To: The String Drop Takedown

When executed properly, spinnaker takedowns are arguably the most satisfying and most fun maneuvers to be part of. When they are done properly, they’re great. When they go left on you,…

February 20, 2020

The Odd Life Crafting couple grinning in a selfie beside the white hull of their boat in a workshop

COMPANY

COME MEET THE YOUTUBE STARS OF ODD LIFE CRAFTING

Meet the YouTube Stars of “Odd Life Crafting” at UK Sailmakers New York on Saturday, February 22, 2020 from 4 pm to 6 pm. Duca and Roberta are coming to the UK Sailmakers New York Saturday…

February 6, 2020

Cruising sloop with a Swedish courtesy flag sailing past a rocky coastline

RESULTS

REACHING THROUGH LIFE AT 10 KNOTS

Shown here is my custom designed 40-foot racer/cruiser Soulmates. To get your frozen blood flowing in the midst of the northern hemisphere winter, here are a few clips of Soulmates jib…

January 30, 2020

Beneteau First 30 MINKIE punching upwind through steep grey seas under grey laminate main and jib, crew on the rail

TECHNIQUE

HEAVY WEATHER TECHNIQUES, BETTER BALANCE AND MORE FROM UK SAILMAKERS

View fullsize The Beneteau First 30 MINKE sailing in the Indian Ocean off Fremantle, Australia. In the summer, the strong sea breeze there is so dependable that it is called the Fremantle…

January 30, 2020

Bow of the schooner AMERICA 2.0 with UK Sailmakers logos on her white sails, a crewman aboard, Statue of Liberty astern

RESULTS

MEETING THE DEMANDS FOR DURABILITY

View fullsize Sail durability is on the minds of most cruisers and club racers. They use their boats 3-4 times a month and their sails last 6-10 years and UK Sailmakers more than satisfies…

January 30, 2020

TRIPLE LINDY's No. 4 jib poled out to windward dead downwind, mast display showing 12.4 knots of boatspeed

RESULTS

DON'T FORGET YOUR SPINNAKER POLE

View fullsize Joe Mele’s Swan 44 TRIPLE LINDY sailing dead downwind in the 2017 Middle Sea Race. The instruments are reading: Heading: 152° Boatspeed: 12.4 knots Apparent Wind Angle: 169°…

January 30, 2020

Foredeck awash with spray on the yacht HUBO during the Fastnet Race, grey seas and storm clouds ahead

COMPANY

BETTER BALANCE LEADS TO BETTER SAILING

Barry Hayes, owner of UK Sailmakers Ireland, explains what Lead is and why it is so important to sailmaking. In sailmaking terms, the “Lead” is the distance between the sail plan’s Center…

January 20, 2020

Toronto International Boat Show poster beside a sloop, sail number 2094, flying a grey laminate genoa and main

COMPANY

IT'S SUMMER IN JANUARY! THINK TORONTO BOAT SHOW

At least it is in our hearts and minds. That’s why UK Sailmakers Ontario will be exhibiting at the 2020 Toronto International Boat Show from January 17-26 at the Enercare Centre. Come to…

January 14, 2020

King 40 CHECKMATE running deep under a blue and white A2 asymmetric spinnaker projected to windward, black mainsail

COMPANY

UK ASYMMETRICALS: RUN FASTER RUN DEEPER

View fullsize Here is a great shot of the A2 on the King 40 CHECKMATE sailing downwind. Notice how well the sail projects to windward. According to Geoff Bishop, owner of UK Sailmakers…

December 18, 2019

Butch Ulmer kneeling on the loft floor in a checked shirt, hand-finishing a laminate sail panel

COMPANY

HAPPY 80TH BIRTHDAY BUTCH ULMER

View fullsize The top-10 things you need to know about Charles “Butch” Ulmer. Butch Ulmer turned 80 today. Along with that major birthday comes the realization that his legacy of sailing…

December 17, 2019

Karen Lewis dozing on KENAI's rail, the yellow hood of her grey foul-weather jacket pulled over her face, grey seas behind

RESULTS

SURVIVAL MODE OR DISTANCE RACE ZONE OUT

View fullsize View fullsize You’re on a distance race. The mark is somewhere over the horizon and hours of sailing away. The wind strength and direction are steady so the sails don’t need…

December 17, 2019

Juan Mauri holding a microphone and gesturing at a hand-drawn sail-plan sketch on a whiteboard

LOFT NEWS

UK Sailmakers Welcomes MAURIPRO Sailing to Worldwide Loft Network

UK Sailmakers International (UKI) is pleased to announce that MAURIPRO Sailing has become part of UK Sailmakers. With over 50 lofts around the world, the addition of MAURIPRO is one more…

December 16, 2019

One-Tonner LOVE MACHINE burying her bow in a wall of spray, sail number 14445, crew in orange gear on the foredeck

RESULTS

J/44 KENAI BASHES BEST TO NASSAU

View fullsize Tom Leutwiler’s famous 1976 photo of the 38-foot One-Tonner LOVE MACHINE in the Miami-Nassau Race. Congratulations to Chris and Karen Lewis and the crew of their J/44 KENAI…

November 26, 2019

Tamas Bakos of UK Sailmakers Hungary, grey-haired with a white goatee, smiling in the cockpit of a sailboat

COMPANY

UK SAILMAKERS EXPERTISE NOW AVAILABLE IN HUNGARY

Tamas Bakos UK Sailmakers has expanded its worldwide group of lofts by adding a new sales office in Budapest, Hungary. Tamas Bakos, who has more than 20 years of experience as a sailmaker,…

November 26, 2019

Tight pack of J/109s running under blue, white and red spinnakers at the 2019 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta

RESULTS

ON-THE-WATER HOME COMING

View fullsize Jacksonville University leading a tight pack of J/109s in the 2019 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta. Stephen R. Cloutier photo All of us at UK Sailmakers work to help grow the…

November 26, 2019

Sailboats under winter covers on stands in a snow-buried boatyard, a plowed track running between the rows

COMPANY

10 THINGS TO DO WHEN PUTTING AWAY YOUR BOAT FOR THE WINTER

View fullsize Howard McMichael Photo courtesy McMichaels Yacht Yard. Even if your boat is out of the water, it may not be ready for the long cold winter. Make sure your boat will be in good…

November 26, 2019

UK Sailmakers Northwest team in black loft T-shirts kneeling on the loft floor with their Loft of the Year plaque

LOFT NEWS

UK SAILMAKERS LOFT OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCED

View fullsize Stuart and Joy Dahlgren (second and third from the left) with UK Sailmakers Northwest’s staff. Every year UK Sailmakers recognizes one of our group members as “Loft of the…

November 25, 2019

J/105 FINAL FINAL, 396, upwind with black mainsail and white jib, five crew on the rail, another J/105 astern

RESULTS

J/105 ONE-DESIGN DOMINANCE

Ken Horn’s J/105 FINAL FINAL dominated the 10-boat J/105 class at J-Fest Southwest sailed Oct. 26-28 out of Lake Wood Yacht Club on Galveston Bay. Horn’s team crushed the fleet by 10 points…

October 31, 2019

Helmsman in an AMBUSH crew shirt at the wheel as a wave breaks over the bow, grey mainsail and jib overhead

RESULTS

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM

Congrats to Joachim Isler and Drew Taylor for winning IRC Class 1 in the 673-mile Hong Kong to Vietnam Race, an epic downwind ride from Hong Kong to the Asian paradise of Nha Trang,…

October 31, 2019

White roller-furling mainsail on a Beneteau 423, full sail beside the genoa and a close-up showing the UK Sailmakers logo

COMPANY

BETTER ROLLER FURLING MAINSAILS

Cruising sailors with roller furling booms or roller furling masts who want their furling systems to be more reliable and easier to handle should replace their worn-out mainsails with a UK…

October 31, 2019

Cruising sloop with a Swedish courtesy flag sailing past a rocky coastline

RESULTS

MINIMIZE PROBLEMS WHEN THE WHEELS FALL OFF

As aviation crash investigators know, airplane crashes are seldom the result of one mistake; they are usually the result of a cascade of events. When the wheels start to fall off, you need…

October 31, 2019

King 40 CHECKMATE beating upwind under grey laminate mainsail and genoa, UK Sailmakers boom cover, crew of four aft

COMPANY

KING 40 CHECKMATE CROWNED WA IRC STATE CHAMP

View fullsize Congratulations to Geoff Bishop and his crew on his King 40 CHECKMATE for being crowned the 2019 Western Australian IRC State Champ. After sailing the first year mostly with…

October 31, 2019

Crew hauling a blue spinnaker down through the letterbox slot between the boom and the foot of a black UK Sailmakers mainsail

COMPANY

LETTERBOX TAKEDOWN VIDEO UPDATED

A while ago, we posted an instructional video on the letterbox spinnaker takedown, which is the safest and most controllable way to douse a spinnaker at sea. In the original video, you saw…

October 31, 2019

Showing 361–384 of 566 articles · Page 16 of 24

Two emails a month. No fluff.

Results, new technology, and technique from the lofts — straight to your inbox.