Apr 26, 2023

Marc with his new sail “Christmas on March 27”

by Marc Robic

In Part 1 of this article, I went through the process of choosing a sailmaker, identifying the type & quality of sail that best suits my sailing style and the initial steps of placing the order, having a consultation with a sail designer and a final pre-production meeting to make sure all the dimensions and options are as I want.

With the final pre-production meeting over, my order moved to the Sail Production step where it was scheduled for production. Since I placed my order in December, well before the next sailing season here in Montreal, I am not very concerned about any delays. I can wait until April or May for delivery. If, however, you are placing your order later, like February or March, be prepared for probable delays and to use your current sail earlier in the season.

Since my plan is to donate my current sail, even though I placed my order early enough, I’d decided to play it safe and hold on to it until my new sail arrived!

I do not want to skip detailing the pre-production meeting. This proved to be a very useful and informative process. After much discussion and review of the design and of my sailing needs, we ended up designing a sail that was a 118% genoa. We also moved the clew of the sail about a foot higher. Plus, the sailmaker will include an adjustable pennant that can be used on the head or foot of the sail.

A pennant is basically an extension piece so that, in my case, I can hoist the sail as high as she will go on the furler extrusion and then, adjust the foot with the pennant, thus minimizing the foot of my new sail from rubbing against the top lifelines as well as provide more visibility below the sail. This will also help avoid halyard wrap, a common problem when the sail head and halyard are not properly adjusted, even though I did install a halyard guide to prevent any wrap.

The fact that the sailmaker has access to a large library of specs for most sailboat makes and models, they had all the rigging specs on-hand for my boat and used these manufacturer’s specs to compare the dimensions I provided and confirmed everything made sense.

One of the nice touches is that the sailmaker provides 3D imaging of the sail design with every change or adjustment made along the way. Overlaid on my previous sail, I was able to visualize the difference with the changes I asked for.


At every stage of the process, I would get a status change email and if I opened my customer file, I could see and follow the progress.


Once shipped, I received a shipping tracking number and could also follow the shipping progress. Finally, my new sail arrived as expected, on March 27, right on time! I cannot wait to fit it on. Cross my fingers all will be well. But at first inspection, all seems perfect!


Disclaimer: Although I chose Precision Sails, I did research many other excellent sailmakers and providers before making my final choice. This article is not an endorsement for any specific sailmaker. The article is meant to guide through options and decisions you will make with your sailmaker in order to produce a sail that best meets your needs.

Marc Robic
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INFORMATION about the writer:
Marc is a member of the Canadian Power & Sail Squadron. He and his wife sail their Catalina 270, Aquaholic 3, out of the Ile-Perrot Yacht Club in Montreal, where Marc spent 16 years as Harbour Master. They are regular Caribbean bareboat yacht charterers. With over 40-years experience, Marc is also an avid onboard do-it-yourselfer.