Aug 2011 Newsletter - Offshore

Offshore Sailing - Ernie Dieball

This winter, we had a number of big boat projects that we were chosen as the sailmaker. Some were pretty straight forward, but others took a bit of time on the measurement and design side. In every offshore sail, we have to make sure that every detail is measured and plugged into our design and production notes. If we miss something, it seems to snowball into a bigger problem upon installation. So we do our best to get as much information up front to ensure you get a perfect sail straight-away.

We have worked closely with Bill Bollin over the past several years. He sailed a Thompson 870, which is a custom sport-boat from New Zealand. We built Bill a number of sails that were somewhat unique in fitness, but all fit perfectly. When Bill bought a Melges 32 a few years back, we had the pleasure to work with him to replace his downwind inventory. Asymmetricalʼs are fun sails to design and with our (then) partners, we got some great downwind sails on Billʼs Badfish. Fast forward to this winter and Billʼs need to replace the upwind inventory. We showed Bill all the tools we have in the loft and discussed the success we had with our membrane sails. Bill chose us to build his new upwind sails in a Carbon/Technora membrane.

Through the late winter months, Rick modeled a number of shapes. We had experience with the M32ʼs rig and that was an integral part in the acceleration of the project. By mid-spring, we had the desired designs and finalized the fiber layout to best balance weight and strength.

Our early summer shake downs showed the flying shapes precisely matched the designed shapes, so Rick was very happy with the project. Bill went on to continued success with his Badfish program and reports that the sails are performing as expected!

Thanks to Bill for choosing us. Our approach to designing and building sails through various One Design classes surely helps us as we tackle customized projects. The level of detail that we demand on the front end yields solid designs upon delivery. We wonʼt waver from this approach and hope that you will consider Dieball Sailing in your next sail buying decision!

Ernie Dieball

ernie@dieballsailing.com

419-726-2933