lauraeydmann

CATCH-UP NEWSLETTER | SUMMER 2026

 

Sorry it’s been quiet. Here’s what’s actually been going on.

We owe you an update.

Q1 came and went with nothing from us, and Q2 nearly did too. The truth is, since moving into our new loft in Brixham at Christmas, we’ve had our heads down getting the business running properly rather than getting newsletters written.

So rather than pretending nothing’s changed, here’s a proper catch-up and a look at what’s been happening inside the loft over the last few months.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING ON THE BENCH

Making a second-hand spinnaker work

After a racing incident destroyed a customer’s spinnaker, buying new simply wasn’t in the budget. Instead, we worked together to source a second-hand sail from eBay and make it work.

We recut it, reshaped it to suit their boat, and got them back on the water for a fraction of the cost of a new sail.

Sometimes the right answer isn’t buying new. It’s finding the right solution.

 

What a spinnaker inspection actually looks like

People often ask what happens when a spinnaker comes in for servicing.

It starts by holding the sail up to the light.

That’s when the hidden problems appear. Tiny pinholes, worn patches, broken stitching and small tears that are almost impossible to spot when the sail is lying on the floor.

From there, we inspect every section, arm’s width by arm’s width, checking the stitching, looking for chafe, assessing the cloth and finding anything that could become a bigger problem later.

It’s not glamorous work, but catching these issues early is often the difference between a straightforward repair in the loft and a shredded spinnaker halfway through a race.”

Canvas deserves a second life too

This Jeanneau rear enclosure arrived looking well past its best. After a proper clean, new windows, replacement zips and a few repairs, it went back looking years younger.

Before:

After:

AND YES… WE MANAGED A LITTLE RACING TOO

Between Stitch, Perfect Match, Musk Ox, Tilted and several other boats sailing with Dart Sails, we’ve been lucky enough to celebrate wins in Plymouth, Saltash, Torquay and Brixham over the last few months.

We’ve included a couple of race reports below if you’d like to read.

WE’D REALLY LIKE YOUR HELP

This newsletter is for you, so what would you actually like to see?

  • More behind-the-scenes stories from the loft?
  • Sailmaking tips and tricks?
  • Seasonal maintenance advice?
  • Customer adventures and cruising stories?
  • Less email, but more useful content?

Just hit reply and let us know.

And if you’ve had a memorable passage, a race worth talking about, an unusual repair or even a disaster that became a good story, we’d love to feature it in a future edition as part of a regular Meet the Owners section.

THANK YOU

Thanks for sticking with us while we’ve been getting settled into the new loft.

Fair winds,

Dom, Sean, Helen, Jamie, Mark and Laura
Dart Sails & Covers

If you want more of this kind of thing between newsletters, you can find out what we’ve been up to on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.