Nylet - THE model sailmakers to the world.

Finely made pond yacht sails in cotton from 45 pounds. See section 4 of our product & price list.
Vintage style sails made in natural or dyed 'Egyptian' cotton, for class and pond yachts, also barges, yawls, pilot cutters, schooners etc.
Classic Nylet sails made exclusively by us.
See also modern racing sails.

Sail information, with pictures, click this link.
Thinking of sending us templates to work to?

Some customer comments -
Got the sails this morning. Brilliant. Thanks very much for a great personal service. I will be recommending you to others. Yorkshire
The suit of sails arrived today in fine order, showing the touch of a professional hand in their cut and sewing. The hooks are precisely positioned. I am delighted to have these made by you, my sincere thanks. Co Meath (Ireland)
Looking forwards to receiving the (Mascotte) sails, your workmanship always gives me pleasure. Bill from Plymouth.
Your workmanship and accuracy are superb and one could not wish for better at this small scale. The bolt rope stitching is particularly impressive, as is the accuracy of the parallel stitching. All in all, simply excellent; although I have said this before, it has been a great pleasure to do business with you and to have had the opportunity to work with you to acheive the desired result. I have the greatest respect for your workmanship. I will not hesitate to use your services again and would recommend your company to anyone. Frank from York (08/2011).

Nylet 'vintage' model sails manufactured in cotton cloth for fishing vessels, working yachts, cutters and barges, also pond yachts and class racing yachts.
An introduction. Having manufactured full size sails in cotton between 1932 and 1965 we appreciate how sails were actually cut and finished and can replicate this on model sails to give them an authenticity peculiar to Nylet.
For cutters, barges etc of various types, sizes and designs then sails can be made in natural finish cotton, or dyed cotton, with or without bolt ropes applied to the edges as requested by the customer. We can add more detail where the “seams” are picked out (a line of stitching is run down) to indicate where the pieces of canvas were stitched together along the selvedge edge. The picture on the right of two small sails (with matchbox to show scale) were seamed with blue thread to simulate seams. The “edge” of an piece of loomed cloth is termed the selvedge incidentally. In the old days cotton and jute sailcloth was marked an inch in from the selvedge edge by a strong blue line, the cloth being loomed 18 inches and 2 foot wide as well as a yard. “Vintage” cotton sails have been made by us for many years, indeed, my father started making model sails in cotton long before synthetic materials were even thought of! We use techniques and sewing methods that we used 60 years ago to give our sails a ”period” feel and hopefully a finish that will compliment your model. We undertake model sail work for museums and private collectors.
About our cotton cloth. We use only the very best quality Cambric cotton cloth. Modern cambric cotton is loomed from American, or Egyptian, cotton. It is a good dense cloth, not white but a faint oatmeal, or creamy, colour.
Dyed cloth. For gaffers etc. we can dye the cloth before making if required, usually either a "russet red" or "tan", to your choice. The picture of the Thames barge "May" has our sails which were dyed red, and similarly the larger picture very top left the sails were dyed red. In the picture of a small model (below right) the sails were dyed tan (except for the flying jib).
Templates. When we make sails for working vessels (gaffers etc) we prefer to work to full size templates provided by you, measurements can sometimes conflict, one finds that out when you lay them out on the table, and bearing in mind we will have to firstly make brown paper templates from your sizes, you are in fact paying us to make something which we ultimately have to throw away! The bonus is, when you make the templates yourself, you can offer them to the spars and check the actual fit. Click here to see how to make a template.
Fittings and fixings. Please specify, on any templates of the sails, where any eyelets or hooks are to be applied, also reefing points (if you desire these) which we normally pick out with a heavier weight thread.
To see more Nylet cotton sails on models we have restored, go to yacht restoration service
We make “vintage” cotton sails for class yachts, 36 inch, Marbleheads, Ten Raters, A-class etc and these sails are manufactured in one piece, with hemmed tablings, sewn corners and battens and reinforced head tablings (patches). Luffs may be fitted with hooks to attach to a wire, in the case of the mains’l to a jackline on the after face of the mast, and the jib with eyelets to attach to a wire running from the tack to the attachment point on the mast.
There is a lot of interest in pond yachts and particularly Star yachts and we have made sails for these, we do however require dimensions, or pattern sails to make from since sizes vary. The pic (above left) is a Star (with blue under the waterline) we have restored and repainted but the sails however were in quite good condition so these were left for authenticity as they were perfectly serviceable. We have made sails for all types, including the Gamages range of carved yachts.

Any questions, or simply want advice, then email us clicking on the contact details below.

Some customer comments - Hi Frank. I think the sails are beautiful. I can readily understand now why you were so pleased with them yourself. They will act as a spur to get on with the rest of the boat. Somerset.
The sails arrived safely and I spent yesterday afternoon fitting them to the Bassett Lowke yacht. The sails are superb and the yacht looks fabulous; thank you very much. Mike from Hertfordshire. Jan 2011.
The sails for my Moonbeam - are great! Dorset.
Thank you very much for the beautiful set of (cotton) sails, they are marvellous. Norfolk.
Sails received with thanks. You are a true craftsman. Glasgow
Thank you, I am very pleased with the quality, fit, and your thoughtfulness. Plymouth.

 

 

 

 

A note on ‘weft’ and ‘warp’ of cloth. The threads used to make any cloth are termed the weft and the warp. If you look up “warp” in the dictionary it gives – “threads stretched lengthwise in loom to be crossed by weft”.
Rigging your cotton sails. Cotton sails require a different approach to Dacron (synthetic) sails. Cotton has a little ‘stretch’ in the cloth, and you should take care not to over stretch them when rigging to the spars.
Prices of cotton sails. A few designs are priced (in the price list), we will of course be pleased to quote for your exact requirements upon receipt of drawings etc. Click here to open a printable page
We have in the past been asked, how do I make a template,click here to see a template.
Delivery times on cotton suits. This is invariably extended in the high season due to work load. The peak time when we receive orders is usually late spring and summer, and as we can have in excess of 8 weeks work on hand we advise that you order well ahead of your requirements.

 

As an aside, a suit of 3 or 4 sails for an average sized model gaff rigged ketch, fully “seamed” and with bolt ropes applied, will consume a yard and a quarter of sailcloth, 20 feet of bolt rope and more than 400 feet (120 metres) of sewing thread!
Making your own cotton sails? Then perhaps our B20 'how to' Sailmaking booklet will help you, in full colour, see section 1 in the price list.
We still have in our possession F.Parsons senior's book on Sails and Sailmaking (1898), it is an invaluable source for cutting sails of any size and for any boat, most useful for checking style and appearance for the vintage sail.
Hopefully the foregoing will give you an insight into the care and attention we give our work, and the service and finishes we offer. Should you require advice or further assistance or information then please ask.

Frank Parsons

Photo: 1928 model gaffer with late 1950's cotton sails by F.Parsons snr., and still going strong!

 

Click here to open a printable page, its for a gaff rigged suit that you can fill in with dimensions if you require a price. You can scan your completed 'form' and email it to us instead of using the post. If you require a bermudan suit then please click here to open.

This is one of several help and advice pages which explain our services. For modern sails please see racing sails & materials

NYLET ~ Fine products ~ finely finished handmade sails.

J.Parsons & Son ~ F.Parsons ~ Nylet. 1842-2011 ~ 5 generations ~ 169 years of manufacturing ~ 169 years of service.
Learn more about our family business and history.

Nylet
PO Box 5416
Bournemouth
Dorset
BH6 5XT
UK
tel: 01202 420370 - International +44 1202 420370

contact us by email