By Managing Editor
Paul Jeffery Heyse

     The Gaff Rig; Doug can you tell our readers a little about yourself and the reasons you became a Sailmaker and designer of sails.

     Doug Christie; I have been sailing since I was eight years old and through my teens spent a lot of time coastal cruising. I started racing keelboats seriously again in my early twenties and felt spending time in a sail loft would be beneficial to learning more about sails and trim. In 1974 I went along to Lidgard Sails for a job and was hooked. Being able to follow a passion and make a living
seemed to make sense.
     I found I was more interested in the challenge of design than the day to day construction so I moved into mostly designing. At the same time I pursued a very active sailing career (still do) including ocean races such as Sydney-Hobart and the like. Racing taught me a lot about shapes, and racing offshore I learned what it takes to put a sail together that will survive being pushed to it's limits. With delivery trips and the odd jaunt around New Zealand and places like Baja, I accumulated a lot of knowledge about all aspects of sailing and how to apply it to Sailmaking and Design.

     The Gaff Rig; Most of our readers are home builders of gaff rigged sailboats. Would you give us some of your thoughts on the merits of such a sail plan.

     Doug Christie; The first thing that comes to mind is traditional beauty. Unfortunately the
detractors of the Gaff rig make comparisons in efficiency with modern rigs and I really do not look at things that way. It is about aesthetics. It is about shiny wood spars and traditional boats that are a part of our sailing heritage. There are of course some practicalities to the rig as well that came from the technology of the day. The gaff is a clever way of increasing controlable sail area very simply. Reaching and running I doubt if any rig is more efficient. If you look at some of the modern full batten rigs are they not after all just hi-tech gaff rigs. We built sails for a 55', high speed, water ballasted, carbon fibre, cruiser here in Seattle. The head of the sail is supported by an Aluminum Spar (read Gaff).

     The Gaff Rig; Now something about Sailmaking. How do you go about designing a new sail or
suit of sails for a new customer. Say one of our members Weekender gaff
rigged sloops.

     Doug Christie; The first thing to consider is what the customer will be doing. Fair weather day sailing, extended adventures in inclement weather? What are the durability considerations? Answering these questions allows me to consider different fabric types and construction. From there I take extensive measurements on board preferably with the client there, to ensure correct fit
and again determine what custom features they may need. Clew heights for visibility and head room are examples of this. I already have a large library of computer designs to pick from so I run the
dimensions through some molds in my 3D system to see what is suitable. After the appropriate "tweaking" I settle on a modified mold that I am happy with. Another module of the program is then opened to Panel the sail in the configuration best suited to reducing cloth stretch. These panels, including all corner reinforcing, are then nested in another program before being exported to the computer that runs our Plotter Cutter.

     The Gaff Rig: Well computer designing a sail seems to be the best way togo. What do you
feel is it's best advantage.

     Doug Christie; Firstly the computer design system allows for accurate reproduction of known
shapes without losing the artistic side of the design process. This means a better shaped sail for each customer. The other advantage which works for both the customer and the Sailmaker is the efficiency which helps control costs with an improvement in quality.

     The Gaff Rig;  Now that the designing is done what happens next.

     Doug Christie; The panels are cut on the plotter cutter, assembled first with high tack adhesive tape so fairness can be checked, and then sewn in a fairly traditional manner. Zig Zag stitching has been replaced by the newer three step machines which adds some strength. The rest of the work is standard sailmaking. Tapes/tabling and reinforcing are added then the final handwork is done to tidy up.

     The Gaff Rig; There are many different materials now available for Sailmaking. Can you give
our readers some idea of the differences between these materials and what sails they are used to make.

     Doug Christie; Yes fabrics have come a long way over the years. There is now a huge range
from which to choose from from several manufacturers and they are all good. I use different manufacturers for different applications and have really fine tuned the selection process. Dacron tm is still the cloth of choice where performance is not the priority. It is incredibly durable and is available in many styles of weave and weight. 17 oz is the heaviest available. This is used in traditional large sailing vessels such as tall ships. There are still some coloured fabrics available such as Tan and Cream to add a touch of the traditional look. They are an added expense but really look sharp in some applications.
     The larger and more performance oriented Cruising Yachts are also using laminated fabrics that use Spectra tm fiber as the primary load bearing yarns. Spectra has excellent low stretch properties along with high fatigue strength. The racing boats these days use a Myriad of Laminates with as many different fiber arrays as there are boats it seems. Because of this our Mystic Conn. loft has led the way in cloth testing technology. We have our own Instron tester and a very advanced form of analysis to test cloth to tolerances that even some cloth manufacturers cannot match. The correct
fabric selection can produce dramatic results in the performance of a given sail.
     With sailboats getting more and more extreme there is a need for even more advanced forms of cloth manufacturing. Cuben Fibre is an example of this. Both our New Zealand and Mystic lofts worked closely with the Cuben Fibre Corporation in the development of sails for the Mega Cats competing in "The Race". It is a custom fabric originally developed for America3 the America's
Cup winner.


     The Gaff Rig; Wow that's a lot of different sails and materials. Which do you feel is the best all round choice for small sail boats.

     Doug Christie; You cannot go too far past Dacron unless winning races is the primary
objective.

     The Gaff Rig; Well computers and plotters sure have made a difference in sail making today. What do you think is going to be the next break through in sailmaking as a business.

     Doug Christie; While most Sailmakers are focusing on trying to align threadlines with loads,
my knowledge of Stress Analysis tells me that it is only part of the story. There is only so much that can be achieved with thread alignment. Sails are just too dynamic for a single "one size fits all" solution. Breakthroughs in Sailmaking have generally followed on the heels of the discovery of new
Fibres or Films not how they are constructed into cloth. Cuben Fiber may be the only true example of a breakthrough in recent years and I believe it is over ten years old in concept.
     I believe what we really need is a totally new material. Call it Unobtanium, this magic material will have ultimate tensile strength and yet not be brittle. It will be soft as Dacron to the hand and will resist UV and other forms of deterioration. Perhaps it will be available in a liquid that can
truly be molded into shape. It will change its structural makeup as different loads are applied to resist stretch in all directions simultaneously.
     Ultimately I would like to see the Cruising sail and the Racing Sail finally be one. We are close, but not there yet, no matter what Madison Avenue tells you. Until this day arrives we are working hard with cloth manufacturers, software engineers and production experts to improve wherever we can.

     The Gaff Rig; Being a long time racing sailor are there any tips you can give our readers to help them sail their boats better.

     Doug Christie; That is a big subject. Look after your boat. Be proud of it , keep it clean.
Maintenance, TLC whatever you like, sets the stage for the better sailing experience. Once you and your boat are on the same page it will sail better for you. I am serious . New sails, hardware and clean smooth bottoms suddenly make a boat come alive. On the water, concentrate, even make notes on wind conditions sails settings, angle of heel, fore and aft trim. Last but not least sail as often as you can.

     The Gaff Rig; Well we would like to thank you for being so gracious for doing this interview, but before we let you go can you give us your thoughts on the America's Cup and who you feel are the front runners to be in the finals.

     Doug Christie; I appreciate the opportunity. Hmmm the America's Cup. Bit of a tough one. I
have good mates in a couple of very good contenders and the defenders so I have to be a bit careful. Lets say the Kiwi's are the favorites then Oracle and One World duking it out to Challenge. And the winner is......

Halsey Lidgard Sailmakers
3507 Evanston Ave N.
Seattle, WA 98103.
PH (206) 632-2609
FX (206) 632-2613

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