Tag: Yacht

Success At Our Hamble Loft

Our Hamble based loft has now been up and running for 6 months and oh what a busy time that has been! From day one Oli and Paul hit the ground running with boats to pattern, sails to fix and even a couple of caravan/trailer covers to make.

Winch hats, fender blocks and J70 overall covers have all been manufactured in-house at the loft, with larger items going back to the Harwich or West Mersea lofts to be made. It couldn’t work better with the Hamble team creating patterns and sending all necessary info back to our Essex lofts – a truly symbiotic relationship.

Photo above: fender block

Photo above: J70 cover

As well as new items, Oli has been rushed off her feet doing last minute repairs to enable our customers to go sailing! From putting a quick patch on a cover to fixing a ripped sail that’s bigger than the loft itself, she has been inundated with projects and always gets them done in time for the customer’s sailing trip. Great job Oli!!

Photo above: inside the loft

Having been based on the South Coast for 6 years Paul has found that the Hamble loft is a great hub of activity and he’s pleased to be flying the flag for Dolphin with a proper service loft. Previously he worked out of a van and everything was sent back to our Essex lofts to be worked on. The introduction of our Hamble loft has improved our turn around time for South Coast projects hugely. It’s great knowing we can be of help to fellow sailors and Paul is always on hand to offer great advice too!

Over the last 6 months, we’ve had lots of customers popping in as they pass through Hamble Point Marina: enquiring about new cover or sail projects; bringing items in for winter washing and servicing; or just stopping for a chat! It’s been great meeting all those customers and both Oli and Paul are looking forward to the many more they will work with.

We’d like to thank all our customers, old and new for supporting Dolphin, not only in our Hamble loft, but also Harwich, West Mersea and Palma de Mallorca. Without you we wouldn’t be the business we are today!

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If you’re based on the South Coast and want to discuss a potential project with one of the team, give Paul a call or drop him an email.

paul.austin@dolphin-sails.com  |  07801 907458

Photo above: where to find us

 

Perfect Sun Shade

Fantastic Sun Shade

The perfect solution to a hot problem!

The design team at Dolphin Sails have created a solution to a major problem using bespoke specialist design software.

We regularly hear that boats needed shade but did not want to deal with frames or battens and that traditional Bimini’s did not offer enough protection from the sun.

For this project on the newly launched Nautor Swan 115, we used just the boats CAD files to create an awning that gives maximum coverage without the need for any new fixing points.

The form finding software helps us create a structure, that has a unique double curvature design. This double curvature will tension the fabric so that it becomes rigid. Once set up the fabric will become drum tight. This tension cuts down to a minimum any flapping or ‘panting’ that is normally very prevalent in standard awnings.

Using just the CAD file we were able to design and manufacture the awning before fitting it first time!

The awning was used through out the Monaco Boat Show and was greatly appreciated as it allowed guests to view this stunning boat in greater comfort.

A Dolphin Tensile Awning offers protection to the crew using the cockpit or foredeck, the boat and makes life below deck more comfortable especially when the aircon isn’t required.