These pictures are of sails that were made for the 3 masted schooner Victory Chimes. Captain Sam Sikkema and I built a new mizzen, main, and staysail for the ship.
The sails were designed to be as close as possible to what the vessel had in her working days. When she came to Maine her sail plan was changed to reflect the great windjammers that were built in Maine and sailed the coast carrying cargo. The vessel had weather helm and was sometimes difficult to tack with this sail plan.
The mizzen was made much bigger and another jib was added. We made the mizzen smaller and raised the peak angle. This reduced the weather helm and helped her tack much easier. The mizzen has one reef but we also added a balance reef or "goose wing" so that the sail could be shortened down to just a triangle and still be used to help maneuver ship in strong winds.
These sails are made from cotton duck and roped with manila and hemp rope, just as they would have been when she was launched in 1900.
They also have reused corner hardware that dates back to the age of sail!
The sails were designed to be as close to what she had originally as possible. They fit beautifully. We even hand stitched the entire staysail, which is to say that no machines were used to build any part of the sail.
