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MM Sail Solutions

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Mark Matthews - Sailmaker
New Sails Sailcare Repair. Bespoke sail making and repair courses. Tutor of Sailmaking Boat Building Academy.

Talks and workshops on sail trim & maintenance I am a sailmaker with over 32 years experience having worked for several sail lofts on the South Coast before going self employed with MM Sail Solutions.

31/10/2026

A sunny Friday with running the Sail Repair and Maintenance Course.

The students learnt about the construction and materials that sails are made from, how to be self-reliant through learning, how to examine sails for damage, and carry out repairs with traditional techniques using a palm, needle and thread. We also looked at the items for an onboard sail
repair kit.

This course is part of Hamble School of Yachting's 5 day Yacht Maintenance Course which also includes Electrical, Engine, Plumbing, Rigging & Deck Hardware. It's great meeting the students on this course that have different sailing backgrounds and hearing about future voyages.

24/10/2026

Earlier this week we had a great afternoon visiting the Flax Forward Exhibition Bridport Arts Centre.

Flax Processing is on the Red List of Endangered Crafts Heritage Crafts so it was fascinating to see how much flax has shaped the history of the Bridport area of Dorset.

I was amazed to learn that so much sailcloth was manufactured in the area. Through my connection with Dawe’s Twineworks I know of the history of Coker Canvas and the Sailcloth history of South Somerset, but this exhibition has given me several great leads for my research into the flax sailcloth and canvas makers -
George Silk Sailcloth 1819, Stephens & Co 1861-1920, S. Whetham & Sons and Joseph Hounsell.

22/10/2026

Calm before the storm Premier Portland Marina ...

We went down to Razzle Dazzle our Westerly Konsort this afternoon to batten down the hatches, remove the dodgers, add extra fenders and mooring lines ahead of storm Austen.

It was good to chat with like minded berth holders and great to see the Portland Marina team out on the pontoons checking lines and fenders on the berthed boats

12/10/2026

I absolutely loved seeing this first photo of the sails that were built by the students on one of my Sailmaking courses Boat Building Academy

This photo was taken on launch day that followed the 40 week Boat Building Course.

The boat is an Ebihen 16 that was built by the students during the 40 weeks.

Sailmaking is part of the course where the students learn all aspects of making the sails from design, floor lofting, cutting material by hand on to assembly including use of industrial sewing machines and hand finishing. It is so rewarding to see the students grow during the week as the sails come together and take flight.

📸 On launch day - The Bournemouth News Picture Service

06/10/2026

On the last day Southampton International Boat Show I took to the The Wooden Boat Stage to do a talk on Sails - Repair or Renew

I had great fun delivering a talk on sails and to be able show the areas of a sail that may need attention for repair and what to look out for.

A lot of fun was had checking the spinnaker for holes. This always goes down well and gave the visitors the chance to get involved.

A huge thank you to Belinda Joslin Belinda Joslin and
Will Reed Boat Building Academy for giving me the opportunity to do the talk and for taking some amazing photos. Great memories!

04/10/2026

What a glorious day up North Down Orchard for their Apple Day event.

We are on the C***r Farm with my Mark Matthews - Sail Maker Ditty Bags and the Elizabeth Mangles sheep.

28/09/2026

What a great weekend Southampton International Boat Show

It's always great to see your sails hoisted and I loved seeing these sails I made for Dick Phillips of Willow Bay Boats taking pride of place at the front of the The Wooden Boat Stage

26/09/2026

Sunny Saturday Southampton International Boat Show ...

What a great day to be on the Boat Building Academy stand. I've had some great conversations chatting to visitors about the range of courses available at the academy in Lyme Regis.

There is a great buzz as the stand is part of the The Wooden Boat Stage with some wonderful wooden boats and some amazing talks on stage.

Tomorrow, Sunday morning I will be doing a talk on Sails - Repair or Renew, watch this space for more details...

25/09/2026

It was a nice surprise when reading the Practical Boat Owner that I picked up Southampton International Boat Show to find myself quoted in Ben Lowings article Reading Telltales. I had completely forgotten that he had asked for my input when preparing this article earlier this year.

I spent the day before Cowes Week putting at least 20 tell tales on each set of new Sonar sails I made for Andrew Cassell Foundation
A passing critic said that I had over done it but at the Andrew Cassell Foundation we have crews of all degrees of ability and disability so we put the tell tales wherever they are needed to be visible.
Never be afraid to add an extra tell tale...

24/09/2026

36 years as a Sailmaker...

On the 10th September 1990 I started as a trainee sailmaker Kemp Sails in Wareham.

I love the first photo of me working on the Kemp boat show stand when the show was held at Earls Court in London. Great memories, but how can something from the mid 1990s look so old!

In 2021, I became self-employed giving me the opportunity to pursue my own sail making interests, working as a freelance sailmaker which includes measurement, new sails, repairs and some exciting projects working with museums on replica sails.

Alongside this I have continued teaching sail making and repair courses with Boat Building Academy and Hamble School of Yachting
Anyone who knows me and how quiet I generally am will be as surprised as I am to find that I absolutely love teaching. As well as the regular courses I have had several great opportunities this year to run some day and weekend classes for groups as diverse as Ocean Youth Trust South and the Crewkerne Flagship Project.

Traditional Sailmaking is on the Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts and I am passionate at passing on these sail making skills through my teaching.

Address

Portland
DT51JG

Telephone

+447971437255

Website

facebook.com

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