How to Make Sails for Ships in Colonial America

East Indiamen ships could carry a quarter acre of cloth in the sails.

In colonial America, sails were made in huge lofts, where the sail patterns could be laid out on the floor, cut to measure and sewn by hand by sail makers. While sea-going sail makers maintained and repaired sails while on ship, most sail makers worked ashore. Sail makers and riggers (the men who made the rigging for the ship) worked long hours in a usually unheated building, because of the fire hazard with the large amounts of cloth and tarred rope used to make the sails. In the cold New England winter, this meant a long day working in the cold. A ship's sails would last for three to four years, and the rigging for two or three years.

Things You'll Need

• Sail making tools
• Canvas cloth
• Thick linen or hemp thread
• Ropes for rigging

Instructions

1. First, the sail maker and ship's owner would meet and determine the sails necessary for the ship. When the sail maker had the dimensions of the sails, he would create a pattern for the sail by pinning twine to the floor of the loft with awls. Once the perimeter outline of the sail was made using the awls to hold the twine off the floor, sail cloth was laid out under the pattern, leaving room for hemming.

2. The sail was then cut to size. A wooden batten would be used to determine the curve along the foot of the sail. Once the sails are cut, the sail makers would begin to sew. Sails in colonial times were made of a strong canvas cloth made from the hemp plant. Hemp or manila rope was also used to make the rope for rigging. A large ship would require nearly a quarter-acre of sail, and rigging could be more than 17 miles long.

3. Once the sails are cut out, sewing would start. Some sails would be made of many layers of cloth, and it was difficult to push a needle through the fabric. Sail makers used heavy-weight three-sided needles with dulled corners and point. The points and edges of the needles were dulled to assist in pulling thread through the sail, which spread the weave of the fabric without cutting the fibers. Sail makers wore a hardened leather stitching palm to jab the needle and thread through the fabric. The thread used was 3-ply to 8-ply linen or hemp.

4. While the sail makers are busy sewing the sails, the riggers wove ropes into the lines for rigging. Nearly 50 miles of cord went into making 20 miles of line for any large ship. Rigging was made from hemp or manila rope and treated with tar to provide weatherproofing. The riggers worked in the sail loft along with the sail makers, attaching the rigging to the sails.

5. While ships would carry another set of sails in case of damage, maintenance and repairs on the sails and rigging were done by sailors. Canvas and manila ropes were constantly exposed to water, wind and temperature extremes and would begin to rot and decay, without the required maintenance.

6. Once the sail is assembled, other accommodations are added to improve the handling of the sail. These included reef-bands, or cloth reinforcements, bunt lines, clews, grommets and more.

Tips & Warnings

• Sail makers follow the apprenticeship system, teaching their apprentices and employees the craft. It was tough, hard work.

References

• National Park Service; Pickled Fish and Salted Provisions; Historial Musings from Salem Maritime NHS
• HMS Richmond; Sailmaker; Frank Rodriques

Resources

• The Freedom Trail; Black Jacks; African American Mariners in Early America; Cliff Odle