Doyle Designers are constantly making sails faster

Fast sails aren't born in computers: they're born in the minds of the designers who envision how to make the next sail mold better than the last one.

They're shaped by feedback from sailmakers doing the real-world testing required to turn a good design into a great one. Our state of the art SailPack design software computers tells us what a particular shape might become, but it's our worldwide team of sailmakers tell us what it is, how it sails, and how to make it faster.

Three-dimensional modeling allows a designer in Salem, MA to analyze the effect of changes made by a specialist in New Zealand, Chicago, or the Caribbean. If the shape of a grand-prix maxi in winning the Sydney-Hobart Race in Australia seemed a little flat, the base mold can be updated immediately to allow the main built for the PHRF racer in California to benefit in his next bay race. If an Olympic two-boat testing project produces a faster spinnaker design, an Etchells racer can count on his next chute being that much faster than the other guy's.
Doyle designers integrate lessons learned at all levels of competition spread to enhance the performance of Doyle sails around the world.

Sailors want sails that go fast on the water, not look fast on computer screens, and there's not always a direct relationship between the two. Endless complicating factors like sailcloth selection, wind and sea conditions, helmsman style, and trimming technique can make a theoretically fast sail look terrible on a racecourse. The human element is the key: experienced sailmakers testing different designs in different conditions, exploring the boundaries of a particular sail mold's performance envelope, and funneling the feedback back to the design team for constant airfoil improvement.
Doyle's design team combines specialists in fluid dynamics, naval architecture, chemical engineering, grand-prix racing, and mechanical engineering.

Team members with different approaches to sail design produce a far better result than any could working alone. On the water, racing experts with decades of championships in every kind of craft push the sails to their limits and return with critical information needed to refine Doyle designs that much more. This cycle of design, testing, and improvement is integral to the success of performance sails.
It's not just racers that need great sail shape

Sure, racers need fast sails, but cruisers often overlook the benefit of great sail shape. Good shape means the boat heels less in a sudden puff, staying stable and keeping guests comfortable. If you've ever changed from old baggy sails to properly designed new ones, you know how the boat points higher, moves faster, and feels better, almost like a new boat altogether. And while extra boatspeed itself might not mean much, the extra time it can save on a family vacation sure does.
Combining design theory with real-world experience

If sail design were just a computer game, any twelve year-old could do it - it requires more. The diverse skills and teamwork of Doyle sailmakers combines leading design theory with real-world experience, to create sails that make real boats go real fast, time and time again.