OUR HISTORY
CALVERT SAILS
Why Calvert Sails Over Major Sail Making Groups?
BECAUSE YOUR MONEY IS SPENT ON YOUR SAILS AND NOT ON COSTLY MAGAZINE ADVERTISING.
Yes, simply put, we are a smaller operation with the best kind of advertising: customer satisfaction and word of mouth.
This gives us the flexibility to reduce costs in the sails and offer much better prices or similar prices for higher quality sails.
PERSONALIZED
We personally work with our clients to discuss their sail needs. Each are different and special. We want to know about areas to be sailed, the type of sailing, (coastal cruising, offshore voyaging, racing etc.) and performance of their particular boat. Once we know the intended use and budget for a certain boat's sails, we can offer options for the latest in materials and technology.
SAIL DESIGN EXPERIENCE
Our designer, Dave Calvert has over 40 years of cruising, racing, and sail making experience. This puts him is a very small group of sail designers today. We encourage you to communicate directly with Dave to have the best sails designed and built for your boat and purpose. We offer the choice between American built sails and sails built overseas at the world's largest offshore manufacturers. You will never receive a "cookie cutter" sail, only one designed custom for your boat and use. If the choice is made to use our overseas manufacturers, all these sails are shipped to the Florida loft for a full inspection. If any issues are found we have them addressed at that time, than shipped to the boat owners. All our sails come with a Full One Year Warranty against material and workmanship.
We have the latest update on state-of-the-art sail design software and the vast experience to best use it. We have worked closely with the major sailcloth manufacturers to stay abreast of the latest material options.
COMPANIES WITH BIG ADVERTISING BUDGET
When searching for new, or replacement sails for your sailboat, you will most likely see the ads in the sail magazines for the large sailmaking groups. With large multi member groups, these sailmakers have high co-op advertising budgets and offer "service" with locations world wide. They list the latest in design software and groups of designers to give you the best designed and made sails for your boat.
These various world wide members share the advertising budgets and pay royalties to use the name and logos of these large groups. This extra spending is factored into the costs of the goods. In most cases, the members use central designing and manufacturing. This often results in production sails of similar designs, from boat to boat, with overseas production. Most of the local branches of these large sailmaking groups are "service lofts" The staff can come to a boat to measure for sails and do repairs and service on sails but, do not design or make the sails in house.
Your sail specifications and correspondence, to the local loft staff, is forwarded to the design office and than to the central manufacturing facility.
Very rarely can clients work directly with the designer of their sails.
WE KNOW MULTIHULLS
If yours is a multihull, we have more experience than most other sailmakers on what design and construction is needed. This is our specialty, not a sideline.
Each sail order is processed, by Ric Arra in the operations office than, sent to Dave Calvert for design. Our clients are free to ask any questions and work closely with Dave to have sails custom designed and built to their own specifications. Dave's design office is in the Bahamas office. He is also often in the field racing multihulls and cruising between the Bahamas, Caribbean, and Florida. Few sail designers are as "hands on" as Dave. A life time of racing, cruising and sail making has given him the intimate knowledge of sails few will ever have. Call Dave or Ric to start the process of having the best designed and built multihull sails for your catamaran or trimaran.
MEET DAVE
Dave Calvert had his sailmaking apprenticeship in 1972 while working at Morgan Racing Sails in St Petersburg, Florida. St Petersburg was the center for boat building and sail making in the early 70s. Dave also went on to work at building boats at Morgan Yachts, Gulfstar Yachts, and other St. Petersburg boat builders. In 1976, Dave moved to Islamorada in the Florida keys and started Freedom Sails and Boat Works. Both parts of the business grew to the point that Dave had to make the decision to concentrate on only one aspect of the business, this became sailmaking.
WINDSURFING IN 1980s AND EARLY 90s
Dave Calvert raced windsurfers and started designing better sails for sailboards of all types. This led to developing top race sails for the pro racing circuits. Dave himself became a top contender winning state, regional, National, and a World Championship. Freedom Sails became Calvert Sails Inc. in 1986.
MULTI-HULLS
The natural progression from sailboard sails was to beach cat sails. High Tech sailboard sail designs were applied to small catamaran sails, leading to the early square top mains, screachers, and other fast innovations. Dave went on to win beach cat events, 6 Stilleto Nationals and numerous Corsair trimaran National titles with prototype sail designs. Calvert Sails had turned its attention to Multihulls of all kinds becoming the leading US Multihull Specialty sail maker. Our motto became "Fast Sails that Last”. We not only had some of the fastest sail designs but used the best materials and construction methods to assure long life.
The 6,000 sq. ft. sail loft in Islamorada, Florida Keys, became the top producing sail loft, per square foot, in the US.
PLAYSTATION, THE MAXI 125FT CATAMARAN
In 2001, Dave Calvert was asked to audition as a driver for Steve Fossett's Maxi 125 ft catamaran, PlayStation. As a driver, and member of the core crew for PlayStation, Dave helped to break 5 world records in sailing during 2001 and 2002. These included both Trans Atlantic records and the 24 hour distance record.
UK HALSEY
In 2003, Calvert Sails became a member of the 22 world wide lofts of Halsey Lidgard Sailmakers. This group later merged with UK Sails becoming UK Halsey. Dave became a multihull sail designer for the new 50 member global group of sailmakers.
CALVERT SAILMAKERS LLC
In 2007, Dave Calvert with partner and operations manager, Ric Arra, returned to being an independent sailmaker establishing Calvert Sailmakers LLC. The offices were moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, sharing the well established Sail Technologies sail loft.
Now, Calvert Sailmakers LLC has offices in Marathon Florida, St. Petersburg Florida, and The Bahamas. Production of sails is in St. Petersburg, Florida as well as two overseas manufacturers.
All our sails can be made either in the US or overseas. In any case, Dave Calvert personally designs all the sails and sends the files used for the computer cutters as well as a full description of construction details and what material and hardware to be used. All overseas sails are than shipped to the St-Petersburg sail lofts for full inspection before shipped on to the clients.
OUR HISTORY
VIDEOS
Blaine Robichaud RBS Batten Systems
Using the Internal Velcro Jib batten pocket systems
The long webbing and Velcro strap has a folded "cuff" at the end. Place a short piece of flat batten stock ( one should have come with the sail) into this cuff and push it around the batten end and far into the batten pocket. This will attach with Velcro, to the inside of the batten pocket. Then, remove the short batten piece leaving the small strap sticking out of the pocket. This is used to pull the Velcro out to remove the batten later.