Zeilmakerij De Vuurtoren is a sailmaking company specializing in canvas products. They primarily make spray hoods, biminis, veranda covers, winter tents, and large sails for sailboats. The company has been in existence since 2006, employs six people, and is based in Lemmer, the Netherlands.

In the past, a lot of time was spent manually creating templates. A few years ago, at the Metstrade exhibition in Amsterdam, they were introduced to the Proliner. There, they discovered that measuring with the help of this device is much faster and easier. Shortly afterward, they received a demonstration of the device and decided to invest in the Proliner along with the Marine Canvas package.

Stefan Bakker: “After the initial courses, I immediately started a test run. We measured a sample spray hood with the Proliner and placed a fabric template next to it for comparison. After some experimenting in Rhino, the panels almost perfectly matched! Unfortunately, we couldn’t assemble it at that time because there was no space available in the sewing department.

After this test, we looked at our schedule and concluded that we only had large projects to measure for the winter — definitely no simple sprayhoods. To keep making progress, we decided to dive right in. Our first measurement project was our model sprayhood. This has since been on display in our sailmaker’s workshop for some time.

This brings us to the first example: an aft tent for a Princess motor yacht. The request was for a new tent with an extended roof, as the old tent was stretched straight from the fixed roof to the back. We made a frame, created a template, and scanned it with the Proliner. This brought some challenges. While the model covers had simple lines, I had to account for the boat’s contours with this tent, which made dividing the panels more difficult. Additionally, the large span required careful consideration of tension lines, causing me to adjust some of the panels multiple times. In the end, everything worked out, and the panels almost perfectly matched the template!

 

 

After that, we decided to put our skills to the test with an even bigger project: a convertible top with a closed back and a connecting bimini tent for a Nimbus motor yacht. After securing everything properly, preparing a leap, using the IPT pen for tricky spots, and taking enough measuring points along the contours, the scanning went smoothly. Then I started with the digital processing. The complex shapes of the top and estimating the necessary darts in this 3D model made it an interesting challenge, but the result is definitely something to be proud of- a very neat and well-fitting tent!

 

 

I can now confidently say that, by diving straight in and using my design and programming skills, I’ve fully mastered the new working method within just a few months. With each new tent, the process becomes easier. In the meantime, there are already several designs made with the Proliner ready to go, and I am also training my colleague to work with the Proliner. The first review of the convertible top is already in: ‘Wir sind begeistert!’

We aim to switch completely to digital measuring with the Proliner for all our projects, from the simplest to the most complex ones.”

 

 

Zeilmakerij de Vuurtoren – Website

Zeilmakerij de Vuurtoren – Facebook