Doyle Sailmakers delivers sails to 60m Perini Navi Sloop Perseus 3

by Andrew Schneider on 8 Aug 2014 Doyle Sailmakers is pleased to announce it has fit sails on the impressive new 60m Perini Navi Sloop, Perseus 3, in La Spezia, Italy this past week.

Perseus 3 stands apart from its peers with both a carbon clearcoat mast - one of the world’s tallest - and her impressive sail wardrobe, including the world’s largest sail, an A2 spinnaker measuring 28,010 square feet (2,602 metres) in area. Perini Navi Group, a leader in the design and construction of many of the world’s largest sailing and motor yachts, has long been one of Doyle Sailmaker’s most important partners in the superyacht market.

Having fit the main, blade jib and reacher, the yacht will now begin a series of sea trials and sail system trials, gradually adding in the remainder of this spectacular racing inventory.

From the onset, performance was the clear goal of this project. Doyle Sailmakers was involved with the process from the beginning, working with Ron Holland Design, Perini Navi and Future Fibres to optimize every aspect of the sailing experience. The mast was carefully engineered to assist with the massive sail area of the yacht.

From Doyle Sailmaker’s end, the size of the sails entailed a novel approach to both engineering the materials and sail handling. Taking it one step further, Doyle CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) – headed up by Tyler Doyle - addressed the challenges of properly balancing the load on the three headstays, with the additional Code 0 Torque Rope, while still maintaining an acceptable headstay sag for the racing requirements of the yacht.

Working with the engineers at Perini Navi, Future Fibers and Germanisher-Lloyd, Doyle CFD helped establish the proper balance and stability of loads on the stays and the sails.

Perseus 3 is the first vessel from Perini Navi to include a bow sprit – enabling the yacht to carry a number of massive downwind racing sails. The two spinnakers are some of the largest sails ever made. The massive A2 Spinnaker utilizes over 3,200 yards of cloth. Initially, there was no existing fabric capable of delivering high performance, light weight and a ‘soft hand’ for handling. The solution was an extensively tested fabric that blends Polyester with Dyneema – giving the cloth high strength as well as tear resistance. The Code 0 will also fly off the sprit, and is being furled on the largest Top Down Furling Cable ever created by Future Fibres.

After previous success with Top Down Furling for Code 0’s – with the cable in a contained luff sleeve – this was selected for Perseus 3 to enable the crew to quickly furl the sail and stow it easily. The Code 0 has been constructed using Doyle Sailmaker’s proprietary Stratis process, with curved radial seams to follow the path of the loads and enable precise shaping, high strength and minimal weight.



Doyle Sailmakers has long been known for its innovation and this project is no exception. With prior experience coming from M5, Athos and Kokomo III, Doyle Sailmakers constantly adds new innovations and continues to enhance the overall sailing experience.

New developments for this project include an inboard end fitting for the battens that isolates both the forward compression of the battens as well as eliminating vertical shifting. This new design ensures that the custom Perini Navi slides will enter the track without compromising the luff tape – essential to reliable sailing with rollboom mainsails. Additionally, the working jib, hoisted on a removable inner forestay, necessitates innovative soft hanks that automatically change in diameter as the sail is lowered to allow the sail flake over the larger diameter torque tube at the base of the torque rope.

'We first worked with Perini Navi on Andromeda le Dea in 1990, which at the time was one of the most technologically sophisticated yachts afloat. We have been pleased to work with them since on some of their highest performing and noticeable projects – from the majestic 88m Maltese Falcon, the racing oriented 38m Sloop P2, or the signature purple sails of the 50m Ketch Baracuda,' said Robbie Doyle, CEO of Doyle Sailmakers.

'We always enjoy working with Perini Navi as they share our passion for sailing and innovation, and are always working to deliver the very finest product to their customers.'

In just this last year, Doyle Sailmakers has built sails for the 56m Ketch Audace, 52m Ketch Tamsen, 50m Ketch …Is A Rose, 50m Ketch Silencio, 45m Sloop Clan VIII, 40m Sloop State of Grace and currently has sails underway for the 56m Ketch Asahi and 45m Sloop Helios.

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