As Doyle Sails continues to celebrate its fortieth year as one of the world’s leading sailmakers – one family that cannot be missed is the Boston’s. Third generation sailmakers based in Ontario, Canada and stalwarts of the Doyle Sails network.
Their reputation as some of the best sailmakers has been earned through many years of hard work and attention to detail, a legacy that continues to honor Howard Boston who found his way to sailmaking from high school in 1927. Eventually opening his first loft in 1938 in Mt. Clemens, Michigan eleven years later.
In 1968, the Boston family was a force to be reckoned with, expanding their company to cope with the growth rate in work they were receiving, with space at a premium, the decision was made to open a secondary loft in Point Edward, Ontario. The original leadership of Spike Boston (Howard’s second son) the Point Edward loft specialised in local One Design classes and ice-boats.
In 1987 the industry shifted towards a more technology-focused trade, and with considerable growth and development still being seen in the region, Boston Sails was seeking a partner to facilitate their step into the technical side of sailmaking. In the fall of 1987, Spike Boston and Robbie Doyle joined forces. Robbie, who was five years into building a scientific, performance led sailmaking firm, saw the immense value in collaborating with well-established lofts and highly-regarded people (great people continue to be the cornerstone of Doyle Sails today). The agreement between Spike and Robbie in 1987, means that Doyle Sails Ontario is the longest standing Doyle Sails loft, bar Robbie’s.
Sailing has been at the heart of what the Bostons do for many years, and when Spike’s two sons Brad and Tac were a little older, he introduced them to his world of sailing and sailmaking. From an early age, the family spent a large deal of time on family boats, before progressing into high performance and one-design fleets both locally and internationally.
Tac and Brad alongside Spike and other members of the Boston family, now form a fundamental part of the Doyle Sails Ontario loft, with day to day operations being run by the brothers. Both brothers remain heavily involved in local sailing including the Viper 640, Vx, T10, Kerr43, TP52 and Custom 30’s fleets. During the sailing season, the duo also spends a great deal of time sailing with many Great Lakes fleets including the U20, Shark, S2 7.9, J70 – they can also always be found racing in the Mackinac Races and SORC events.
The Boston’s are at the very heart and soul of their sailing community and are well-respected members of the cruising and racing fleets. Although nowadays Brad and Tac spend more time racing than cruising, their loft continues to focus on the day sailor and cruising fleets in providing sails for longevity and performance – these sails count for more than 60% of the capacity at Doyle Sails Boston. However, racer or cruiser the primary objective of the Doyle Sails Boston loft is to supply every sailor with the highest quality support, sails and service that is possible.
ABOUT DOYLE SAILS ONTARIO // A proud member of the Doyle Sails Group since 1987 Doyle Boston-Ontario Sails has a full sales, service and production loft in Sarnia Ontario and specializes in racing and cruising sails. With over 7600 square feet, our state-of-the-art production facility accommodates sails for most boats and is a full service loft. Conact the team here.
THIS IS 40 // Doyle Sails is proud to be ahead of the fleet after 40 years of sailmaking, with the innovation in Structured Luff technology and Stratis developing continually. This year we are highlighting events, people and projects which have led us to the forefront of sailmaking throughout the world, telling stories to inspire the youth and bring memories of races gone by to our long-standing customers.