We began discussions on this project 6 months ago and while the initial idea was for a standard 4 point shade sail, following a site visit, the tree sculpture in the courtyard meant this was not possible. So we came up with a sculpture concept of waves and folded paper to control water flow and allow the sail to dip and rise over the branches of the tree. The customer was delighted with the outcome and it looked truly spectacular when installed.

As is usual this time of year we have completed lots of sprayhoods and boat covers. Usually, the customers require just the fabric, however, as we have tube bending facilities we can also manufacture for boats with no tubes or fittings at all and over a comprehensive fitting service. The photos show a particularly tricky tube and sprayhood design as the boom was low and the sprayhood needed to reach far forward on the boat. However, following a mock up the cover fitted perfectly first time and the customer was delighted.

We have had a series of camper vans recently, all requiring updated upholstery. My favourite has to be this pair of front seats for a Hymer. The old fabric was a horrible mess, so we brought it bang up to date with a tan cream leather effect fabric and Alcantara with diamond stitching. The transformation to the vans interior was amazing and we will be doing some other work on this campervan in the next few months. We have also done other vans and will show photos soon.

At the beginning of the season we had a return visit to The Bay Hotel in Penzance, Cornwall. 4 years ago we made a sail canopy for the outside area at the hotel and it was due for an update and replacement this year to bring the sail up to date with the The Bays’ new colours. We used a Cream fabric with burgundy edging. We also increased the size of the sail with stainless steel posts!

This sprayhood was going to be a tricky one as we had no access to the boat (it was moored in Greece) and no bars to work from and the owner needed to install the completed hood himself. Fortunately, we found a similar boat and managed to take a pattern of the bars and hood. This may sound relatively simple but, more often than not, there are variations in one boat to another and installing the cover can be tricky. However, the customer was over the moon as everything went as expected.

This product shows that we can make covers for anything, not just boats!! Jim couldn’t find anyone with the skills to produce this fitted tonneau cover until he met us. We had a tight deadline but fitted the cover the evening before J W Engineering was due at a show. Special requirements were; an offset zip with a zip cover, fitted headrest covers, cut outs for the roll bar and special car hood fabric.

This project started at the end of December 2010 and was completed by April 2011. The racecourse at Newton Abbott has been investing in improved facilities and contacted R B Sails requesting a sail sculpture with high visual impact. We think we succeeded with a truly stunning piece of ‘fabric art’! The sail is fully removable and is supported by marine stainless posts and cables.

We are usually quieter over the winter period so we had planned a new office and workshop reshuffle this winter. However, we haven’t been quieter at all which has meant many late nights improving the office area and expanding the workshop to have an Upholstery and ‘small product’ room above it. The work is ongoing and we will have photos up as we continue the work.

Over the Christmas period we installed 3 sail structures at this nursery. The job came to us through Darren Searle of www.countrysideandgardenservices.co.uk . We have done several projects with Darren this year, and we think this was the most exciting. Darren and his team installed the large wooden posts. We then installed 2 smaller canopies over doorways and also the large Canopy over the main play area. This was obviously put in place to offer children sun protection but also offers shelter from the rain.

During the summer we installed a shade sail / rain shelter at the Porthcurno beach café. The installation included 3 custom stainless steel posts and quick release tensioning screws. The bright yellow fabric was chosen to give a stunning and bright appearance while the covers’ practical use was to protect customers from sudden rain showers and also the effects of the sun.