There once was a fledgling sail loft in Fort Lauderdale (one of only two real sailmakers in South Florida, the other in Miami) named Swedish Sailmakers after the old-country craftsman who started it. In 1967, lifelong sailor Brad Mack took over and Bradford Mack & Co. Sailmakers was born. In 1970 it became Mack-Shaw Sailmakers for 17 years with partner Skip Shaw and then Mack Sails in 1987 when Skip Shaw retired and Brad Mack moved the shop to Stuart, Florida. Nevertheless, Mack Sails still maintains an active presence in Fort Lauderdale with former employees Nance (Bob) and Underwood (Roger) at their popular full-service shop.
A lot has changed in business and light manufacturing in 50 years, but at Mack Sails our commitment to very high quality and great customer relations remains steadfast. We may have computer cutting and fancier sewing machines, but otherwise our sail loft looks pretty much the same.
Forty years ago there were hundreds of sailmakers across the country, some small, and a few quite large, but there were virtually no branch lofts nor brand names shared by many local lofts. Venerable Ratseys was a falling star, Hood and Hard were kings of the East Coast and North, and Watts had California. But each was in its one-and-only loft.
Today, many years later, we are among the very few who are still independent. Every Mack Sail is made in Stuart and we insist that each one is made from the very best cloth and hardware and that we are proud to put our label on it. Most of the brand name lofts have their custom-made sails actually made in China or Mexico. We don’t have to tell you why they do that, but we don’t! Furthermore, we have no intention of ever doing so. We relish our close relationship with every customer and every sail and our customers like and appreciate us for it.
Read the full story on our website.
