Doyle Sails expansion in SE Queensland

The Doyle Sails group is continuing its expansion in Australia with Yancy and Bucky Smith joining the group to run Doyle Sails South East Queensland.

Yancy and Bucky have been designing and making sails on the Sunshine Coast for 18 years having joined their Father’s sailmaking business which was established in 1975. As part of the Doyle group, Doyle Sails South East Queensland will have access to Doyle’s patented Stratis™ membrane technology, supplied exclusively to Doyle lofts worldwide.

Doyle South East Queensland employs eight staff at its 450 square metre loft, and in recent years Bucky and Yancy have become one of the dominant sailmakers in the region particularly in the multihull market.

Yancy Smith runs the design and production of the loft having joined his Father’s business from school in 1997. Yancy actively, and very successfully, races performance multihulls. Yancy’s comments:

“We are very excited to be joining the Doyle group as it will give us access to the development, technology and design expertise that only the very largest sailmaking groups worldwide can afford to invest in. Doyle Sails is an industry leader in terms of the investment that goes into the development of laminated membranes and we consider Stratis™ to be the leading product worldwide in laminate technology. Joining the Doyle group will allow us to pass on the benefits that these superior materials provide to our customers.

“On the design side, having the support of Richard Bouzaid and the resources of the Auckland design team is going to help us develop higher performing sails for our customers. From the recent dealings we have had with Richard, it is not hard to understand why he has developed such a good reputation as both a designer and a sailor.”  

Bucky Smith, an extremely active sailor, won the Etchells Worlds in 2009 and the Audi IRC Australian Championships also in 2009. Bucky has a vast depth of experience campaigning all classes of boats from Sabots, Sharpies, Fireballs and Finns through to offshore yachts right up to maxis. Bucky’s comments:

“The link up with Doyle was a logical choice which will enable us to continue to grow. Mike Sanderson’s investment into Doyle has definitely opened doors at the top end of the race market which will benefit us, as it has the whole group. Doyle’s very strong presence in the superyacht sector is also an area that we will benefit us; at our loft we have the ability and facilities to service the increasing number of superyachts visiting our area, many of which are Doyle customers. In fact, we have our first set of superyacht sails to service in the loft right now.”

Doyle Sails Australia is very pleased to welcome the loft into the group as the South East Queensland team will be sharing their unrivalled knowledge and experience in the multihull market. Doyle Sails Australia has identified the multihull market as a rapidly expanding sector of the sailboat industry and a market that they have a lot to offer and partnered with the experienced team of Bucky and Yancy Smith we can offer superior Stratis™ sails to the racers and their renowned durable cruising sails to cruisers. 

Doyle Sails has a network of 80 lofts worldwide. Doyle’s Stratis™ laminated membranes are made by Doyle Sails New Zealand exclusively for Doyle lofts around the world. http://www.doylesails.com/