Make your first sail

Complete one sail from the startup New design chooser to a downloaded panel DXF. Along the way, you will see which work stays in the browser and when the panel service and a free account become necessary.

Starting state for this walkthrough

Open the MakeSail app in a desktop browser. On a fresh page load, the New design chooser opens automatically over a prepared Vega example. You do not need a saved design or an account yet.

This walkthrough uses an Albin Vega 27, a Gennaker, a 6.0% Luff round, and the Cross-cut layout. Keep the app online for panel generation and export near the end.

The path is:

Boat and sail → shape → layout and seams → save and reopen → generate and inspect panels → sign in and export.

Orient yourself in the workspace

The startup chooser is open over a ready-made example. After choosing your boat and sail in the next step, use the workspace to find the four areas you will use.

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This preloaded Albin Vega 27 gennaker sits behind the startup chooser. The walkthrough begins in that chooser.

1. 1 File, Design, Panels, View, and Help menus
2. 2 Live sail workspace
3. 3 Shape and layer controls
4. 4 Status and saved filename

• The menus start, save, configure, generate, and export a design.
• The large centre workspace shows the current 3-D, 2-D, or Heatmaps view.
• The Shape card makes quick visible changes and controls preview layers.
• The bottom status changes from updating... to ready, and later shows the saved filename or generated-panel count.

Use 3D, 2D, or HM at the top right to change the canvas mode. The walkthrough stays in 3D, but those same buttons remain available throughout a design.

Create and shape the design

1. Start with the New design chooser

   On a fresh page load, Step 1 is already open. If you previously dismissed it, open File > New. Leave Albin Vega 27 selected. Its summary shows the rig dimensions and Hull trace: yes. Select Next →.

   In Step 2, select Gennaker. The other cards are also available; this choice only defines the worked example.

   Checkpoint — the design is ready

   The dialog closes, the status returns to ready, and Show seams is selected in the Shape card.

   See Boats and sail types for the other starting choices and their initial layouts.

2. Make a visible shape change

   In the right-hand Shape card, find Luff round. Drag its slider from 10.0% to 6.0% and release it. Wait for the status to return to ready.

   Checkpoint — the preview changed

   The left edge of the sail is less rounded. Show seams clears because the old seam overlay no longer matches the changed shape.

   For precise dimensions and the rest of the shape controls, continue later with Rig and dimensions and Profiles and fullness.

3. Choose Cross-cut and refresh the seams

   Open Panels > Layout, select Cross-cut, and leave the other settings at their starting values. Select Done.

   Checkpoint — Cross-cut seams are visible

   After the seam calculation finishes, Show seams is selected again and the preview shows a stack of crosswise seam curves.

   The Choose a layout and Seams and broadseam guides own the optional construction settings; they are not needed for this walkthrough.

Save and reopen it

1. Save a local design file

   Open File > Save. Choose a location if the browser opens a save picker; in browsers without that picker, keep the downloaded JSON file.

   Checkpoint — the app shows the filename

   The bottom bar shows a name ending in .json without an unsaved-change dot. The design itself is not autosaved to browser storage or to a cloud account.

2. Open the file you just saved

   Open File > Open and choose that JSON file.

   Checkpoint — saved choices return

   The Luff round readout is 6.0%. Cross-cut remains selected in Panels > Layout, and its seam overlay is calculated again automatically.

Keep the JSON file

Saving creates the copy you can reopen. Closing a design without saving leaves no recoverable cloud or browser-storage copy. The app warns before discarding known unsaved changes, but that warning is not a backup.

Generate and inspect the panels

The online panel service starts here

Everything above works in the browser. Panels > Generate Panels sends the current design to the panel service for flattening, so this step needs a network connection. It does not require an account.

This walkthrough inspects the panels before exporting. You can also sign in and use File > Export directly; the export calculates panels when needed.

1. Run Panels > Generate Panels

   Open Panels > Generate Panels > uv mesh (faster). Keep the tab open while the status reads generating uv mesh panels....

   Checkpoint — a panel count appears

   The status changes to panels: N, where N is the generated count, and Panels > View Panels becomes available.

2. Open Panels > View Panels

   Open Panels > View Panels. The full-screen panel viewer replaces the sail workspace.

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   The reproduced walkthrough generated 16 cross-cut panels. A future geometry change may produce a different count; the success signal is the panels: N status and this viewer opening.

   1. 1 Generated-panel count and Back action
   2. 2 Export actions and sign-in boundary
   3. 3 Numbered flattened panels
   4. 4 Configured seam allowance

   Checkpoint — flattened panels are open

   The header reads Panels (N) and each flattened panel has a visible number. Use ← Back to return without losing the generated set.

Sign in and export a DXF

A free account is required for downloads

Panel generation is available to guests, but the export buttons call the online export service and require a free account. Saving and reopening the JSON file still does not require an account.

1. Select Sign in to export

   In the panel viewer, select Sign in to export. Enter your email, read and accept the required cutting-responsibility acknowledgement, then select Email me a link.

   Open the single-use link from the email. The new tab confirms that you are signed in; return to the tab containing your design. Your email appears in the top bar and the viewer's export buttons become available.

   Checkpoint — the account is active

   The Sign in to export action is gone and DXF is enabled.

2. Download the panel DXF

   Select DXF in the panel viewer's export toolbar, choose the annotation options, and export. This reuses the panels you just inspected.

   Checkpoint — the first export is complete

   The browser downloads panels.dxf.

What stays local, and what uses the service

Task	What happens
Shape, inspect, and preview seams	Runs in the browser; no account required
Save and Open	Writes and reads a JSON file on your device; no autosaved design copy
Generate Panels	Uses the online service; guests can generate; results stay in this tab
Download an export	Reuses matching generated panels or calculates them within the export; free account required

Continue with the workflow

Design the sailShape the sail → Enter rig and sail dimensions, then continue into profiles and fullness. Inspect the designInspect with heatmaps → Use diagnostic views to investigate the current mould and panel behaviour. Build the panelsChoose a panel layout → Compare the five layouts and the settings each one exposes. ExportProduce an Offset PDF → Follow the existing hand-plotting export workflow. Help and referenceFind help and terms → Recover from common problems, then use the glossary for unfamiliar terms.