NYLET. About us

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1635 AND ALL THAT! Four hundred years of history, and how we came to be making models and model sails.

My family's long and varied association with "boating" (and modelmaking) commenced several centuries ago. An ancestor, David Compigné, plied his trade between Dieppe and the English south coast ports in his yacht in the mid 1700's. His uncle, Michael (born 1712), was a goldsmith and silversmith in London trading at the sign of the Five Bells, and he was what is known in the trade as a 'toy maker' - that is to say he only made small items such as condiment sets, snuff boxes, and gifts, by special commission. He was probably a model maker at heart, as all my family were (and I am). Michael's father David, and his father, Michael (born in 1635 and a clockmaker in Caen, Normandy), my 7th great grandfather, were both watchmakers, one particularly fine silver pocket (pair) watch being in the British Museum. So the die was set linking the manufacture of miniatures with the sea and yachts. My great-great grandfather, Joseph (portrait right) worked for Pickfords originally, and in those days they moved goods by canal. His wife's family were barge owners, on the Grand Union canal, near Derby. In 1842, having moved to Brighton (prior to that he traded in Derby as an ironmonger), he started the firm, J.Parsons, selling ropes and flour and seed bags, coal bags and tarpaulins for hauliers, merchants and farmers. His grandson Frank (my grandfather) was born in 1873 (portrait left) and he grew up to be obessed with sailing and the sea. He was the third generation in the family firm and under his control it expanded rapidly, moving into the marquee trade.

My grandfather was a keen yachtsman and sailed off Brighton beach in Victorian days, from the late 1880's. His favourite yacht was 'Wisp' (see photo left), a heavy and old fashioned Isle of Wight built 33 foot lugger which was great in heavy weather. A plan (about 1910) shows a proposed rig which had an increased sail area of 382 sq ft., doubtless an attempt to give her more speed! I have a silver cup presented to him dated 1897 which he won with his yacht "MINA". My father (who was also a keen modelmaker) built his own dinghy in the early 30's (making his own sails) and also called her Wisp. I perpetuated the name in a model yacht in the 80's, a 36 inch restricted plan with ply chine hull. Another 36 inch design, which we sold as a plan incidently, was the 'Djinn Fizz' and was produced in collaboration with Vic Smeed. My father sailed his model yacht in Hove around 1915, as I also did in the 1950's.

My father (a Master sailmaker) took grandfather's interest in sailing, and his firm, F.Parsons, Sailmakers and Yacht Outfitters, in Ship Street, Brighton, commenced making full size sails in 1932, and for many an ocean racer in the 50's from the 'new' works in Duke Street. The firm were also contractors to the Admiralty and amongst other things we manufactured white canvas covers for the guns! We also started making cotton model sails for the Brighton & Hove Model Yacht Club about the war years. My father made my first yacht in bread & butter construction with Egyptian cotton sails and I sailed her on the Hove boating lake in the 1950's at the age of 8. "Nylet" came into being in 1958, my father then running two businesses. I took his interest in model sailmaking and joined "the firm" at the age of 19. Our first coloured Terylene sails were made in 1966 priced at under 40 shillings and in the early 1970's a Marblehead yacht was kitted at around £35; I don't believe there were any complete yacht kits manufactured at that time in the UK, we must have been the first. The GRP hulls were made by the late Tony Abel and commenced with the M-class "Moonraker". There were a series of articles in Model Boats during 1974 on building this yacht. The picture below left is of myself and my father, dated to about 1974, with a Moonraker hull. The Moonracer and Challenger followed later. We had a very fruitful business relationship with Tony for 30 years and became firm friends. Tony operated out of his home near Salisbury. A new Marblehead followed in 1981 which we designed and manufactured, named the "Royalist", this was follwed by the "Pirate". For a time we moulded Roger Stollery's 36"R "Taxachun". I moulded GRP hulls for 10 years before sail work had to take priority. I then put out hull moulding to a highly experienced moulder, Robin Whitmarsh, and he is still moulding for us, some 20 plus years on.

There are quite a few yachts on display, with early Nylet sails, at Richard Howard's yacht & boat museum at Beale Park, Pangbourne (Berkshire). Our local club was the New Forest Model Yacht Club and the water was at Setley pond near Brockenhurst. Very bottom left is a photo of my father (on the right) presenting the Nylet cup to John Cleeve sometime during the early 1970's. During the war my father joined the R.A.F. rising to the rank of Flight Sergeant and spending most of his time in Ceylon. He also taught navigation and mathematics out there. To this day I have his finely detailed 15" model of the RAF pinnace (no.56) which was his command.

Pictured right, from the middle of the last century when we were full size yacht outfitters, the Nylet cover fastener invented, patented and marketed by F.Parsons snr., from 1958 until 1978. This fitting was the basis for the creation of the name "Nylet" as my father started a second company purely to manufacture and market the fitting. The body was moulded in Nylon and the fitting accepted a no.26 eyelet, and so my father simply took the first two letter of the word Nylon, and the last three letters of the word eyelet and the company name "Nylet" was born. The fitting was also used by the Isle of Wight hovercraft industry (Saunders-Roe) to secure the flexible skirts to the craft, ease of removal of the skirts being key.

The price list below right dates to 1966 and all prices are in shillings! Click on it for a larger picture.

Our machine shop turned out thousands of fittings for racing yachts from 1967 onwards. Today much is made by automated CNC machines. We also marketed our own sailwinches in the 70's, they were somewhat larger than those available today! Cotton sails gave way to coloured Terylene in 1966. Our old Singer sewing machine, and our later Berninas are all so much history now and we currently use modern machines giving absolute accuracy, which, coupled with the finest materials and a keen eye for detail make our sails known the world over for the very highest quality. Between 1966 and 1991 we operated from Fordingbridge, firstly from a small workshop in Park Road, then at larger premises at 118-122 Station Road. Many of my older customers remember us from those days. My father sadly passed away in 1981 having suffered with worsening health. Until 2001 Nylet operated from our Bournemouth shop, but now we are purely mail order orientated and our workshop is set deep in the Hampshire countryside.

Model yachting embraces many diverse types of yachts, from vintage timber constructed pre-war racing vane boats, models of fishing vessels, luggers and gaffers etc. Then there are modern racing yachts which are about as hi-tech as you can get. There are plans for the scratch builder and semi-kits are available of working boats, GRP hulls are also available. My name is Frank Parsons, my father commenced making full size sails in 1932 and I have now been making model sails for 46 years and am lucky enough to have enjoyed immensely every single minute of that time. I hope you will enjoy this wonderful hobby (and sport) as much as I have.

Frank Parsons

Nylet

NYLET ~ Fine products ~ finely finished handmade sails ~ 80 years of sailmaking.

J.Parsons & Son ~ F.Parsons ~ Nylet. 1842 - 2012 ~ 5 generations ~ 170 years of manufacturing.

Nylet
PO Box 5416
Bournemouth
Dorset
BH6 5XT
UK
tel: 01202 420370 - International +44 1202 420370

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