West Coast Sailing – Filling the Gap

When George Yioulos set his teeth into the Pacific Northwest one-design scene in 2005 with West Coast Sailing, it quickly became apparent he “got it.” In the small-boat corner of the marine business world that many had abandoned, he saw opportunity. He knew what sailors wanted even more than simply saving money. They wanted to work people who cared about the sport. They responded, wanting to support a company that supported them. George instituted an uncompromising policy of serving sailors and surrounded himself with people who saw the light. West Coast Sailing jumped in with support at the local level – the Seattle Laser Fleet being just one. They sponsored PNW sailors as they competed out of the area and internationally. They carefully chose boats that would fit in all areas of the spectrum from high performance to beginner.

So it’s with great pleasure I can report that they’ve stepped into the void left by pandemic casualties. Their new rigging services complement a much bigger and broader inventory. When Annapolis Performance Sailing (APS) had to shut its doors, West Coast Sailing stepped in acquiring inventory and adding services. So, if you relied on APS for some parts (as I did), you can now look to West Coast Sailing.

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The example of West Coast Sailing’s service that is closest to my heart is how WCS introduced the RS Aero while supporting the Laser. It was the right business move as the fleet took hold in Seattle and internationally. As the International Laser Class Association and Laser Performance threw stones at each other in the press and the courts, and even as Aeros started to sell, WCS did not abandon Laser sailors. They still found parts for us when nobody else could, and still supported the class.

Predictably, as the RS Aero class grew in Seattle, there were some pains. Boat availability, parts changes and all the other associated things that go with a new class. Through it all, WCS exerted the effort to make the class a success. And the Laser class, aka the ILCA Dinghy, remains active and supported, especially for the burgeoning youth scene. These days, most of the time at large regattas there are 4.7 rigs for smaller sailors, Radials and Standard Rigs that between them cover sailors from about 100 or so pounds to over 200.

I am happy to see WCS become one of the nation’s go-to companies for sailing parts and gear. And I’m pleased to count them as one of sailish.com’s main sponsors.

Following West Coast Sailing’s report on current developments:

From West Coast Sailing

Supporting one design sailors with solutions to help them make the most of their time on the water is a core part of our business and has been since day one. These days there are only a few businesses like ours that remain focused on this mission. In 2019, a long standing and well known east coast store shuttered its sailing parts business, and in 2020 closed for good. In our industry, it is sad to see a well respected competitor go, and we understood there would be a huge hole in the market with many sailors looking for a new source for products. In the height of the pandemic, we were approached with the opportunity to acquire the designs, knowledge, and tools to carry on the legacy of their rigging department, which had long been known as the go to place for standing and running rigging for nearly two dozen one design dinghy and keelboat classes, and a great resource for custom rigging needs. Despite the uncertainty, making this acquisition was an easy choice for West Coast Sailing and 100% in line with our core mission.

This winter, our team built out a full rigging bench, worked with our vendors (Marlow, NewEngland Ropes, Samson, Alpha Ropes, Harken, Wichard, etc) to increase our stock of line and hardware, and hired a full time rigger. We now have proven specs and the capability to build running and standing rigging for a variety of boats – Laser/ILCA, Sunfish, Opti, Thistle, Flying Scot, Lightning, J/22, J/24, J/70, J/80, Melges 24, etc – and the in-house tools to offer and build custom halyards, sheets, control lines, and other rigging for any sailboat up to 35 feet. In short, if you can dream it, we can build it for you! This new business unit has allowed us to expand our offering of products and solutions for sailors in classes we have supported for many years, and is also opening doors to supporting sailors in other dinghy and keelboat classes. We are also developing new rigging solutions for other classes such as the RS Aero, Tasar, and Hobie 16, as well as standing rigging and lifelines.

West Coast Sailing is North America’s leading source for small sailboats, sailboat parts, and sailing apparel, founded in June 2005 with the vision to be the leading resource for products, services, and information for the sailing industry. In the past 15 years we’ve worked with tens of thousands of sailors around the world and remain committed as ever to supporting a passion for sailing among those who love being on the water.

We remain fully independent and represent the very best sailing brands and builders, sponsor events, and serve all aspects of the sailing community. We have a team of 15 dedicated and passionate sailors who work hard day in and day out to answer your questions, help you find the right replacement part or new sailboat, manage our ever growing product catalog, and fulfill your orders. We sell over 600 sailboats and kayaks a year and fulfill our customer’s needs by shipping boats and product around the world from our office and warehouse in Portland, shipping hundreds of packages each week. We continue to invest in our business and continue to invest in the sailing community that got us here, all with the same mission guiding and motivating us.

Despite the uncertainty of the Covid-19 Pandemic that impacted everyone in so many ways, West Coast Sailing managed to remain open and operational to support the countless sailors looking to enjoy time on the water. It was a season of highs and lows, as demand for sailing products exceeded our ability to fulfill them at the level we expected. In addition to taking on the new rig shop business unit, this off season we invested in and deployed a brand new back office ERP system for running all aspects of our business. This system is linked directly to our industry-leading e-commerce site and will allow us to be more accurate with inventory availability, decrease the time it takes to launch new products, and improve the transparency of order statuses and tracking information. We take our commitment to offering the best service/support you’ll find anywhere seriously!

Whether you have shopped with us for years or looking for your new go to sailing store, hardcore dinghy racer or casual cruiser, up and coming junior sailor or parent of one, scholastic sailor, coach, program director, supporter, or simply someone who loves being on the water, we look forward to the opportunity to earn your business and your trust. We’re committed to being here for the long term and a vital part of the community and sport we all love.

Beyond our role as a retail shop in the sailing industry, West Coast Sailing is an avid supporter of the sailing community and we make it a priority to give back as much as possible. It is written in our vision and mission statement and has been since day one. We sponsor fleets, class districts, regattas (large and small), and offer special pricing to scholastic sailors and those involved with coaching/managing sailing programs. Running a small business is challenging and we don’t have an infinite budget, but we make a conscious effort to say yes to as many requests as possible. We’re proud to be part of a community of sailors, fleets, clubs, programs, and retailers that help enable access to sailing and enjoyment on the water.

Our new rig shop / rigging department is a further extension of this support. By offering proven solutions that make it easier to rig and sail your boat, we hope that sailors can spend less time worrying and more time sailing, be it racing, cruising, or just casually sailing with friends. By offering more solutions for more classes, we hope to build new relationships with sailors in classes we have not supported previously. With the decline in the number of retail shops and businesses dedicated to supporting sailors, we remain committed to supporting the community that in turn supports us. It is a two way street.

Our website is built on a state of the art ecommerce platform and the best resource for the wide range of products, services, and information we offer. We work hard to make products easy to find, with great photos and descriptions, so you can be confident in what you are buying. Our rig shop products are no exception. Each class we support in a one design capacity has a unique category page on our site (example, J/24), and the various line and rigging products we offer can be found there. We also have a dedicated rigging page that provides an overview of our capabilities, and a master category page with all products produced by our rigging department. One design rig shop items can be ordered just like any other product on our site – select the desired color (where available) and add to cart. These products are built to order and have a turn around time of 4-7 days. Our new collection of reference photos are also available to demonstrate common ways the various boats are rigged. If you have a custom rigging need or would like to order a modified version of an existing rigging product, sailors can contact our team via email and our rigger will assist you with options and send a quote for your approval.

We hope to add the ability to order custom rigging to our website later this year, further reducing the time it takes to order and receive the rigging you need. It is a work in progress to fully integrate this new business unit and we continue to make improvements every day!