Confidence in your sails is a must when you're outfitting a vessel built for remote, bluewater passagemaking. For the new Delos expedition catamaran, Quantum and the Delos team have teamed up to push what's possible — combining advanced design tools, durable materials, and real-world feedback from Brian and Karin Trautman themselves.
Building the Blueprint
From the moment Brian and Karin shared their new catamaran design (a 53-ft aluminum expedition platform), the Quantum design team, led by senior designer Doug Stewart, began mapping out the ideal sail inventory. The goal: a sailplan that balances flexibility, ease of handling, and long-term durability across tropical trades, high latitudes, and everything in between.
"When I first saw the design, I thought, 'this is a really good-looking boat,'" Doug says. "She's low to the water, wide, and efficient, with an incredible platform for sailing performance. My goal was to design sails that not only matched that vision, but gave Brian and Karin the tools they'll need for the ambitious sailing they have planned."
Working from Brian's existing experience with durable cruising sails (especially those with Hydranet sailcloth), Doug proposed a hybrid strategy: use materials in the upwind sails that resist fatigue and stretch under high load, and deploy more agile laminate fabrics for upper-air sails like Code Zeros or spinnakers.
"Hydranet is astonishingly strong for its weight and incredibly durable," Stewart explains. "Brian had experience with it on their previous Delos boat, and we both agreed — this was the fabric to use for thousands of miles of passagemaking."
Here's the lineup Quantum and Delos worked together to build:
To ensure the sails don't just look good on paper, Doug is applying IQ, Quantum's finite-element modeling tool, to simulate load distribution, deflection, and reefing thresholds under different sea states and wind pressures. Sail shape, panel layouts, and reinforcement zones are iterated and studied virtually before the first cloth is cut.
"With IQ, we're not just guessing — we're validating. We can tell Brian exactly when to reef based on fabric stress and shroud loads. And with his plan to install Cyclops load sensors, he'll have real-time confirmation of what our models predict."
Sustainability Woven In
The sailplan wasn't conceived in a vacuum — it mirrors the eco-driven philosophy of Delos' new build. With a fully insulated hull, hybrid electric propulsion, solar powered systems, and rainwater capture, the boat is engineered for energy efficiency and minimal reliance on fossil fuel.
"From the very beginning, sustainability was part of the design brief," Brian says. "We wanted a boat that could sail well, generate its own power, and minimize its impact. Quantum's durable sail solutions fit right into that vision — they'll help us go farther with less waste."
Because the sailing loads and stresses in remote regions are often extreme, designing sails that last isn't just nice, it's environmentally sensible: fewer replacements, fewer trips back to port, less waste overall.
Looking To The Horizon
The Delos sailplan is explicitly built for voyages not yet taken — routes into high latitudes, transits across open oceans, and potentially even the Northwest Passage.
"This boat will be quick, sporty, and ready for the extremes," Brian says. "We wanted sails that would give us the flexibility to handle a North Pacific loop, but also be efficient and reliable in the tropics. Quantum's input has been invaluable in making that possible."
Karin reflects too on the learning curve: "It's been amazing to learn through this process — understanding why certain sails and features matter for the kind of sailing we want to do. We know our audience will appreciate seeing that technical side, too."
For Doug and the Quantum team, Delos isn't just another inventory; it's a chance to bring racing-level tools and insights to cruising.
"These sails aren't just about performance on one boat," Stewart says. "They represent what's possible when we bring Grand Prix tools and knowledge into the cruising world. Partnering with Delos lets us share that story with an audience that loves sailing as much as we do."