Schattauer family’s
“Tioga,” 50’ Nielsen
Yawl. Photo courtesy
Peter Storey
M
uch has changed in the
fi fty years since Schattauer
Sails fi rst opened its doors
in Seattle, but much has also stayed
the same. In the decades since its
establishment, the company moved
from Lockhaven Marina to Shilshole
Bay in 1966, Axel and Frank Schattauer
took over the sail loft from their father,
Franz, in 1985, and the family’s 50’
Nielsen yawl Tioga changed ownership
more than once. What has not changed
is the high standard of sailmaking
50 Years of Sailmaking in Seattle
that Franz Schattauer brought with
him from Germany and taught his
sons, Axel and Frank. Nor has the
In 1959 Franz Schattauer opened his sail loft at
kindness and care with which clients
Lockhaven Marina. Fifty years later, sons
of the oldest sail loft in Seattle are
treated or the amount of passion and
Axel and Frank are still carrying on his legacy excitement evident when listening to
of old world craftsmanship and quality.
its owners speak about their craft. And,
while it may have changed hands after
being sold during a fi nancial pinch in
By Nathan Rouse
1985, Tioga is once again in the proud
possession of the Schattauers. The 50
th

anniversary of Schattauer Sails marks
a half-century of sailmaking at a loft
where, in its founder’s words, “The
best is only good enough.”
Franz Schattauer emigrated from
Germany to the United States in
1953 as a Master Sailmaker, a trade
title he earned after four years as an
apprentice, ten years work experience,
a year of business schooling, and,
fi nally, the successful completion
of a series of intensive trade school
exams. Schattauer had accepted a job
offer in California where he moved
with his wife, Helga, and son, Axel.
After several years, the family once
again relocated, this time traveling to
Seattle where Schattauer Sails opened
at Lockhaven Marina in 1959 and then
changed location to Shilshole Bay in
1966 where it remains today.
By the time the sail loft arrived on
Shilshole, the Schattauer family was
one larger with the arrival of a second
son, Frank. He and his older brother
Master Sailmaker Franz Schattauer and Axel circa 1976.
learned their father’s craft from an
early age. “Seventh grade rolled around
48° No r t h , Ju N e 2009 Pa g e 42
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