Graham Quinn started working on his sea legs before he could even walk.

“You know how people say they don’t remember learning to swim or skate, that’s kind of how I feel about sailing,” said the British transplant and owner of Harding Sails in Marion. “It’s really the only thing I’ve ever done.”

A career sailmaker, Quinn has watched his trade evolve from “old-fashioned” sailmaking into a high-tech art form, but he said it’s still the kind of job where practice makes perfect.

“There is no school for sailmakers or canvas people,” said Quinn, who purchased the sails from Bill Harding in 1998. “The only way you can really become a competent sailmaker is to work for somebody that does it. It’s a pretty unique and unusual trade.”

While Quinn had sailing in his blood and an apprenticeship under his belt before joining the company, Erik Aanensen stumbled into the trade without any knowledge of sailing or sewing.

“I started right out of high school,” said Aanensen. “My interview was hilarious. Bill Harding answered the phone. I said I didn’t know anything about sailmaking, and he said, 'get down here.'”

Decades later, Aanensen has become a jack-of-all-trades and said there is a science to crafting custom-made sails.

“You have to be an engineer. What you’re working with is cloth, but it does have strength properties that need to be used correctly,” he said.

Although Quinn learned sailmaking before the advent of computers, he now drafts almost every sail using three-dimensional software.

The fabric has changed, too. Canvas is a thing of the past. Today the company uses synthetic fabrics designed specifically for boating.

“The fabric is always being upgraded,” said Aanensen. “It keeps it interesting for us.”

Despite the introduction of computers and “exotic” materials, the basic sailmaking process hasn’t strayed from its roots.

Before a sail can be made, Harding employees have to measure each boat.

“You could have two identical boats, but somebody used a different thingamajig to fit one out so we have to make a custom fit,” said Aanensen.

For that reason, he acknowledged that the devil is in the details.

“As far as the fit of a sail to a boat, you want to nail it.” said Aanensen. “If there’s a snap that’s a quarter of an inch off, it might as well be a mile. It just depends on the application.”

But Quinn, who still tries to work on the floor at least once a week, said that it's rarely an issue at his company.

“We have a lot of experience. Our batting average is pretty darn high.”

Harding Sails is located at 732 Mill Street and Route 6 in Marion. For more information on Harding, which also repairs, cleans and stores sails, visit their website at www.hardingsails.com or call 508-748-0334.