PARASAILOR

[ice breaker]

I asked for a quote for a parasailor spinaker for my AC41 last week. $9000. Of course it is made in Germany.............

Not gonna happen.

I have a sail boat so I understand boat bucks, but this takes the cake.

 

[Joe]

You only got one quote???? What's your point and why gripe about where it's made?

 

[ice breaker]

Joe:

I will try to be more clear for you. 9k for a fancy spinnaker seems very out of line, compared to more traditional spinnaker pricing. The germany reference was to show how very high wage rates on labor intensive products, contribute mightly to unsalable products. The parasailor may be more technically advanced, but not by 100% over traditional spinnakers. My opinion. Sorry if set you off.

 

[Jackdaw]

Parasailor kites are indeed very expensive. I've been on a boat that had one, and the only advantage I could see is using it in tradewind conditions, where you sail for hours downwind in the 13-20 knots. In these conditions the sail is more stable due to the venting, and the crew might be more comfortable leaving it up. But for 98% of Lake Superior sailing, a regular kite will be just fine.

 

[VanIslandGuy]

The parasailor looks like an awesome piece of kit, but primarily for tradewind passage making during the daytime hours. Give it enough time and I'm sure the Chinese/online lofts will start copying the design. It does nicely solve the DDW sailing issues with a B&R rig though.

 

[Gunni]

The price has actually come down since they came on the market, which I assume is because of the economy of scale of production numbers. But comparing the parasailor to a regular spinnaker is apples to oranges, the parasailor is a whole new beast and probably overkill for a lake sailor - it is a transocean sail.