Hey everyone, started looking at a replacement main sail, so far I have a quote from precision sails, where else can I look to compare prices?
Sailmakers
- Thread starter fred1diver
- Start date
We got our last two sails from this website . Great people ,very good prices and the money supports this place !
What more could you want ?
What more could you want ?
Hey,
My suggestion is to contact a few local sail lofts and see what they say. A good loft will ask about the type of sailing you do, and will come out to measure the boat, and will offer a sail that fits your needs.
Barry
My suggestion is to contact a few local sail lofts and see what they say. A good loft will ask about the type of sailing you do, and will come out to measure the boat, and will offer a sail that fits your needs.
Barry
Keep it local. Small independent lofts can give you good sails without having to pay the franchise and advertising fees for the big guys.SBO would also work, except they are in the US and you're in Canada.
We have had Great sails and service from UKSailmakers and more recently North.
Fall is here.... talk to them about discounts... be polite and persistent.
If they know you are a serious cash customer, there is always room for some bargaining..
Avoid the pitfall of deciding that a small sailmaker is always better or cheaper. Lofts all have differing overhead expense, and differing profit margins. Design technology is different, too.
Assumptions are sometimes hazardous to your wallet and also to your sail shape. Try to look for a good designer with good customer service, regardless of loft size.
Fall is here.... talk to them about discounts... be polite and persistent.
If they know you are a serious cash customer, there is always room for some bargaining..
Avoid the pitfall of deciding that a small sailmaker is always better or cheaper. Lofts all have differing overhead expense, and differing profit margins. Design technology is different, too.
Assumptions are sometimes hazardous to your wallet and also to your sail shape. Try to look for a good designer with good customer service, regardless of loft size.
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I'm assuming that you are going for a standard size sail that is pre-measured for your boat if you've checked with Precision. You may want to compare the Rolly Tasker sails either directly through their website or through Sail Warehouse in Calif. You can look at sailwarehouse website for your boat to see if it's listed. I was very satisfied with a Rolly Tasker sail for my O'Day 27.
I’m with Barry and others. I have had a number of benefits from having a nearby sailmaker’s advice, storage, and maintenance of my sails. Postponing replacement of our 130 (it was in good shape). Replacing our blown out main right away, and adding an Asymetric cruising spinnaker are among the decisions I would not have made without an inspection of our sails on our boat, understanding of our planned use of the boat, and knowledge of our sailing area, and of our options that came from our sailmaker. And, he continues to support us over 21 seasons, and two sets of sails.
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Ditto what others have said about buying a sail from your local loft and add that they will come to your boat to make necessary measurements and discuss the sail design (sail material, weight, rows of stitching, thread type, etc.) for your type of sailing and wind conditions. However, IF you plan to purchase on-line you will need to get a long, soft tape measure and tag line and make all the required measurements yourself t be sure it fits properly and you will be responsible for how it fits.
You might find the following article entitled "Buying a New Sail" be helpful: Doug Pope Discusses How to Buy a New Sail
You might find the following article entitled "Buying a New Sail" be helpful: Doug Pope Discusses How to Buy a New Sail
+1 on working with a local loft.
I just went through this process, reached out to 11 vendors, including small local lofts, for quotes. Boat is a 2009 Hunter 36 with Doyle RF main and 130 genoa that are probably original. Boat is slipped in Deale, MD, south of Annapolis. Here's what happened:
- 11 lofts given the same set of initial specs. Lofts were a mix of big and small, local and mail order.
- 2 lofts failed to respond at all and were eliminated (National and one other from Florida I can't recall)
- 4 lofts provided only partial quotes (e.g. just for cross cut but not for radial cut; just for one sail, and not both the jib/genoa and main) and were eliminated (Chesapeake, Doyle, UK and Mack). This may have been partially due to their website which requires you to ask for a quote on each individual sail, in some cases, which greatly complicates things.
- 2 lofts were mail order, and without a substantially compelling price advantage over locals they were eliminated (FX and Evolution)
- 3 lofts with good reputations remained (Quantum, North and One) so I looked at pricing more closely. I decided to go with radial cut sails, and while North was as competitive as anyone with the crosscut sails and radial main, they were substantially more expensive on the radial genoa than the other two lofts respectively. And while North's quality is without question, the premium price on the jib put it well out of my budget for a radial cut set of sails, whereas I only slightly exceeded my budget with the other two lofts for radial cut sails. I did ask North for a justification, which they provided, and seemed sound, but was more of a premium than I could afford for that sail. The last set of sails I bought was from North for a Catalina 27. Solid set of sails, and they were finalists, but couldn't meet price in the end.
I went with Quantum for these reasons:
- Reputation (both the company and the local guy who would be measuring, delivering, and servicing my sails)
- Price (they gave a seasonal discount AND added in boat show pricing, despite the fact the Annapolis boat show was cancelled)
- Local service office very close to my marina
Last note: The Quantum guy came aboard and did the measuring, but also took a look at everything at deck level attached to the sails and gave me some good advice on a few things. He also discovered that the boom measures 400mm longer than the "standard" factory measurement for this boat they had on file. We were both stumped, but he measured it twice. That's why you measure your boat, no matter now "factory" it might be, or how many came off the factory floor.
I'll have new sails in 4 weeks that Quantum will bring to the boat and fit to make sure everything is right. They also do it again after a year passes to recheck everything and make adjustments as necessary. I like that a lot.
I just went through this process, reached out to 11 vendors, including small local lofts, for quotes. Boat is a 2009 Hunter 36 with Doyle RF main and 130 genoa that are probably original. Boat is slipped in Deale, MD, south of Annapolis. Here's what happened:
- 11 lofts given the same set of initial specs. Lofts were a mix of big and small, local and mail order.
- 2 lofts failed to respond at all and were eliminated (National and one other from Florida I can't recall)
- 4 lofts provided only partial quotes (e.g. just for cross cut but not for radial cut; just for one sail, and not both the jib/genoa and main) and were eliminated (Chesapeake, Doyle, UK and Mack). This may have been partially due to their website which requires you to ask for a quote on each individual sail, in some cases, which greatly complicates things.
- 2 lofts were mail order, and without a substantially compelling price advantage over locals they were eliminated (FX and Evolution)
- 3 lofts with good reputations remained (Quantum, North and One) so I looked at pricing more closely. I decided to go with radial cut sails, and while North was as competitive as anyone with the crosscut sails and radial main, they were substantially more expensive on the radial genoa than the other two lofts respectively. And while North's quality is without question, the premium price on the jib put it well out of my budget for a radial cut set of sails, whereas I only slightly exceeded my budget with the other two lofts for radial cut sails. I did ask North for a justification, which they provided, and seemed sound, but was more of a premium than I could afford for that sail. The last set of sails I bought was from North for a Catalina 27. Solid set of sails, and they were finalists, but couldn't meet price in the end.
I went with Quantum for these reasons:
- Reputation (both the company and the local guy who would be measuring, delivering, and servicing my sails)
- Price (they gave a seasonal discount AND added in boat show pricing, despite the fact the Annapolis boat show was cancelled)
- Local service office very close to my marina
Last note: The Quantum guy came aboard and did the measuring, but also took a look at everything at deck level attached to the sails and gave me some good advice on a few things. He also discovered that the boom measures 400mm longer than the "standard" factory measurement for this boat they had on file. We were both stumped, but he measured it twice. That's why you measure your boat, no matter now "factory" it might be, or how many came off the factory floor.
I'll have new sails in 4 weeks that Quantum will bring to the boat and fit to make sure everything is right. They also do it again after a year passes to recheck everything and make adjustments as necessary. I like that a lot.
on Quantum. I used the Solomons shop for my new main several years ago. Very happy with the service.@DrJudyB is the person to talk to about the sail making industry.
Here's what I know. The big lofts, North, Ullman, Quuantum, Doyle, etc. all have their sails made overseas. Ullman sails are mostly built in South Africa. The lofts that actually cut and sew the sails are for the most part independent businesses that contract with the big brands and with smaller lesser know lofts. These lofts will build the sail to the designers specs and stick the appropriate brand name on the sail. One company that does this Great Circle Sails. Sails are designed by Brian Hancock and then built in South Africa. When I bought a Genoa from him, the loft that built the sail was the same loft that was building Ullman Sails. Basically, I got Ullman build quality for less money because I didn't have to pay for the franchise fee or advertising costs.
If you go with a local loft ask about who designs the sails and who builds the sails. Another practice is for a local loft to work with a designer who designs the sails and cuts the fabric, it is then shipped to the local loft where it is sewn.
For @fred1diver the Kingston Sail Loft is a good choice. It is relatively local and there are a lot of Grampian 26s in the area. The sailmaker will have a good understanding about the boat and how to make it sail well.
Here's what I know. The big lofts, North, Ullman, Quuantum, Doyle, etc. all have their sails made overseas. Ullman sails are mostly built in South Africa. The lofts that actually cut and sew the sails are for the most part independent businesses that contract with the big brands and with smaller lesser know lofts. These lofts will build the sail to the designers specs and stick the appropriate brand name on the sail. One company that does this Great Circle Sails. Sails are designed by Brian Hancock and then built in South Africa. When I bought a Genoa from him, the loft that built the sail was the same loft that was building Ullman Sails. Basically, I got Ullman build quality for less money because I didn't have to pay for the franchise fee or advertising costs.
If you go with a local loft ask about who designs the sails and who builds the sails. Another practice is for a local loft to work with a designer who designs the sails and cuts the fabric, it is then shipped to the local loft where it is sewn.
For @fred1diver the Kingston Sail Loft is a good choice. It is relatively local and there are a lot of Grampian 26s in the area. The sailmaker will have a good understanding about the boat and how to make it sail well.
Sails can be fed ex‘d across the border. They are considered a nafta product or something like that. I took delivery of a Genoa from UK sails in Sidney BC during the border closure.
SBO would also work, except they are in the US and you're in Canada.
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Same delimea.....go with cross cut dacron as I have in the past or tri-radial polyester cruising laminate. So just purchased the latter for my new head and main sails.
Websites are a reasonable place to start. North Sail has a lot of information about the different sail cloth types and plastic material known as laminates. Materials like Mylar and other exotics that bring unique material features to the sails.
Quantum sails also a wealth information about sails.
Once you develop the sailing plan ie. I want to cruise or I want to be a racer, you can start to narrow the options. The other limiting factor is the money you have to spend.
Logically the exotics will carry a premium cost, they are also likely to keep their shape longer. Meaning the quality of your sailing experience may last longer. Only you can decide if this will meet your needs.
I decided to be a cruise sailor. My budget had limits. My sailing has limits. I chose to have the local manager to come out to my boat, measure the boat, and prepare a quote. I also got quotes from Doyle, and Quantum an 2 others.
I felt the best fit was North Sail and have been very pleased.
For me it started with the decision on type of sailing and cloth.
Quantum sails also a wealth information about sails.
Once you develop the sailing plan ie. I want to cruise or I want to be a racer, you can start to narrow the options. The other limiting factor is the money you have to spend.
Logically the exotics will carry a premium cost, they are also likely to keep their shape longer. Meaning the quality of your sailing experience may last longer. Only you can decide if this will meet your needs.
I decided to be a cruise sailor. My budget had limits. My sailing has limits. I chose to have the local manager to come out to my boat, measure the boat, and prepare a quote. I also got quotes from Doyle, and Quantum an 2 others.
I felt the best fit was North Sail and have been very pleased.
For me it started with the decision on type of sailing and cloth.
Here is another good source of info on sail design and fabric.
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I don't mean to make choice of sail cloth more complicated; but, while you're considering what sail cloth fits your needs you have to have to consider its care. Racing sailors with laminate sails that are premium priced do take greater care in protecting the sail from UV damage, flogging damage and even folding creases. So often you see them unbending their sails and rolling them. Do you want to do that after each event? If you keep a premium sail on a roller you need UV protection. That can be a strip of UV resistant material sewn on or a sleeve that you raise up with a halyard. While Dacron in its many forms sits nicely on the boom with a sail cover. Likewise the performance impact of a UV protection strip isn't as great.
It goes back to what John said about knowing how you want to use the boat.
I agree the choice can be daunting. I once hosted a sailmaker for a seminar at our club. He showed us at least a dozen samples (15 years ago) and when he was done I was more confused than before. You have to just dig in.
It goes back to what John said about knowing how you want to use the boat.
I agree the choice can be daunting. I once hosted a sailmaker for a seminar at our club. He showed us at least a dozen samples (15 years ago) and when he was done I was more confused than before. You have to just dig in.