ALTERNATIVE TO NEW SAILS

[Greg Stebbins]

It is sometimes possable to have sails reconditioned insted of replaced. A $1300.00 11 yr old main becomes almost good as new (it can't last forever- can it?) for $350 + shipping. Torn panels are replaced, stitching redone, it gets cleaned somehow and all the chemicals sails are soaked in and coated with are replaced. It couldn't hurt to check.SailCare Inc.410 9th St.Ford City Pa. 16226They have an 800 number but I left it at work. Sorry.

 

[Don]

I second it

My 1984 mainsail came back from Sailcare for less than that and it was incredible.They're great people.

 

[Jay Eaton]

YES

I had all my sails done by Sail Care. They came back so refreshed I had difficulty getting them in their bags. They were blindingly white! Sail Care in on the net: http://www.sailcare.com/

 

[Jim Rice]

I third that!

SailCare did a tremendous job on our 1980 H-27's main and jib. They came back as clean as new, just not as stiff (not necessarily a problem). One thing to remember: if the sails go out in two boxes from your shipper, put a separate cover letter in each box!

 

[Dave Kelton]

did it

I sent our mainsail back, here are a few observations.

 

[Dave Kelton]

did it

Whoops, hit wrong button. I sent our main back, here are a few things to remember. 1. this is only a cleaning process, it doesn't do anything for the stretched out sail. 2. It's tough to get a price until they have the sail, at which point you are committed. Our main for our 34 was about $380. 3. If there are numbers or markings on the sail, count on paying to have them replaced. I was told the cleaning process ruins them. Also, I was told that some repairs were neede, so remember what the sail looks like before you ship, so you can make an informed decision.  4. The results were good, the sail LOOKS great, but does it make it sail any better? Probably not. It made the sail just a tad more stiff. Conclusions. I'm not sure if I gained anything, maybe the money would be better invested towards a new sail.