Buying new sail from Sail Care?

[Ilanortho]

Sent my main sail to Sail Care and as I suspected it is beyond reconditioning. They are proposing to make me a new one. This is for cruising Lake Michigan. Anyone have experience with having them make a new sail?
Any suggestions as to extras or items to request that will make my short-handed sailing easier? Is fully battened, two reef points. Dacron.

Thanks. Ilan

 

[whatfiero]

Definitely dacron unless you race and want a sail that lasts 5 years max. Reef points based on what you use now I Only used 1 reef then took sail down and headed for home so chose only one. Full batten again good for racing and helps sail shape along with loose foot put some numbers on it if your even thinking about racing

 

[Apex]

difnt know sailcare also made sails. i am looking at sails this year also. based on a friends and several others feedback, will use judy at hyde sails.

 

[Gunni]

Triple bid your sail purchase and interview the sail makers before you decide. Look for experience, material, and construction methods. You will be stuck with your decision for nearly a decade.

 

[CarlN]

For cruising boat sails that will be fast and last a long time, I like Mack - even if you are no where near their Florida loft (I bought from Rhode Island). But if you use someone local be extremely skeptical of the sailmaker sales pitch. When I started sailing in the '70's, sails could be expected to be usable for a decade or more. The top quality Hood ones were often still competitive on the club race course at 10 years. Ask a sailmaker today if the sail they want to sell you will last 10 years! Face it, their profit is better if they can put you into a high tech fabric that they get to replace after a few years when it delaminates or turns black from mildew. These pages from the Mack web site will help you navigate the sailmaker sales hand waving.

http://macksails.com/sail-cloth/
http://macksails.com/sails/

 

[Ilanortho]

Thanks all for your input. Anyone else's experiences with sail vendors would be appreciated.

 

[Sailm8]

I second Mack. When I needed new sails, I talked with every sail maker at the Miami boat show. Most wouldn't give me the time of day since I wanted cruising sails for a 27 foot Cal. Not a big enough deal I guess. The guys at Mack spent as much time as I wanted and answered every question I had. They guided me in material selection and other decisions that probably saved me money. I ended up buying their sails based on the triple stitching of the seams and the expertise they demonstrated.

 

[Ken Cross]

Try SBO (yep right here) you can get a bid in seconds and help support our favorite forum. I haven't purchased a sail here, but from other things I can say from experience that their customer service is great.

Ken