Greetings all. I recently purchased a 1984 H34 which has a blown out self furling 110% foresail. Please advise re. best sail makers/distributors from which to purchase a replacement sail. Reasonably short turn around, quality of manufacturing and price are the obvious considerations. Thanks in advance for your recommendations.:dance:
Replacement of foresail
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I bought mine from Quantum down the road from you in Richmond. They came to the boat and carefully measured everything. Its been a while so I don't remember the cost. The quality and customer service was excellent.
I got mine from Pineapple Sails in Alameda. Not cheap, but they also came right to the boat and measured. The fit and quality are excellent.
Because it was going to take time (no matter what you do) they did a cheap repair on my existing jib that got me out on the water in the interim.
Because it was going to take time (no matter what you do) they did a cheap repair on my existing jib that got me out on the water in the interim.
I just replaced the old head sail I have had for several years that was too short on the luff with a new Vectran one of about the same size ( 18' foot) but the right length on the luff from Mauri sails in Frisco Texas. I landed it in Canada for about 1/2 of the best price I saw for Dacron ( just under 2k) after buying it on ebay. Have not sailed in any wind yet but did unfurl it in a VERY gentile breeze and the "hanging shape" looked ok
The MAIN item in the purchase price of any sail is the sail cloth itself. If you find a very low cost sail then the only way it achieved that price is in the savings made by using lower grade material.
I would recommend a good local loft that has the respect of local sailors and will come out and measure your boat and awnser your questions. He will still be around for years after you buy that sail. Cheap foreign sails will be represented by (insert name of a local bad boy) who will never return your phone calls.
My last set of sails were Ulmans and I have had very good results with them. They wern't the cheapest by any measurement. They changed some measurements for better performance the way I sail my boat and I'm very happy with them.
Ray
I would recommend a good local loft that has the respect of local sailors and will come out and measure your boat and awnser your questions. He will still be around for years after you buy that sail. Cheap foreign sails will be represented by (insert name of a local bad boy) who will never return your phone calls.
My last set of sails were Ulmans and I have had very good results with them. They wern't the cheapest by any measurement. They changed some measurements for better performance the way I sail my boat and I'm very happy with them.
Ray
If you know how to handle a sewing machine .. and your existing jib fabric and the jib's overall integrity is in reasonably good shape .. and you are on a budget that is well below the cost of a new sail if there is an alternative ... Then it is possible to restore a lot (but not all) of the performance by cutting the threads holding luff tape to the sail (except right at the head), removing the luff tape (except right at the head), cutting the sail's luff fabric to a straight line between the head and tack, and then re-sewing the luff tape back on. Because all the sewing is right at the fabric edge (along the luff) and it is necessary to only sew through 3-4 layers of sail cloth, even a standard home machine will work. But you or others must have some experience sewing and with heavier fabrics. Zig-Zag feature is a must.
If this is of "I do want to do it" interest to you, I can give you more details of my experience and steer you towards some reference material. For a good introduction about the process, take a look at this video from Sailrite. In this instance, the topic is converting a hank-on jib to roller furling. But the process would be much the same for the luff surgery.
http://www.sailrite.com/Luff-Tape-Conversion-Kit-Video-Instructions.
I have done the luff surgery to two headsails and both performed markedly better. The tell-tales streamed correctly at quite a few more degrees into the wind than before. Not as good as a new sail of course. But for say $40 in materials vs the $'s for a new sail, and me not really needing new sail performance, the cost-benefit ratio favored the DIY approach.
If this is of "I do want to do it" interest to you, I can give you more details of my experience and steer you towards some reference material. For a good introduction about the process, take a look at this video from Sailrite. In this instance, the topic is converting a hank-on jib to roller furling. But the process would be much the same for the luff surgery.
http://www.sailrite.com/Luff-Tape-Conversion-Kit-Video-Instructions.
I have done the luff surgery to two headsails and both performed markedly better. The tell-tales streamed correctly at quite a few more degrees into the wind than before. Not as good as a new sail of course. But for say $40 in materials vs the $'s for a new sail, and me not really needing new sail performance, the cost-benefit ratio favored the DIY approach.
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I replaced a blown-out headsail at the end of last season with a new 110 from Doyle. The cost was in the $2,200-$2,500 range for a "standard cruising grade" dacron sail.
Be sure to have your sailmaker quote on UV covering and consider roll-up reefing padding to maintain better sail shape if you want to roll-up reef it down.
This site's sail loft pricing is quite competitive with the major lofts.
I replaced a blown-out headsail at the end of last season with a new 110 from Doyle. The cost was in the $2,200-$2,500 range for a "standard cruising grade" dacron sail.
Be sure to have your sailmaker quote on UV covering and consider roll-up reefing padding to maintain better sail shape if you want to roll-up reef it down.
This site's sail loft pricing is quite competitive with the major lofts.
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