Rolly Tasker or North Sails Direct

islandplanetsails · Dec 21, 2011

jaronson said:
I'm shopping for a RF genoa for a C&C 35. RT is several hundred dollars cheaper than North Sails Direct (even with the 15% discount now offered).
Is it worth the money to have the "local" loft?
Any other recommendations in Annapolis?

What recourse do you have with RT if the sail has a problem? RT uses a lot of seconds and other cloth rejects. I'd suggest caution.

Maine Sail · Dec 21, 2011

Which Tasker dealer or were you thinking of going direct? I have bought a number of sails from Dirk at National Sail and have been very happy. I'm also pretty picky. There are a lot more options today in good quality reasonably priced sails than there used to be.

Warren Milberg · Dec 23, 2011

I would suggest contacting Bill James at FX Sails for a quote. I think FX makes sails of competitive quality and price. See: http://www.fxsails.com/

Maine Sail · Dec 23, 2011

jaronson said:
I've heard good things about Dirk. Thanks for confirming that he is reliable!

He's treated me very well and stood behind the product.The quote below is from Dirk regarding Rolly Tasker sails and "seconds". If my memory serves me correctly he used to the be Rolly's general manager or assistant GM in the Phuket loft so he does know a bit about Rolly's business.

"Rolly does not use seconds. He has no reason to. As one of the largest sail loft in the world he purchases a higher volume of sailcloth than most (if not all) other sailmakers, which allows him to leverage a lower cost per yard than most (if not all) other sailmakers. THAT is how he keeps cloth cost down, not by buying seconds (the claim is ludicrous)."

HEINZIR · Dec 23, 2011

Maine Sail said:
He's treated me very well and stood behind the product.The quote below is from Dirk regarding Rolly Tasker sails and "seconds". If my memory serves me correctly he used to the be Rolly's general manager or assistant GM in the Phuket loft so he does know a bit about Rolly's business.

I'll second that recommendation! I bought a new suit of working sails (main, jib, staysail) from Dirk two years ago. The workmanship was first rate and the price was considerably less than if I had sewn the sails myself from Sailrite kits. Each sail was custom made to my measurements, not taken from a stock inventory. I had a problem with the main when it arrived: the tanbark color was a noticeably different shade then the jib and staysail. He took it back without question, tracked down the bolt of cloth that the head sails were made from, and had a new main built and sent out immediately! I ordered a custom storm jib and a sail for my El Toro dinghy as well.

CalebD · Dec 23, 2011

We bought a new main from the sail warehouse (Rolly Tasker, Monterey, CA) this spring. I am very happy with the sail and the time they spent with me on the phone discussing our options.
About $1K cheaper then a local loft quote as well.

islandplanetsails · Dec 27, 2011

From cruiserforum - http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f124/rolly-tasker-sails-30951-2.html

18-10-2011, 18:19 #18
Sophia1
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 5
Re: Rolly Tasker Sails
I am really sorry to say that we had a very bad experience with Rolly Tasker and National Sail. We received sails with a number of defects that even Mike Tasker said were the result of manufacturing. However, if we wished to have this rectified, Rolly Tasker said that they would replace the sails at "special price." Dirk from National Sail US is the rep for Tasker and he was even taken aback by this response. When Dirk asked for some back up support - we all heard nothing.

18-10-2011, 18:34 #19
Sophia1
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 5
Re: Rolly Tasker Sails & National Sails
It is always interesting to me see how a company can go from one that cares about its consumers to one that doesn't. We bought a main and genoa from National and Rolly Tasker sails a few months ago and there was no question that there were defects. We sent pictures etc. and Mike Tasker agreed that there appeared to be some manufacturing issues. To my surprise and the US distributor, National Sail, Tasker said he would replace the sails but only at a "special price." National Sail asked for some clairfication and support on this from Rolly Tasker - we never heard nothing. Buyer beware.

ROSMOND
Maple Bay, BC

23-10-2011, 17:08 #20
Sophia1
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 5
Rolly Tasker Sails are not what they use to be!
After reading many positive comments on Rolly Tasker sails and National Sail Supply in Florida, we bought a genoa, main and a sail cover this summer. The sails were creased haphazardly and in some spots the creases were so deep that there were pinholes through the sail. Pictures were sent to National Sails and Rolly Tasker. Tasker admitted after seeing the pictures that there was some manufacturing issues. He said if we didn't like the sails Rolly Tasker would give us a "special price" on replacement. Dirk at National Sail Supply was surprised by this response and said he counted on his supplier to back up his product. Nothing more was heard. Rolly Tasker are not what they used to be.

Maine Sail · Dec 27, 2011

islandplanetsails said:
From cruiserforum - http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f124/rolly-tasker-sails-30951-2.html

18-10-2011, 18:19 #18
Sophia1
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 5
Re: Rolly Tasker Sails
I am really sorry to say that we had a very bad experience with Rolly Tasker and National Sail. We received sails with a number of defects that even Mike Tasker said were the result of manufacturing. However, if we wished to have this rectified, Rolly Tasker said that they would replace the sails at "special price." Dirk from National Sail US is the rep for Tasker and he was even taken aback by this response. When Dirk asked for some back up support - we all heard nothing.

18-10-2011, 18:34 #19
Sophia1
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 5
Re: Rolly Tasker Sails & National Sails
It is always interesting to me see how a company can go from one that cares about its consumers to one that doesn't. We bought a main and genoa from National and Rolly Tasker sails a few months ago and there was no question that there were defects. We sent pictures etc. and Mike Tasker agreed that there appeared to be some manufacturing issues. To my surprise and the US distributor, National Sail, Tasker said he would replace the sails but only at a "special price." National Sail asked for some clairfication and support on this from Rolly Tasker - we never heard nothing. Buyer beware.

ROSMOND
Maple Bay, BC

23-10-2011, 17:08 #20
Sophia1
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 5
Rolly Tasker Sails are not what they use to be!
After reading many positive comments on Rolly Tasker sails and National Sail Supply in Florida, we bought a genoa, main and a sail cover this summer. The sails were creased haphazardly and in some spots the creases were so deep that there were pinholes through the sail. Pictures were sent to National Sails and Rolly Tasker. Tasker admitted after seeing the pictures that there was some manufacturing issues. He said if we didn't like the sails Rolly Tasker would give us a "special price" on replacement. Dirk at National Sail Supply was surprised by this response and said he counted on his supplier to back up his product. Nothing more was heard. Rolly Tasker are not what they used to be.

So you managed to dig up a single unhappy customer, Sophia1, and a 5 post wonder at that. All five posts on CF are about RT Sails. How odd... Are they even a real customer or a just someone trying to stir the pot? I have no clue. One could certainly wonder about the validity of those posts though.

I am sure there are more than one unhappy customer out there but there are from even the best companies in the world. Even LL Bean has dissatisfied customers.

Perhaps you could research what Craig Smith did to Rocna before you do the same to your own company? Just a thought from someone on the sidelines watching both companies go down similar paths. Here's what I would consider, SELLING on your merits, and NOT bashing your competitor. You CAN educate the customer WITHOUT resorting to smear campaigns and spreading information you can't back up. Did you snap a photo of the roll marked "second" as physical proof?

I know the economy is bad but trashing your competitor, whom you used to be a customer of, is very, very poor form. We don't like companies sneakily advertising here, it happens, but when they do it in a rude, distasteful and viscous manner. That just makes it worse.

For the record guys/gals Island Planet Sails used to buy product from Roll Tasker Sails and admitted it here on this forum..

islandplanetsails said:
We use RTS for some of our small boat sails like the C-22's. We use other lofts for most of our other sails. There are drawbacks to RTS just like there are drawbacks to practically any supplier. Most good lofts will have more than one production loft they deal with because different lofts have their owns strengths and weaknesses. We work with a few consistently and have a few others that we'll use for a specific project.

P.S. I was personally CONSIDERING calling you guys to discuss a new 150 genny, as you have posted some good information, and CAN educate a customer, I read it. Of course this is only when & if you can get around & stomach all the vitriol and hate for Rolly Tasker Sails.

I learned my lesson with companies that bad mouth their competitors and after the Rocna debacle I will not make that mistake again. Sorry this "potential" customer was turned off by your smear campaign.

It also turned off the owner of this site because I just noticed that you're no longer a member.

Please don't let yourself become another Craig Smith..