I was wondering has anyone bought a sail kit from Sailrite? any good or a waste of money?
Summary: I highly recommend a sail kit from Sailrite. But, do read below......
I have sewn two sails before from Sailrite kits, and am presently sewing my third kit - a 125% cross-cut genoa for my O'Day 322. The materials supplied are high quality. The result you get is equivalent to the care and accuracy you execute the project with. But the raw materials supplied are impeccable. The sails are designed by Sailrite's in-house sail designer who has been designing and building sails for 15 years now at least - I remember working with him when I did my first sail in 2005.
I have sewn a genoa for an O'Day 272, a main sail for my present O'Day 322 (10 years old now), and now a 125% genoa for the O'day 322. Some pictures are attached. I have also sewn three bimini's for my boat and friends boats, one stack pack for my mainsail, and assorted winch covers, hatch covers, etc.
Now - some words of experience and advice......
You need a walking-foot sewing machine that has a powerful punch. A Sailrite or other equivalent knock-off machine, or industrial, or upholstery machine is necessary. A typical home machine will not do for this project, at the corners you will be sewing through 8 or 10 layers of sailcloth plus webbing. You need serious punching power to get through that. Having said that - the Sailrite Ultrafeed is more than up to the task - though the short arm length is somewhat of a challenge to feed a large sail through.
Sewing a sail requires a certain level of meticulousness, or you not be happy with the end product. If you can make a nice quilted pot holder, you can do this. I might suggest you make a winch cover, or a hatch cover to practice first, if you lack sewing experience (and the quilted pot holder would not be a bad idea either).
The end product in my mind with careful construction is equal to what any regional loft would give you, the same computer design sail software "ProSail" is used that many lofts use. The fabric panels are CNC cut with laser precision, and each is labeled and the seaming line is drawn along the edge for the basting. These panels match up perfectly.
The standard sail cloth in the kit is Dacron Supercruise 6.4 oz, but you can discuss many fabric options with Sailrite. They can design cross-cut, radial-cut, whatever you want. Radial cut is obviously more labor for you.
If your boat is over 30', work space may be a consideration. I have done my sails in my living room & dining room (get agreement from your spouse, that your living space will be a mess for a week or more). It is a bit of a mess to manage 275 sq feet in your living space. If you could gain access to a yoga studio or gymnasium or other clean floor-space for a few work sessions, it would greatly help managing a large sail.
Be prepared that you cannot make as perfect stitches as a sail loft would, you don't have the years of experience or the vast loft work-space that they do to feed the cloth extremely evenly. Still , you can get a very acceptable result. You will never see any imperfections in your stitches from more than 3 feet away. You must be meticulous however, when basting the panels together, or you will have a hard spot / wrinkle in the end product that you will have to stare at forever. Know that if you basted perfectly, it will set perfectly.
A joy in the process, and the best care you can take, will reward you with a product you can be proud of. If your only goal is saving money and the sewing process is only a necessary evil to the end dollar savings, then you should not be doing a sail kit. Pay a professional. If you enjoy DIY projects, this may be for you.
It is not going to be a laminar racing sail, but for most of us cruisers it is everything you could ask for, you will beam with pride and satisfaction each time you host the sail. People at my marina cannot believe I sewed these huge sails myself. And I can't believe I sewed them on my little walking foot machine.
See the pictures , and best of luck.
darn moments when you first hoist the sail next spring. But isn't that all a part of having found your Granpian and brought her back to a better place.
