Crusader Sails - any good?

Edwin

Edwin

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www.michaelbriant.com
Are Crusader Sails - any good?

I am in the market for a new furling main and furling genoa... I have had quotes from several UK sail makers and several French sail makers which is where I live.

Crusader's quote is thousands of pounds less than any of the others....

I only cruise these days and pretty locally - possibly down to the Med and I only want or perhaps need to have them last for around 10 years...

The furling main is a problem as if it gets baggy it makes it difficult to roll it into the mast so if the 'cloth' is too cheap and weak it may get baggy quickly and then I will be back to where I am now!

Would be grateful for opinions and experience


Michael
 
I bought a new hank-on Genoa from them this year and as you note their pricing is excellent. It is clearly built to a budget, for example using fabric tape and/or plastic anti-chafe patches rather than the leather you would expect from a more expensive sailmaker. However it is well cut and perfectly well made and I would expect it to last a good few years. It replaced a sail labelled as having been made in 1977 and which should have been done away with at least ten years ago.....

Certainly no complaints from me.
 
i had a new RR genoa 2 yys ago.
it was 1/2 price compared to Gowen.
i felt i couldnt justify spending the extra as we only cruise.
i bought a Triangle that works, built cheaply & every time i am on the wind sitting to lee ward looking @ the woolies i wish i had spent the extra. it is a triangle & not beautifully cut & hand finished sail as the Gowen i previously had.
would i go back to be honest no
 
I had a main from them and a jib from Foil Sails. The main is OK (ish) it doesn't set that well and has taken me a few years of trial and error to get the best out of it. Like previously mentioned, the finer bits of finish and cut aren't there - but that said they are cheaper than most. if you are fussy about your sails and getting the best out of them at all times then I would go up market a little. However, if you are a little laid back about passage making then they are OK - one recommendation is go for the best cloth you can afford. My Foil sail is a year or so older than the main but the shape and cloth are in better condition. ( In fact the guy at Foil's repaired and fixed some errors in the crusader main). If i had my time again I would have stayed with my old main and saved for a Foil Sails main.

You pays your money and you take your choice.
 
Crusader Sails

My wonderful Fastnet 34 came with a Solent Blade, 140%, 150% Triradial cut furling Genoa and a 3 reef main. They are some 8 years old now and when I took them in for there annual wash this year, the local loft commented that he thought they were only two years old. They get washed annually and left on all year. No repairs needed as yet
 
tross said:
I had a main from them and a jib from Foil Sails. The main is OK (ish) it doesn't set that well and has taken me a few years of trial and error to get the best out of it. Like previously mentioned, the finer bits of finish and cut aren't there - but that said they are cheaper than most. if you are fussy about your sails and getting the best out of them at all times then I would go up market a little. However, if you are a little laid back about passage making then they are OK - one recommendation is go for the best cloth you can afford. My Foil sail is a year or so older than the main but the shape and cloth are in better condition. ( In fact the guy at Foil's repaired and fixed some errors in the crusader main). If i had my time again I would have stayed with my old main and saved for a Foil Sails main.

You pays your money and you take your choice.
Click to expand...

imho Crusader could well afford to Up the quality of the cut & finish & price & still be competative
 
Talk to them about what you want - they will be happy to supply over the whole range based on what you want / need. Need to be comparing like for like for your quotes to be meaningful.

Steve
 
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I agree with Steve. I am discussing my sail needs with them and as soon as they had a handle on what I wanted the price went up as I am asking for a higher quality product. For example the budget main for my boat was quoted at £600, but the one I'm getting will be nearly £1800. Also it's not every company where you always speak to the boss when you want to talk sails. Ring them up and talk to them would be my advice.
 
NickiCrutchfield said:
I agree with Steve. I am discussing my sail needs with them and as soon as they had a handle on what I wanted the price went up as I am asking for a higher quality product. For example the budget main for my boat was quoted at £600, but the one I'm getting will be nearly £1800. Also it's not every company where you always speak to the boss when you want to talk sails. Ring them up and talk to them would be my advice.
Click to expand...

Sensible advice whoever the sailmaker is.

The problem from the sailmaker point of view is that 80% of potential customers shop around for the cheapest quote. Crusader offer the full range of sails from cheap and cheerful to high tech and highest quality, all designed cut and made in house. However if you are on the ring a round quote me a price circuit they will naturally assume you want cheap, so that is what they quote for.

We have used Crusader sails on 3 boats over the last 28 years and over that time have bought a full suit of hanked on sails for JOG racing a Liz30, 2 RR genoas, 1 standard and 1 fully battened main, 1 standard and 1 fully battened mizzen for a W33 Ketch and a High Tech Hydranet triradial RR genoa and similar Hydranet triradial fully battened main for a Sun Legende 41 (Doug Peterson one ton cupper design). None of these sails have been cheap! What they were however is excellent value and superb setting. Crusader are our local loft which is even better but the one thing that is essential is to talk to them (or any sailmaker) so that they really understand what you are wanting and that way can give you all the options, price them up and you have all the information required to make an informed choice.

Be wary of designer names too, because some of the names these days are just that and the sails are actually cut and made in the far east. Also some of these 'names' made original equipment sails for some boatbuilders that were real rubbish and built down to a price. We have some friends with a Moody and others with a Sadler Starlight both with 'Hood' OEM sails that I wouldn't blow my nose on. The North sails that came with our Sun Legende were bought by the previous owners in 1996 and I threw them out at 5 years old for the genoa and 7 years for the main, neither were even good enough to sell as used.

If you want the cheapest as your main priority don't be surprised if they are built to a price. If you want the best, be prepared to pay more! Crusader will give you the best (if that is your priority) but IMO will do so whilst still being very competitive on price.

As always no connection other than as a very happy customer over many years and many sails.
 
Crusader Sails

I bought a Crusader biradial roller furling genoa and fully battened mainsail for my Sigma 33c in 1991 and have had excellent service from them. They are used purely for cruising and still set almost perfectly now.

The genoa has required the sacrificial strip replacing twice and is probably due again. The main has required no remedial work whatsoever. The price I paid at the time was very competitive, much below the big gun names.

The sailcloth still has plenty of crispness to it. I believe that the longeivity of the sails has mainly been due to the quality of the cut e.g. the biradial genoa always furls beautifully even down to No3 jib size and the fully battened mainsail of course never flogs due to its construction.

I would not hesitate to buy from Crusader again.
 
I was involved with the Gypsy Moth IV project whose sails were provided by Crusader. I sailed on the boat both before and after her circumnavigation and was so impressed by how well the sails had stood up to the rigours of an ocean passage that I ordered a new main from them. I've been more than happy with it.
 
i had a new main off crusader 3 years ago it seems to be waring well and has a good shape, although I'm not the sort of person to be tweaking all day long so it might not be up to the spec of that sort of person. I'm sure more thangood enough for the avareage crusing sailor. I have also had a storm jib from them as well that seems very well built but not used it in anger yet.
 
The little picture shows our Crusader sails- bought because we were happy with the ones that they made for our previous boat.We are crusers and know nothing about racing sails.
Jim
 
Had a radial cut cruising chute from them 5 years ago - excellent.

After discussions with them and a couple of other sailmakers have just ordered a new main and 150% genoa.

As others have said - talking to them is important ( and in my experience really interesting ) as they can do a wide range of specs and prices.

Comparing like for like is very difficult but my take is that they do a very good job at competitive prices
 
Fully batttened in mast furling main

Only one answer - Maxiroach for the main. Fitted one to a Moody 45 in the Baltic two years ago and was so impressed I ordered one for my Benny 311 as soon as I returned to Blighty.

Looks better (roach), sets better, furls better - and adds I reckon up to 20% to boat speed. Usual disclaimers apply.

Incidentally I ordered a new furling genny and cruising chute at the same time - from Crusader. No problems there either and I imho very good value for money.
 
Bought a cruising chute for a Sadler 32 from them a couple of years ago and no problems. Bought a 135% furling Genoa from them at the beginning of the season and no probs either. Always good to talk to them. Full of useful advice and suggestions about things you may not think about.
 
Bought a cruising chute and stackaway from them initially. Stackaway was excellent and had some design features not found on more expensive ones such as spare zip puller built in.
Just bought a laminate FB main and genoa also laminate, they were great people to talk to and tried their best to understand exactly what you wanted and how best to deliver this for the money. It's also great to see a British sailmaker rather than once which would have saved me some money but built overseas.
Saw them being finished in the loft which allowed me to ask a few questions and get them tweaked to what I wanted.
I've sailed with the new sails once, they set well and weren'tjust triangles, can't wait for the New Year to get out with them again.
 
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