maha
Active Member
I am thinking of ordering some sails from the far east I have got a quote from fareastsails.com which is very reasonable has anybody any advice or horror stories before I let go of 1200 quid
Hong Kong And far East Sail makers
- Thread starter maha
- Start date
VARNE
Well-Known Member
I bought from them last year. Got strong feeling "Brad"is just an agent dealing with the factory----may be wrong.
Sails are OK re material and manufacture.From order to delivery took 5 months!
Make sure you know EXACTLY what you want re.luff,leech&foot measurements from an existing sail. I tried to tweak my genoa & it overshot the track. Silly me, but then again, he did have precise track position measurements which obviously wern't used. Cost me £90 to get it altered over here.
He doesn't mention import duties at any stage.First I knew was a bill for about £70 from the carrier,Fed Ex.
I don't want to sound too negative---at the end of the day I've got an OK set of cruising sails for my Varne 27 for a shade under £1000 all in.
I also got a quote from Hong Kong Sails for slightly more than Far Eastern----Difference turned out to be the duty. Hong K ong are ,of course,an English based agent and may well be selling sails from the same factory?
So, the sails are ok but the experience could have been better.If I was doing it again I'd go H.Kong after making sure the spec from both was similar.Can be difficult to communicate with an overseas web site and harder still to complain.
Best of luck.
Sails are OK re material and manufacture.From order to delivery took 5 months!
Make sure you know EXACTLY what you want re.luff,leech&foot measurements from an existing sail. I tried to tweak my genoa & it overshot the track. Silly me, but then again, he did have precise track position measurements which obviously wern't used. Cost me £90 to get it altered over here.
He doesn't mention import duties at any stage.First I knew was a bill for about £70 from the carrier,Fed Ex.
I don't want to sound too negative---at the end of the day I've got an OK set of cruising sails for my Varne 27 for a shade under £1000 all in.
I also got a quote from Hong Kong Sails for slightly more than Far Eastern----Difference turned out to be the duty. Hong K ong are ,of course,an English based agent and may well be selling sails from the same factory?
So, the sails are ok but the experience could have been better.If I was doing it again I'd go H.Kong after making sure the spec from both was similar.Can be difficult to communicate with an overseas web site and harder still to complain.
Best of luck.
Roach1948
Well-Known Member
I ordered a new main from "Brad" and it was very cheap but the order took 4 months. The sail itself is cheaply made, but as I re-rigging a classic without any rig diagrams I wanted a cheap sail that I could use as a "blank canvas" to set up my rig.
My observations are:
Although 5.5oz material, it is very stiff material which kinks. My Jeckells jib is 5.5oz too, and that material is far higher quality is it does not kink at all.
Limited hand sewing and leathering around the clew. Luff tape only double stitched and not heat sealed meeting the clew.
No internal Luff rope - adding one myelf.
It took over 20 e-mails for him to understand what to do with the clew cutaway. I presume this was because as mentioned above, he is an agent, and he was relaying my instructions to the chinese and we all ended up in a vicious communications cycle.
Lastly - check the online order details VERY carefully. They would often not implement changes on their own tracking system.
Concluison: I paid £300 for a sail and got what I paid for. It is certainly a cheap sail with no bells and whistles - but it got me on the water last season on a limited budget. As it is so cheap it has allowed me to alter with the sail myself without feeling I will mess it up (and I have learnt a few new skills). So it fits like a glove now and I have a working template for the next sail: I will have that made by Jeckells for sure!
My observations are:
Although 5.5oz material, it is very stiff material which kinks. My Jeckells jib is 5.5oz too, and that material is far higher quality is it does not kink at all.
Limited hand sewing and leathering around the clew. Luff tape only double stitched and not heat sealed meeting the clew.
No internal Luff rope - adding one myelf.
It took over 20 e-mails for him to understand what to do with the clew cutaway. I presume this was because as mentioned above, he is an agent, and he was relaying my instructions to the chinese and we all ended up in a vicious communications cycle.
Lastly - check the online order details VERY carefully. They would often not implement changes on their own tracking system.
Concluison: I paid £300 for a sail and got what I paid for. It is certainly a cheap sail with no bells and whistles - but it got me on the water last season on a limited budget. As it is so cheap it has allowed me to alter with the sail myself without feeling I will mess it up (and I have learnt a few new skills). So it fits like a glove now and I have a working template for the next sail: I will have that made by Jeckells for sure!
bluevelvet
Well-Known Member
I have recently ordered a main and genoa for my 35'steel sloop from Leesails.They appear to take great care with sizes and fittings and emailed me with suggestions of their own regarding finish and fit.I have had to send out the money first and as they do not accept credit cards I have placed a lot of faith in them.I had a previous yacht that came with Lee sails as standard and was very happy with them.Delivery time was quoted at 6-8 weeks.I will let you know my opinion once I have received the sails.John
Sans Bateau
Well-Known Member
I hope all your jobs are secure, that the industry you rely on for your income does not relocate its manufacturing to the Far East, putting you out of work.
Dont worry about British sail makers, some of us are still patronising them, so with any luck they will remain in business to repair the crap you are buying.
Oh, and we dont have to worry about sail size, my sail maker visited the boat and measured for me.
Rant over.
Dont worry about British sail makers, some of us are still patronising them, so with any luck they will remain in business to repair the crap you are buying.
Oh, and we dont have to worry about sail size, my sail maker visited the boat and measured for me.
Rant over.
maha
Active Member
The industry I rely on for my income is not infested with crooks over priced stock and high priced marinas all trying to fleece the general public for there last drop of blood and then going bust leaving you holding the can........
Whats wrong with trying or investigating cost saving solutions when you are boating on a budget....
Whats wrong with trying or investigating cost saving solutions when you are boating on a budget....
asj1
Well-Known Member
I ordered a main from Hong Kong sails via their agent in Saltash (C & J Internatinal). I preferred to deal with someone in the UK who I could speak to. Sail ordered 3rd week of November and delivered to my house last week so 4-6 weeks as promised. Sail appears to be well made and as ordered but it is imprcaticable at this stage to check against teh old one or bend on to the mast and boom.
Regards
Regards
Sans Bateau
Well-Known Member
No, I think the opposite is true, the sail makers tend to be relatively small by comparison to the likes of the big marina chains and the boat builders. In my experience sailmakers tend to be very hands on, almost artisan.
By comparison, I suspect the agents working as intermediaries to the Far East industry are mere oppertunists who will move onto another industry when the one they are engaged in dries up.
Finally, one cannot rely on the UK sailmakers to be there to alter badly cut or made sails. No one can run a business on the strength of bits and pieces. One day you made need them.
Oh! I lied! Finally. I just bought new sails, I did not get a quote from an agent in the FE, admittedly, but the UK 'lofts' that are openly agents for FE products were only a little cheaper than the local sail maker.
By comparison, I suspect the agents working as intermediaries to the Far East industry are mere oppertunists who will move onto another industry when the one they are engaged in dries up.
Finally, one cannot rely on the UK sailmakers to be there to alter badly cut or made sails. No one can run a business on the strength of bits and pieces. One day you made need them.
Oh! I lied! Finally. I just bought new sails, I did not get a quote from an agent in the FE, admittedly, but the UK 'lofts' that are openly agents for FE products were only a little cheaper than the local sail maker.
GORDONREID
New Member
I recently gor prices for a new set of sails , Crusader sails was slightly more expensive than Hong kong sails but the new sails fitted like a glove and are first class, delivered in 6 weeks durings the busy seasons ,
Tim.mathy
New Member
Far East sailmakers
Hi, I ordered a set of sails in 2012 from a company named fareastsails - I think 1 word. The sails arrived in 4 weeks, I am very happy with them. I sailed from the Med to Barbados. I also bought a new Gennaker from them and had it delivered in the Canaries. I did not order a snuffer, but I wish I did, they had a good price on it but the crusing budget could not afford it.
So - yes I would buy again from them - this is a good company been around for a long time
Tim Mathy
SV Lazy Daze
BENETEAU 423
Hi, I ordered a set of sails in 2012 from a company named fareastsails - I think 1 word. The sails arrived in 4 weeks, I am very happy with them. I sailed from the Med to Barbados. I also bought a new Gennaker from them and had it delivered in the Canaries. I did not order a snuffer, but I wish I did, they had a good price on it but the crusing budget could not afford it.
So - yes I would buy again from them - this is a good company been around for a long time
Tim Mathy
SV Lazy Daze
BENETEAU 423
Dirk.Watson
New Member
This is a funny post - I got sails from Fareastsails last year, I got them in 3 weeks from Brad and Mike. They are
very well made and I was turned on to them by 3 other boat owners in the Marina - Roach 1948 - I think you work for
Jeckells - Cheap sails my A - Actually I saved about £400 over 3 other UK makers - So what you think the guy with the
thread sews better here? I agree you have to be careful to get the details right - is it any different than reading
a chart - you just need to take you time and work it out - check it out.
Sailing is expensive, you really need to think things through and get them right. Far East did fine for us - I recommend
them to my friends.
very well made and I was turned on to them by 3 other boat owners in the Marina - Roach 1948 - I think you work for
Jeckells - Cheap sails my A - Actually I saved about £400 over 3 other UK makers - So what you think the guy with the
thread sews better here? I agree you have to be careful to get the details right - is it any different than reading
a chart - you just need to take you time and work it out - check it out.
Sailing is expensive, you really need to think things through and get them right. Far East did fine for us - I recommend
them to my friends.