hong kong sails

tyce

Well-known member
Joined
6 Jan 2004
Messages
1,554
Location
cumbria
Visit site
i know this has come up before but, does anyone have any practical experience with hk sails, they seem really cheap is it to good to be true.
how well do they wear and set, and what was after sales service like.
thanks in anticipation
 

jeanne

Member
Joined
2 Apr 2002
Messages
601
Location
Sanlucar de Guadiana, Espana
Visit site
We have used them twice; headsail and main. Both very good , nice soft cloth, well made cruising sails with triple stitching etc. All the hand worked leather bits no extra charge, and they arrived earlier than quoted and to the front door....our sister ship also uses them and had sails delivered in UK,Thailand and Australia and was perfectly happy....but another friend had trouble with his main, too baggy and although they paid in UK for a recut, he still wasn´t happy. So you pays your money and takes the risk. Our main is 5 years old and looks like new.
 

asj1

New member
Joined
2 Jun 2004
Messages
528
Location
Home: North Bucks, Boat: Suffolk Work :central Lon
Visit site
Have used them for a cruising chute - no complaints, but not used very often of course.

Delivery times do appear at first to be fairly long until you compare them with UK sailmakers at this time of the year.

A few weeks ago someone on this forum was recommending a sailmaker in Thailand, which may be worth a look.

A couple of years ago I was looking for a mainsail and found at least one sailmaker direct in HK (as compared to the usual arrangements of using a UK front Co) that would have been even cheaper, but of course there would ahve been VAT to pay on importation. What put me off was vague rererences to clearance charges, import duty, delivery costs from Heathrow etc which I could easily see eliminating any savings ..............now of course if I had any reason to go to HK for a holiday that might be a different situation !
 

aidancoughlan

Member
Joined
24 Jun 2002
Messages
548
Location
co.Wicklow, Ireland
Visit site
I'd suggest that If you have the time, do a bit of research and decide the spec you want first. Maybe talk to a few sailmakers to get an idea of what is available and the price. Make sure you know the type of cloth and weight of cloth you are getting, and whether things like telltales, camberstripes, cunninghams, reefing lines, sail numbers, reefing points etc. are included or not - these all add to the price. check what the cringles are made of, and the headboard etc. This is just general advice base on my own selection process recently, which I would do differently next time around.

ps. not suggesting that HK sails will not be good - I very nearly bought from them. I talked it through with the agent in uk and based on this and previous comments on the forum, I was satisifed that it would be a good product for cruising sails. In the end though, I went for a UK supplier because the HK price seemed too good to be true, and I couldnt help feeling that there must be a reason (although this concern is not necessarily valid). I got a decent enough price in the UK which helped a bit too. Maybe ask HK Sails for a local reference and go and see the sails ?
 

jerryat

Active member
Joined
20 Mar 2004
Messages
3,569
Location
Nr Plymouth
Visit site
Hi aiden,

I agree with your comments. In addition, my concern would be what happens if there's a problem with fit/quality/spec etc. How do you get the problem corrected? I, as I'm sure many others have done, went through the 'pros and cons' of buying cheap a few years ago, and decided that the proposed savings didn't add up.

OK, I was looking for high quality (actually bought Hood/North in the end) but all the sailmakers I approached or met with, offered 'on the boat' fitting and checking as part of the deal. Since sails are the most important item on a sailing boat IMHO and are damned expensive, I didn't want any risk.

BTW, I'm NOT saying there's anything wrong with these or other lower priced sails, just that you seldom gets summin' for nuffin' these days do you?? /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Cheers Jerry
 
Top