new sails, Arun or Crusader?

[silverdawn]

I have very good quotes from both, has anyone used them and what service/quality did you get. I have never purchased sails before and information would be welcomed.

 

[Talbot]

Have had all my sails (bar one) over the last 17 years made by Arun, and they are all at Arun's at the moment for valeting and repair. Dont know anything about crusader sails but have never heard anything against them (Like their web site)

 

[Vara]

My vote for Arun.......... no experience of Crusader.

 

[aidancoughlan]

I've recently got very good quotes from Quay Sails for a premium quality cruising sailcloth - I'd recommend checking them out & comparing like for like. There have been posts referring to both Arun and Crusader in the past with no bad comments that I recall.

 

[Lizzie_B]

Had my dinghy sails made by Arun, excellent job still going strong. Had quote from Crusader for new RF Genoa a couple of years back. On that occassion I found that their attention to detail was lacking and they ended up recommending a sail specification that was unsuitable for my type of RF gear. Job eventually went to Kemps who were brilliant and considerably cheaper than Crusader once all the 'extras' or hidden costs had been added to Crusader's original quote. I think Kemps were about two thirds the price of Crusader on final like for like price.

 

[scarlett]

I have had sails repaired by Crusader and bought new from them. I found them good to deal with and the sails good to very good. My only problem was when I wanted a non standard genoa. I sent them measurements but they made the standard sail anyway. They took back after I had bent it on to find it too small, sent another within a week and paid the carriage involved.

I have never bought sails from anyone else.

 

[Peppermint]

Re: Never used Arun

Crusader, in my experience, are easy to deal with. They have most sail/yacht combo's on their computer so quoting is straight forward. Prices are also straight forward and quotes easy to understand. The last sail they did for me was a cruising chute. It was well made, included a snuffer that wasn't mentioned in the quote, and was 37% cheaper than any other quote at LIBS 2004. It arrived three days late but that was in March so no sweat.

 

[graham]

i replaced my 23 year old Arun main and genoa with new from Arun a couple of years back .Sails are nice shape and seem to be well put together.Delivery was when we agreed so no complaints.(I still; use the old ones in winter to save wear on the new ones).

Havent used Crusader but have heard people with varying opinions of them.Make sure your quote includes everything you want eg reef points sail numbers and insignia etc.

 

[RivalRedwing]

Don't forget Kemp - I bought from them a couple of years ago, very helpful, a better price than Arun (for my requirements) and excellent quality sails.

 

[Robin]

You haven't said what kind of sails for what boat or what purpose. Big boat, small boat, round the world cruise or round the cans racing, do you want the lowest price or the best possible performance???

IMHO you need to talk carefully with the sailmaker and advise him exactly what you want to achieve. Having a better cloth will increase the price, but often by much less than you might think since labour is a high proportion of the overall cost and this is the same whatever cloth is used. I use Crusader but use top quality cloth (in our case with big heavily loaded sails we use Spectra reinforced woven Dacron, Dimension Polyant's 'Hydranet') and we go for maximum durability and shape retention and we pay extra to achieve our precise needs. Don't think that because Crusader offer low price sails that they cannot make high quality ones, the difference is in the cut you chose and the cloth and that has to be your choice. Cheap dacron will 'last' for years and years but stretch out of shape early on, like the sails that come with new boats.

 

[bigmart]

My vote is for Arun. I have found their product well made & well priced. The other advantage is that, if you visit them, you have an excellent reason to visit the Bosham sausage shop while your there.

I have no experience of Crusader.

Martin

 

[silverdawn]

Thanks for all your comments ,very helpfull.
the sail i require is a RF genoa for a leisure 20 mostly estuary sailing
so i would assume that a mid cost range will be okay.
I am not looking for the cheapest but a company that provides good service and products.

 

[castaway]

Hav'nt tried Crusader but, but my experience with Arun is second to none, ( See my post from April 2005 "Oh my God theyve lost me mailsl")

Top guys and top company.

Nick

www.yachtsite.co.uk/fairweather

 

[SteveGorst]

try www.telesails.co.uk for a quote. They quoted £470 for a new mainsail for my Etap 26 which compared well with Crusader. They are the online version of Kemp sails so I expect the quality to be to the normal high Kemp standard. The sail hasn't arrived yet so I can't confirm this at the moment but hope to be able to do so very soon /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Steve

 

[kds]

Arun made me set of 3 sails for a new 29ft. keelboat. Discussed my requirements, advised, listened, supplied and then discussed and advised me about getting best out of them, I would use them again.
Ken

 

[MedMan]

I have had sails made by both Arun and Crusader. From my experience they are not in the same league.

Crusader make top quality sails at low prices. Arun make cheap sails.

My only beef with Crusader is that they do not stick to their promises on delivery. If you have a tight time-scale you may have to think again but for my money it would be Crusader every time.

 

[tome]

Arun built a new 150% genoa for me a couple of years ago, very happy with it. Well cut, good quality and powerful. Delivered on time and price.

No experience of Crusader but have not heard much bad about them.