NDG
Well-Known Member
Sanders.
great service and sails.
great service and sails.
Which sailmaker?
- Thread starter jcpa
- Start date
balladsailor
Member
+1 Sanders Sails
Excellent service and top quality.
I was pleased/ impressed that Peter Sanders insisted on coming to the boat to measure for himself.
As he said," The badge on the sail is my only advertising"
No connection, just a very satisfied customer.
Excellent service and top quality.
I was pleased/ impressed that Peter Sanders insisted on coming to the boat to measure for himself.
As he said," The badge on the sail is my only advertising"
No connection, just a very satisfied customer.
john_morris_uk
Well-Known Member
Agreed. Sanders is a sail maker who doesn't advertise yet his order book is full.
I bought a suit of sails from him this year and I haven't been disappointed.
It all speaks for itself really
knuterikt
Well-Known Member
I sent a mail to "local" sailmakers, where I described the boat and planned use of my boat/sails and asked for information and an offer for a new (main) sail as this was the first wanted to replace.
I got answers from all of them, but price, selection of cloth, design had a great variation.
Some answers sounded as if they did not read my request -> eliminated
I went into talks with the remaining contenders to discuss my options.
I finally selected a local sailmaker who do sail design, service and some new sails locally but also openly say that they have their own production line in Thailand.
Own production line means that they control the materials and training of the workers, sails are checked in Norway before the customer get the sail. The design files are sent from Norway.
The sailmaker took measurements on the boat.
We chose sails made with cruising laminate, the sail's (main and two years later head sail) are still in good shape.
The main is 6 yo now and I have bought more sails during the following yers (head sail, asymmetric and code 0).
If they (the sailmaker) need to talk badly about the competition - I would walk away..
There are not that many sail cloth manufacturers out there - ask them to tell which cloth supplier they use.
You should be able to have a meaningful talk about the different cloth&design options.
Ask who/where the sail i going top be designed, there have been lot's of advances in sail design - so reusing a 20 yo "stock" design is a bad idea.
Making new sails on an old boat without taking measures first is IMHO a bad idea.
Wile you have the sailmaker on the boat it's a good time to discuss your requirements..
You don't have to buy the roller reefing from the same sailmaker, check around for prices, specialized rigging shops might (or might not give a better price)
Are you going to do the install yourself?
There will always be dissatisfied customers around, but one bad customer story is not statistically significant.
Dimensions is unclear because the "stock" sail designs in the sailmakers system is probably someones old "custom design".
For racing you will probably want as much SA as the rating rules allow, but that is in conflict with some of your other requirements
They will be good enough to give a price estimate/offer.
Make sure all the offers are comparable (cloth, details on the sail)
You must decide on furler type and installation before the sail is made, preferably is should be installed to make sure the measurements is correct.
Start with deciding the distance you need between the furler drum and deck to be able to deploy/retrieve the anchor without damaging the furling system.
There are different furler deigns around and the drum height defines the tack height.
The maximum hoist will be shorter than you have today.
lw395
Well-Known Member
Kemps made me a good kite.
Mark Flew has been good for my repairs, has a good general reputation and is local.
I'd talk to Sanders if I was in Lymington, but there is a lot to be said for local people, get them to look at the boat etc.
My Crusader furling genoa was pretty good too.
dave_gibsea
Well-Known Member
I would vote Kemp. Great customer service, I have never had a problem with their sails or the company.
tidclacy
Well-Known Member
Second that, my new sails have completely transformed my boat. They are very professional and go out of there way to understand and help you choose the right cloth etc
Lucky Duck
Well-Known Member
Third that, I'm on my third 'inventory' from them and always been happy with the sails and customer service.
Dockhead
Well-Known Member
Yikes. I had the following experience with Exchange Sails. Ordered a blade jib from them, an ex Oyster sail supposedly in top condition. I needed it urgently because I shredded my yankee jib in the middle of the Baltic in a gale at night and had no principle headsail, and a North Sea crossing coming up. Paid them to shorten the luff slightly and put in a new luff rope. And paid them to ship it to Cuxhaven.
It did not arrive. It turns out that it was misaddressed, and sent without a label or indeed a scrap of paper on it. Through a miracle, we found it dumped off at another marina, where the harbourmaster was puzzled what to do with the anonymous sail. All this time, the guy's wife is assuring us that she is on the case trying to track down the sail.
We wasted a whole day of our rapidly closing weather window on this fiasco, as well as a whole day of time of the poor harbourmaster where we were staying. When we finally got the sail -- it was an entirely different one to what we ordered. A ragged genoa from a different boat, with a 9 metre foot, and more than a metre short in the luff. And a 5mm luff rope, so in any case incapable of being hoisted on our boat.
A lot of diesel fuel was expended getting across the North Sea after that, and we ended up with a F8 headwind at the end because of the lost time. :banghead:
These are utter w*nkers; avoid at all costs.
