Super Sailmakers?

[Captain Bill]

The time has come to replce my sails. I have a pretty good proposal from a company in Florida called Super Sail Makers. Does anyone have any experience good or bad with their sails?

[ohdrinkboy]

They did the sails on my Seaward 22. Lasted from 1985 until 2005 with active use. Not fancy or high tech, but functional. The new sails were much better, but the comparison is not fair.

[Celestialsailor]

I have used Hood sails for two of my past sails and think they are top notch. I think the still have their own looms, making their own cloth. The sewing was impeccable.

[bmm32005]

I used Ullman for a Custom Axis Laminate Mainsail and I'm very happy with the sail and will be ordering a new Genoa as soon as the cruising kitty is near full.

[Alibi35]

Yes, a little over two years ago we had a new Genoa and new main made by them. They had a good price, good customer service too. We dealt with the owner, Bob Meghar. He came to Key Largo to do the measurements and everything. The sails have been working nicely and get a lot of use since we are sailing around the Caribbean Islands for the last 1 1/2 years. I'm about to have to resew the sacrifical cover on the genoa.

[Kestrahl]

2 years is a very short life on the stitching!. If you ask them to use PTFE thread it will outlive the sail.

[Alibi35]

Originally Posted by Kestrahl

2 years is a very short life on the stitching!. If you ask them to use PTFE thread it will outlive the sail.

Or could it be the 5,000 miles we have sailed with it? Yes, I know about that thread, thanks!

[Kestrahl]

The horizontal seams can come apart if they only have 1 row of stitching which seems to be common (should have 2 rows). We have sailed 8000 miles in the last year and its as good as new with heavy weight solar-fix PTFE thread.

[Greggegner]

Can't buy sails often, but like Mack Sails out of Florida.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by Greggegner

Can't buy sails often, but like Mack Sails out of Florida.

I got a quote from Mack Sails. They proposed a 10.5 oz cloth, which while it may last longer thgan the 8.5 oz cloth all the others have proposed, I'm afraid that I'll need 15 knots of wind to inflate the sail. I sail often in a lot less than that. I'm going to call them tomorrow and discuss it with them. They do have a very good reputation.


Alibi35, Two years on thread is not very much, even with 5000 miles of cruising. I got 11 years out of mine even with twice that much distance cruising and 9 year of coastal cruising. Is it the thread or the fabric that is failing?

An interesting note. All the proposals I have so far call for triple stitched seams, all my current sails are double stitched. The reason for the new sails is that the thread is failing and I blew out a seam in the main. While it is repairable, I'll be full time cruising in the tropics the next couple of years and the sails are getting a bit long in the tooth. I don't want end up stuck out in the boonedocks somewhere with a blown out sail so it's best to do it now.

[Alibi35]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

Alibi35, Two years on thread is not very much, even with 5000 miles of cruising. I got 11 years out of mine even with twice that much distance cruising and 9 year of coastal cruising. Is it the thread or the fabric that is failing?

I'm not sure yet, been too windy to take it down since our arrival in Grenada.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Kestrahl

The horizontal seams can come apart if they only have 1 row of stitching which seems to be common (should have 2 rows). We have sailed 8000 miles in the last year and its as good as new with heavy weight solar-fix PTFE thread.

Quadruple stitched seams on my sails. Every seam is made with enough thread on the bobbin to stitch full length, no stops and starts. This is what quality looks like. This is on a 10k hand leathered genoa.

[minaret]

Color of the leathering even matches my trim paint!

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by minaret

Quadruple stitched seams on my sails. Every seam is made with enough thread on the bobbin to stitch full length, no stops and starts. This is what quality looks like. This is on a 10k hand leathered genoa.

G'Day Minaret,

Quad stitching is fairly unusual IME. Many sailmakers have gone to three-step zig-zag rather than one step as shown, and say that it is much stronger and less prone to "unzipping" when worn. Was that an option on your sail?

And for another data point: our just replaced mainsail was ten years old and had about 44 thousand miles of usage. The only stitching that had suffered much was along the leech tabling which gets a beating... the rest was still intact after all those miles. This was done in three-step and V-92 dacron thread, triple rows on the interpanel seams (radial construction).

Cheers,

Jim

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

G'Day Minaret,

Quad stitching is fairly unusual IME. Many sailmakers have gone to three-step zig-zag rather than one step as shown, and say that it is much stronger and less prone to "unzipping" when worn. Was that an option on your sail?

And for another data point: our just replaced mainsail was ten years old and had about 44 thousand miles of usage. The only stitching that had suffered much was along the leech tabling which gets a beating... the rest was still intact after all those miles. This was done in three-step and V-92 dacron thread, triple rows on the interpanel seams (radial construction).

Cheers,

Jim

Dunno, I'll ask. I told them not to offer me any more options and just go with the best for everything. I'm sure Axl has a well thought out rationale for his approach, the guy's severely OCD. These sails were bid as triple stitched, like many. But when Axl built them, he went to quadruple stitched at no extra charge. Just a master craftsman getting carried away with his work. I love it!