Best Sail Makers

[barnakiel]

The dollar may be up or down, we do not know. Many factors suggest it will be down, but let's wait and see. In any case, if I have any dollars/euros/yuans left at the end of this budget year, my local sailmaker in Sweden will be very happy to convert them into a new set of sails.

b.

[Hiracer]

Originally Posted by H/V Vega

CSF has a website and they clearly invite you to ask for a quote. I just wonder if Barnakel has considered that at this rate in a few years the dollar will have so little value that sails maybe all China will want in trade. But look at the bright side think of all the lovely wars America will have used those loans to pay for. Of coarse never, never, ask what better uses that money could have been put to.

Tech bubble burst.
Real estate bubble burst.
Private debt bubble burst

Coming, if not soon, then eventually a public debt bubble burst.

Let's here it for bubbles.

[S/V New Sensation]

I've had owned or sailed on boats with sails from most of the big names all seemed good to me. I know in racing they'll tell you the fastest sail is a new sail . I purchased my new sails from Scott Rush my local Neil Pryde representative. Sails were first rate very nice workmanship. They were not "cookie cutter" but were designed by the sail maker then lofted in China. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the manufacturers but when I went shopping I looked for someone who would give me good personalized service. Would have been a little cheaper if I had just done it all myself and had a loft build them from my measurements, but I value having a sail maker who could look at the boat, the way it's rigged, the area I sail and help me determine my needs. So my recommendation shop the local sail makers and pick the one that you think will provide the best pre and post purchase service not the brand of sail.

[Tom52]

Try Far east sails - got a great set from them - I think they make a lot of sails for other retailers - it is good to work direct with a loft - you need to be able to tweak the design as that is what really makes the good sail - I tried csf but they don't sell direct.

[DeborahLee]

Just took reefs out of a new main and head sail. Sails look great and performed great. I have no idea on sail design but measured and ordered them from Precision they did everything else. I am very pleased with the quality and workmanship. You might just want to look at their web page or talk to them.

[northoceanbeach]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

I am staying with local companies, or at least made in countries whose politics I understand. I am tired of this capitalism disconnect with morality. I will no longer buy from those that kill other people- yeah I know that may include Raytheon.

+1

I just got a new set. I called and got quoted from all of the major brands and a few smaller.

Doyle, one of the major brands are still made in America and New Zealand. The local rep out of Seattle came and measured and made sails to perfection. Spent a lot of time talking to me and setting them up right when he came back with the finished sails.

He takes the measurements and sends them to the loft in Massachusetts and they are then sent back to him to finish. So while everyone else is firing all of their employees and setting up shop with the same factory in china an slapping their logo on it, Doyle is keeping it local.

I can't imagine why anyone would buy north or uk or whoever. North's customer service was pretty abrubt as well when I was requesting a quote. Of course thre are still small local lofts that make sails too.

[islandplanet]

Originally Posted by northoceanbeach

+1
So while everyone else is firing all of their employees and setting up shop with the same factory in china an slapping their logo on it, Doyle is keeping it local.

Doyle utilizes offshore lofts, in part, like every other major brand name sailmaker. Doyle has a large production loft in Quingdao and another in Hong Kong. While your sail may have been produced locally, if you think Doyle franchise lofts never use offshore production, you are mistaken. Some franchises opt to build sails in-house when the service side of the business is slow and they need to keep their staff working. Each franchise owner has to make their own choices regarding production. Very few lofts could survive in the new economy without outsourcing to some degree. The reason for that is that demand for new sails is generally cyclical.

When business is cyclical, you end up having to lay off staff. Using a combination of outsourced manufacturing and in-house production allows many loft owners to keep the workforce in place and avoid recruitment and training costs.

Franchise lofts typically have geographic restrictions on where they can sell and that's one of the reasons we've remained independent. When business slows down in the northern hemisphere winter, it picks up in places like Australia, Caribbean, Mexico, etc.

I think one thing we will be seeing as an industry is some of the small sail production like for your Bristol 26 returning to the US. Costs in China have skyrocketed and like many other industries, re-shoring is starting to make sense for small projects. China has already seen some manufacturing leave the country. North Sails must have foreseen those increases because they set up so much of their production in Sri Lanka rather than China. Personally I'm not comfortable doing business in that country because it lacks a lot of the worker protections that China has. Believe it or not, companies operating legitimately in China don't use child labor and the typical Chinese worker has far more holidays and longer family leave than their American counterparts.

We can do all the flag waving we want, while wearing our Asian made clothes, and driving that American car made in Mexico, but at the end of the day, globalization is here to stay. Most brand name and quality independent loft sails are produced offshore and generally speaking the construction quality and finish are excellent. My own anecdotal observations are that the manufacturing errors occur less offshore, perhaps due to the strong manufacturing culture and western oversight combined with stringent QC procedures.

If you're interested in reading a well written article by Nigel Calder on the realities of offshore sail manufacturing, drop me a line and I'll see to it that you receive a copy.

[Jim Cate]

Nice post, IP.

It is always interesting to get info from someone in the trade rather than an outside observer.

And FWIW, here in Oz there are still some smaller lofts that do not (so far) outsource manufacture. I'm not in a position to compare quality of product, but dealing with them is a pleasure, and one can go to the loft and see your panels on the floor being stitched together.

Cheers,

Jim

[islandplanet]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Nice post, IP.

It is always interesting to get info from someone in the trade rather than an outside observer.

And FWIW, here in Oz there are still some smaller lofts that do not (so far) outsource manufacture. I'm not in a position to compare quality of product, but dealing with them is a pleasure, and one can go to the loft and see your panels on the floor being stitched together.

Cheers,

Jim

Jim,

You have some very talented sailmakers in Oz. One of my friends is a sailmaker in the south and he does a mix of in-house and offshore produced sails. I think you'll see a lot of the lofts transitioning to offshore production due to the same business pressures that lofts here in the US face. I know we have more customers in Oz every year and some that I have spoken to lament the fact they can't afford to deal with a local loft.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by islandplanet

Jim,

You have some very talented sailmakers in Oz. One of my friends is a sailmaker in the south and he does a mix of in-house and offshore produced sails. I think you'll see a lot of the lofts transitioning to offshore production due to the same business pressures that lofts here in the US face. I know we have more customers in Oz every year and some that I have spoken to lament the fact they can't afford to deal with a local loft.

Indeed! Oz has become a very expensive place to live and cruise, especially with regard to boat bits. We've acquired a new main and a new solent jib in the recent past, one in Tasmania, one here in the Sydney area. They are both excellent bits of work, but surely were not inexpensive. If this trend continues, I will eventually need to overcome my reluctance to do "remote control" sail purchases... perhaps you will be hearing from us commercially!

Cheers,

Jim

[islandplanet]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Indeed! Oz has become a very expensive place to live and cruise, especially with regard to boat bits. We've acquired a new main and a new solent jib in the recent past, one in Tasmania, one here in the Sydney area. They are both excellent bits of work, but surely were not inexpensive. If this trend continues, I will eventually need to overcome my reluctance to do "remote control" sail purchases... perhaps you will be hearing from us commercially!

Cheers,

Jim

I hope we can be of service. We've been working "remotely" since 2004 and have a good system in place with videos to explain the rig measurement process and as much consultation as needed. I find our customers are quite conscientious in their measuring so it tends to go pretty smoothly.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by islandplanet

Jim,

You have some very talented sailmakers in Oz. One of my friends is a sailmaker in the south and he does a mix of in-house and offshore produced sails. I think you'll see a lot of the lofts transitioning to offshore production due to the same business pressures that lofts here in the US face. I know we have more customers in Oz every year and some that I have spoken to lament the fact they can't afford to deal with a local loft.

Indeed! Oz has become a very expensive place to live and cruise, especially with regard to boat bits. We've acquired a new main and a new solent jib in the recent past, one in Tasmania, one here in the Sydney area. They are both excellent bits of work, but surely were not inexpensive. If this trend continues, I will eventually need to overcome my reluctance to do "remote control" sail purchases... perhaps you will be hearing from us commercially!

Cheers,

Jim

[Curmudgeon]

Another vote for Quantum, which makes a very good sail for the money. If you don't mind paying a bit more, there are several smaller shops here in the U.S. Northeast that will also make you a beautiful sail, including Jasper & Bailey in Newport , RI and Bohndell up in Rockport, ME.