Pick a sail loft...

[Icarus]

I had a mainsail made in Hong Kong for my 40ft ketch...Excellent workmanship. ..its been on the yacht for 3 years now, can't complain.
Local sailmakers quoted around 4 to 6000 AUD.
Got the sail delivered within 3 weeks.
In the end including import duty i paid 2500. Fully batterned, including trackcars.
Thats the 8th sail I had made overseas...the previous set lasted over 9 years...and 45000 miles.

Some ' top of the line' sailmakers get their sails made overseas anyway...so even if there is a small adjustment to be made its still cost effective.

And yes, I supply the messurments, after all its my yacht, its really quite simple.

[GBR134]

If I was doing this for my cruiser I’d huff puff and discuss the issue with anyone who listened for months - then order from Rolly T purely based on cost and reputation. If I need new sails for my race Dinghy I’d go to my specialist who I’ve got a twenty year relationship and not even discuss the price.

If I was you I wouldn’t ask the likes of me for advice but find someone who knew what he was talking about for their advice!

[CaptainJohn49]

If you don’t mind, what was the name of the sailmaker in Hong Kong? A friend used to go to HK once or twice a year to have his clothes custom made. Cheaper and better quality than in the USA.
I have a couple of local sailmakers that I trust but you never know when funds will be tight.

[Hoodsail]

Agree with Ann's, "the devil is in the detail". In addition to thread type, for my main the choice of slides was discussed, whether to take those from my old main, use new plastic or use new metal...went with new metal. Also how many reef points - 2? 3? ...Bought main from local sailmaker, Kappa Sails, in state of Ct/USA secondary to his proximity (20 miles up the road) & local recommendations and inspection of sails he's made. Owner Brian set appt with me on the boat. Helped him with the measurements, discussed my sailing goals, all to assist him in recommending "best" coastal cruising/off shore sail. He sent me pics of the sail during its construction. He has offered to sail with me to show me how best to trim also. Planning to do so this season. next will be new gennie. thnks

[Spot]

Which lofts are people liking for smaller boats in the Midwest USA?

[AKA-None]

Sailcrafters in Minneapolis Minnesota is pretty good

[CarlF]

Another fan of Mack.

Exactly which cloth are they quoting? Marblehead is the best conventional woven dacron cloth and well worth the extra cost. The sails will keep their shape far longer making them cheaper in the long run. Ask each sailmaker if their sails can last 10 years. I bet Mack will be the only one who thinks that's likely.

Mack built me a beautiful set of sails for my ketch built from Marblehead cloth. After five years the shape is as good as new. I'm counting on getting the full 10 years. The boat is also much faster upwind than the previous sails (made by one of the other lofts on your list).

https://macksails.com/sail-cloth/

At a minimum, give Colin Mack a call and let him try to sell you. You'll learn a lot about sails during the call.

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by CarlF

At a minimum, give Colin Mack a call and let him try to sell you. You'll learn a lot about sails during the call.

You may want to double check, but from my understanding, Collin is no long with the company. Mack apparently is also not going to do rigging anymore (thank god... bad experiences!).

Matt

[chuckr]

The only thing we can add is what are you going to do with the sails. We just got a new Genny from UKSails - we went to 3 different shops and they all said this is what you need and quoted us a price. UKSails said sit down and let's talk. How are you going to use the boat? Race? Short cruisers? Day sail only? What?


We told them we planned an Atlantic crossing and we do not race they then said ok that eliminates all these now let's talk about these sails. We eventually went with a heavy duty dacron and are very pleased with its performance.


The issue is make sure who you are buying the sail from knows what you plan to do with it and the boat. It does make a difference.

[Spot]

I send off 4 quotes for sails this morning before the dawn.
Two were to places recommended here, 2 were to places I tried before without success.
This time I included a PDF about the boat and a PDF with dimensions of the current sails.
I have already heard back from one place with a pleasant phone call where I learned some new information about the sails and process.
Thanks CF'ers!

[Spot]

Originally Posted by Spot

I send off 4 quotes for sails this morning before the dawn.
Two were to places recommended here, 2 were to places I tried before without success.
This time I included a PDF about the boat and a PDF with dimensions of the current sails.
I have already heard back from one place with a pleasant phone call where I learned some new information about the sails and process.
Thanks CF'ers!

2nd CF recommended loft has responded with detailed quotes same-day.

[Spot]

3rd loft returned a quote same day.

After a nice call and chat I am in queue for a quote with the 4th.

The ones who spoke with me by phone also asked about my timing, the others provided their standard lead times.