sail made in china

[manureva]

I am considering a new mainsail for our 56ft ketch, which here in Australia would cost about $7000. However I have a quote from a company in Guangzhou City, China called China sunrise sails for a price less than half the price here.
Does anybody on the forum have experience or know this company?
Thanks

[rgesner]

If you want to save money on a Chinese sail and still be sure you are getting a goon sail, contact Jamie of Blog | Sailing Totem

He uses China Sail Factory (so does Dave Calvert among others) and will ensure it is spec'd and made right. When I was looking at buying an older Lagoon 47, Jamie gave me the following estimate:

"$6900 (including shipping) with a cloth 10oz base cloth and 7oz leech ply. This cloth is made by China Sail Factory, which will sound scary, but in fact they do a great job – all managed on site by UK, US, Aussie sailmakers/experts. We consider it to be a small step below Marblehead, but at a good price savings. ... Other details would include:
-3 reefs with large radial reinforcing patches (as will all patches)
-6 full length battens (hex shapes and made from E-glass) with robust pockets, including chafe protection on both sides of sails
-loose foot
-3 rows of 3-step stitching
-overhead Vectran leechline (so adjusts at the tack where is easier to reach)
-external tack/clew rings, Rutgerson reef rings – all with Spectra webbing
This will be a beast of a sail, but much structural integrity that will last.

Might be worth checking out, and some of the profit will go to a fellow cruising family

[Celestialsailor]

It's been my experience that you get what you pay for. I know a lot of ppl who buy a sail made in China and rave about the craftsmanship. Of course...the sail is new....anything looks good, new. But I've seen first hand that a few years later, repairs are needed of the sail and or thread that does not hold up to U.V. or was sewn with a dull needle.

[manureva]

With ref. to my original query re. Chinese sail makers, has anyone experience of Fareast Sails of Hong Kong?

[iancoombe]

You probably already have but I suggest you get a quote from lees sails, never heard a bad word about them.

[ben373]

Yes I have 2 sails and for the money they have been fantastic. Now 4 years old and look OK

Sent from my G630-U251 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[SimonV]

All the big name sails come from China. Local lofts mainly do racing and quick orders.

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[bstreep]

We just bought a new genoa from a name-brand sailmaker One of the big ones. The sail was made in China, sent to the US for some finishing. It was just a few hundred $$ more than if we'd gone straight to China, and we have local support.

[ozsailer]

Concur with what SimonV said. We just put a new main on our Lagoon 410. We went through the process. Of all the sailmakers locally we approached only one made their own sails. The rest including Norths, Quantum and Doyles to name a few had them made overseas and finished and fitted here. Norths were a bit cagey until I used then admitted that the sails would be made in one of their lofts in Sri Lanka. Doyle's were very upfront stating their sales were made in China. Quantum also advised their sails were made overseas but did not elaborate further. I was happy to use at the local Doyle sailmaker who came and took all the measurements and then fitted the sail to ensure everything was right. Not as cheap as going direct but I felt comfortable knowing everything was measured and fitted correctly and I got the sailcloth I requested. Appears to be a very quality job.


Greg H
SV Sunshine

[GILow]

We bought our sails through SVTotem, and yes, he has the sails made in China. We are very happy with the results. Sails are only a year and a bit old (which I agree is not much time) but no problems so far and the boat sails a heck of lot better for the change.

I wanted to go with our local (Adelaide) sailmakers but one was way out of my price range and the other failed to produce a quote despite my repeated request for even a ball-park price. (The loft is only two hundred meters from my house, so would have been ideal)

I think if I had tried to go direct to one of the Chinese lofts they would have produced exactly what I asked for, which would, in retrospect, have turned out to be not what I needed. As it was, working with SVTotem was good fun, very educational and we ended up with subtley different sails that were much better suited to our needs.

Matt

[Pinafore]

Hi Manureva...did you ever buy sails from China Sunrise Sails...what's your opinion?

[wingssail]

We have had 6 sails made over the years by China Sail Factory. Five were sold through a loft in Thailand, in 2007 & 2008. The most recent was sold in 2016 directly to me with no other sailmaker involved, but this is not generally their policy. These were laminate racing sails and nylon spinnakers. They were all good sails however the laminate racing sails were shot after 7 years (equal to four seasons) of racing. We won a lot of races in the meantime. The kites are still excellent, look and feel new. We have just taken deliver of a new, high tech, paneled, string, mainsail. We have yet to use it but it is very nice.

We have also bought a Dacron cruising main from Fareast Sails (2014) and while I had a measurement dispute regarding this sail, which they refused to acknowledge, the sail is still very usable and looks good. But it is cheaply constructed, as you would expect for the rock bottom price.

During this time I also bought cruising sails from North (a number 4 jib) and Local Sails in Thailand (Ket), (a main and genoa). Ket's sails didn't last, the cloth deteriorated, so it shows that good Dacron is important.

I guess we have bought a lot of sails since we started our world cruise, and after 55,000 miles and a ton of races along the way we've learned some things.

If you buy directly from a sailmaker in China, (or anywhere remote from where you are) you are going to be responsible for all the measurements and specifications, and service will be difficult to come by. You take a risk. But you will save 40-60%. The quality will be good, and high quality cloth is important. They have all the latest stuff in China, you just have to be careful.

Fred Roswold, SV Wings, La Cruz Huancaxtle