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I prefer working with well known larger sail lofts. They have much better access to current research on sail cloths and sail cutting. from attending symposiums on that include discussions on sail design, there is a lot happening with the design of sails and sail cloths that lead to sails that cause less heel, have longer lifespans and offer better performance through a wider range of windspeeds. Companies like North, Quantum, Haarstick, and to a less extent Doyle, Hood, and UK seem to have access to better fabrics, cutting patterns, and quality control (they reserve the right to test and reject every piece of fabric going into a sail and the materials that they reject are sold off to smaller lofts.)
I find that by taking advantage of special deals (Boatshow, winter and prepayment discounts) I can typically buy first quality sails for second rate quality loft prices when priced on an apples to apple basis. I strongly suggest that you work with a big name local loft so that you can get your sails measured on board and have reasonable follow up.
I strongly prefer harken and Profurl to Hood, Schaefer or Furlex.
Respectfully,
Jeff
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