Historically, fall has been the best time to order new sails. Boat show specials abound and you have plenty of wiggle room on delivery date-at least if you are snowed in for most of the winter. But our wants and needs seem to rarely dovetail with the perfect season. By the time spring rolls around, the sailmakers find themselves swimming in Dacron, but if you shop around you can still find some good deals. With offshore sailmakers streamlining production, meeting a spring delivery date is still within reach.
The following article from our print archives is aimed primarily at the first-time sail-buyer. For more specific guidance on sail buying, be sure to check out our recent articles on choosing a cruising main, which includes a link to PS readers favorite sailmakers and list of recommended sailmakers, and State of the Main, a look at how the industry has dramatically changed over the past two decades. If a new jib is in your future, we have a two-part series on headsails in October 2015 and November 2015. And for those looking to upgrade their light-air inventory, we have a guide to sizing and selecting asymmetrical spinnakers, and have tested several light air headsail furling systems.
For a one-stop comprehensive look at building a sail inventory we also have a downloadable e-book series in our bookstore. You can buy the individual e-book you need, or save on the complete three-part series that covers all the essentials as well as more esoteric sail subjects like storm sails and riding sails.
Selecting Sailmakers
Youre best off selecting up to a half-dozen candidates that make the kind of sails you want and sticking with them. In identifying them, youll want to consider a number of variables. If youre a heavy-duty, serious racing fanatic, you may do well with one of the national franchise groups, particularly if you are good at it and likely to add to their victory list. If youre not all that fanatical, you may do better with a smaller, local company that has a good reputation for bringing in the silver in local events. Theyll be more likely to offer you good service, since any individual customer is obviously more valuable to a small outfit than a large one. Dont necessarily expect the price to be a lot lower at the local loft, though.
If you are not involved in racing, you probably have a wider choice of sailmakers who will do a genuinely good job for you. You may still want to try a franchise, particularly one that has a loft close to you, though you should remember that the large companies, for the most part, got that way through their involvement with racing. If you are a cruiser or casual sailor, you may get promised the world but not delivered much beyond the white triangle.
For most people, it is worth considering some of your local lofts, for simple convenience. All other things being equal, it pays dividends to buy locally. The few bucks you might save by going out of town can get quickly eaten up in freight and travel, should you have a problem.
And remember, even a phone call to Hong Kong is not likely to result in that sailmakers arriving on board next Saturday to check out your sails. If you are really serious about your boat, and want to get her all the best things for your Great Cruise, then youll probably spend a little more time on selecting the sailmaker who will be compatible with your style of sailing and your type of involvement with boats. Observing other boats and asking their skippers how they like sails that you think look good will help lead you to the right sailmaker.
Sometimes, even the advertising can be believed! Once youve narrowed the selection down to a manageable number, ask for an appointment to see the loft, and the opportunity to discuss how they make sails and why they recommend their methods. Whats good in a racing sail is not what you want for a cruise to Bora Bora.
Interpreting Price Quotations
Sooner or later, youll get together the quotes on the sails you need. Unless youve been very specific about the exact sails you want, you may be overwhelmed by the apparent choices offered. You may also be amazed by the variation in prices for sails of a given designation, and it is easy to arrive at misleading conclusions about the cost of sails as a result. Any price quote you get should include at least the size and weight of the sail, as well as the price. Many people assume that a number 2 genoa is a number 2 genoa is a . … but it isn’t necessarily so. In studying prices from a number of sailmakers over the last five years, weve found that there is little consensus even as to how big a 150-percent genoa is on a very ordinary boat, and in some cases, weve seen quotations for sails that were nominally the same, but which were quoted on a variable of more than 10 percent of the assumed area! So, be as careful in evaluating the prices you get as you expect your sailmaker to be in designing your sails.
The quickest means of comparing values is to compare price per square foot for sails of given weight and construction. Beware of any quotation that gives sail areas grossly different from the bulk of replies you receive, and before accepting such a quotation be sure the sailmaker is working with the right numbers. Even the best are not immune from mistakes of this sort. Depending on the size of your order and/or the time of year you will need the sails, you may well avail yourself of special discounts.
Most sailmakers will offer some incentive to place your order during their slack season on the premise that it is better to work for a small profit than not to work at all. In the Northeast, the discount season is generally October through December, the particular dates varying from one loft to another. At least one loft we know offers a sliding discount, largest in October, tapering down to smallest at years end. In most cases, a deposit of about 50 percent will be required to write the order, with the balance due when the sails are completed. It is increasingly common to make the discount contingent on prompt payment of the balance, as well. You may also be able to swing a discount on volume if your order is big enough.
How big your order has to be to negotiate such a discount varies from one loft to another, and not all lofts are approachable, but if you have over $5,000 to spend, it is probably worth asking. You will also occasionally see ads for seasonal specials, generally on light-air sails in the summer. Youre most likely to see this during summers of slow economic growth in general, as in ordinary times, sailmakers will be busy from early spring through late fall, with only the slightest pause for a week or so in August.
Adding it Up
No discussion on buying sails would be complete without mention of quality. Of course, every sailmaker sells only the finest quality, so it is up to the buyer to determine for himself which finest quality sails are right for him. In fact, not all sails are made the same. Price is a guide to quality, at least to the extent that you are unlikely to buy the best sails at the lowest price. Of course, not everyone needs or wants the very best, and the budget-priced discount sailmakers certainly have a place in the best market if the best thing you want to say about your sails is that they didnt cost much. If best means “fastest to you, be prepared to pay fancy prices to look at fancy cuts that may go out of fashion fast. For most people, best is modestly priced and expected to drive the family sloop on the family cruise for 10 or more seasons, without having to drive cross-country for service. For a few, best is simply the best: well made, durable, reliable offshore in bad weather, repairable on board in far away places, quick, of obviously fine manufacture and cut, and not cheap.
In the end, you play as great a part in getting good sails as the sailmaker himself, because ultimately, you make the crucial decisions. Providing the correct and adequate information, deciding which of the many options you want, and selecting a sailmaker you feel confident will do his best to serve you with products appropriate to your usage all are matters for you to resolve. Its your money.
