by GreenLake » Mon Sep 28, 2015 12:08 pm
The point made during a previous discussion was that some sails are constructed more "simply" than others. A point which should be reflected in the price.
That said, there's even an entire ecosystem of people building their own boats and making sails from blue tarps...
I must say, I was positively shocked when I learned that a new set of sails would cost me more than I had paid for boat and trailer. I was new to sailing then, and this hadn't occurred to me. I postponed getting new sails for a while, but in the end, I realized that there were wind conditions where I simply couldn't trim the old sails into an acceptable shape any longer, for any definition of acceptable.
I got unexpected support on the domestic front, and plunged into the process.
At first, being new at this, I thought that getting a set of sails was like getting any standard replacement part for a mass produced item. There were a number of very reputable-looking sailmaking firms listed on the DS website, with various degrees of online ordering. That certainly reinforced my impression that this was supposed to be an off-the-shelf process.
In the end, I balked at their prices and found a slightly cheaper offering that did not come with online ordering, but with an order form to be printed and mailed (or faxed). A week later, I got a call and had a good discussion over the phone including some details (like mast type, sailing area, intended use etc). If I had expected that, I might have been a little better prepared, but in the end, I can only second what others here have stated, that such a discussion is really at the heart of this kind of transaction.
The sails, when I got them, came with some detailed instructions on how best to trim them - somewhat at odds with other instructions for the DS that I've read before or since, but nevertheless very helpful. They were very well made and fit well. Within a couple of seasons I changed my sailing style, from cruising only to doing weekly after work races; these are no-handicap mixed fleets, so I haven't had to test them against another DS, but they proved capable.
On your first purchase, it can be daunting, because there's a lot riding on it, and yet you may lack the experience to know what you want and how to recognize when you get it. Being able to discuss this with someone knowledgeable in person (or, if you can't, then over the phone) will definitely be helpful. And having them be able to customize their sail to your situation is definitely worth it.
I can't tell the degree of customization my sailmaker did to adapt to my specific mast profile (straight, not tapered) because it would be too subtle, but we worked out where to place reef points. Given that the area is not normally blessed by strong winds, we went with a single reef point, and that has worked well for me.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~