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Sail Care a no no.?..

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islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4025 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/31/2009 : 15:03:06

The PO of IMPULSE had sent the sails to Sail Care before I bought her. Last summer I noticed the UV protector along the foot and leech of my O'Neill 135 RF Gen. was wrinkled and worn through on the tops of all the wrinkles as if you took a razor and cut slits on each one, so today I took it to Doyle Sailmakers Long Island in Huntington Station prepared for the worst. I met with Mark Washeim and he proceeded to lay my sail out on the floor and immediately got on his hands and knees. First thing he said was if the sail had been to Sail Care, I said yes, the PO had sent it there. He says, I've seen this many times before, they really do more damage than good but they do get them white! He said that they probably over heat the sail when drying them and the Dacron and the UV material shrink at different rates thus creating the wrinkles. The good news is that he said its an easy fix and that O'Neill makes a well built sail.Well since I was prepared to shell out the bucks for a new one, all this was very good news to me and my wallet! It sure was nice to meet some people who offered good advise and not just try to sell me a new sail. I'm not knocking Sail Care, just passing along my experience for what its worth. I also know that when I do need a new sail, It will be from Doyle.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

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Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 01/31/2009 : 15:18:15

Doyle: Fine. Local experts you can trust: Priceless.

Edited by - on

Happy D
Admiral

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921 Posts

Response Posted - 01/31/2009 : 16:18:45

That is the first negative comment I've heard about Sailcare.

Edited by - on

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 01/31/2009 : 20:01:30

A first for me too, although I once had them add an insignia to a sail and it turned out to be a vinyl iron on - lasted almost a season. I have used them for cleaning in the past with good results, but that was before I had roller genoa. I may think and explore before I send them that sail.

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bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1797 Posts

Response Posted - 01/31/2009 : 21:37:06

Everything is relative. Sail Care's focus is stretching the life of older sails and all reports seem to confirm they do that well -- at a cost -- the cost is that the sails are being pushed, so, if you are an avid racer or sail where conditions push your equipment, they may not be "the" answer. I would use them to make an older sail good as a back-up rather than as my primary sail. While the economy is not great and everyone has to live in a budget, if you are going to sail then you should have a decent suit of sails and use the older "tired" ones as a back-up. I would ask the sail loft you are using how many more seasons the sails have and budget some dinero for new ones if not this year then in the near future. As far as Sail Care is concerned, they fit a nitch and do it well, but that nitch is stretching worn sails not creating new sails from old rags!

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islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4025 Posts

Response Posted - 02/01/2009 : 09:47:36

Like I said, I'm not knocking Sail Care. They did a beautiful job on the main sail but the main doesn't have a UV cover. I would guess if your head sail is hanked on there isn't a potential problem there either. All of the damage was contained to the leech and foot and only where the UV cover is applied. Sure, this could be an isolated case but he did say that he has seen this before on sails with UV covers that had been to Sail Care. All of this is just my experience and thought I would put it out there to help others make there own decision.

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Deric
Captain

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USA
408 Posts

Response Posted - 02/01/2009 : 17:55:41

Thanks for posting this thread.

I wasn't aware of Sail Care. I found the website so now I can learn about the company. This winter, I have my main at a local business, being looked over.

I do my own washing of sails.

Deric

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dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4593 Posts

Response Posted - 02/01/2009 : 19:41:01

One of the first things I did after buying Recess was send the main and genoa to Sail Care for cleaning and refurbishing. After some time of non-use and neglect by the PO, they needed attention. That was 2 years ago. They still look and perform well. The alternative was to buy new sails, and that was not in my budget. BTW, I don't race our boat except occasional weekly club races, so high performance is not an issue.

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pastmember
Master Marine Consultant

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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 02/02/2009 : 19:10:24

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Happy D
 That is the first negative comment I've heard about Sailcare.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I have had two personal experiences with Sail Care, (friends), both regretted the experience. Both lost life in their sails, one came back essentially destroyed. I have never understood the concept. I tell people to sail with what they have for two more years and get a new sail in year three. I truly do not understand why people do it... because they want whiter sails!!!

You don't see me worrying about how white my sails are.

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B Baldwin
Deckhand

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USA
4 Posts

Response Posted - 02/05/2009 : 18:11:06

If you're on the South Shore of Long Island Sailors Choice will wash, check & repair your sail. The guy's a sailor & is hands on. Small loft @ 144 Ocean Avenue, Amityville NY 11701. Others have highly recommended him. I dropped off my jib for some over due but minor repairs, let you know how it comes back. It's nice to shop local & meet your sail guy face to face.

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Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 02/06/2009 : 08:33:42

At the Toronto Boat show, we talked to the guys from Performance Sails about our suite of sails. (You might remember my commenting on it in an earlier thread.) Last night Tal, one of their guys stopped ny the house. We took out our UK Tapedrive laminate genoa, fearing the worst.

He looked at it and suggested that he would try to bring life back into it by patching some holes, adjusting leech lines, and putting on stanction patches. His comment was that once he got to $100 he would stop and give us a call with a quote for the rest of the work.

Our genoa should get us through another year or two, but we should expect to replace it soon. If we don't have budget for a new sail, Tal suggested we contact Bacon Sails in Maryland to see if they have a good Lightweight Dacron drifter in decent condition.

Now, I like that answer a LOT better than what I got from the UK Sails guys who came up with essentially the same work list, quoted me $500 to fix the sails, and then said it really wasn't worth it and I should buy a new genoa off him since he was already there to measure the boat up.

I post this because it may be worth it to contact a local sail loft to see what they can do about extending the life of your sails, but if you do that be sure that they have your interests in mind, and not just another sale.

Edited by - on

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4025 Posts

Response Posted - 02/06/2009 : 16:35:36

Thanks for the tip on Sailors Choice. Amityville is local enough for me. Let me know how that works out. Scott

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