Time to deal with the Old mainsail;but before buying new - think SailCare!

[hockeyfool]

I have thought about my main sail for 3 or so years and if I need to replace completely or if
the patented restoration  process from SailCare will give me what my boat needs.
  I sail seasonally , late spring to early fall and store shrinkwrapped and just want to get a second set of reef
points and the sail needs to get stiffness back into the belly.
   Apparently Gerry from SailCare says many compact 23 owners have done business with him and he knows the boat quite
well, so can anyone whom has ---please reply on your experiences ?
He said 95 cents per square foot for restoration process and $150 for second set of reef points -- sounds like a great deal .

[Restharrow]

I had Sailcare refurbish my main several years ago.  They do a great job.  BUT they can not work with a worn out (blown out) sail that has lost its integrity.

Steve S.

[Bob23]

Steve is right: Sailcare will restore the crispiness to your old worn out sails. I sent them the  orginal set from my 1985 23/2 and they did a great job. I got another season or two out of them but it's only a temporary fix. Depending on the condition of your sails, the money might be better spent toward new sails. Nothing like 'em.
Having said that, dealing with Gerry and Sam is a true pleasure. Wish all business owners had thier level of integrity!
Bob23

[MacGyver]

I had pondered sending sails to SailCare or buying new and frankly, I think with my originals, id buy new sails instead. The originals being from 1989, is reason to say good bye.
The other sails are newer and so those might be good ones to send in to SailCare.

At work we have sent many MANY MANY sails to SailCare and the customers are always happy with them. I think one bawked about price of repairs made, but just that he thought it was a bit expensive. If he would sit down and price new sails he would probably shut up pretty quickly.

Mac

[skip1930]

My CP-19 makes about 5 to 6 knots with the 5 hp 2 cycle O/B.

And on a good day the same speeds can be ringed out of the sails.

It's kind of cool to realize that the sails make about 5 hp.

Yep send the sails out and get them 'crisped-up'.
What else can you do other than buy new sails?

skip.

[NateD]

Depends on the age of the sail and your budget. So 95 cents/sq ft * 100 sq ft + $150 for second reef = $250 plus shipping(?).

For $615 (http://www.peaksailsna.com/com-pac/com-pac-23/) you can get a brand new main with 2 reef points.

Personally, I would live with your current main until the budget would allow for a new one.

[brackish]

Interesting topic.  I've not used Sailcare however, am tempted to send my 9 year old main off when the summer doldrums come.  Just curious about how long the "treatment" lasts.  Typically, my sail goes up and down about 60-80 times a year.  When up it will see 250 or so weather exposed sailing hours.   When down, it is flaked and tied to the boom and covered.  It rarely comes off, as it stays on the boat in the water year round.  Even on the annual trailering trip, I leave it on the boom with the cover on and just stow it in the cabin.

So does anyone have any experience about how long the treatment lasts under those types of conditions.  My quote for cleaning treatment and conversion to loose footed was about $250 plush shipping.  Treatment alone would be about $100.  Trying to assess the worth.  If multi season it would be OK, at least the clean and treat.  If it only lasts a season, not so sure.

[Lafayette Bruce]

When the sail comes back it feels very crisp but as you have stated, it does not last.  I sail about 100-120 miles a year and I would say it has lasted about 3 years.  Obviously determining when it is "gone" is tough to call but I do remembering wanting to get it done again in about 3 years.
Lafayette Bruce

[skip1930]

The sails on my tub say ' Johnson Sails ' anybody ever see if they are still in business? I suppose Hutchins would know.
Why reinvent the wheel?

skip.

You bet I have the red arrow

Cool history story.

[brackish]

The sails on my tub say ' Johnson Sails ' anybody ever see if they are still in business? I suppose Hutchins would know.
Why reinvent the wheel?

skip.

Have you got a red arrow?
http://blog.newjsi.com/the-history-of-jsi/

[brackish]

The neat thing about JSI is the loft web cam.  I bought my 135 and spinnaker from them.  The 135 was built overseas as most of the coastal cruising sails are these days.  The spinnaker was cut and sewn in their loft.  I happened to catch the start of the sail and just left a computer up on their web cam site, watched the sail being made over the course of a few days. 

I'm leaning towards sending my main to Sailcare.  At 9 years old, it is not blown out but could use some freshening.  If I get a couple of years years out of the clean and crisp job, I'll consider replacing it with a loose footed main.

[Tim Gardner]

You won't be sorry, Brack!  I've gotten 5 years out of my main & genoa without any real degradation.  I stuff the Genoa into bag and "flake" my main onto the boom.  Year in and Year out- I do not exhume my boat from the clear blue waters of Smith Mountain Lake as I can sail 12 mo /year here.  There are some cold sailing days.

[Michael]

I have had Sailcare clean, repair, and rejuvenate several sails from different boats over the years. I think they do a good job. Not as good as new sails, of course, but they can and do put new life in sails that have aged.

Sometimes "crispness" in a new sail is a substitute for quality in the cloth. In other words, high quality new cloth does not really need to be stiff and "crisp". The stiffness comes from resin, not from the sailcloth's quality. If high quality soft cloth is cut properly and sewn properly into the right shape, it will outlast lesser quality "stiff" cloth over the long run (and feel much better to handle). Not saying stiff cloth can't also be of high quality, but stiffness is not a guarantee of quality. Always, "caveat emptor" - know what you are buying.

Fair winds, MM in Wonder

[bob lamb]

Just wondering out loud.  My 25 year old mainsail is still working (somewhat).  I notice the CP Logo 23/3 is painted in black and still looks good and stiff.  Wonder if there is some kind of paint that could stiffen up the ol main?  Anybody ever tried to do it?

Bob

[jb]

I sent the original main from my 96 CP 16 to SailCare this winter, nice job on cleaning and a minor repair but did not notice any difference in the stiffness. I was disappointed in that aspect of the treatment !


j