Pearson Boats - Common Systems > Sails and Canvas

44th Annual Newport International Boat Show - New Sails

(1/3) > >>

Sea Haven:
Shipmates,

The Admiral and I are hitting the Boat Show Saturday, Sept 13th.

Along with window shopping and small items of interest, we plan on hitting.....

Garhauer Marine: Traveller/Main Sheet

Getting quotes for new Main and Genny:
Doyle Sails
Hood Sailmakers
Mack Sails
North Sails
Sperry Sails

If anyone else plans on going,  would love to meet for lunch.

"Sub" Ed

Sea Haven:
Boat show report.

Had a great time with the Admiral despite getting up before 0500 to catch the 0700 ferry out of Orient Point.

Arrived at New London around 0830 so we took the 10 minute drive over to Defender's as most stuff there was on sale to coincide with the show.

Purchased a 2nd identical house battery to double that capacity, 2 day shapes ( the anchor ball and the inverted cone for power sailing) as well as a stainless steel pipe to extend the height of my Wirie Wifi Antenna. 

Newport was great! Lot's of vendors, collected a lot of business cards. Bought a few of the "show items" like "Rescue Tape" (always a must) and something called "Wipeout Erase" These vendors always have good deals like buy one get one free etc.

I did order and paid show price for the Garhauer MT-2CT-TP as mentioned in one of our threads regarding travelers. Also picked up 40-01 US & 40-06 US Fiddle blocks for my main sheet. Everything was free shipping.

As my main purpose was to price a new Genoa and main, I met with 5 Sailmakers in the following order:

Mack
Sperry
Doyle
North Sails
Hood

Here is my impression from worse to best:

Of the 5, Sperry and Doyle took my handouts (Basically the 323 Sail plan posted here with design requests and my contact information) and offered little else other than they'll get in touch with me.

North Sails had a YOUNG individual, and I'm reaaaaally trying not to judge on that, who did talk with me for a few minutes, recommended the material HE would choose (200?) and would need to come measure the boat. Something about the meet didn't impress me. Walked away feeling unsatisfied, and confused as to whether or not I'm getting a quote.

At Hood sails, Joe Cooper went through my handout with me, asking questions, giving answers/recommendations and explaining various  items of interest.
Points I got from him:
Stitching: He claimed they use a better stitching method than others, instead of a "tight" zigzag with the stitch going through only at the apex of each triangle, theirs is a "broader" stitch  with the stitch going through 5x from corner to corner.
Battens: He shied away from 4 full battens, explaining that the horizontal load against the mast by the batten makes it difficult to raise/lower the main. And unless I really want that "tiny" bit of speed advantage as in racing, a 2 full x 2 partial would suit me better.
Didn't really go that much into little details like sail slides and such, but I can always ask after I get a quote. If I do go with them, he wants to come personally measure the boat.
15% off until mid October

Finally, the first I saw, and the ones that impressed me the most, was Mack. So much so I went to see them again before I left to answer some questions I learned from Hood and North.
I met with Tim (last name escapes me) and Colin Mack, one of the founders son's. This is definitely a family business.
They actually had sails there to demonstrate all the finer points of their sails. They use webbing to attach the sail slides. The standard luff reef fitting is a large stainless steel ring attached to one side of the sail with strong webbing. This system has the advantage that, when reefing, one can pull the ring into position over the reefing hook/tack horn, and one does not have to pull the whole sail and guide it over the reefing hook. The main will come with slides on the foot as well , not a loose footed main. 80% of the sails they fabricate are full batten mains, they use cars and not slides where the battens are and the battens install from the luff, not the leech as most others so there is no real issue with raising/lowering the main or having the battens work themselves out.  I examined the stitching without asking and it seemed identical to Hood (5 stitches from apex to apex).
Tim recommended a 135 Genoa, and that sounded right for me as I feel over taxed with the current 150.
They have a 10% discount, until October, no tax, free shipping. I really liked the quality, and have to admit I was impressed by the talks. Colin took the time explain why they feel they stand out. Though they had 323 numbers, they would like measurements taken just to rule out any possible differences

Unless Hood is substantially less, I'll probably go with Mack.

Here are some Web Sites related to the stuff I found worth sharing! Tons of other stuff that I feel is gimmicky designed to separate a sailor from his cash.
Really, I can mount a fender and adjust it easily enough with a simple knot.

Latitudes and Attitudes visit Mack Sails at a Boat Show Good independent view.
Rescue Tape duh.
Wipeout Eraser Good clean fun!
Night Watch Marine Lighting I find our 323 one of the easiest vessels to get being panels to install extra goodies, and while this may verge on gimmicky here, I can thing of non-boat applications for LED "Induction" lighting. Worth a look.

Why this area is worth the visit:
After the show the Admiral and I went up to Fairhaven MA. (40 or so minutes further) and paid tribute to the Joshua Slocum marker at the spot where he built SPRAY. Spent Saturday night two blocks from there at "The Seaport Inn and Marina", a great price and great place to stay. Staying there aboard Sea Haven is a voyage in the planning.
The next day we visited the Seaman's Bethel where I got a pic of the Admiral sitting in Herman Melville's pew. If we tie the knot, this will be the place and turn the aforementioned voyage into an extended Honeymoon. After the visiting the Bethel, we turned 180 and walked right across the cobblestone street to hit the New Bedford Whaling Museum, talk about getting your "New England Nautical" on! We could have spent several days at the museum alone! But alas, all good things must come to an end! Visited shortly with a friend in Mattapoiset (off Buzzards Bay before Cape Cod) before the long trip home. If you EVER have a chance to make it up here, it's worth the visit. This region eats, breaths and lives boating to the soul! I was able to have my fill of New England Clam Chowder at almost each meal!!

v/r
"Sub" Ed

Alma:
I like the idea if the 135 instead of the 150. I'll be curious to hear how it compares.

Rusty Pelican:
I went to the show as well.
Purchased the Gunboat 60.
They took a 3rd party cashiers check drawn on a Nigerian bank.
Sailed it back on Sunday

Alma:
So sorry you had do downgrade from your 323...

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page