Value of new sails when selling, really 2 questions

All, First thanks to everyone on this forum. You've helped me out a number of times.

We acquired our 1985 30+ over a year ago. It came with a "new" main but was said to have been cut down from another mainsail. At the time I had no idea the shape of the main and impact on performance. Now I think I know and am contemplating getting a new mainsail.

The main is short from leech to luff by about 24 inches. I suspect this has contributed to a bit more lee helm then normal. (we have a 150 gen)

Do you feel this is, in fact, causing sail performance issues?

Do new sails add any value when selling the boat? We will sell in a couple seasons for a different/larger boat.

Thanks again,

Probably the missing square footage is not as important as the cut of the mainsail. And probably the cut is terrible and it has no shape whatsoever. Few sails over 10 years old still hold the shape necessary for good performance.

Best part of a new main is it looks new. Performance is relative but a spanking new, blinding white mainsail is objectively stunning.

Get yer money back? Maybe some of it. But on the eventual sea trial, the new main may clinch the deal as soon as it goes up.

I agree with Christian.
To me this justifies a new reasonable-price dacron main. I have a good friend who has been representing Lee Sails for over 20 years and while there are lower-priced sails on the market, he delivers a good quality sail for a good/fair price.
So do consider going with the new sail that fits the boat.

Further, it's probably just me, but when buying a used boat I would be very leary of a boat with a sail that did not fit. I would wonder what else was done to the boat, 'on the cheap'.

Of course it's easy for me to spend your money!

Thanks for the input. Was thinking about it last night. Had I been a little bit smarter I would have checked the sails out more closely prior to closing the deal. If I had I imagine I would have asked for more price reduction.

So, when we do sell, I would expect someone doing the same. "Oh, these sails look sad and why is it so short and still has foot lugs?"

Thanks

If the sail is "new" and just cut down from a larger sail, and depending on how it was built, a good sail maker might be able to add a panel on the bottom and re-cut the leech to make the sail fit your boat for a lot less than a new purpose built sail and for your purposes, might be good enough.

That said, a sail that is built for your boat, for how you sail your boat, and for where you sail your boat will be better than what you have now and probably better than modifying what you have now.

As far as adding value? If there were a brand new set of sails on the boat, probably. I think where it really makes a difference is if a buyer is comparing a few different boats and everything else being equal if one boat has newer sails than the others it stands out.

Thanks again.

I have no idea how old the current sail is. I suspect it is an older Ericson sail that was cut down and poorly.

We decided to make our own working with Sailrite. We have the machine and equipment. I'm actually looking forward to it. won't be as quick but will come in way under cost and will learn a hell of a lot.

V

I like sewing and I do a lot of it.

But you asked about resale value.

A first-time homemade mainsail will not help resale value. Probably the reverse.

A mainsail is a work of computer art these days and the factories in Asia get it right for a very low cost.

And if I may add an opinion, the sails on Sailrite's web site made from their patterns look awful.

Good point. While a fun project could be a bit rough. I could see sewing up a spin.

Any thoughts on Precision Sails?

Vincent

A friend bought sails from Ron at Precision sails and was very happy with them. They were much less expensive than the traditional sail lofts. The sails looked good when he raised them at the dock (mainsail and roller furling headsail), but I didn't sail with him afterwards, so don't know how they performed.

They advertise both new and used sails on their website, and have the ability to recut a used sail if it is close to the right size for you. The web site also includes links to You Tube videos where they talk about how they build their sails--again, it sounds good, but I don't know how they compare over the long haul.

Frank

I'm in the market for a used boat and can tell you sails matter to me and my decision to purchase or price a boat.

Rolly Tasker sails are inexpensive and OK quality. Small lofts buy and re-brand from them.

If considering a "new" sail, do not overlook any and all of the major sailmakers, who all have a (sometimes short) inventory of already-made new sails on hand. A friend of mine sourced a new main from North from their small stock of sails on hand that was a very close fit. It took some modification, but even with some labor for the work it was a lot less than a new-order sail.

They had it listed because it was built and said to be mis-measured for a customer -- they built him a new sail, and put the imperfect-measured one on their short list.
All of their dealers have this list, and if rumors are to be believed you can save a third to a half for for one of those sails. Bad news is that this "inventory" is very limited and changes constantly. So make some calls ..... North, UK, or whoever. It never hurts to ask.

Matter of fact, my friend representing Lee Sails for decades once "ate" a big spinnaker that a customer decided was not what was wanted and my friend was going to lose more by paying a lawyer than by just taking back the sail. It took him over a year, but he did re-sell that new sail at a discount and at least get his own $ back.

So do check around.

What are people's experience with having a loft re-cut old properly fitted sails, to get a little more life out of them? Worth the cost? Or not much improvement?

E28+ mainsail

My E28+ my the mainsail came off of a Catalina 30 , it was almost a perfect fit. I use it with a 150 jib.

rpm said:

My E28+ my the mainsail came off of a Catalina 30 , it was almost a perfect fit. I use it with a 150 jib.

Click to expand...

That would be a great sticky page for this site: which off the shelf sails for which mass-produced boats are good/exact fits for our Ericsons.

The easiest to compare are mains, where E and P are reliable and not influenced by wire lengths, etc. For example, my E35-3 has the same exact main dimensions (E P and Sq. Ft) as the Catalina 36 std. rig. which is a popular boat which you can get ready made factory sails for. Today all the sail decals are cut appliques which can be changed cheaply too, not printed/stenciled on.

In the grand scheme of expensive things, the sails on your boat are like the tires on your car. When you're used-car shopping the first thing you do is kick the tires (and check the tread depth) and factor the new or used tires into the cost. If the tires are bald with wires sticking out, you might think the person is broke, reckless, or clueless (or all three) but it could be just that they are done with the car and not wanting to invest any more in it because there was too much else wrong with it.

Following that analogy, finding the wrong size sail on a boat would be like finding three different sized/brand tires plus the mini-spare mounted on that used car. That would be a big red flag to me and I'd start checking the oil for sawdust. BUT, again it could be that they just ran out of money which is really really easy to do if you own a sail boat!

Experience: I replaced a 30yo main that was soft as a baby blanket with a brand new Rolly Tasker on my O'Day 23. After just three years the Rolly was still pretty crisp, but showing more signs of falling apart than the decades old main. Things like frayed stitching, worn edges, etc. I don't really blame the sail or the loft though. I think I got what I paid for: a very inexpensive sail. (and I do kind of miss having to choose between a $600 or $900 main instead of a $3000 or $4000 main!).

In the days of google, a careful buyer will look up your sail maker's reputation, so sails being "crisp" isn't quite good enough for an expensive boat sale. A new Rolly Tasker could be appropriate for a fixer-upper boat that might be just-good-enough to get on the water this season if only the sails were usable.