Do NOT Buy A New Sail In 2022!

[PSNA]

You may be in for a hull of a shock if you are in the market for a new sail right now.

Here is what is going on in the industry as we speak:

1. Depending on what country the sail is made in, you are looking at a two to six-month (or longer) production time. There are two mega lofts alone in Sri Lanka that have essentially been shut down for some time due to the problems the country is facing. One of the two is North. The other is a huge OEM operation.

2. There are extreme shortages in sailcloth. One of the three top manufacturers stopped manufacturing at the beginning of the year and is now making "materials" for the U.S. military for shipment to Ukraine.

3. Sailcloth and hardware prices have increased up to 40% in the past six months.

4. Shipping anything internationally by air has been outrageously expensive. This has been going on since the pandemic began but fuel costs have now added insult to injury. The cost to ship a finished sail is MORE than the cost of the actual sail.

5. Dishonesty and fraud are beginning to seep into the market. People are receiving sails built in inexpensive, untested sailcloth manufactured in China instead of what they ordered.

The industry will eventually recover, but there are going to be some familiar names disappearing from the landscape. You cannot shutter an industry for three years without fallout. Especially, when it wasn't in great shape going into covid.

Just like cars and houses, wait it out.

[Russ]

I just looked at Thet Sailwarehouse and they claim to have several Mac 26M sales "in stock".

https://thesailwarehouse.com/

If you are in the market, might be worth checking them out.

[PSNA]

I just looked at Thet Sailwarehouse and they claim to have several Mac 26M sales "in stock".

https://thesailwarehouse.com/

If you are in the market, might be worth checking them out.

I have never been a big fan of Sail Warehouse. They have always been the McDonalds of sailmaking.

They do not disclose what cloth is used. When you call and ask specifically what you are buying, you get a dance or worse.

There is a reason they can get away with carrying so many different sails in inventory. Both mainsails and headsails are smaller than what you would receive if ordering one to be built. Especially their furling headsails.

Rolly Tasker has been around for ages and is a good company. But remember, they only build what their customer orders.

[Sheppie62]

Too late! I already bought 2. One from sail warehouse (main), and another from BWY. They both work/ look good. But I don’t know anything about sails.

[Highlander]

Well I,m in a little bit of a bind , I,ve found a nice used Drifter sail for sale on the east coast US & I put an offer in on it but they do not ship to Canada US only , so now I need a US address to ship to & then forward on to BC Canada ! anyone have any idea,s , US shipping is $25 US which I would have to pay up front then arrange for forward shippin from there !
So ideally I,m guessing I should try to get it shipped to the west coast USA & then forwarded on from there ?
J

[NiceAft]

Sails are full of wind, your moving forward, you’re happy with your purchases, what else do you need to know.

[Russ]

Well I,m in a little bit of a bind , I,ve found a nice used Drifter sail for sale on the east coast US & I put an offer in on it but they do not ship to Canada US only , so now I need a US address to ship to & then forward on to BC Canada ! anyone have any idea,s , US shipping is $25 US which I would have to pay up front then arrange for forward shippin from there !
So ideally I,m guessing I should try to get it shipped to the west coast USA & then forwarded on from there ?
J

Our state even borders BC. You could send it to me and I could ship it to BC, assuming you would pay the shipping to BC.

I've never shipped to Canada. How hard is it to ship to Canada from the US?

[Sheppie62]

If Russ doesn’t work out you could ship it to my address in 92570 Perris Ca. But you might ask BWY if they’d do it for you?

[socalmacer]

If you're the DIYer type you can buy sail kits from sailrite and make your own and save a lot of money in the mean time. Anyway, just a thought. I've bought a lot of stuff from these guys before and it is all good quality stuff.

Link: https://www.sailrite.com/Macgregor-26-X-Main-Sail-Kit
https://www.sailrite.com/Macgregor-26-X ... b-Sail-Kit

[Starscream]

It's fairly easy to ship across the border from one residential address to another if the item is used, but can be complicated if it's new because of customs charges.
Most, if not all, of the big shippers provide those services and will charge the receiver the fees when the item arrives.

I've shipped a few times giving used stuff away on the Swap Meet link, including sails and electronics. In the past, I just shipped the item and the receiver sent me a check for the shipping, and on this site the honor system has always worked.

Right now I'm shipping the second mainsail cover that I gave away, but in this case the receiver scheduled the UPS pickup at my house, which is much more convenient for me.

The trick with NEW stuff is to have four copies of a commercial invoice ready for the carrier. The commercial invoice should include the International Tarrif Code, which can be tricky to find. If anyone wants a copy of the commercial invoice that I've used just PM me and I can email it, and maybe even help find the tarrif code as well.

[Highlander]

Apparently it's an issue with ebay trade restrictions or something thinks we r at war with USA or vise versa

talked to seller he has no issue shippin it via USPO if only ebay will let me buy it , so waiting on a response from him once he contacts ebay !
what a f__k up world we live in today , nobody knows how do sh_t anymore , that's all I,ll say about that !

J

[Russ]

John,

PM me or email at magregorsailors.com (at) gmail.com if you need a US address to ship to.

[Highlander]

John,

PM me or email at magregorsailors.com (at) gmail.com if you need a US address to ship to.

Thx Russ , I,ll wait & see if the seller can resolve the issue at ebay I should know in a couple of days

J

[Highlander]

Here,s a link I found say,s USA made sails & stock , may be of interest to some of U ?

https://www.ebay.com/str/somersetsails? ... 87.l149086

J

[Highlander]

John,

PM me or email at magregorsailors.com (at) gmail.com if you need a US address to ship to.

Thx Russ , I,ll wait & see if the seller can resolve the issue at ebay I should know in a couple of days

J

Hi Russ ,
I think I,ve got it resolved so I,ll clue everybody in once it,s in my procession with more details

J