Sail Care, Ford City, PA

I had quite the opposite experience with them and I would not recommend them at all. I had stock Supercat 20 main and jib sails that were actually in good shape and needed no repairs but I wanted them cleaned. Apparently, they clean sails and do their 'LaMauney' sail restoration process in a huge washing machine. They are supposed to put soft covers on the hardware of the sails so they don't damage the sail cloth. In my case, they did not or they fell off and they returned my sails with 50 -- FIFTY 2"x 2" patches in the main and 25 in the jib. I called and spoke to the owner and he was pretty indignant about it. He had me send the sails back and he explained that he was out of town and his head sailmaker made the decision to do all those patches. I claimed that the sails were ruined and he ended up making me a brand new main but thought the 25 patches in the jib were acceptable. I got the main back (he kept the old main) and it looked decent until I got it on the boat. It was completely flat. ZERO shape. Complete 90 degree angle for foot and luff, leech looked OK. So, he said that he made the sail exactly off my old factory sail and that was that. I just paid $350 to get a reputable shop to take it apart at the seams and rebuild it, so it has some shape now, but no where near what it should be.

I would never send anything to them again. 😡

good/bad
i don't want to 'pile on the complaints' but i had a jib cleaned by sailcare a few years back and although the stains were gone and the fabric came back looking quite good, it seemed that the leech was longer and slightly stretched from how it had been. when sailing, the leech flapped and we couldn't sheet the jib tight enough to stop the flapping. almost like it was stretched while ironing it.
j

Upon further review....my clew plate was supposed to be re-riveted to the tune of $xx. This was NOT done. The owner told me they were issuing a credit right away. If so, that's fair enough. I have no reason to doubt I'll get the credit. BUT, with the other comments it definitely tends to give one some misgivings. I'm not completely turned off these guys but before using them again I will speak directly to the owner about my issue and the others mentioned here.

I live about 25 minutes from Sail Care and go there fairly often. I had a jib damaged by battery acid that needed a new luff zipper. It was repaired for a very reasonable price, and looked great. I don't pay shipping, and have gotten to meet the employees that do the sewing and work. Nice place and business. I hope you guys get to work out your differences.

FWIW, I had them make up a SS halyard for the NACRA that ended up unusable, and they refunded the price i paid. They do make mistakes, but in my experience, they make it right.

I'm very pleased with their cleaning and repair process. I had to get a new zipper along with some other minor repairs so it cost more than the basic process, but now I have a nearly new looking jib for much less than the cost of a new one.

as per cleaning... sure.. no biggie if done right
repairs, even big tears - absolutely
re-stitch a poorly cut - ummmm not so sure... Like mentioned above, could improve but not close to optimal
sail restorations - I'm not a big fan

once a sail is blown out... it's blown out
you can change the leach, luff, foot, hardware and get it bleached/stained/tiedied.... it's still blown out
you may improve it a little bit, make it look much newer, but save your money for a new jib....
i probably wont buy another used jib in my life (i've probably purchased over a dozen so far)

Upon further review....my clew plate was supposed to be re-riveted to the tune of $xx. This was NOT done.

any shop can occasionally misplace their cranium into their anal cavity... we are human, we all screw up
it's how they handle it that counts in my book

What happened to Dan is unacceptable in my opinion - sounds like they damaged the sails, tried to send them home without notice, made excuses and then didn't make the customer "whole" with again. I would have gone ballistic

This crap happens with shops that lack quality controls and a good working "system" (i.e. a work order that contains all items the client requested - with notes).

I try to work with local companies when possible so i can verify the work before i leave. but don't get me wrong.. they screw up too.

I got my refund plus some extra!

After sailing the jib, I have the same experience as Arch. It looks great but the leech is stretched beyond the point of being able to trim it. I should have spent an extra 100 on a new jib, and now I still need a new jib

Old thread, but I just passed by Sail Care and dropped off my sails for the Nacra 5.7 and the monohull Precision 23. The P23 sails are a much newer vintage. I should replace the 5.7 sails, but I'm going to clean and recondition. No one seems to have a replacement pattern for the N 5.7. I will have Sail Care do the dimensional measurements and consider having Chip Buck use that for replacement next year.

Tom - one of the guys who works in the boat cover shop at SLO used to sail Nacras a lot. He had mentioned they do Nacra jibs and mains with both also being shown on their website. Have you checked there?

Thanks Carbonc, I will check. I have had a no luck finding a sailmaker familiar with the N5.7. It will be nice to clean the old sail, but it is overdue for a replacement. Slo built my current trampoline and I should have thought to ask.

Edited by tominpa on Oct 30, 2021 - 08:57 PM.

For what it’s worth I also believe that EP ( https://www.epsails.com/) does a fair bit of older Nacra work. They made the jib and main for my 5.5 and both are great.

carbonc wrote: Tom - one of the guys who works in the boat cover shop at SLO used to sail Nacras a lot. He had mentioned they do Nacra jibs and mains with both also being shown on their website. Have you checked there?

I checked with Slo Sails and they do make a very nice tri-radial main and jib for the 5.7. The main is $1495 and the jib about $800. Dacron is available for the jib at $475. They are so backed up they are not taking orders at this time. I ordered new sail insignias and numbers to replace the old vinyl crap on my sail, and am having the sails cleaned and resined. New sails probably next year assuming the backlog is resolved, but the truth is, the new sails are nearly the value of the entire boat. I have no plans to sell and the 5.7 is in great shape after the hulls were refinished, but I'm not deluded as to value.

Speaking of expensive sails, they offer a laminate tri-radial sail with the clew plate I'm familiar that attaches to my 7:1 with S-hook, and this boomlet. How does this work?

i have seen those with a small harken track and car that act as the outhaul. there will be a turning block and clam cleat in there too that allows the skip/crew adjust and lock the outhaul into place

Well, if I ever get the coin to build a sail, it will probably be the clew plate. What I'd really like to do is get a furler for the jib and get that built with the vertical battens.

tominpa wrote: Speaking of expensive sails, they offer a laminate tri-radial sail with the clew plate I'm familiar that attaches to my 7:1 with S-hook, and this boomlet. How does this work?

Looks the same as my current (old) sail on the 5.8,

Apparently it's been proven that it doesnt offer any advantage over the clew plate.

The boomlet offers “infinite” adjustability over the same length as a clew plate with less build cost to the sail (assuming you already own the boomlet.

https://www.slosailandcanvas.com/harken-boomlet-for-nacra-sails /"> https://www.slosailandcanvas.com/harken-boomlet-for-nacra-sails/

Edited by carbonc on Nov 22, 2021 - 11:37 PM.

Thanks for information on the boomlet. I had never seen one rigged and didn't know how they worked. Good to hear the clew plate works as well, but the boomlet seems to be more adjustable while underway with tension on the sail.

tominpa wrote: Thanks for information on the boomlet. Good to hear the clew plate works as well, but the boomlet seems to be more adjustable while underway with tension on the sail.

I had clew plates on my 5.8 sails and used the adjustable track on a buddy's 5.8. The track is nice for easy adjustment. Most people will not notice the difference between moving the sheeting point aft. I had a system for making adjustments while under way with the clew board. I had a hook on the mainsheet and a short "tag line" that was attached to the aft hole. When rounding the top mark, I would reach back, unhook the mainsheet from the forward holes and it would automatically sheet from the aft hole. At the leeward mark, I would grab the hook and reposition it in the upwind hole. It took some juggling and was difficult with a dozen boats rounding at once.

I had never seen one rigged and didn't know how they worked.

The traveler line on the car running forward pulled the mainsheet forward to flatten the sail. Release it and the sail forces pull the sail forward relative to the mainsheet.

Apparently it's been proven that it doesnt offer any advantage over the clew plate.

disagree - there may be "little" sail shape advantage but the advantage is "on the fly" adjustment in any wind condition
try taking your s hook off and move to another hole in 25knots, or while underway

edit - oppps Scott's post already addressed this.

Edited by MN3 on Nov 24, 2021 - 02:26 PM.

The Harken mini boom traveler is not cheap. I love the concept, but my 37 year old cat is not racing these days, so I'm sticking to things that make sailing better and easier. I do appreciate learning about this tool I didn't have, and hope I can get to new sails and maybe a jib furler even if it doesn't really pencil into the value of the boat.

tominpa wrote: The Harken mini boom traveler is not cheap. I love the concept, but my 37 year old cat is not racing these days, so I'm sticking to things that make sailing better and easier. I do appreciate learning about this tool I didn't have, and hope I can get to new sails and maybe a jib furler even if it doesn't really pencil into the value of the boat.

Keep It Simple.... Keep in mind, boats are not logical, they are emotional and boat value is all relative. And, it is much more enjoyable to replace something when you want to rather than when you have to.