Durabilty in sails, best vs worst brands,consumer reports...

jimwilkins · Joined: 08 Feb 2008 Posts: 70

What I would appreciate any experiance shared on the topic, to know is who makes the longest lasting sails, X-ply vs Monofilm, Obviously with any piece of kit, care and maintenence is a factor. But who makes good sails vs crappy brands and lines. Sailworks vs Gaastra vs Mauisails ect. ect.

johnl · Joined: 05 Jun 1994 Posts: 1330 Location: Hood River OR

I picked up some used Northwave sails (2 year old Surflites 1999 - 2000) and sailed them for 4 years. They were still in the same condition that I purchased them in, but I wanted new ones. They were in the SCRIM material. Now if you drag your sails across the rocks, your mast sleeve will get some holes in it, but the sails are very durable. 6 Years old (and two of them were used a lot) and still looking strong. That was compared to a The Loft O2 sail (which I REALLY liked the performance of) which lasted about 3 years.....

jse · Joined: 17 Apr 1995 Posts: 1460 Location: Maui

If you're looking for long-lasting, you should check out the Hot Sails Maui SuperFreak. It's a lightweight dacron sail that will last much longer than Monofilm sails or even x-ply. People who try the SuperFreak either love it or hate it, but my experience is more love it than hate it. It's a quiet sail under power, with a soft luff, due to the shortened battens in the middle of the sail. This allows you to shut off the power like a light switch when you need to. Plus, very colorful.

If you're not into the dacron thing (Northwave is doing this now as well with a dacron leech panel that covers about 1/3 of the sail), I find Hot Sails Maui sails in general are very well made with attention to durability.

Steve

rigatoni · Joined: 25 Feb 1999 Posts: 498

Ezzy Wave sails hold up better than any other sail I've owned. The X-ply is durable and the sail is very well put together. They are heavier than those disposable Neilpryde sails but that is the price you pay.

victor · Joined: 03 Aug 1998 Posts: 581

superfreaks certainly wont get brittle after a couple of seasons and crack like monofilm sails but the dacron is pretty lightweight so is susceptible to abrasion. if you're carefull and don't regularly rig on asphalt and drag them over rocks they'll probabaly outlast anything else. they say you can take the battens out and stuff them in a suitcase without any damage.

i have a 4 year old large monofilm sail that i probabaly only used 6-8 times and it cracked last time i rigged it.

the visablity factor is certainly the highest of any sail. i have yet to see two of them with the same color scheme. no problem for you're significant other to spot you on the exploratorium roof cam when you told her you were working.

gerritt · Joined: 06 May 1998 Posts: 632 Location: Redwood City, CA

I will second the Ezzy comment. I sail over 100 days a year and durability is my most important purchase factor. 40% of those days are in waves which will tear up anything. I'll pay more upfront to reduce long term costs. I have a 4.2 from '02 that is still going strong. I have a set of Ezzy masts from the same year still going. I have an '05 4.7 and 6.3 and an '06 5.2 and 5.8. I ripped the 4.7 with my elbow when I was late to the lip and it made me eat boom. I didn't have to come in and sailed another hour and a half with the tear in place. The rip stop works. I had Joe Dihl throw a patch on it and am still using it.

Oh yea, they sail great too. They are heavier on land, but lighter wet then most sails as Dave Ezzy uses real world factors in designing his sails, like this is a water sport. They are fast for wave sails. I have won slalom races against guys on full slalom gear using these sails. They are easy to depower and throw around and power up when you need it. I have used North, Sailworks, and Simmer and Ezzy beats them all.

jkayes · Joined: 03 Jul 2000 Posts: 68

I'll throw in my 2 cents in support of KA sails. Speaking only as to durability of the sails when getting washed up in the surf or rolled onto a reef, I think KA's are the way to go. After a couple years on North Sails with frequent repairs for holes, leach tears and the like, I switched to KA and have only had to repair 2 batten pockets. Yes, I admit that I take my sails into some of the more chaotic conditions, but if they hold up to getting rolled, they'll hold up.

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

Without a doubt, there are many fine sail brands out there, and that makes it hard these days to decide. I've been sailing Bill Hansen's sails (formerly Windwings, and now Hansen Sails) since 1986, and I'm convinced that Bill makes some of the most innovative and durable sails on the water. Whether your focus is race, freeride or wave sails, you will have an excellently designed and crafted sail that will stand up to hard use over the years. By matching them with Hansen carbon masts, you get an outstanding performance package that awfully hard to beat.

http://www.hansensails.com/

jse · Joined: 17 Apr 1995 Posts: 1460 Location: Maui

Epenrose · Joined: 05 Nov 1997 Posts: 402

Used Gaastra in the waves for years, generally get a couple of seasons but pretty much done with the monofilm, just doesn't hold up.

The heavy x-ply Gaastra's hold up much better, but for the money they now want, forget it.

Looking at peoples Ezzy sails at the beach they all seem to look good after 2 - 3 yrs, so not much of a choice to be made.