Moody 376 New sails - cost estimate

[Tony Gratton]

I've seen a good 376 I'm seriously interested in, but I think she'll need a new suite of sails. I'm talking of the standard sail plan in cruising Dacron, slab reefing main with 3 reefs. Does anyone have an idea of roughly how much they could cost? I last replaced the sails on my previous boat a few years ago, and she was much smaller with a fractional rig, so I feel my estimate may well be too low. I just need a ball park figure to check the boat is not going to break my budget. If anyone has experience on sail plan and material for blue water cruising, preferably with rough costs, that would be great. If you want to keep it private, my email is tony.gratton78@gmail.com. Thanks!

 

[Peter Wright]

Hi Tony,

As you will have guessed by now, your best answer will come from a reputable local sailmaker. Be sure to specify your needs as Blue Water sailing tends to put miles on boats much faster than coastal cruising with the consequential additional sail wear. You generally need a more robustly built suit of sails for that purpose.

If you don't know any riggers or sailmakers and are anywhere near the East Coast, you could ask Evolution Rigging and One Sails East:

OneSails Sailmakers | GREAT BRITAIN East - GBR East Suffolk - Contacts | The Next Generation of Sails

Next door to each other at Suffolk Yacht Harbour and both owned by John Parker, they might give you a price for rigging plus sails.

These guys built a comprehensive wardrobe of sails for Pip Hare which helped her do a few blue water miles in the past year in the Vendee Globe.

Peter-

 

[Tony Gratton]

Hi Tony,

As you will have guessed by now, your best answer will come from a reputable local sailmaker. Be sure to specify your needs as Blue Water sailing tends to put miles on boats much faster than coastal cruising with the consequential additional sail wear. You generally need a more robustly built suit of sails for that purpose.

If you don't know any riggers or sailmakers and are anywhere near the East Coast, you could ask Evolution Rigging and One Sails East:

OneSails Sailmakers | GREAT BRITAIN East - GBR East Suffolk - Contacts | The Next Generation of Sails

Next door to each other at Suffolk Yacht Harbour and both owned by John Parker, they might give you a price for rigging plus sails.

These guys built a comprehensive wardrobe of sails for Pip Hare which helped her do a few blue water miles in the past year in the Vendee Globe.

Peter-

Hi Peter,
Thanks for your comments and advice, which are appreciated. I am based in East Devon, and have a good local sailmaker who I trust who made me a suite of sails for my last boat, and who I can approach for the details. I know that he will be rushed off his feet at the moment and might struggle to give me a quote before my viewing next week. Thanks to Barry and David I now have a good idea of a worst case scenario for my budget which should suffice for the viewing.
If I buy the boat I may well contact the company you mention above for a comparative quote, though any saving might be eaten up by the cost of taking the boat there, or travel from there to me. In any case it is good to have the information, so thanks for the recommendation!
Regards, Tony

 

[Peter Wright]

Hi Tony,

I generally think it's best to use good local craftsmen on boat jobs.Our boats are not mass produced, enabling parts to be reliably procured without thinking. I for one will not buy sails from a sailmaker who will not visit the boat to measure up, although I do not see this as necessary for a quotation.

One Sails have an international reputation and Paul Cleaver, one of our members keeping his boat in Milford Haven, ordered new sails from them. Before cutting cloth, Brian Fennessey duly turned up at Milford to measure up.

Paul has posted on here his satisfaction with the quality of the sails delivered.

Peter.

 

[Tony Gratton]

Hi Tony,

I generally think it's best to use good local craftsmen on boat jobs.Our boats are not mass produced, enabling parts to be reliably procured without thinking. I for one will not buy sails from a sailmaker who will not visit the boat to measure up, although I do not see this as necessary for a quotation.

One Sails have an international reputation and Paul Cleaver, one of our members keeping his boat in Milford Haven, ordered new sails from them. Before cutting cloth, Brian Fennessey duly turned up at Milford to measure up.

Paul has posted on here his satisfaction with the quality of the sails delivered.

Peter.

Hi Peter,
Yes, I thoroughly agree. Very useful to know that One Sails will make the effort to visit, even on the other side of the country, and that they do a good job. Recommendations count for a lot. Thanks for the information.
Regards, Tony