# FX sails?



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Does anyone have any experience buying new sails from FX sails in Charleston SC?


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## PalmettoSailor (Mar 7, 2006)

ncsc said:


> Does anyone have any experience buying new sails from FX sails in Charleston SC?


I don't but would like to hear about your experience if you buy from them.

I'll probably be looking for some sails next year.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

NCSC: I actually did a fairly thorough comparison of several manufacturers for my boat. I thought that FX had the best deal for the money in terms of what I was looking for. I was specifically shopping for an offshore weight sail with 2 reef points, a cunningham, reefing pads, UV cover and patches. Here is my list. (Sorry, Excel dosen't transfer onto this site perfectly). I am going to order the FX. 

Manufacturer	Mainsail	140% Genoa

North Sails 
8.5 Ounce Dacron, 2 reefs Cunningham, 1 Full Length Batten 2 partial	5.8H UV Leech and Foot Ropeluff Reefing Pad with Patches
$4,207 $4,022.00 


FX Sails 
Offshore Cross-Cut Main: 8.3 oz High Modulus Dacron. 5 year warranty, reinforced corner patches, aluminum head board, draft stipes, leech line with Clamcleat, web reinforced pressed rings, double tapes on luff, leech and foot, webbed on leech telltales, premium fiberglass battens, sailties and bag	Offshore Cross-Cut 140% Genoa, 5 year warranty, reinforced corner patches, leech line with claimcleat, double tapes on luff, leech and foot, 2 ros of telltales, sail ties and bag. Canvas UV Cover.
$3,091 $3,365 

Haarstick Sailmakers 
Cross-cut Mainsail 8.3 Dacron 4 partial battens, 2 reefs, cunningham, luff slides, foot rope, telltales, leech line, sailties and bag	Cross Cut 140% Roller Furling Genoa. 8.3 oz Dacron, Canvas UV Cover, Roller Reefing Patches and tapered foam luff pad, luff tape, telltales, leech and footlines and bag.
$3,827 $3,233 

Scott Sails 
8.0 oz dacron to a cross cut panel layout, two reefs, standard battens, radial patches, aluminum headboard, leech line, telltales and a bag. 140% genoa will be built from a 8.0 oz dacron to a cross cut panel layout. The sail will include UV leech and foot covers, foam luff pad, radial patches, leech line, telltales and a bag. 
$2,462.00 $2,814.00


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## Leksej (Jun 17, 2006)

*It's first class!*

It's really informative!!!
Good and actual informative site!
Thanks!


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

FX sails quotes very favorably over the mainstream lofts, so the idea is tempting. Delivery times are similar as well, at 6 - 8 weeks.
I'd also be most interested to hear from someone who has gone through the process from start to finish. A concern I would have is with the fit. Ordering on line means the sailmaker is not going to measure your rig. Not all "standard" boats are the same and it's quite possible that the sail will not be a perfect fit if the measurements provided them are not spot-on. I'd then be interested to see how interested the local lofts are in helping you out...


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I order a jib-135 from them at end february and got my's about three week after estmated time. Have not had much time on the water with it.But they will call you on the weekend and ask question about the sail. For me,with a new first time order ,this was a big help and helped me better about the process.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

I have not dealt with FX so I don't know how good they are, but I want to comment on Surfesq's comparison and specifically want to comment on North, and Haarstick, both of which I have dealt with quite a few times in the past. There are big differences between the better sail lofts and the smaller, mail order, and bargain lofts. 

The big lofts often use far more sophisticated cutting programs and have access to better cloth testing. Haarstick in particular tests every piece of cloth that they use rejecting a fairly high percentage of the fabric that is sent to them. That rejected fabric goes to lofts who do not have the same ability to test and reject fabrics, typically a less price but not always. (I understand that North has a slightly less extensive quality control testing program.) 

I believe that North has gone to radial construction on almost all of its mainsails except on the smallest boats. Radial construction is more expensive to build but produces a sail with better shape, much less stretch (which translates to a bigger wind range with less heeling, weather helm, and leeway, and more safety and comfort at the high end of the windrange) and most importantly, a greatly expanded lifespan. All of the other lofts specifically say that their sails are crosscut rather than radial. (North's proposal does not say but they usually submit a cutting diagram with their proposals and that includes all of the details of the sail.) 

I have found that North is quite expensive if you simply ask for a quote, (15% or so more on an apples to apples pricing. I suspect that Surfesq's quote is not an apples to apple quote, North being radial which can add 10% or more to the cost of the sail), but there are times of year when North offers pretty big incentive programs for purchases, and during those times they are usually about the same price as the 'bargain lofts' making them a real value. I ususally talk to the loft well in advance of placing an order, getting the boat measured and all of the decisions made, and then place the order during one of these periods when there can be as much as a 15-20% mark-down.

Being able to discuss a sail with a sailmaker can be extremely important. For someone like myself who really cares about the windrange of a particular sail, I will emphasize how I want a sail cut in terms of optimum performance range and depth of camber. There can be an extremely huge difference in the wind range of any two particular sails of equal size depending on the small scale specifics of how each sail is cut, and that kind of cutting pattern detail is hard to do with a loft that does not have as sophisticated a cutting program, but details like that can really make a huge difference in how much sailing vs motoring you end up doing, or how over-powered that you are at the upper end of the windrange. 

But is more than that as well are personal preference details. I get my single-handing sails cut so that they will flip off of the lifelines by tapping on the lifelines without me having to go forward to skirt them. In the highly variable and often lighter winds of the Chesapeake, this becomes especially important. Getting the lead, clew height, and foot shape right is a highly developed artform. You are not going get that right with a mail order sail loft, and, frankly, even with a local sailmaker, they occasionally miss on this and have to come out with the sail up, take notes and do a minor recut. Having him here to look at and pick up the sail and to not have to try to get this sorted out "by guess and by golly" and by shipping the sail back and forth can be a real advantage. 

Good Luck,
Jeff


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

Since I wanted a specific sail for my new main (Doyle StackPack), I didn't really shop around on price. My experience though, in dealing directly with the loft, was quite positive, and something you don't get, buying online or by mail order. We spent considerable time going over how and where I would be sailing, what I felt I needed in the sail, and what they thought would work best for me. After that, they came out to the boat, and thouroughly measured the rig. Since I was buying the StackPack, they also installed all necessary hardware, and will be installing the sail itself next week. All in all, I was impressed with their professionalism and interest in getting me the best sail for my needs. It was as if they were doing it for their own boat, not some nameless stranger.

Unless you are as knowledgeble about sails as someone like Jeff, I feel, considering the cost, you are money ahead by working directly with the loft, if they take the same professional steps as mine did. To me, it's a question not so much of price, but value. I could have saved some money, by simply buying a main and lazyjacks, but feel I got the best value going the route I did.

Regards,


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## tenuki (Feb 11, 2007)

In your comparison Scott Sails is significantly cheaper (8oz instead of 8.3oz though) 

I just got a good quote from them and am thinking of doing them instead of FX. Anyone ever order from scott sails? 

I am in the process of getting a bunch of quotes. I've gotten about 6 so far and was kinda surprised that they were all pretty much in the ballpark given the difference in materials, etc. I think places like fxsails, scott sails, and sailquoaes.com along with some automation/tooling advances have started to make generic sails more of a commodity thing, which is good for us sailors. 'Real' lofts will always be there for racers and people like Jeff. 

I'm also happy I decided on getting a smaller boat, a main for my R24 is 550-850 depending on options.


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## cookwithgas (Oct 8, 2007)

I know this is a reply to an old post, but I wanted to let everyone know I purchased sails for my C&C 31 from FX. They arrived as promised and are holding up very well. The customer service is great and they knew my boat and made the sails to fit. I have been out about ten times with them and I get compliments on how nice they look. Here is a short video of the sails wing-on-wing that I made this past weekend (March 25th, 2012).

Enjoy:

Wing_on_Wing_March 25th.wmv - YouTube

Aubrey in New Orleans


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Thanks for the follow-up... many will be interested to hear this.


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

cookwithgas said:


> ... I have been out about ten times with them and I get compliments on how nice they look. Here is a short video of the sails wing-on-wing that I made this past weekend (March 25th, 2012).
> 
> Enjoy:
> 
> ...


Great for you, they put me through a year of misery. Even though they admitted screwing up anew main, they wanted me to live with it.

PS - your first time post is to pat a sailmaker on the back?


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## billsull (Jul 8, 2007)

sailingfool said:


> PS - your first time post is to pat a sailmaker on the back?


Gee, do you think he might have been trying to show us his new sails on his completely awesome boat? Why get all snarky?

Hi Cookie and welcome aboard. I hope the previous (and aptly named) poster doesn't stop you from posting your vids. Great looking boat. Is that a GoPro camera you're using?

Regards,


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## SimonV (Jul 6, 2006)

Cookwithgas: What sort of camera are you using?

Sailingfool: Do tell more about your problem?


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## Quickstep192 (Jan 6, 2001)

Very pretty boat. What is it?
Did you lengthen the tiller to facilitate single handing?


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## mortyd (Dec 17, 2004)

so, if we all buy or sails on line or in the mail, there will come day when a small damage in a sail will require shipping it to china since local sail lofts will be long gone. not everything is dollars and cents. the people in local sail lofts also keep your business going.


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

SimonV said:


> ...
> Sailingfool: Do tell more about your problem?


Search for threads on FX...


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

mortyd said:


> so, if we all buy or sails on line or in the mail, there will come day when a small damage in a sail will require shipping it to china since local sail lofts will be long gone. not everything is dollars and cents. the people in local sail lofts also keep your business going.


Even some of the BIG lofts are building sails if you will in china. Some even in the same loft per say, but with there speced material vs another lofts speced material.

Local lofts last I checked will work on ANYONES sails, not just there own. I've had my North sail fixed at a local independent, and my Ullman sails were fixed at the same independent on warranty, as the seattle branchs loft is in S Cal, so easier to do here!

I do admit, it does seem better to work with a local rep vs over the phone....... But a local did get some FX sails, and was happy, as was another that is sailing in Mexico, with some Crusing direct sails, which was norths online sales line for whiles with older material vs what you could get in the local loft ordered.

Marty


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## PaulinVictoria (Aug 23, 2009)

I'd love to get sails from a local loft, I just find it very difficult to justify the almost 100% premium for doing so.


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## SlowButSteady (Feb 17, 2010)

I got a quote the other day for a new mainsail for my boat from the local Doyle loft (Costa Mesa, CA). It was almost exactly the same price as the FX online quote thingy gave me.


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## SlowButSteady (Feb 17, 2010)

sailingfool said:


> ...
> 
> PS - your first time post is to pat a sailmaker on the back?


His YouTube post also makes a point of saying that they're FX sails. It does make one a bit suspicious, no?


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## luckandstuff (Feb 8, 2017)

I realize this is an old thread but my recent experience has not been good. We ordered a Mariner 19 sail in May 2016, received the WRONG sail in Sept 2016 ( slower delivery than was promised ). Sent it back in Oct 2016 and we are still fussing with them. They guarantee their product, and are not returning phone calls although they did say in the late fall they would replace the sail with the correct.
To date we do not have a sail or our money back, over $ 500.00 !


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

They screwed up on a new main for my former 36', making the foot six inches short and never stepped up to fixing it. Send an email after each phone call, and don't use them again.


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## twoshoes (Aug 19, 2010)

Wow. Looks like my bad experience with FX wasn't a rare case, so I guess I'll pile on.

I ordered a new main from them last spring, and not being confident of my measuring abilities nor ability to describe options properly, I elected to ship my old sail to them with the express instructions to, "Just make one exactly like it". Received new sail well past the promised date, with round slugs rather than flat slides that were required for my mast. Their response was that they used the same hardware that all the other Cal sails use. Apparently spending the extra money to ship them my old sail with the intention of them just duplicating it so that something like this did NOT happen was a waste of time and money.

Their solution was to ship me slides and stainless steel shackles leaving me with the responsibility of cutting all the nylon webbing off that was securing the slugs and installing the new hardware myself. New problem however, was the shackles they sent me were too short and I couldn't fit both the grommet and the slide in them.

Communication was horrible throughout this whole process, with phone calls not returned and emails taking several days to be responded to.


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## luckandstuff (Feb 8, 2017)

I'm still working on getting resolution, but thanks for the replies. I'm going to post also on Yelp about their poor service. We might as well try to save some other people the aggravation. Other than small claims court I don't know what else we can do and unfortunately I'm in Boston area and FX is in S. Carolina. Yes, I'll follow up all phone contacts ( if I ever can get someone on the phone ) with an email.


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