LOFT LINES
**Now
Reaching Over 2000 Sailors**
A
NEWSLETTER FROM HAARSTICK SAILMAKERS
(800)
342-5033
(585) 342-5200
email:
info@haarsticksailmakers.com
Web site: www.haarsticksailmakers.com
In this issue:
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ARE
HAARSTICK SAILS YOUR BEST VALUE?
-By
Over
the years, and many recent customer comments, I have often been asked to justify
the reasons why our sails are more expensive than sails made overseas. I have
always responded that the real value of any sail is not solely based on price. I
think everyone would agree that it is not cheaper to buy a sail at half price
that lasts less than half of the typical service life of a high quality sail.
Will a high quality sail last twice as long? What creates a more durable sail?
The most important ingredient of a quality, durable sail begins with the cloth. Many people assume that most cloth commercially made is pretty much the same from one manufacturer to another. However, this could not be further from reality. The variation in stretch as cloth ages with use can not only vary dramatically from one type of cloth to another, but also from batch of the same cloth type from the same manufacturer. This variation is only discovered if these batches of cloth are subjected to much more abuse than the standard industry “flutter” tests. Our unique Impact Flutter testing makes the standard testing look like a “slap on the wrist”. When our Impact Flutter testing is over, the cloth has been thoroughly beaten to a “pulp”. When we retest these cloth strips, a “bad” batch of cloth can show an increase in stretch of over 600% versus the original stretch at the same load. How much change of shape do you think will occur with a fabric that looses so much of its original strength with use? It is not a pretty sight.
Is the time and expense it takes to Impact Flutter testing every batch of upwind cloth before purchase worth this extra effort? After 35 years of testing, I am convinced that our testing is the only way to eliminate bad cloth from your sail. A high quality, durable sail can not be made from inferior cloth.
Testing every batch of upwind cloth this way is not cheap. It takes time, and time is money. It also takes the co-operation of our cloth suppliers to cut and send us a sample of the cloth and hold this batch for us until we test and approve the cloth for shipment. Or, if not approved, cut another sample and send it for approval. This can go on until we find an acceptable batch of cloth that meets our durability and strength requirements. As far as I know, no one else requires this for virtually every purchase of their upwind cloth. This added service on their part would be assumed to be reflected in the price we pay for the cloth.
As the cloth is a major component of the costs in a sail. There are many opportunities available if reducing the cost of sail cloth is a priority:
For example, it is easy to buy all kinds of sailcloth for
30% to 50% of the cloth manufactures' catalogue list price! Lists of
discontinued fabrics, "cosmetic" seconds, short roll leftovers, and
the worst of all, "End Roll 2nd's" are offered for big, BIG discounts.
This is not limited to just "high tech" fabrics like Pentex, Kevlar,
or Carbon, but is available throughout their sailcloth lines.
If you don't test any cloth, but merely rely on the manufactures' tests, these offerings look pretty attractive, because you just don't know (or care) how much difference there is between a really good batch of cloth and a really dreadful batch! However, we really do know the difference, and it’s just not worth building your new sail out of inferior cloth, no matter how much the savings! When you've spent as much time, energy, and not least of all, man-hours testing as we do, when you've committed to use only the type of fabrics that work properly in your sails, and you've seen what these "odd-lots" are really like, you are just not tempted to build your customers' sails with this "stuff". Will the other guy be able to beat your price if all else is equal? Yes, no doubt about it!!
There are many other components to a quality sail:
If you are willing to follow, and not innovate, you wouldn’t need to develop your own technology for designing and cutting sails. It is always much cheaper to buy “off the shelf”. But if you are driven to be the best, you often can’t wait for this to happen.
When we first got our design program on the Cornell Main frame in the late sixties, it meant that we could grind ALL the calculations it takes to define the curves in the seams, and edges for EVERY sail we made, not just the “important” sails. I don’t have any way to know if we were the first to do this, but I’m sure there were very few, if any other sailmakers running their design programs for every sail they made. To this day, I don’t think that other programs calculate the stretch corrections to the cut of their sails based on their cloth strip tests. Entering the strip test data is necessary for every sail we design. The program will not run without it. Did this program cost more than buying something that became available 20 years later? You bet, and it’s not cheap to keep improving it over the past 39 years.
When we were the first sailmaker in the world to develop the technology to computer cut sails (yes, that is correct), it was many years before the international lofts could follow. In the meantime, we could cut our custom spinnakers to such a high degree of accuracy, it supercharged our spinnaker development process in the early seventies.
When
we brought this machine to
Last,
but certainly not least is our commitment to Customer Service. Our Service
personnel made a super effort to help virtually everyone who asked, and many
that didn't. What is even more unique about our program is how our service
representatives are compensated for the service they provide. To
insure that our primary interest is in helping our customers AFTER the sale, all
our service work is paid for directly, not indirectly by a commission on the
sale. If we
wanted to save, big bucks, in the quest to have the lowest price, we could
easily drop this program and pay solely on commission. Of course, the emphasis
would then be on merely selling you the sail, not on making sure you have the
help you deserve after the sale. In fact, this would make us just like the rest
of the industry.
When I began sailmaking so many years ago, I really had only one goal, and that was to make every sail our best effort, the best sail possible at that time. It doesn’t matter to me if the sail is small or large, race or cruise. It became apparent long ago that striving to be the best sailmaker in the business may not necessarily lead you to become the biggest, or the richest, but the quest has been most rewarding.
For
This boat is in excellent condition. I bought it in the
spring of 1999, and soon afterwards discovered that it needed: a new bottom.
That fall I took it to a boat builder in Wolcott and over the winter had the
entire bottom replaced with 100% new wood. Used new African Mahogany to replace
all the old bottom frames, keel plank, and transom frames, and
all the bottom planking. The new chines were made from oak. The bottom 2-ply
planking was also 100% replaced to the chines, as well as the transom planking,
and one set of topside planks above the waterline. The original topsides planks
were in excellent shape, and were not replaced. All planking and
frames were bonded together with 5200 and bronze screws. The bottom
was sealed with two coats of epoxy barrier coat and painted red.
I made and installed new deck frames, a new Mahogany
dashboard and Mahogany cockpit edging, plus some new wood on deck. I also
rebuilt the engine box. I cut the old bottom boards into 2"
strips and glued them to the existing plywood floorboards, leaving a 1/8"
gap which I filled with white 4200. (Looks like decking - see photo).
Over 6 kits (12 gallons) of Smith's Epoxy sealer were used to seal all surfaces
of the wood, throughout the boat.
I built new seat frames and made new dark red pleated
upholstery. Finally, I varnished all wood surfaces with 12+ coats of
varnish
This boat has always been stored inside a heated
garage during the winters, and with a waterline cover, on a lift (out of the
water) in the summers. The bottom is completely waterproof, with NO gaps
between planks. Does NOT need to be "soaked up" at launch time. Boat
also comes with a folding top with side curtains, and cockpit cover.
The original "M" motor was professionally
cleaned and rewired and converted to 12 volt, with dual batteries and battery
switch, and a rebuilt generator. I change the oil at the beginning and end
of each season. The motor starts right up and runs great! No problems in 5
years!
The hardware is original, including an Iva-light (rotating
spotlight). The fuel gauge doesn't work, I use a stick. Comes with excellent
dual axle trailer.
This is a big 23 foot open cockpit runabout that can go out
on
Pictures at: http://www.haarsticksailmakers.com/haarstick/Stevepics.html
Haarstick Powered Ensign’s
After winning the
national’s the past two years in a row, Haarstick sails have proved themselves
in the Ensign Class. This winning has sparked the interest of many Ensign
We have many happy
customers this spring and the results are starting to pour in from the fleet
level. To name a few.
Fleet 23
Fleet 7
Bob Carballal 4 firsts out of
5 races
With sons Matthew and Dean
“First time with the sails and the boat is going great”
Fleet 29
Nick Lubar 2 Firsts out of 4
races
Good luck to all
our Ensign Customers. Please call me with any questions or comments. We always
like good news and we need to hear about any bad news.
Doug Burtner
800-342-5033