What about Seateach Sails ?

OK .... so my last quest seemed to give the thumbs up for a Crusader Sail and Rotostay furling package ( at £1500 for Moody 31 ) in terms of quality and service. However I now learn that they have an 8 week lead time on the sail !! As usual I am leaving things to the last few weeks before we hit the water for 2001 and I have found out that 'Seateach'do sails of a set luff length 'off the shelf' and can supply either Plastimo 810 or Profurl 'Basic' with sail in 2 days. Price of Plastimo is attractive ( £580 ) but I am nervous about the quality. Rotostay was my previous choice but would welcome any advice on the other two systems as well as the Seateach sails ( which came in at £679 for 37' luff ) Anyone with experience ?

I WENT THROUGH THE SAME RESEARCH LAST YEAR REPLACING THE HOOD FURLING GEAR ON MY MOODY 40. I FINALLY FITTED A FURLEX SYSTEM WHICH ALTHOUGH A BIT MORE EXPENSIVE IN MY OPINION IS WELL WORTH IT. (EVERYTHING IS MUCH HEAVIER BUILT). THE PACKAGE INCLUDED NEW FORESTAY,SAIL AND FITTING. I USED UK SAILS (SPAIN)WHERE I AM BASED BUT THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY IN THE UK ALSO.

The boat to which my Crusader genoa was fitted (GK29) had a new Plastimo furler when I bought it. I owned the boat for four years and had no problems with furling gear.

I also bought a SeaTeach spinnaker for the same boat. Perfectly adequate for cruising, I have a photo of it in my office and it looks good to me!

Ive used a plastimo 608 for about 12 years without problems

I have used Seateach for years and have no problem with them ..... they suppliued furling gear, sails etc. and I have no reservation about them.

They can also supply good secondhand recon sails for those on a budget.

They do use a sailmaker known by another name to produce some of their sails, but the name I cannot be sure of !! But it is a respected name.....

I have recently bought a cruising chute and a working jib from them. Both sails are very good quality and value for money. They won't win you any races but then if you wanted that sort of thing you wouldn't have posted a message here!

I recommend Crusader Sails.I have had a new bi/radeal f/head sial and maine made by them and I'am very pleased with results.I know its rather late for this advice but to purchase your boat bits in December and Jan is lot cheaper. Hardway Marine did an excellent deal on Plastimo 810 furling gear in December.

Try Arun Sails, Bosham, W Sussex. They do a package furling gear and genny. They made me a genoa in three days! But remember its the time of year for new sails and sail work.

I have twice bought a furling genoa from SeaTeach. The first time, around 7 years ago, was for my old boat (a Vivacity). At that time I believe that their sails were made by Diamond. That genny was excellent: it was well built using 3-step zig-zag and it set extremely well. That sail was set on a Plastimo 406 which, although adequate for the purpose, did not impress me much. The next one I bought last year for my Centaur. They seem to have changed their source because this one uses normal (i.e. the traditional) zig-zag stitching. I suspect that the older supplier was better but since I only do cruising I can accept the setting. I cannot show it to them because I am in MAlta and they are in England. The furler that I chose this time is a Facnor 80 which IMHO is far better engineered than Plastimo. I particularly liked the design of the bearings and I also appreciate the two luff-grooves built into the aluminium profile. The plastic luff groove on the Plastimo 406 tended to chip as the plastic was quite brittle (maybe the sun?). Incidentally, the sections on the Facnor are held together with screws, allowing for easy removal when taking the mast down. I had modified the plastimo to this system because I thought that their idea of using stainless pop-rivets was not worthy of an engineer!. Dealing with SeaTeach try to talk with Stuart Anderson, one of the partners. Although I never met him I somehow formed the impression (over the phone) that he is more interested in helping a potential customer rather than doing a 'hard sell'. Fair Winds!

If you want 'racing sails' they can do that as well .... they supply based on what you ask / specify.

I usually take their heavier cruising weight, that to be honest is more like storm weight, but it lasts !!

They chat with you, advise and supply at reasonable rates and I haven't found a sail from them yet that doesn't do the job.

Yes there are better, worse etc. etc. .....

Stuart's the guy to talk to ..... very helpful.

[oldharry]

I have used Seateach for years and have no problem with them ..... they suppliued furling gear, sails etc. and I have no reservation about them.

They can also supply good secondhand recon sails for those on a budget.

They do use a sailmaker known by another name to produce some of their sails, but the name I cannot be sure of !! But it is a respected name.....

Reportedly rebadged Arun mostly. Most of their work goes to Arun. I have a Seateach genoa,and find it perfectly ok.

[fergie_mac66]

the guest must have been rip van winkle.As hes just been woken from 2001

[Seajet]

I had a very bad experience with Seateach, despite regularly spending a LOT of money with them they were quite happy to shaft me; a lot of people at my sailing club, local to them, also refuse to go there now after similar experiences.

I know someone who was supplied the wrong Plastimo furling kit, and virtually told off when he dared object...

As for Plastimo kit, it would need to have improved by a huge factor to be any good, after my father's experience with it; he had to engineer various parts to overcome its' failings.

Maybe I'm fussy about sails - she's a sailing boat after all - but I would not dream of using their sails, new or secondhand; the new sails are not even particularly cheap, they just look and perform like it.

If you're in a hurry Westaway Sails at Ivybridge, Devon have secondhand sails, graded points out of 10 for condition & quality, by people who know what they're talking about.

01752 892560 no connection apart from a happy, discerning repeat customer !

[cobolt]

http://www.tacomaworld.com/gallery/data/500/holy-thread-revival-batman.jpg (http://www.tacomaworld.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/166794/cat/500)

[Iain C]

Previous comment removed.

FWIW my current sails are sea teach and very, very old, but not in bad shape. However with the cost of replacing the genoa UV strip and other repairs, I'm seriously considering just forking out for a new suit.

Current fave is Crusader reputation and price wise, I do really like the "thingy" on the luff to take fullness out of the sail when reefed...

I feel a piggy bank/hammer moment coming up...

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

I have bought two furling genoas, self-tailing winches, second-hand spinnaker and other stuff from SeaTeach in the past and have no complaints. I spoke to Stuart at that time over the phone on several occasions and found him extremely helpful.

I don't know if things have changed since then but the sails that I bought, although branded 'SeaTeach' were made by Diamond (IIRC) and are still as crisp today after ten years as they were when I bought them. BTW I am from Malta so they do get more than their fair dose of UV. Other 'cheap' sails are only crisp because of the large amount of filler that they have. Repeated folding and opening soon leaves such sails limp, thus ruining their set.

Suffice it to say that, had my newly acquired boat not come with an extensive sail wardrobe, my first call would have been to SeaTeach.

p.s. No connection other than that of satisfied customer; very satisfied, as a matter of fact.

[Galago]

I had a very bad experience with Seateach, despite regularly spending a LOT of money with them they were quite happy to shaft me; a lot of people at my sailing club, local to them, also refuse to go there now after similar experiences.

I know someone who was supplied the wrong Plastimo furling kit, and virtually told off when he dared object...

As for Plastimo kit, it would need to have improved by a huge factor to be any good, after my father's experience with it; he had to engineer various parts to overcome its' failings.

Maybe I'm fussy about sails - she's a sailing boat after all - but I would not dream of using their sails, new or secondhand; the new sails are not even particularly cheap, they just look and perform like it.

If you're in a hurry Westaway Sails at Ivybridge, Devon have secondhand sails, graded points out of 10 for condition & quality, by people who know what they're talking about.

01752 892560 no connection apart from a happy, discerning repeat customer !

They tried to rip me off £20 on a £250 item recently ... don't they know people check the prices on their website before they go there? ... I had to suffer a pantomime while the bloke pretended he couldn't find it on the website and had to check it on the screen in the office! 'Yes you were right!' I got after he'd had a conflab with the bloke in the office he'd consulted in the first place ... presumably that one had said 'Try him for an extra £20' ... I don't know. What I do know is that I've just had a boat completely refitted and made sure nothing else came from Seateach - nor will it in the future!

[FullCircle]

I had a very bad experience with Seateach, despite regularly spending a LOT of money with them they were quite happy to shaft me; a lot of people at my sailing club, local to them, also refuse to go there now after similar experiences.

I know someone who was supplied the wrong Plastimo furling kit, and virtually told off when he dared object...

As for Plastimo kit, it would need to have improved by a huge factor to be any good, after my father's experience with it; he had to engineer various parts to overcome its' failings.

Maybe I'm fussy about sails - she's a sailing boat after all - but I would not dream of using their sails, new or secondhand; the new sails are not even particularly cheap, they just look and perform like it.

If you're in a hurry Westaway Sails at Ivybridge, Devon have secondhand sails, graded points out of 10 for condition & quality, by people who know what they're talking about.

01752 892560 no connection apart from a happy, discerning repeat customer !

Wasn't there a very recent thread which strongly criticised the Westaway company in the sale and delivery of used sails?

[Seajet]

Wasn't there a very recent thread which strongly criticised the Westaway company in the sale and delivery of used sails?

I couldn't make out if Westaways sails ( as opposed to a co. called Westways ) were at fault, or in some financial trouble, or not by the end of that thread !

Some problems seemed to be people mistaking a forwarded call for unobtainable ?

All I know is I've had several new sails from Westaways of Ivybridge, Devon, and found them excellent, good value too.

I'd think a phone call would sort that out...

[richardbrennan]

Rotostay is no longer an option as they have ceased trading. The rigging side of the business continues; details are on the WOA website.

[tigr]

I had some Crusader sails made up last year and they seem great to me. They did take time to arrive but I was not in a hurry. At the first enquiry they did say they would prefer putting their sails on a better reefing system than the plastimo and so they supplied a furlex which works well and is good quality compared to another unknown make I have.
It may be worth asking if they can do a faster service, I found them very easy to deal with and amenable.
I also went to Seateach at last years Southampton boat show and picked up a bargain hatch (again the price face to face was not the price quoted) and ordered a hatch cover to fit it and and was told it would be sent from their shop. It did not arrive so a week later rang them to be told no orders were to be dispatched until after the show. A couple of weeks went by again and so phoned to be told they did not stock the cover and would have to order it and this took weeks. I had to make a few more calls and was told a variation of stories until at last they said it was in and when would I be picking it up! They did eventually send it but I must say the attitude of the person on the phone means I would not hurry to use them again. I did find a lad there was really helpful though.

[Seajet]

Something else to be wary of Seateach about, their hatches.

A chum bought a hatch they advertised as 'a direct replacement for a Houdini'...yes it was, different size hole and different bolt spacings, but I suppose it did replace the previous hatch in a way !

He is another who won't go there now.

Years ago I had a Lewmar forehatch from them; when it crazed and the catches gave up after say 10 years ( Lewmars' not Seateach's fault ) I bought a replacement Lewmar hatch from Seateach - again - and found all the bolt spacings different...

The thing which really got me though was when I did a very big refit, spending thousands inc' £4,000 + in one visit alone.

When I later came to fit a battery I'd bought it proved totally defective, and they wouldn't honour the guarantee 'as they'd had it a while before I bought it'.

I have since found that was illegal, warranty is from date of purchase.

So they have lost a lot more money from me since; I find the chandlery at Emsworth Marina extremely helpful. :)

I'd strongly advise anyone buying sails from Seateach ( if they really must ), new or secondhand, to if at all possible confirm the dimensions first - which I'd expect means going and doing it yourself, or at least get them to read out the sizes, if you do a simple 'yes that's right' is too easy - then on receipt hoist them and check the basic measurements, let alone the set, before they are needed in anger...

[Viking]

I have recently bought a cruising chute and a working jib from them. Both sails are very good quality and value for money. They won't win you any races but then if you wanted that sort of thing you wouldn't have posted a message here!

Like (guest) I brought both a C/C and roller genoa from Seateach for my Plastimo system, and I have won races with them!!! and a couple of seconds too! in class of cause!

[tigr]

Products can be good or bad but we need good customer service and support

[Nigel_Ward]

I bought a new genoa and profurl roller for my Dehlya 22 in 2008.

Seateach gave me a series of 8 measurements to take so the sail could be made the maxumum size to set a the aft end of the track.

The sail sets very well and the profurl roller works a treat.