Practice sails

I have an old Laser # 1488 still with the original Elvstrom sail. As you can guess the boat is no longer raced and the sail is in very bad shape. I am looking for a cheap but new or almost new sail. Has anyone tried these sails http://www.intensitysails.com/prsaforla.html There is a bit written by Micheal Blackburn endorsing them ...who knows??

comments welcome
 
I will have one in a few weeks, I say go ahead and get one because it is such a great value, plus no regattas will care whether or not it is class legal (assuming you not going to the regional events).
 
they are shipping me one on Mon - should have it by the weekend. Which is also when I should have all the new rigging on and the boat ready to go. I'll check back in after I've sailed it - of course since it will be only my 3rd time in a laser I won't be able to say very much :)

mike
 
I am seriously thinking about purchasing a sail from Intensity, I am just wondering before I proceed if anyone from Australia has purchased. If so, what was the frieght cost , delivery timeframe and your thoughts on the performance of the sail itself.

Thanks in advance.

HiTime
 
I received my sail & it looked excellent to my untrained eye. the nice crisp dacron was sure amazing compared to both the very tired laser sail that came with the boat and the sails on my V-15 which I just sold.

I've sailed with it once - just reaching back and forth to let the seams stretch and set. See my other thread for more on that. So are nothing but positive things to say about Intesity Sails.

I wonder how it could be cost effective though to buy it over here? Can't a local sail loft build you a practice sail?
 
One of our club members bought 10 of them and 7 were sailing this weekend. The fabric seemed BETTER than what we get in the class sail and the shape was nice and it seemed as though they had a wider groove than a new class legal sail, (not as easy to stall out). Folks using the intensity sails were just as fast if not faster than guys w/class legal $500.00 sails.

I find it oh so interesting that a guy can cut nice sails for almost 1/3 rd the cost of a class legal sail that is made by low cost labor in bulk in Shri Lanka.

Does a Class sticker add $300.00 to the cost of a sail? C'mon this is rediculous!
 
My understanding is that the donnot have the square laser class patch or the Red laser logo above the #s. Is this correct??
 
Correct they have an Intensity sailing logo on one side of the sail near the Cunningham Gromet.
 
Rob B said:
One of our club members bought 10 of them and 7 were sailing this weekend. The fabric seemed BETTER than what we get in the class sail and the shape was nice and it seemed as though they had a wider groove than a new class legal sail, (not as easy to stall out). Folks using the intensity sails were just as fast if not faster than guys w/class legal $500.00 sails.

I find it oh so interesting that a guy can cut nice sails for almost 1/3 rd the cost of a class legal sail that is made by low cost labor in bulk in Shri Lanka.

Does a Class sticker add $300.00 to the cost of a sail? C'mon this is rediculous!

I know we have covered this before. It's the number of fingers in the pie that drive the cost of the class legal sail up.

Sailmaker -> Builder -> Dealer -> Laser Sailor.

Cutting out builder and/or dealer results in less class support IMHO. Good example is last night, our local dealer, The Boat Locker (Scott Hardy) helped sponsor the talk by Steve Cockerill, and supplied the dinner for everyone. Hopefully it was a win-win for everyone involved.
 
49208 where I am the local dealer is eight hours drive away and dose not care about us .And as Mike Stoughton pointed out the local lofts here in New Zealand want more than twice what Intinisty sails price to build a one off practi ce sail
 
tcross.au. I have just ordered a sail from Intensity with a shipping fee of $49usd. I hope this helps you.

HiTime
 
I live in Canada and am only 9-11 hours drive from the factory and my shipping will also be $49 should I order. So if they lose money sending stuff to you guys don't worry shipping to me they will add an additional $35.00 to the profit margin.

I have ordered both heavier and larger items from that same area and paid only $15.00 for shipping
 
iPed, As a fellow kiwi I know what you mean about the Auckland dealer not being overly helpful.:confused:

At the moment I live in Bristol, UK, and there is a company called Rooster which has a dealer in Oz, so they may be worth a look as they do very good practise sails. www.roostersailing.com should get you there.;)
 
Rob B said:
One of our club members bought 10 of them and 7 were sailing this weekend. The fabric seemed BETTER than what we get in the class sail and the shape was nice and it seemed as though they had a wider groove than a new class legal sail, (not as easy to stall out). Folks using the intensity sails were just as fast if not faster than guys w/class legal $500.00 sails.

I find it oh so interesting that a guy can cut nice sails for almost 1/3 rd the cost of a class legal sail that is made by low cost labor in bulk in Shri Lanka.

Does a Class sticker add $300.00 to the cost of a sail? C'mon this is rediculous!

it can't be the labor, my north class legal has a label that says made in shri lanka. its probably just cause it's an olympic class.
 
i just recieved a sail i bought from intensitysails.com and they look and feel nice. since there is no laser logo on the sail i found a guy on ebay who sells the red laser logo flash for 20.00 and will ship for free. if anyone who wants to add the laser logo to their intensity sail wants to reach him, his user name is pkgold94.still dosn't make it a class legal sail but at least it won't look funny without the logo.
 
Just got an intensity sail today. Comes with a roll bag, battens, and numbers all for $200.00 this is an amazing deal. The sails itself feals stronger and more durable than a new class legal sail for $520.00 I would suggest everyone who does little regattas on top of larger ones to purchase one. This sail would be great for any local events where you dont want to blow out your new class sail.

I may break it in this weekend if the wind is light enough.
 
I have just taken delivery of my intensity sail. I am pleased with my purchase $200usd + $49usd shipping or $350aud in total compared to $1,000aud for just a new class sail. Looking forward to giving it a go on the weekend.
 
I am thrilled that so many of you have had good success with my practice sails. The freight is a tricky issue. We are subsidising it a little right now. It is costly to ship outside the US. The actual cost is closer to $70.00. For now we will stick with the $49.00.

We have 100 more sails coming in May so orders placed now will be charged and ship when they arrive.

I do have my first radial sample. If there are any top Radial sailors out there that would like to evaluate the pre production sample please contact me.

I am thinking of adding free yarn and sticker telltales to the sails as well.

I also have Laser top and bottom covers for $99 each.

I do appreciate the feedback.

Thanks for the support.
 
How much will the radial's be??
I would prefer to have a good sail for my race training here in AUS but just cant afford to get so many new sails each year.
 
I bought one of the laser top covers recently and am very impressed. It really is well made with nice material. I recommend this product.
 
I think the radial sails will also be $199.00 and include the same items; Clew strap, battens, Nylon sail tube, numbers and yarn and disk tell tales.


They will not cost more than that and might end up a little less.
 

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