Rats: Intensity vs. OEM sails?

So, in the process of re-commissioning the fleet at my house on the river, I've discovered that my 13' Whaler has broken shift/throttle linkages, my larger Whaler has a dead battery, and the gudgeon on my Sunfish (see separate thread) is missing two bolts.

To make matters more interesting, I discovered that my friendly neighborhood river rats have eaten holes into my red, white, and blue Sunfish sail. So, after talking with a friend about sail repair, I went online and noticed that Intensity brand Sunfish sails sell for only $125; not too different from what it would cost to get the rat holes repaired (if I could only find someone local to do it). Can anyone comment upon the cut and fit of the Intensity brand sails? How do they compare, quality wise, to the original sails?

I'm not racing; I just putter around the river where I live and I'm trying to get my 12 year old daughter and neighborhood kids interested in sailing.
 
Hole's can be fixed with Dacron patches and glued on with 3M 5200. I could not find Dacron so I
went to a local Upholstery shop and they gave me some rubberized awning material. Seems to work
really well on what would be a otherwise like new sail. If you get a sail shop to do it you'll end up
paying $75 to fix a $125 sail.
 
Use the search function on this board and search for Intensity. You will get too many articles, but some will be helpful. People like those sails a lot.
 
Over the years I have purchased Sunfish aftermarket sails from Neil Prude, Kevane and Intensity. The Intensity sail is far and away the best aftermarket sail I have seen and a great value at $125 + shipping, Their red-white-blue sail is a winner, nice full cut, window, good workmanship. They also ship quickly.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
We have several sailors in our club using Intensity sails. They are cut very slightly flatter than LP sails, but not enough to make a difference. I have not met anyone yet who was dissatisfied with one. They also make cheap daggerboards that are great for shallow water, frostbiting,or any other situation where you don't want to risk your $350 LP daggerboard.
 
So, in the process of re-commissioning the fleet at my house on the river, I've discovered that my 13' Whaler has broken shift/throttle linkages, my larger Whaler has a dead battery, and the gudgeon on my Sunfish (see separate thread) is missing two bolts.

To make matters more interesting, I discovered that my friendly neighborhood river rats have eaten holes into my red, white, and blue Sunfish sail. So, after talking with a friend about sail repair, I went online and noticed that Intensity brand Sunfish sails sell for only $125; not too different from what it would cost to get the rat holes repaired (if I could only find someone local to do it). Can anyone comment upon the cut and fit of the Intensity brand sails? How do they compare, quality wise, to the original sails?

I'm not racing; I just putter around the river where I live and I'm trying to get my 12 year old daughter and neighborhood kids interested in sailing.


I (and nearly all the lasers in my sailing club) use the intensity laser sails. Like most of their products, great quality at a very reasonable price. Well worth the price and everybit as sturdy as OEM.
 

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