Yakaholic wrote:
I'm sorry if I sounded harsh. I do believe you were trying to help.
I admit to being a bit shocked at your responses, but fairly certain that it was just mis-communication.
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I don't mind waiting for someone at Hobie to find out during normal business hours and then get back with the info.
What got me agitated was the implication that Hobie had no such info and that someone else had to "figure out" what to do with the sail.
That was NEVER the implication. The ever-persistent problem with electronic communication rears its ugly head yet again. It seems to be more of a problem when I'm in a hurry to get a message across.
I will confess to believing that you've just worn your sail out. The pictures of the damage are fairly consistent with UV rot. I've experienced the same with my windsurfing sails. Sail tape has gone a long way to keeping me on the water. I keep a roll in my kit. In a pinch, I have used high-quality packing tape. And the spectra threads in the panel are doing exactly what they were designed to do - stopping the tears from spreading.
I also believe that you could probably have your sail repaired more quickly than the time it would take to get a new one. Like Mariner, I suspect your local yak shop doesn't keep spare AI sails laying around. So lead time is at least a week for a new sail. Lofts on the other hand are traditionally not that busy this time of the year. Since you comment that the dacron is still sound, that seems like a reasonable solution.
But then I'm not a sailmaker. And I have not laid eyes or hands on your sail. It may be toast.
If you would like, I can ask Joe if he knows of a reputable loft in your area. I'm back in the shop tomorrow. Or I can even call him. Or you can call Mariner and ask for Joe.
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$415 sails don't grow on trees and repair vs. replace is an important decision. No reason to repair it wrong or waste money on an inferior repair.
$415 is a lot of money while on a budget.
Thanks.
Amen, brother... Amen.