How Much Do New Sails Cost And Do You Really Need Them?
Wondering how much new sails cost and whether you really need them?
If you’re a sailor, the prospect of replacing your sails may be daunting. You might think that new sails are expensive and maybe not worth it, but this simply isn’t true.
We were thrilled to find that the whole process, from inspecting your sails to work out whether they need replacing, through to ordering new ones for your sailboat, is actually really quick and easy. The longest part of the whole process is waiting for them to be made, which is also the most exciting part!
Quality sails will improve sailing performance, save fuel costs in the long run and really help you get more out of your time on the water! We noticed a huge difference in sailing performance when we swapped out our old sails. The main sail alone gave an extra knot performance.
In this blog post we’ll take a look at what to expect when looking for new sails and how much they’re likely to cost so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not it’s worth investing in them.
Table of Contents
- How Much Do New Sails Cost?
- What Variables Effect The Cost Of Sails?
- Main Sail
- Genoa
- Stay Sail
- Light Wind Sails
- Storm Sails
- How Do You Know If You Need New Sails?
- How Much Difference Does A New Sail Make?
- Assessing Damage To Your Old Sails
- You Need New Sails, Now What?
- Which Sails Are You Replacing?
- How Do You Sail?
- Choosing Sail Material
- Extra Considerations
- Where To Buy New Sails
- How To Buy New Sails
- How Long Do New Sails Last?
- Prolonging The Lifespan Of Your New Sails
How Much Do New Sails Cost?
It’s hard to give a simple answer to this. As with so many things in sailing, the cost of your new sails will depend on a range of variables.
We’ll look at some of the things that affect the cost of sails and go through some rough estimates below.
What Variables Effect The Cost Of Sails?
Many different variables can affect the cost of sails for a sailboat. Some of the main things to consider when trying to budget are:
- The type of sail
- The size of the sail/your boat
- The sailcloth material you choose
- Where you buy your sails from
- Additional features you might think about adding, like extra reefs or battons
Main Sail Rough Estimates
This is a rough estimate based on quotes from a variety of different sailmakers, but prices can vary massively depending on the variables listed above.
- Cost of sails for a 42′ to 50′ sailboat = $2,700-$6000
- Cost of sails for a 36′ to 42′ sailboat = $2,000-$5,000
- Cost of sails for a 30′ to 35′ sailboat = $1,500-$3,000
- Cost of sails for a 24′ to 30′ sailboat = $1,000-$2,500
Genoas and Jibs
This is a rough estimate based on quotes from a variety of different sailmakers, but prices can vary massively depending on the variables listed above.
- Cost of sails for a 42′ to 50′ sailboat = $5000-$10,000
- Cost of sails for a 36′ to 42′ sailboat = $4,000-$8,000
- Cost of sails for a 30′ to 35′ sailboat = $2,000-$5,000
- Cost of sails for a 24′ to 30′ sailboat = $2,000-$4,500
Light Wind Sails
These are based on quotes for a spinnaker. Other light wind sails may vary slightly in price ranges, and you will need to think of additional equipment needed to fly your light wind sails if your boat isn’t already set up for one.
- Cost of sails for a 42′ to 50′ sailboat = $3,000-$5000
- Cost of sails for a 36′ to 42′ sailboat = $2,000-$4,000
- Cost of sails for a 30′ to 35′ sailboat = $1,300-$3,000
- Cost of sails for a 24′ to 30′ sailboat = $700-$2,500
Storm Sails
A storm sail is a staple of every sail wardrobe, but the good news is that these are likely to need replacing rarely if you’re a cruiser. Chances are your storm sail will be stowed somewhere it’s protected from the elements and very rarely used.
Saying that, you should regularly inspect it for signs of wear so that you always have one in perfect working order for when it is needed. This is a piece of safety equipment and should be treated as such.
- Cost of sails for a 42′ to 50′ sailboat = $2,000-$3000
- Cost of sails for a 36′ to 42′ sailboat = $1,500-$2,500
- Cost of sails for a 30′ to 35′ sailboat = $500-$1,000
- Cost of sails for a 24′ to 30′ sailboat = $200-$700
To get an exact quote contact Precision Sails, one of the best sailmakers around. They will be able to help you find the right sail for the job, and bring it in on budget.
How Do You Know If You Need New Sails?
Before you even think about purchasing new sails you’re going to want to work out whether or not you actually need them.
Our cruising sails are nearly 15 years old and are definitely at the point where they need to be replaced.
Cruising sails tend to last a lot longer than race sails because owners don’t usually push their boats as hard, and the material can afford to be a longer-lasting cloth rather than one designed for absolute optimum performance.
Sail Performance
One of the first signs that your sail is due to be replaced is that you won’t be getting the same performance as you used to.
As sails age they start to bag, and using them to sail upwind becomes harder and harder. We found we were losing upwind sailing performance quite rapidly, and if we hadn’t replaced our sails our tacking angle could have become quite dangerous.
You never want your sails to be too old to pull you off a lee shore in an emergency!
Assessing Damage To Your Old Sails
Just because you’re still sailing well it doesn’t mean you should neglect regular sail inspections to make sure they are still in tip top condition.
There are some really simple checks you can do to make sure your sails don’t need a repair or replacement. We tend to do these checks every year at the end of the season, but we also regularly sight-inspect them too while we’re out sailing.
Obviously you should also check your sails over really thoroughly before any longer crossings, and it’s a good idea to have spare sails in your locker for ocean crossings too.
But how do you properly assess the condition of your existing sails?
There are some important parts of the sails to pay attention to when checking them. These are the areas that see the most wear or are more prone to sun damage.
- The leech (try to poke your thumbnail into the weave, if you can then it’s in less than ideal condition)
- Spreader patches (these were the first area to deteriorate on our sails)
- Batten pockets
- The stitching
The stitching is more fragile than the actual sail cloth and likely to start deteriorating first. Run your finger along the stitches and you’ll see if any are starting to pull or are frayed or damaged.
It is possible to repair sails with new stitching or patches for a little while, but it’s a sign that they are on their last legs so keep an eye on your sailing performance and make sure you replace them before undertaking any major crossing.
How Much Difference Does A New Sail Make?
A new sail can make a huge difference to sailing performance.
It may surprise some to find out just how much difference a new sail can make on a sailboat. While you may think the differences are minimal and cosmetic, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
A new sail changes a variety of important factors when sailing– elements like drag, speed, power and maneuverability.
With the right combination of skills and materials, these improvements can last through many years and help provide stability while on the water.
Sailors especially appreciate the improved performance associated with these modifications.
Anoether important thing to consider is your ability to sail upwind. As an old sail becomes more and more bagged out, it can hinder your ability to sail upwind dramatically. It can even make your tacking angle useless in clawing off a lee shore, putting you and your boat in danger.
In short, it’s never been more true to say that every inch counts when putting in a new sail!
You Need New Sails, Now What?
If it no longer makes financial sense to repair your sails then you should look at replacing them, but how do you go about such a seemingly big task?
It actually isn’t that complicated, and we were pleasantly surprised by how little time it took to sort out a replacement mainsail for our 45ft sailboat.
Here are the steps we followed to ensure a smooth purchase.
Which Sails Are You Replacing?
The first thing you’ll need to consider is obviously which sail or sails you are replacing. If you need a new upwind sail then you may well be able to purchase one ‘off the shelf’ without paying extra for a custom made sail.
If you’re replacing your main sail or head sail then you will want to find a decent sailmaker that you really trust, who can make you a custom sail that will fit your boat like a glove.
How Do You Sail?
Another important consideration when looking into new sails is what kind of sailor you are and the intended purpose of these new sails.
Are you a race sailor hoping to get the absolute best performance from your sails? Or would you prefer a mixture of performance and durability?
If you’re off on a circumnavigation then the ability to repair your own sails may be far more important than having the high tech material.
If you sail in places like the Carribbean where your sails are explored to extremely high levels of UV then you’ll want to consider the ways in which they will be protected from the sun. If you like a bit of spice and often head out in heavy weather then a more durable sail cloth might be the way to go.
No matter how you like to sail, make sure you discuss these types of things with your sailmaker so they can give you the best advice on the kind of sails you will need.
Choosing Sail Material
Luckily (or perhaps unluckily if you’re someone like me who really hates too much choice!) the world of sail cloth has come on in leaps and bounds.
It used to be that Dacron was really the only choice out there for sailors, and the only thing you had to decide was the grade you wanted.
Now there is a huge range of sail material to choose from depending on what you use your sailboat for, where you sail it and what you need from your sails.
We’ll delve into some of the more common types of sail cloth below. Remember that each different type comes with a different price tag, so you’ll want to take this into consideration if budget is important.
Woven Dacron
This is still the most popular option of sail materials for cruisers as it’s the least expensive and one of the most durable.
There are several different types of Dacron sail, those more commonly used by cruisers and those preferred by racers. The kind designed for cruisers have more give in high winds, so they tend to last longer. Dacron used by racers tends to be coated in melamine to reduce stretch.
The biggest downside to Dacron sails is the fact that they do tend to lose their shape even when there is still life left in them. As most cruisers aren’t sailing with performance as a priority, this is usually a comproimise they are willing to take.
Laminate Sails
Laminate sails are most commonly used by race sailors because they retain their original shape for much longer than other sail materials.
There are several different types of laminate. Polyester for example, is used in Dacron sails as well as laminate sails. In a Laminate sail, the fibers are secured between the Mylar films without being woven together. This is a cheaper material that is a little more forgiving in heavy weather, but will stretch more easily.
Ultra PE (Kevlar, Dyneema, Spectra) offer very good UV resistance and low stretch but is a costly material that tends to be used in larger sailboats.
Carbon Fiber sails are the lightest, stiffest fibers on the market. They provide the greatest resistance to stretch under initial load and over the lifetime of the sail but these sails need to be taken care of carefully as they can rip easily.
You can now get cruising laminate sailcloth which is designed to provide higher performance and less stretch. Some cruising laminate sails have layers of Taffeta laminated on top of the Mylar film which reduces delamination but adds weight.
Where To Buy New Sails
Luckily the days are long gone when you needed to find a decent ‘sailmaker’ at your marina or boatyard.
It’s a little misleading to think sailmakers are doing business locally, and therefore custom making your sails on-site. In reality, most sailmakers are franchises of much bigger companies, and you’re simply paying extra for a middleman to send off your order.
You can now cut out the extra cost and hassle of having to find a company locally, by ordering from an online company such as Precision Sails.
We chose Precision Sails after quizzing a whole load of other cruisers on their favourite sailmakers. It was a resounding win for Precision Sails.
We were fully prepared to go with a different company if we didn’t feel comfortable with them on our first call, but honestly, we were very impressed and still are one sail later!
We spoke to several different members of staff on our ‘journey’ and they were all professional, knowledgeable and keen to help in any way they could.
They were clear about their backlog after COVID and let us know wait times on our sail (which was actually way less than they prepared us for), they were affordable and we felt they had the best choice of sails for cruising sailboats like us.
Don’t take our word for it though, go get a quote from them and have a discussion about the best type of sails for your boat. We can gaurantee you’ll love them as much as we did!
- Professional sail design in North America
- Thousands of top-quality sails produced every year
- Dedicated staff to help you take your sail measurements
- Rock-solid warranty on all sails
- Over 250,000 types of sails for over 15,000 sailboat models
- Perfect Fit Guarantee
- Worldwide service and shipping
Can You Buy Second-Hand Sails?
We were absolutely fascinated to find out that buying second hand sails for your boat is a really bad idea.
We had assumed that if you owned a popular brand of sailboat then it would be find to buy a second hand sail from a boat of the same make. Surely all boats are made the same, and therefore a sail that fits one should fit them all?
Apparently, this is absolutely not the case.
Even though the designs of these boats are the same, there will all be slight irregularities. Production companies make the boats in batches, and depending on which companies will batch sell them stocks the cheapest, this os what they will run with.
So there’s no guarantee that one Beneteau 42 will have the same mast and fittings as another Beneteau 42.
Precision Sails input every boat measurement into their database, so they can see all the variations between sailboats. They can tell you roughly which ballpark measurements will be in, but they can’t say for sure the measurements of your sail even if you have a very popular brand of boat.
You should order main sails and jibs to be custom made to ensure they fit your own boat exactly.
How To Buy New Sails
We were a little intimidated by the whole sail buying process, but were thrilled to find out it is a lot easier than you might think.
If you buy your sails from a sailmaker franchise then they will probably offer to come and do all the measuring up etc for you. While you will pay extra for this it does mean you don’t have to do any extra work.
One of the best things about doing the initial part of process yourself is that you learn so much about your boat, and we found the whole process super easy even though we aren’t the most technical people.
If you buy through Precision Sails they have written and videoed instructions which are really easy to follow and the whole process only took a few hours.
Below is a simplified look into how we ordered our sails.
Choosing Design and Material
First of all you’ll want to arrange a meeting with your sail designer to go through the best design and material for your sailboat and cruising style.
The needs of a race sailor will differ greatly to the needs of a cruiser, and where you sail will also have an impact on the type of sail you want to go for.
We had a really in depth meeting online with the sail designer at Precision Sails, and we felt super happy with his recommendations and learnt so much about the whole process.
We were able to discuss our own sailing style and he had some really great advice for us on things like reefs and where to put them, the type of cloth we should opt for for maximum performance vs durability, and even things like how we should run our lines for solo sailing.
If you feel uncomfortable in your initial meeting with the sailmaker then you should reconsider which company you work with. Investing in new sails is a big expense and you want to be 100% satisfied with the service you’re getting.
The sorts of questions you ask will be unique to your situation, but some things you might want to consider are:
- The sail cloth they would recommend for the type of sailor you are
- How many reefs and how deep
- The cut of your sail
- Where they get their sails made (most are manufactured in Asia)
- What fittings will be included
- What the lead time is on sails and the price of delivery
Measuring Up
You will need to measure up for your new sail or sails. You want them to fit exactly, and the only way to ensure they do is by getting an accurate measurement for your specific boat.
With Precision Sails this was a simple process, and you can watch some of their videos to get an idea of what you’ll need to do before you meet with them.
Once you’ve given the sailmakers your measurements they will be able to create a mock up and work out whether or not your measurements are accurate. They can see whether you’ve done something silly through their own calculations which was really reassuring considering we had never done something like this before.
How Long Do New Sails Last?
If you only take your boat out a few times per year, you might be able to get away with replacing your sails every 10 years or so. Our head sails lasted 12 years before they were in serious need of replacement.
But if you use your boat frequently or sail in rough waters, you might need to replace them more often.
This is also a personal choice, as you might be happy sailing a little slower with older, bagged-out sails, or you might want optimal performance from your sails at all times.
This is a commonly asked question so we’ve delved into it in a lot more detail in our post ‘how long do new sails last?‘
Prolonging The Lifespan Of Your New Sails
With proper care and regular maintenance, your new sails should last for quite a few years. Here are some tips to help you extend the life of your sails:
1. Inspect your sails regularly, both by sight while sailing and a more thorough check when you take them down. Look for rips, tears, or fraying edges and repair immediately to prevent the damage from getting worse.
2. Store your sails properly when not in use. You can keep them in a sail loft during your off season, or store them somewhere dry and out of sunlight.
3. Don’t leave your sails rolled up for extended periods of time. This can cause them to become misshapen and difficult to use.
4. When furling or reefing your sails, be gentle to avoid damaging the fabric.
5. Have your sails professionally cleaned and inspected at least once a year, or learn to inspect them properly yourself. This will help identify any potential problems so they can be fixed before they cause major damage.
Conclusion: How Much Do New Sails Cost
To conclude, if you are in the market for new sails then it is important to consider all of the variables that will affect the final cost. The size and type of sails you need, as well as the condition of your existing rigging, will all play a role in determining how much you ultimately pay.
By getting multiple quotes and doing some research ahead of time, you can be sure to get the best possible deal on your new sails.
