Sail repair

[tomerickson]

I need reef points and some minor repairs on a sail for my 16' Wayfarer. The big lofts want $75 an hour. Anyone know where (near Boston) I can get it done for less?
Thanks, Tom

[Boyd]

Try contacting Sailrite.com. They can supply you with all the tools and materials to do it yourself.

[Todd Bradshaw]

Installing reef lines isn't cheap. The luff tape and leech hem have to be taken apart to install the new corner patches and the little patches across the middle are a pain to sew because you have to sew all sides of them, sometimes rolling, unrolling and re-rolling the whole sail three or four times just to catch all the edges and a line across the center of a simple 4" patch. That said, it isn't particularly difficult work from a technical standpoint and most folks could probably do it if saving money was a prime factor. I generally get about $140 for a reef line on a sail that size, which should give you a ballpark dollar figure. Your sailmaker should be able to give you a quote for the job as well as a price for labor by the hour. If they can't do it for such a basic sail modification, look elsewhere.