How to Order New Sails – Ullman Sails Review

How To Order New Sails - Our Ullman Sails Review

It’s about time! That’s what we said we when finally decided to take the plunge and get new sails for our 1980’s Holder. I’m not saying that we don’t love the bright blue and rainbow striped sails (because we do) but the sails themselves we just worn out and not as efficient as they once were. Once the decision was made to get new sails we wanted to know How To Order New Sails. We called up our friend Chuck Skews at Ullman Sails San Diego and asked if he’d be willing to guide us through the process of designing new sails for our little Holder.

We had a couple of phone chats and then a few weeks later we found ourselves in San Diego at the Ullman Sails loft. Being at their loft is truly a fun and unique experience. From the moment you walk in the door you feel as if you are dropping by an incredibly talented friend’s workshop. There are stacks of sails of all different sail cloth in all kinds of materials and colors. The day we visited the staff was busy with several different projects. There was sail repair projects, measuring and cutting projects and of course lots of machines for sewing new and old sails together.

Here’s our Ullman Sails Review and How to Order New Sails

1. First they’ll want a quick consultation with you. They will ask you questions like:

    • What do you use your boat for? Daysailing? Overnight trips? Racing?
    • Where do you sail mostly? On a lake? The ocean?
    • What are you looking for in a sail?

Here’s how we answered these questions:

We have 30-40 year old sails that have lost some shape and as a result their performance has dropped dramatically. We do a lot of lake sailing with low-moderate wind and we are looking for sails that will give us more power and efficiency on the water.

2. The next thing they will look at is your existing sails.

We brought in both our main and jib sails. They whisked them off right away to be measured and detailed. Our specific request was to keep our original numbers and we got our wish.

3. Choosing on the right sailcloth for you.

At Ullman sails they really listen to your needs and wants and guide you toward the best sailcloth for you and your boat. After a brief discussion and looking at our sails, Chuck was quick to make a great recommendation of a polyester laminate sail for our Hobie Holder. The threads of this sail are laminated between films in a radial configuration making it lighter, lower stretch and thus retaining its shape better over time. This polyester laminate sail gives us everything we need in a newer better sail.

4. Choosing your new colors.

This may not seem like a hard decision, but when they have so many cool color combos available, the choice can be overwhelming. In the end, we decided to go with this red and blue fused color cloth to help match our blue hull. It’s a beautiful looking material and we are so excited to see it on the water.

That’s about all there is. After payment and a few minor details, your new sails will be ready to be hoisted up on your mast. We couldn’t be happier with our experience at Ullman Sails and especially for Chuck who made the whole process fun! Next time we need new sails or sail repair we know who we will call first.

Watch our video below with Chuck Skewes at the Ullman Sails loft in San Diego as we go through the whole process of  how to order new sails and our Ullman Sails Review.

To see what our new sails look like on the water click here.

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