has anyone used kelly hansen sails
are they any good
they used to advertise here and i dont see that anymore
any info i need a jib for the hobie 21se fairly fast like by 4th july
Thanks
Ted

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Ted
Hobie 21SE Feral Cat
Upstate NY lake sailing
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I tried but had bad luck. I needed new sails for a nacra 6.0 and emailed them for a quote, they indicated that they were not sure they could make the sails and ask me for photos to help them. I sent them numerous photos and never received a reply. Not responding is not a good way to do business. I also tried to get a quote from filling out their on line form Calvert sails in Florida (I had my previous set made from them as well as a friend at the same time, both of us paid with cold hard cash close to $5,000) never received a quote from them or a reply either. Great way to do business. Got fed up, called Elliott/Pattison in California told them what I wanted and received my sails at my door in Florida on the 13th day after my phone call. NOW THAT IS HOW YOU DO BUSINESS AND KEEP A CUSTOMER FOR LIFE!!!!

Quote

Got fed up, called Elliott/Pattison in California told them what I wanted and received my sails at my door in Florida on the 13th day after my phone call. NOW THAT IS HOW YOU DO BUSINESS AND KEEP A CUSTOMER FOR LIFE!!!!

I called elliot today on the phone and he answered and spent about twenty minutes with me on the phone, and i will order from him this week, excelent business to deal with so far......

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Ted
Hobie 21SE Feral Cat
Upstate NY lake sailing
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BEWARE of www.peaksails.com – it seems to be a scam.

According to many internet posts - they are owned by ex-owner of Kelly-Hanson Sails which was known for taking payments and not sending sails to customers.
If you dig into a sail forums you will find more info.

At the first glance their operation looks very legit, and the prices look great – lucky for me I did not lose any money as I got cautious after little “on line” chat on their website. Afer not receiving any response to my quote request - I have decided to enquire about that. Here is exact example of their "customer service":

?anybody there?
PeakSails: Hi. This is Tyler.
PeakSails: How can I help you?
?Tyler - this is Peter - what is happening with the quote?
PeakSails: Which Peter am I speaking with?
?The one that you spoke to yestarday and stopped responding when I asked you for the quote - Hobie Fox – remember?
PeakSails: Pardon me?
?Pardon me what?
PeakSails: Do you have any clue how long it takes to quote three custom sails? It isn't like buying a loaf of bread at the corner store.
PeakSails: And there are probably 20 people ahead of you.
?How can I call the office - I tried several times, but it always is only automated answering system
PeakSails: Maybe because we are busy.
PeakSails: You are rude.
PeakSails: Pushy, or both.
?You can be sure that this text with the comment that it was from your site will be posted in many forums.
PeakSails: And I will refer your threats to the owner.
PeakSails: Please let us know which forums you plan to post to so I can respond.
PeakSails: Most real sailors understand that this is the busy season.
PeakSails: And requests for quotes are handled as they come in.
PeakSails: You, however, seem to think it is okay to shove your way to the front of the line.
PeakSails: Don't think there will be much sympathy.
PeakSails: I participate in several of the cat forums.
PeakSails: I will be watching for your posts and will be happy to respond should you decide to "stretch the truth".


After this conversation I looked them up on the web, and there is many people stating that they have never heard from them after sending payment.

See this:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion-sailing-related/81329-whats-going-kelly-hanson-sails-2.html

I just received sails (main and jib) from Skip at Elliot Pattison Sails http://www.epsails.com/. It was my first time buying new sails and it was a pleasant experience. The turn-around was like 3 weeks tops. Keep in mind these guys designed many of the sails back in the day for many of these boats. He knew everything about my boat (Nacra Inter-18). Also, they are made here is the US. I'm pretty sure some of the places that sell H-16 or the like knock offs are outsourcing to China.

I shopped around at Strictly Sail and the big guys (North, Quantum, and the like) wanted no part of the insulting $2800. They are only interested in making $10K-100K sails for big boats... bad for them, good for Skip. I'm sorry I don't own a J-105 and buy sails every year, by the way, my boat will pack a J-105 a sandwich even with 10 year old taped up sails.

As a side note. I called the guy from Whirlwind like 10 times... cash in hand, ready to place an order and got zero, none, nadda response. He makes a nice sail, a couple of guys on the beach here have them, but sails need love sometimes and if the response of that support stinks, you don't sail or do more damage to the sail.

I think I made a wise choice with EP sails. I'll follow up after we get out. Wilmette Sailing Beach (officially) opens May 15. Prob get out before then. http://wilmettesailing.com

--Norm



Edited by nhanson on Apr 12, 2012 - 09:32 AM.

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nacra inter-18
CNBP
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As a side note. I called the guy from Whirlwind like 10 times... cash in hand, ready to place an order and got zero, none, nadda response.

I would not be so hard on Chip of the Whirlwind. I've learn, you have to patient while dealing with Chip. But your patience will be rewarded. As far as I know, he is now just one person operation and his sails are mostly done oversees. There is not exactly a dozen of operators standing by to get your order. Recession was very hard on the entire industry.

I've got my H17 Pentex square-head sail from Whirlwind just a few weeks ago and couldn't me more happy. The quality is second to none, solid design, and looks great.

Check out a few pictures with sail details

http://s1231.photobucket.…ent=2012_Spring_1055.jpg



Edited by jackb on Apr 12, 2012 - 04:33 PM.

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Jack B
Hobie 17
BC, Canada
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If the recession was very hard on the entire industry, then a good company will step up when you have a customer with cash in hand ready to do business. I was that customer and did not receive even an email or call back. There are good companys out there willing to give you a good product at a fair price with good after the sale concerns. To say you have to just be patient while dealing with Chip is absurd. If they want to stay in business they have to understand that THE CUSTOMER COMES FIRST. To be patient is one thing, but when the company or person does not respond that tells me a great deal about them. First and foremost is to NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM

Quote

I would not be so hard on Chip of the Whirlwind.

I'm not being hard on Chip. I'm stating the facts and he did not get my hard earned money. I was just disappointed not to receive ANY communication. I want fellow consumers to hear my story. They can make there own informed decisions.

Shame he has those sails made in China.



Edited by nhanson on Apr 13, 2012 - 03:02 PM.

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nacra inter-18
CNBP
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Quote

To say you have to just be patient while dealing with Chip is absurd.

Is is just a reality, and not that unusual. During a recession, many company have to downscale. Then capacity to deliver is reduced. Even with a recovery, a conservative approach is to take it slow, just in case. There is a company in my town that makes a luxury RV's. They went from over 100 employees to 7. Sails and boats will be in a similar category. I would not be a surprised with a 90% drop in demand.

On the top of this, this is a busy season. Lots of people just realized then need a sail. My guess, he may need to deal with a 100 calls a day. I would send him an e-mail.

As to Kelly Hansen, there is no excuse. BBB gave them a solid F. If Peak Sails has nothing to do with KH, they better get clean on it, or the rumor will continue.

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Jack B
Hobie 17
BC, Canada
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For all of my adoring fans...Thank you for the continued support.

For all of my detractors...Wait in line.

...../)

BTW...Don't get me started on Art Kelly and all of those ("I'm not a sailmaker, I just play one on the Internet") phonies !!!

And for the gentleman with the Nacra 6.0... EP built the factory original Nacra sails.

I grew up racing Hobies in the '80's, designed sails for The Hobie Cat Co in the '90's and grew a successful sail business catering to Hobie owners in the '00's.

If there were more Nacra's nearby I might have a better handle on those boats!!

I Love The Internet !!!

Chip ... welcome to the forum. I'm actually glad you decided to jump in. This gives you the opprtunity to earn back some folks business. On our and surrounding beaches 98% of all boats are 5 years old or more. They will or do need new sails. I think there is a market there (albeit not huge) for sailmakers like yourself, ep and others.

Earn our business! Be active on the forum. Start a thread on why to buy from custom/local/US based sailmakers. Get other sailmakers to chime in. If you need an old sail of type X as a template ... post, asking to borrow one. Make the guy a duffel as payment ... I don't know ... build your brand! Don't let old cats die.

Unfortunately you lost the opprtunity with me, but I'll need sails again and there are many hundreds of boats in the Chicago area, none of them brand new.

--Norm



Edited by nhanson on Apr 14, 2012 - 03:57 PM.

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nacra inter-18
CNBP
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When I was looking for new sails for my Prindle 19, I emailed Chip at Whirlwind. He replied promptly and answered all my questions. Very pleasant experience and I would recommend him.

But I did not go with Whirlwind. I had the local sail loft, Mariner-Sails build them for me. Supporting local companies and having them close by in case I needed anything was a major factor. Eddie at Mariner did a fantastic job and added lots of nice custom features. I also highly recommend them.

Here are a few pics of the sails:
http://prindle19.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

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Uwe
94 Prindle 19 - "überKat"
DFW, TX
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I ordered the classic color mainsail from Peak Sails 3 days ago. Within 24 hours of the order I was contacted by customer service informing me that they have the performance model(heavier white dacron) in stock and they would provide it to me at no extra cost. They also mentioned that they have 2 available. I have done a lot of research about this company and from what I can tell, people that ordered from this company and were patient were happy with the quality of the product.
There are a lot of comments in various forums bashing the customer service of peak sails but I for one am not sure how valid these are. I believe that these complaints may be from a competitor or previous employees of the company. So far the customer service from my end has been more than adequate. The payment method is convenient as well, I have not been able to find a better value or payment method and feel confident that my sail will be here within a reasonable time frame.
So that being said I would be interested in hearing other peoples experiences with peak sails as the negative responses on various forums seem to be from the same person, based on the context of the story and the delivery of and language used in the posts. The positive feedback I found seemed genuine, although some still complained about the time of the delivery. With a custom made sail I do not think 3-4 weeks is really a reasonable expectation to have it shipped, that's just my opinion. Being that I was told my sail was in stock I will be expecting delivery within 2 weeks considering my balance is paid in full. I will update or respond to further inquiries about my experience when my sail is delivered.

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Hobie 14/17

Tampa, FL
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Granted this is an older post but I wanted to jump on this one.

I ordered a jib from Chip about a month ago for my Prindle 18-2. Not only was he helpful but he was willing to answer any questions I had. The dude loves sails. His communication was awesome. He was sending me text messages, I am pretty sure, while he was building the jib. He wanted to make sure it was exactly the way I wanted it. Hard to ask for more than that.

My wife and I decided that for our Xmas present we will order a nice new custom mainsail for the boat. I already gave Chip a heads up that I will have a thousand questions :) He was like, "bring it".

He is one of the coolest guys I have done business with in a long time. He truly loves what he does. Unfortunately you are only as good as your last disappointed customer. We never give enough credit for all the happy ones. I'm one of the happy ones.

Pete Kovago



Edited by peterk123 on Oct 29, 2014 - 04:58 PM.

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New Prindle 18-2 Owner
Former Prindle 18 Owner
Multiple Hobie 16s
Boylston Massachusetts
Webster Lake Indian Lake Narragnsett Bay in Rhode Island
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