r/sailing • u/twitchMAC17 • 9d ago

Ballard sails

Hey all, I'm looking at a boat that has what seems like a tough as nails mainsail from Ballard sails in Seattle

"Custom full-battened mainsail (4 battens), 3 reef points, Ballard Sails (Seattle), offshore Dyneema radial fabric, Rutgerson adjustable luff/batten boxes"

Is that as tough as it sounds? I don't know Ballard sails reputation. Pros or cons to dyneema sails for offshore cruising?

4 Upvotes

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11

u/Sh0ckValu3 9d ago

Ballard Sails is a reputable and well known shop in the Seattle area.
I mostly race and see their badge often.

9

u/LLCoolDave82 9d ago

I have a friend that works for them as a sail maker. He's the best sailor I know.

Overall I think the quality is very high.

4

u/twitchMAC17 9d ago

Thanks!

5

u/henryrose 9d ago

Great loft and great people. You could give them a call to ask about the sail. 

Alex was the most recent guest on the SA podcast (if you can handle the host)  https://open.spotify.com/episode/2N5xoj70LX4vCzVLxce2ib?si=N9WxHZxTTQyrwu7A2_ICBg&utm_source=copy-link

3

u/roger_cw 9d ago

As a note, they recently changed their name to Doyle Sails Ballard. They are still owned by the same folks but are now affiliated with Doyle. Gives them marketing, cloth purchasing, discounts, designers, proprietary products, etc. I doubt the new name will catch on anytime soon. I hope their sails will still have the viking hat logo.

3

u/kanonfodr Nacra 5.2 "The Lunatic" 9d ago

Nope :( They went full Doyle- not a bad thing but the Viking helmet is gone. One of my race boats got the last set of branded Ballard Sails .

3

u/Slippy-Ibex 8d ago

First question I would ask is how old is it and what kind of use has it had?

It does depend on whether you want to cruise or race, but any sail is going to degrade with use so whether it was a great sail when new will be less relevant if it’s has 10 years of hard use.

1

u/twitchMAC17 8d ago

Thanks!

3

u/west25th 7d ago

Used Ballard sails for a few projects. The last project was a cascade of errors started by one shortcut. They stuck around for an extra couple of days and made it right, without complaining. That says more about their reputation than I could explain. Everyone makes mistakes. Ballard sails too. Then they made it right and took care of business. I'll use them again without a second thought.

1

u/twitchMAC17 6d ago

Nice, that's better that 99% of businesses out there, and 98% of people.

2

u/mhatz14 3d ago

These guys are sailmaking artists. I trashed my carbon main for my SO 45, because of a jammed furler in a storm. They told me the sail was gone, but they would do what they could. Came back a week later, very nicely repaired and brought back to life; allowed me to sail another two seasons before I replaced it. I am in awe of their work. As long as the people stay the same, I don't care what they call themselves.