[dpboatnut]

If your boat had 25 year old sails, I''m guessing racing isn''t part of your plans. It sounds like you have a 15-18 foot daysailor / pocketcruiser?

If you asked "how much for a main for a Blank 16", you''d expect to get some wild price estimates. A sailsperson thumbs through his boat spec catalogue, finds the generic specs for your boat, multiplies ExP/2, maybe tosses in a factor for roach, and quotes you what he thinks. The big lofts almost always will come to your boat and measure your spars, and review your sailing intentions, and then give you a firm quote. With your dozen quotes, I''m guessing that hasn''t happened yet. The mail-order lofts will give you a form to take your own measurements, and you can choose various levels of performance, economy, or durability. Special requests aren''t too bad either, if you know what to ask for (a deep reef instead of two shallow, or webbed cringles instead of unreinforced pressed cringles, etc.) The square footage quoted is usually just a pricing basis footage, not the actual square footage of cloth in a finished sail.

Sailnet here has a pretty good automatic sailquoter, as well as forms you can print to see if the measuring is something you feel confident in.

For a new buyer of sails, it''s pretty instructive to take the time to thoroughly review Sailnet''s sailmaking website, and probably Cruising Direct''s, too. There lots of information there to make you a smarter shopper regardless of where you end up buying. Just knowing the options gives you the ability to ask your sailmaker for a sail with the specifications that you''ll be happy with.

Best,
-Chad