TESTIMONIALS

J/24   2008-9-11

New J-24 Sails

Eric, We used your new cut J-24 Genoa and Main at the Youngstown Level regatta for the first time and wanted to let you know they were fast "right out of the box". We were so late to the course we missed the first race and with just a few set up tips from Kris Warner we had great upwind boatspeed with our first setup. Wind range went over the complete genoa range and interestingly when we went to the jib ( getting a little tired), when combined with the new main we still had great boatspeed.

We were extremely impressed with the performance of these new sails and there ease of setup. Basically it seems they trim just like the high clew genoa design based on chainplate and spreader distances. Only difference is more forward lead position.

Tom Chapman

 

Catalina 30 Tall Rig   2008-9-10

Nice Job This Year

Steve, Just wanted you to know that the Pentex headsail raced 6 seasons, which is the most raced sail we use and 2004 main Pentex is still keeping us in 1 st place even after our main competition got a new main & head sail this year from a other sailmaker.The headsail had a small patch at the spreader area with no other repairs needed. Also the support and on the water trim help from Doug and Eric has always been great. We took fleet champion last year and should be the same this year. Looking forward to getting a crisp replacement soon. That Smoke Pentex you made is "SMOKING" and has been noticed by the fleet, sometimes we feel like the pirate boat the Black Pearl.

George Czumaj
ELUSIVE
Buffalo,   NY  
 

J/24   2008-8-11

Sail Oswego

Doug, I just read your latest news letter with scores from regional regattas. You failed to mention that I won Sail Oswego overall with the new Haarstick J/24 kite you build for "Rake Hell" last fall for the J/24 East Coast Championships. At Sail Oswego, we could pass boats down wind when we had to put boats between us and the closest competitor. All the Haarstick sails I have purchased for my J/35 are also fast and looking as good as the day they were delivered. The J/24 Jib you built for "Rake Hell" last fall was fast and indestructible in 35-40 knot blasts we depended on in Annapolis last fall. I believe in giving credit where credit is due. Great sails, great service.

Great sails, great service.

Jim Enwright
Rake Hell

 

Ensign   2008-8-5

I'd been thinking of trying out Haarstick sails for a while and finally had an opportunity to try them at this years Region IV and Region V regattas. I called Doug Burtner of Haarstick and asked him if I could get some sails and if he would like to crew at Region V with us and he agreed. First I was impressed with the enthusiastic customer service and the speed in which the order was received. The workmanship and construction of the sails is excellent. Then on the race course I was impressed with the way the spinnaker set and how it trimmed in all conditions. I also like the lighting bolt panels. The boat's speed was balanced both upwind and down. In the past we've been fast upwind but pay for it downwind and vise versa. We placed a very respectable Third in this regional event in a borrowed brand new Ensign Classic "gotawana" hull No. 2025.

We then sailed in the Region IV Regional Championships in Dillon, Colorado and stayed to participate in the Dillon Open. We tried a slightly different approach with using a combination of the Haarstick Spinnaker and Main with our older like new North Genoa. We also changed the rig and trim of the sails slightly and were very pleased with the results. We placed First in both regattas in a borrowed boat Tarmagan 1498!

Zeke Durica
Ensign Spars Inc

 

J/22   2008-2-25

Doug, 2 things – first of all you should know that a Jamaican team with Haarstick jib and main went to Cayman for their KPMG regatta last weekend. We ended up coming 5th out of 9 in a very competitive small fleet. Terry Flynn of Quantum Sails Texas ended up winning the event but we were very glad to beat him in two races. The Cayman teams are awesome.

http://www.caymannetnews.com/news-5184--1-1--.html

Conditions were variable and very unusual for Cayman – 5 to 15 knots out of the south east (the direction being unusual). Coming off the land made it very bumpy. It took us two days to figure out what to look for on the water.

What tickled me was that we campaigned my 18 month old main and my three (or four?) year old jib. We had great speed and height on the water and the races were won or lost in the hunt for pressure and puffs. Anyway, having blown that trumpet, I lost a batten in the main last December when the stitching on the end of the pocket pulled out. I have repaired the pocket but need a batten! Can you help? It is the second from the top. I don’t mind paying for it, I just want it to match the others.

Regards,

Richard Hamilton

 

Freedom 38   2007-12-9

The newsletter request for comments jogged me to comment about the great quality and service Steve and his crew provide.

My first exposure to Haarstick sails was the ones which came with my Freedom 38 seventeen years ago. I am impressed by how they held their shape over time. Considerably better than the sails on my previous boat. The jib was replaced a few years ago and the main last year. This I consider excellent. While some years I only get a couple dozen day sails there are other tough years of cruising 3-4 months with daily sails in light breeze to overpowered with 3 reefs. Service is great too. The foot of my new main had some interference with boom which was cheerfully and quickly adjusted. They even paid for shipping.

Ed Weber

 

C&C 29-2   2007-12-8

This is a commendation to Eric Christensen for his help in keeping my sails in top shape.

My new mainsail brought us up 5 or 6 % on upwind legs.

Paul Sullivan

 

Sabre 28-2   2007-9-13

New Mainsail

I was extremely pleased with the result of ordering the mainsail from Haarstick - via the internet! Lots of conventional wisdom out there about finding a loft near you, but out here on Lake Michigan where I sail, no one is that close.

An old sailor from your area, Doug Beaudet, who used to skipper the Sonar JAVA out of Genesee Yach Club has taken up residence out here in Michigan and now sails on our Great Lake. He mentioned Haarstick as a good source so I contacted you via email and between a few emails with digital pictures passed back and forth, along with Doug's help and your expertise, I got a perfect fit and a great sail.

By the way, you're right about the leechline on the headsail needing tightening in the video, but the cleat was missing and that was the best we could do... looks like I may be in the market for a new one?

Thanks for the great customer service!

Bob Houf
Sabre 28
New Buffalo,   MI  
 

C&C 29-1   2006-8-6

Levels and new sails

Thanks Steve, I feel that we need a few more races over Skip to consider ourselves the C&C 29 World Champion (I didnt name the trophy!) He dns'd three races on the first day due to a crewmembers injury needing stiches.

With the new main and #1 we were sawing off the others like we had some special lift allowing us to point higher and keep the speed up.. Those sails were making us fly like some disney movie. Having a crew come together for levels (Todd Schumacher, Todd Swan, Todd Sherry, Jeff Swan, Bob Gibson and my son Patrick) and our first day out together on Celtic Fire was day one at the regatta as well as Patricks first big regatta. They all handled the tactics, position relative to others and of course trim so all I had to do was drive and listen to input from the crew. This regatta wasnt easy, we're beat, bruised and mentally drained but all worth it.

For over 30 years the 29 fleet has been around, its the largest C&C fleet at levels again this year and its growing still. Thanks for your support and building fast sails, they sure were noticed on the race course, and in the post race "buzz" at the raft afterwards. It is hard to believe, but those sails exceeded my expectations.

John Meagher
Celtic Fire

 

Cal 33-2   2006-7-5

Hi Eric, Trust you got my message on Sunday. Turned out the "boys" postponed the race on Friday night because they weren't sure I'd have my boat there! Didn't bother to call me. Oh, well!! We had a great sail--used the 135, definitely too much for the 155. Had a bunch of people. Jim Kondziela and Sandy, Rory and his wife and daughter, Dave R. and his son and both daughters, Adam Masters and his girl friend. Pretty much a reach but sometimes a beat. The wind got pretty heavy so I suggested we take down the main, plenty of wind for the head sail alone. As we started to drop the main, we kept gybing. Rory was driving and said 'something is wrong, I can't steer except at the ends'! The cable had come off the wheel. So we got out the emergency tiller and sailed back home. Adam put the cable back on, but it does need tightening. Hhm, wonder what is going next??? Does give one anxiety attacks and I never have that problem.

I wanted to tell you how happy I am with the new 155 head sail you built for Taller Cotton! My crew and I thought it worked real well on all points of sail on the river, but it really proved itself on the Interclub Cruise! I wasn't too surprised by the first place finish on Saturday because we usual do well on the reaches and runs. But, Sunday, the Dover course race was a different story. We again took a first place! We have never done well on the course races and to take a first place had to be in large part due to the new head sail. We were running a tight battle for first place for our fleet with Xtra Xtra from Burlington trailing us by one or two points all week. Wed. we ended up with a third, still a respectable finish for a 12 mile beat race, so we were second over all for our fleet for the week. Thanks, Eric for a great job and being so attentive. Do hope you will be able to come out with us sometime.

Sue Robinson

 

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