The bloke at Reliance Marine does sail repairs - the little shop behind the portacabin by the barrier on the carpark. I needed some webbing replaced at the top of one of my sails and he says that sends them away for repair - back in a couple of days! Prices from a tenner - bargain!

The bloke at Reliance Marine does sail repairs - the little shop behind the portacabin by the barrier on the carpark. I needed some webbing replaced at the top of one of my sails and he says that sends them away for repair - back in a couple of days! Prices from a tenner - bargain!

My experience of having a sail repared via Gif's shop were:

- Promised quick turnaround did not happen. It took two or three visits back at weekends before the sailcame back

- Repair lasted two sessions, though to be fair that may well just have been bad sailing / bad luck rather than a problem with the repair itself. I have no way of telling. There was certainly nothing visibly wrong with the repair.



Maybe it's just my imagination, but would I be right to get the impression that pricing at Gif's generally is a bit flexible / bespoke to fit customer? I'd be a little cautious about the phrase 'prices from'. I seem to remember that the price I eventually paid for the repair was more than the price originally quoted, but the difference was not huge and as the higher price still seemed just about OK-ish to me, I did not push the point.



Where do others get their sails fixed now?

Hmmmm - interesting what you say about Gif's gaff and prices.



I got quoted circa 25 for a replacement UJ / pin assembley and ended up paying 103.90 for ...



Mast peg - 3.99

Mast Extension (plain aluminium) - 29.95

4mm rope - 3.32

Mast Extension Base - 24.95

U/J - 14.95

Peg - 9.95

Washers and stud - 2.95

Sail cap - 13.95



I've got a very old slalom board - no modern stylee mastfoot type fitting. Not sure if I was over charged for that lot, but when he charged me 13.95 for the cap that goes in the head of the mast that is used to secure the webbing at the top of the sail, it did occur to me that that was a bit pricey for a little bit of plastic.



All that lot were generic parts - not by a named manufacturer.



If any one would like to comment on those prices - I'd be well grateful cos I'm stilll a bit of a newbie specially with regards to buying kit.



Maybe I'll hold fire on that sail repair for the meantime!

Get yourself to D-Spot. Windy John can usually sort you out....

Mast tracks are generally generic (with only a couple of exceptions) and I'm sure he'll upgrade you for a lot less than that !



Gif is very flexible in pricing - some people think he's great - but you'll find they've know him for years (and are also Sailiors) - those of us who are just windsurfers generally stear well clear...

Well said Ernie!



Giff will be the first to admit that windsurfing is not his priority, check out his trailer to see what I mean!



You need to get to know him, but he will give some pretty good discounts. If you don't know him, best going to D-Spot or Aloha.



Incidentally, Giff's infamous annual sale is set for 6th and 7th December. More likely to get a deal on a VHF or some Henri Lloyds...