Much has been happening lately.
We now have pricing on our new Banks sails and will soon be taking deposits.
The price for the complete suit (main, jib, spinnaker, battens and batten
tensioners , sail bags and shipping to the US from China) is $2593.20.
Remember
sails have gone up in price. A new suit of 49er sails (from Ovington) is now
$3493 and to put this in perspective I asked Dale for some information on
material costs. The material used in the body of our main and jib costs $18.13
per yard wholesale. The material of the type used in the 49er sails is $5.70
per yard wholesale. As with every part on the Swift Solo, we have focused on
long term costs and believe these sails will outlast 49er sails by a minimum of
200%.
Everyone who orders with the initial order will get their sails for $2293.20
(plus shipping costs), a savings of $300. In order to get in on this initial
order you'll need to get me a deposit of $500 by July 7th and be prepared to
pay the balance when the sails arrive in about five or six weeks. The deposit
is not refundable since we will have to take delivery once they are ordered.
We're also taking orders for spinnaker socks. We will be making these 10 at
a time (or more) with the first group being ready to mail on July 25th. The
price is $168.11 plus shipping. You'll need to pay for these in advance and
tell me the location of your spinnaker throat and the length of it's arc at the
point were the front of the sock attaches. If you want in on this order
you'll need to send your check prior to July 8th.
Weâve completed the preliminary certification of our Canadian Builder Roger
Wright (final certification in a month or so). Roger has just moved in to his
new shop and is doing a great job of setting up for production and clearly has
the skill to make Swifts of the highest quality.
Several people asked about the results of the regatta against the Musto and
the asymmetrical International Canoe. The regatta was pretty much a bust and
we learned little. While the wind ranged from 0 to 8 knots, it was coming from
the South, east, north and up and often these extremes in wind speeds existed
within 100 yards of each others and sometimes from all of the above mentioned
directions. On more than one occasion my Swift would be planning with the
kite up while passing boats that were nearly becalmed 40 yards below and going
the same direction -- beating to weather. Other times it was my turn to park
the boat in a hole while other were moving fast only 25 yards away. Generally,
I came away with a couple of impressions. First, I'm more convinced than
ever that both the asymmetrical IC and the Swift are easier to sail and faster
than the Musto. Second, I think the IC has a small advantage to weather and
the
Swift a small advantage down wind. We've agreed to meet again at Huntington
Lake next month and have another go. Huntington is my favorite place to sail
and the winds are nearly always dependable. One thing for sure, these IC guys
are a great bunch of people and tended to substantiate my belief that classes
with somewhat open rules attract the best minds in sailing and that they have
the most fun.
One other item keeps popping up and we need to do a better job of explaining.
The Swift Solo uses varnish over the epoxy for extra UV protection, however,
this is not like having a varnished wood boat. US 002 has nearly three
seasons on it and still looks like new and I have no intention of re-varnishing
it
for at least another year or two unless I somehow manage to screw it up. You
do need to keep a boat cover on the boat when you're not sailing it, but
that's a good idea with any boat. In short, the boat requires very little
maintenance.
Bram
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