Sailrite UK Service

[Seaworthy Lass]

Has anyone had any experience with Sailrite in the UK?

The general comments from people in the US seems to be:
"buying a new Sailrite includes the great support from the folks at Sailrite".

I have not had a lot of joy corresponding with them in the UK. I tried to buy an LSZ-1 while we were on the hardstand last winter and I had a mailing address. They didn't have one in stock, but said they would let me know as soon as it was in. Every couple of weeks I would email and ask had one come in yet (I was really keen to get one before we left) with the same reply. Eventually we launched and seven months later I have still not heard back from them.

Also contacted them a couple of years ago regarding a query on purchasing sewing thread. Again never heard back.

I will be in a spot again soon where I will have a delivery address again and am tossing up what to do. I am a bit concerned purchasing an expensive item like this if after sale service mirrors my experience so far .

[synchronicity98]

This may not help at all, but can you just deal with Sailrite USA? Or even better, find a used machine and have it shipped to you?

I bought a barely-used LS-1 machine down here in Mexico for CDN $300 (included the Monster Balance Wheel, which is a must for the boat!!), and had to contact Sailrite support to get help with a clutch slipping issue (although it turned out it was just my lack of knowledge that was the problem -- absolutely nothing wrong with the machine).

Anyways, Sailrite's support people were back to me within *hours* of my posting a question on their forum, and were more than willing to bend over backwards to help -- and all this despite the fact that I bought the machine second-hand and have no paperwork, etc etc. Later I purchased some thread + bug screen from them and had friends bring it down to us in Mexico -- again their customer service was fantastic (I had to change the order a little after I'd already placed it) and I was very impressed with the overall experience!

Just my 2 cents

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by synchronicity98

This may not help at all, but can you just deal with Sailrite USA? Or even better, find a used machine and have it shipped to you?

Hi Synchronicity
Thanks for the feedback.

I have now bitten the bullet and bought a Sailrite LSZ with a Monster Balance Wheel from Sailrite's EU distributor, Solent Sew in the UK.

The service was infinitely better if I rang and spoke to Solent Sew rather than emailing. I recommend anyone does this with any important queries .

Unfortunately ordering directly from the US was just not an option for me while being boat based here in Greece. I would have been faced with complicated tax issues and I have heard that import taxes here are weirdly partly based on weight as well as value, so I would not have fared too well.

If I need any technical assistance I think I will contact the US directly.
Also, I have found some of Sailrites YouTube videos very helpful so far.

Again thanks for your post .