this gusty afternoon, just as i told myself, "one more run then pack up," i crashed and split my the canopy on my 9m from leading edge all the way back, next to the centre strut. i'd love to get it repaired quickly, and i'm also after an accurate job that will maintain performance in the main power-producing part of the kite. never had a repair done in melbourne before.
which repairers do you recommend?
anyone to avoid?
frank, honest advice much appreciated,
cheers, brendan
i don't know if you can be bothered sticking it in a postpak but there's a new company Xilarate who do unreal repairs. they are in nsw, they have a website xilarate.com.au and their repairs are great. i'd try them. cheers
Go to Thompson Sails in Glenhuntly road, google him and give him a call he can have it done pretty quickly and does a good job too. I dont think he does bladders though, but sounds like that is all ok this time.
Avoid Horizon sails they want to charge hundreds for a simple repair. SHQ will also charge more than the average as they give it to someone else then add a cut on top.
I dont know anyone else in Melbourne.
Cheers
John Hooper - 9690 4831 - 35 Hancock St, Southbank
Seaport Canvas - Fty 21 Aitken St Williamstown 3016 0419 893 691
I used the John Hooper. Very friendly guy, and i always got the kite back the next day... and he is very cheap too... with the Horizon sails, they said i had to wait over a week to get the kite back...
I just used Horizon Sails (on the recommendation of RPS) to get a simple repair in my canopy. Cost me $100 (original quote was $60). Although they did a very good job with the repair, their customer service would have to be the worst I have experienced, ever!
I get the message that they do not value the kite repair element of their business and see kiters as a nuisance. Friends that have used them have had similar experiences.
To cut a long story, I had never used them before and simply wanted to know how they would repair my kite and what material they would use. My question was greeted with hostility, "we repair 5 kites a week, we know what we are doing... etc..." basically leave the kite, piss off and ask no questions. I came into contract with 3 different staff members on 3 different occasions and experienced a similar attitude.
So if you are looking for an ask no questions, drop box service by all means use Horizon. But, I won't be using them again, that's for sure.
I have used Horizon Sails too. Agree they weren't that friendly or excited about it, but they did an awesome job for about $60 for a couple of canopy tears. I would recommend them, and you save a kite shop's margin by going direct. Some shops will just be sending it down there anyway.
thanks for the responses. took it to hooper sails this morning (now at 6/109 Tulip St Cheltenham). john very friendly, said he'll have it done by tomorrow morning, estimated $80 for canopy ripped from front to back and about 40cm along the leading-edge seam. seems a pretty good deal to me. will post on repair quality and appearance when i get it back.
hmmm, this morning, at hooper sails, the repair looked great as i followed it from the trailing edge forwards, until ... to my horror, he'd caught the leading edge with a couple of stitches at the end of the repair. he was embarrassed and apologetic, and fortunately he seemed to have missed the bladder. phew. the stitches (only a couple) were easily unpicked, and all seems well.
otherwise the repair looks sweet, was a 24hr turnaround, and a good price. i put the leading edge thing down to a freak accident, and i reckon he'll be more careful with kites in the future, but still ...
just letting y'all know. happy kiting,
brendan
