John, Max Skelley is a stand-up guy and, aside from a paid gig he did with the notorious "Pod" (John Podmajersky, a jerk who got booted from a storied Great Lakes YC) I have NEVER heard anyone say a bad word about Max, his product and the longevity/quality of the sails he builds.
Needless to say, he pretty much owns the HdG J24 fleet and also has very good penetration into the Annap J105 fleet and the regional Melges 24 fleet, among other strong classes (including IRC). The laminate sails he builds are known for being fast and for retaining shape well into their projected duty-cycles. He is known to be very good to outstanding in the customer service dept. My one hesitation is that the Ullman/Skelley loft has become very popular with the fleets mentioned above and he may not be prioritizing builds for customers for other purposes and designs (such as Catalina) these days, but you could certainly ask him! He also gets paid a decent amount as a Cat 3 professional and I have heard of certain builds being a little late b/c Max was at so and so regatta sailing the Whatever Worlds. must be nice to be Max. But anyway, that loft has my sincerest recommendations! tf HdGYC J24 hull #4201
