diff --git a/config/dependencies/istio/sail/deployment_patch.yaml b/config/dependencies/istio/sail/deployment_patch.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index ea48c7e37..000000000
--- a/config/dependencies/istio/sail/deployment_patch.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-apiVersion: apps/v1
-kind: Deployment
-metadata:
-  name: istio-operator
-spec:
-  template:
-    spec:
-      containers:
-      - name: manager
-        # nightly build from commit b7f5286be0bc25cb257bc439e7c18acb99dce26f
-        image: quay.io/maistra-dev/istio-operator:3.0-nightly-2024-01-18
diff --git a/config/dependencies/istio/sail/istio.yaml b/config/dependencies/istio/sail/istio.yaml
index afe4b4480..c5ccbd704 100644
--- a/config/dependencies/istio/sail/istio.yaml
+++ b/config/dependencies/istio/sail/istio.yaml
@@ -1,15 +1,12 @@
-apiVersion: operator.istio.io/v1alpha1
+apiVersion: sailoperator.io/v1alpha1
 kind: Istio
 metadata:
   name: default
 spec:
-  version: v1.20.0
+  # Supported values for sail-operator v0.1.0 are [v1.22.4,v1.23.0]
+  version: v1.23.0
   namespace: istio-system
   # Disable autoscaling to reduce dev resources
   values:
     pilot:
       autoscaleEnabled: false
-  rawValues:
-    gateways:
-      istio-ingressgateway:
-        autoscaleEnabled: false
diff --git a/config/dependencies/istio/sail/kustomization.yaml b/config/dependencies/istio/sail/kustomization.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index e642d7ff9..000000000
--- a/config/dependencies/istio/sail/kustomization.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
----
-namespace: istio-system
-resources:
-- github.com/maistra/istio-operator/config/default?ref=b7f5286be0bc25cb257bc439e7c18acb99dce26f
-# commit sha from prior to removal of kustomize manifests
-patches:
-- path: deployment_patch.yaml
-  target:
-    kind: Deployment
-    name: istio-operator
diff --git a/make/istio.mk b/make/istio.mk
index d9df5202a..f2126cc54 100644
--- a/make/istio.mk
+++ b/make/istio.mk
@@ -42,16 +42,21 @@ istioctl-uninstall: istioctl ## Uninstall istio.
 istioctl-verify-install: istioctl ## Verify istio installation.
 	$(ISTIOCTL) verify-install -i $(ISTIO_NAMESPACE)
 
+SAIL_VERSION = 0.1.0
 .PHONY: sail-install
-sail-install: kustomize
-	$(KUSTOMIZE) build $(ISTIO_INSTALL_DIR)/sail | kubectl apply -f -
-	kubectl -n $(ISTIO_NAMESPACE) wait --for=condition=Available deployment istio-operator --timeout=300s
+sail-install: helm
+	$(HELM) install sail-operator \
+		--create-namespace \
+		--namespace $(ISTIO_NAMESPACE) \
+		--wait \
+		--timeout=300s \
+		https://github.com/istio-ecosystem/sail-operator/releases/download/$(SAIL_VERSION)/sail-operator-$(SAIL_VERSION).tgz
 	kubectl apply -f $(ISTIO_INSTALL_DIR)/sail/istio.yaml
 
 .PHONY: sail-uninstall
-sail-uninstall: kustomize
+sail-uninstall: helm
 	kubectl delete -f $(ISTIO_INSTALL_DIR)/sail/istio.yaml
-	$(KUSTOMIZE) build $(ISTIO_INSTALL_DIR)/sail | kubectl delete -f -
+	$(HELM) uninstall sail-operator
 
 .PHONY: istio-install
 istio-install: