I Just bought two Fringes, 2.8 & 3.3. (2023 Fringe Pro's). Had 3 sessions so far on 3.3. One sweet run and the rest average and overpowered. I'm just wondering , what is the wind range like on these sails ? It seems to me that they become overpowered pretty quick ? This could have just been due to the conditions I was out in and having the sail rigged relatively full. ( on the side of minimal downhaul). The wind got strong pretty quick while I was out. Just wondering , again, is it just me or do they have a narrow wind range ? The one sweet run I've had so far was nice. The sail feels quite grunty compared to other sails I've used and you can definitely go pretty quick on them and they're light so I'm happy with feel, but if the wind range is limited and they become overpowered easily they might not the the best sail in gusty winter northerlies ? Im also wondering how people are rigging these sails for both light to strong wind, and are they more of a light to moderate (wind strength) sail for foiling or are they good in all conditions ?

What are you feeling to describe being overpowered? I don't have experience of the fringes, sorry. On the slalom Sunday at BL you were on the 3.3 and I was on 4.2. If you rig a sail with too little downhaul in gusty conditions it will feel a handful as you will get a lot of variation in mast foot pressure. However if you commit weight to the harness you will be able to better control it. Small sails can also feel unstable if rigged too flat. Pictures of your rigged sail will also help people to comment.

I feel the same. (And I posted about it.)Lots of grunt but when overpowered are a nightmare. I moved on. Also, the CoE is pretty far back.

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lao shi said..
What are you feeling to describe being overpowered? I don't have experience of the fringes, sorry. On the slalom Sunday at BL you were on the 3.3 and I was on 4.2. If you rig a sail with too little downhaul in gusty conditions it will feel a handful as you will get a lot of variation in mast foot pressure. However if you commit weight to the harness you will be able to better control it. Small sails can also feel unstable if rigged too flat. Pictures of your rigged sail will also help people to comment.

Thanks for the info. I'm aware of the variables you mention. I just want to know what people think of the wind range , ie big or small, and how people prefer to rig it.

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BullroarerTook said..
I feel the same. (And I posted about it.)Lots of grunt but when overpowered are a nightmare. I moved on. Also, the CoE is pretty far back.

Can u put up a link to your post ?

Wow, if you are overpowered with a 2.8 a d 3.3, you must have some great wind (30+knots ?)
Lucky!!.

I've had cambered foil sails (sailworks flyer) and the Fringes. When I was learning, I preferred the cambered sail sail for the stability because they hold their shape in lulls and gusts. Took me a while to get along with the fringe, but now it's my favorite in winds 18-24 knots size (3.7). The fringe is great for the low end power when rigged deep/mimal down haul. When overpowered, I leave the downhaul and use a lot more outhaul to flatten out the luff. It changes the feel moving the effort further back, but it just takes getting used to. A lot of downhaul will depower, but then the top of the leach is flapping in the breeze and annoying. I could use a smaller sail, but I would end of slogging between the gusts. I rig for the most flight time and ride out the gusts when overpowered. The peak gust usually don't last very long anyway.

My .02

I have Fringes, 2.8 and 3.5 and rig them only one way, fully downhauled at all times. I use them out east on the Columbia River where most afternoons get up to 30 kt. The 3.5 works over a wide range of 18-25 kt, and the 2.8 works from 25-35 kt. Above 25 kt most people sail with fins. With these sails I don't even notice the gusts. They just work. I weigh 90 kg.

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WsurfAustin said..
Wow, if you are overpowered with a 2.8 a d 3.3, you must have some great wind (30+knots ?)
Lucky!!.

I've had cambered foil sails (sailworks flyer) and the Fringes. When I was learning, I preferred the cambered sail sail for the stability because they hold their shape in lulls and gusts. Took me a while to get along with the fringe, but now it's my favorite in winds 18-24 knots size (3.7). The fringe is great for the low end power when rigged deep/mimal down haul. When overpowered, I leave the downhaul and use a lot more outhaul to flatten out the luff. It changes the feel moving the effort further back, but it just takes getting used to. A lot of downhaul will depower, but then the top of the leach is flapping in the breeze and annoying. I could use a smaller sail, but I would end of slogging between the gusts. I rig for the most flight time and ride out the gusts when overpowered. The peak gust usually don't last very long anyway.

My .02

I was on my 3.3 when the wind picked up quite a bit. Was probably a 25 - 30 kt burst that came through that I was referring to in my post. Haven't used the 2.8 yet. Summer we get 15 - 20 and 20 - 25 kt days mainly on the lake (sea breezes) . Some days we get 25 - 30 kt. Thanks for the info.

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segler said..
I have Fringes, 2.8 and 3.5 and rig them only one way, fully downhauled at all times. I use them out east on the Columbia River where most afternoons get up to 30 kt. The 3.5 works over a wide range of 18-25 kt, and the 2.8 works from 25-35 kt. Above 25 kt most people sail with fins. With these sails I don't even notice the gusts. They just work. I weigh 90 kg.

Good to know. Thanks mate.

16+ m/s and I am on a 3.0



And when wind foiling, that same 3.0 works already in really light winds.



For wind foiling I rig the Fringes just very slightly fuller than when wave riding. Pretty similar downhaul tension, never downloading too much, just a bit less outhaul when wind foiling. When rigging, I am looking for the same "connected" feeling that Levi describes here:

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Taavi said..
16+ m/s and I am on a 3.0

And when wind foiling, that same 3.0 works already in really light winds.

For wind foiling I rig the Fringes just very slightly fuller than when wave riding. Pretty similar downhaul tension, never downloading too much, just a bit less outhaul when wind foiling. When rigging, I am looking for the same "connected" feeling that Levi describes here:

When I started windfoiling I played around with varying downhaul on different size sails . I quickly realised that less is better than more, ie a tight leech. (for me anyway) Some like to go with the opposite and downhaul quite a bit and others some where in between. It's good to see what other people's preferences are.