Flirting with the idea of getting a large sail with for my RRD 115 FSW. I am leaning towards a 7.5 as I think that would be the biggest sail the board would carry. I also limited by a max boom length of 220 and I don’t want to buy another boom.

I am hoping to find a sail for ocean sailing - blasting out the back at duchies or similar that would get me going in 13 or 14 knots of wind. I weigh 93KG. I am pretty confused as to whether or not to go free race or free ride. I am not really looking for top end given I am going to be using it on FSW, but am looking for low end.

The thing that worries me about free race sails is that they seem sacrifice allot of durability for performance. X-ply seems to be almost non-existent in these type sails. I am very confused by what some manufactures mean when they refer glass tube battens in a sails. Are these different to the battens in say my 6.2 wave sail and do they break more often? I am also assuming that 7.5 free race sail will get me going earlier than a 7.5 free ride, or is the only benefit to the freerace top end speed? I really want to avoid cams if possible and I don’t have a 460 mast so I am pretty open to suggestions

So it is it NP Fusion, Severn Gator, RRD Move
Or
NP Hellcat, Severn NCX, RRD fire

Going to go mow the lawn now as head is spinning with marketing BS about sails but look forward to reading some replies.

amoka, I can't speak for the others but I have 2 fusions (7.2 & 6.1hd). I've also used the NCXs on various occasions and they are very good sails. The 6.1hd fusion is my go-to sail for the local conditions and is full x-ply. The 7.2 whilst not made with x-ply is the better sail for speed imo. I'm 110kegs and use them on both 116lt Tabou 3S and 130lt JP Xcite.

Another consideration is the mast compatibility if you are using your existing mast.

Sailhack,

What do you think the low end is on 116LT 3s and the 7.2 for you? Also are you rigging the 7.2 on 430 or 460? I seem to recall that Fusion rigs on 430 for all sizes - I would have thought 7.2 rigged on 430 with that much extension would get pretty soft and would offer a diminishing returns for a big guy.

Select to expand quote

amoka said..
The thing that worries me about free race sails is that they seem sacrifice allot of durability for performance. X-ply seems to be almost non-existent in these type sails.

I owned a 7.4 full ply freeride sail a few years ago. It weighed a ton. It was a pig of a sail. Pushed the board (115L) under the water and was hard to get planing. It's negatives out weighed it's benefits. It was a big disappointment. I sold it 5 months later.

Hi Amoka.

Don't know whether you've been into the shop at all, but either the Fire Move, or the Tushingham T4 would be ideal.

You'll have to assume that you're going to have to buy a 460 if you want a 7.0<, the 6.7 FireMove rigs on a 430.

Tushingham are known for their ease off use & longevity ( and have had plenty of good results in the LOC)

The FireMove is built as a bump jump/ ocean blaster, having a slightly higher foot.

The Fire 6.8 also will fit on a 430.

If you're only out blasting, most quality mono sails are fine, just a couple of the budget end models don't cut the mustard,


Cheers.

Jez 2ndwind Sailboards

Jez,

I have had a look at the new Vogues on the beach and have been really impressed, definitely have them on short list when wave sails give up the will to live.

Where I am struggling is what would you say the benefits are the benefits going to 7.6 Firemove verses 7.2 move are. Do you have any reports from guys rigging the 7.2 move on a 430?

I plan to pop in have look at some of the RRD stuff but I am trying figure out if I am looking for camless freerace or if I would be better going off with a big free ride.

On your brief, pretty hard to go past an ezzy cheetah , plenty of review and raves about them here in previous posts, you will need a 460 mast though.

Hi Amoka,

I have a 5.0 NP Fusion HD, 6.0 NP Fusion HD and 7.0 NP Ryde on a 111 FSW (which according to the manufacturer goes up to 8.5). All of them can rig on a 430 Mast, which is why I went for this combination. I'd say the Ryde has a much deeper profile than the Fusion so I'd say go for that one if you want to go without Cam and NP. The Ryde comes in HD and a normal version. I find it relatively light for its size but impossible to heli tack with it, but its good to push onto the plane

Having said that the Ryde has not as much power as a Freerace Sail, maybe give a cam sail a try and decide then?

Select to expand quote

amoka said...
Sailhack,

What do you think the low end is on 116LT 3s and the 7.2 for you? Also are you rigging the 7.2 on 430 or 460? I seem to recall that Fusion rigs on 430 for all sizes - I would have thought 7.2 rigged on 430 with that much extension would get pretty soft and would offer a diminishing returns for a big guy.

To be honest, I try to avoid the 7.2 on the 116 although it goes well in the right conditions. If it's flat - I'll use the bigger board, the 3S if it's lumpy. I actually rig it on a 460, which is not the recommended mast...I just don't like >40cm of extension.

I tried a Neilpryde v8 8.0 two-cam sail on a RRD fsw 110. I did not work at all. Instead I now use a Naish All Terrain 7.0 It's the most powerfull sail i ever tried and it gets me planing from about 14 knots(the same as the 8m2). This has long been my go-to sail, so if I were you I would get a powerfull cross-over sail. Perhaps the Gator will be a good choice, as I have heard it is quite powerfull and rigs on small masts.

I use a 7.5m Severne OD on my 115 Excocet freemove on a lake. It gets me going in 10-15kts . The freemove takes a bit more to get it up and going than a slalom board..With a lighter board a 7m may be better. I weigh 63kgs..

It depends on what fin & what position you have straps, if you use more upright 30cm+ fin & outboard strap positions go the camless freerace.

I use a 7m Gator on 113 Fanatic Freewave, it's ok not the gruntiest sail but alot of that comes from having it rigged on rdm. The gator does carry the fullness up a little higher, depowers very nice in gybe.

Unless you are falling on sail or use it in sharp rocky places then you won't get any advantage out of regular xply, if anything you will lose a little performance. If good reasonable thickness mono is used then it is still very strong.

I believe the NCX improved bottom end this year. The fusions look nice, haven't seen the new hellcat but the old one looked pretty grunty. Haven't seen the RRD as we don't get the here.

I'm not a NP fan but saw the 2015 hellcat on the water today and it's bloody nice !! seems to go fast too

ive got a 116L tabou 3S FSW and a 115L rocket (free race), and I weigh 89kg. I would tend to go a freeride type sail rather than the freerace for the FSW, as the FSW doesn't really have the top end to handle the freerace type sails. The freerace sails won't give you any better bottom end than a freeride sail. I would be careful going greater than 7.0 on the 115, you may not pick up any more bottom end because the sail is too big for the board, it just gives you a heavy feel. Most 7.0 will rig on a 430 and 200cm boom, where as a 7.5 will need a 460 and 210-215 which is getting close to the max of your boom.

Gaastra cross 6.9 (456/200) or pilot 7.0 (460/207), severne gator 7.0 (464/188), NP ryde 464/199 to name a few. It depends on what type of mast you have.

Finning is critical also - about a 38cm fin with good bottom end.

Fantastic feedback everyone. Mkseven your point about the foot strap position is one I forgot to consider. My primary use for the board is with inboard (wave position) foot strap placements and a 6.2 playing around in small surf. It would be real pain to move the foot strap positions out to the rails the few times I want to use big sail. Everything is starting to point me towards a 7.0 freeride rigged on 430. Thanks for your help everyone!

amoka, for what it's worth I reckon match a board type with the sail type. Wave board = wave sail. Slalom board = race sail. FSW = Crossover sail. You can always use different combos but I reckon to get the most out of your board, match it with a sail that the designer intended it to be used with. I have a couple of Gaastra Cross sails that I use on FSW, excellent sails that'll do anything. Plenty of other brands do something similar.

I would agree with paddymac. A gaastra 6.9 cross would be one of the most suitable sails (provided you have the correct mast for it) for your 115L FSW.