I contacted Severne chasing any of the last Turbos but they didn't have any. To my surprise Ben suggested he could make me a custom turbo..
I jumped at the idea.
The price was reasonable , cheaper than a Moto.
It did take a while, but I'm very happy with the end result.
I went with some retro colours as I like the orange and yellow on the 2015 ? models. As a lightweight old weakling I specified light weight was important and bottom end as I usually use it in a patchy 5 -16kts of wind.
It seems to have a nice deep belly.
It rigged beautifully straight out of the bag , I just tightened some battens.
It's a proto type/ custom so there aren't any markings on the luff for setting your boom height but I can add those. There aren't any printed specs but they have penned them on it so that's ok.
I'm keen to give it a go. The boom is 2cm shorter than my 2021 7.5m Turbo and it rotates easily..
And yes our grass is lousy. We're on tank water and have been in drought. That's the first green shoots we've had for 3 months..



The top of the Luff is red.. the photo isn't accurate.


My old Turbo is in the background. It's my most used sail and I've sailed it to death. The windows have heaps of small cracks which are now brittle and breaking.

Looks great! :)

Hey Sue,

is the downhaul to spec because it looks a touch over downhauled to me.
when the third batten falls away more than the 2nd batten and 4th that's a sign there is too much downhaul. Could just be the way the sail is sitting on the grass in the pic.

as a tip. When you hold the sail up by the clew, the battens should evenly fall away from the boom to the head. Ie. more as the leach progresses towards the head. Batten tension will also effect this so you may need to tweak batten tension further but I find downhaul has a bigger effect at how the third batten falls away on most race sails. For me, a 100+kg guy your sail looks like it's a touch beyond max.

I'll have a look next time I rig it. The turbos get their belly from the downhaul so are usually pulley to pulley. You couldn't do it with this one. It said 27 and the extension is 28.

No probs.

you would be looking for the end of the batten to sit higher. More inline with the adjacent batten just above the boom and from there the next batten falls away. You've also got the scallops touching the luff in the head so to me way over downhauled and especially for a light wind setup.

could be other reasons like
the mast ferrule not fully seated so it's longer than spec.
Also brand new sail just needs some stretch time.

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Gestalt said..
No probs.

you would be looking for the end of the batten to sit higher. More inline with the adjacent batten just above the boom and from there the next batten falls away. You've also got the scallops touching the luff in the head so to me way over downhauled and especially for a light wind setup.

could be other reasons like
the mast ferrule not fully seated so it's longer than spec.
Also brand new sail just needs some stretch time.

Figured I'd send the photos through to Ben and see what he thinks.

Great idea. Keen to hear his thoughts too. I had a chat in a pub with Ben years ago where he said he was always exploring ways to improve rigging outcomes on his sails by making things easier to get right. He saw that as a big part of improving the sport in general.

not sure if you've seen this video. Different brand but has great detail on fine tuning a race sail
?si=-81J-XV8lcwAuYhX

One more vid that touches on downhaul. note the comment on too much downhaul and relation to speed, board control in chop and early planning. Skip to 5.10

?si=oGpy2_SWaVaPFHnz

Select to expand quote

Gestalt said..
One more vid that touches on downhaul. note the comment on too much downhaul and relation to speed, board control in chop and early planning. Skip to 5.10

?si=oGpy2_SWaVaPFHnz

I haven't had time to watch the both videos. Interesting info. I'll have to reference that for my racesails.
I'll be interested to see what he says as I know I was previously told by Severne to downhaul to specs/ max on the Turbos. It gives them the belly. Just use the outhaul..

Select to expand quote

sboardcrazy said..

Gestalt said..
One more vid that touches on downhaul. note the comment on too much downhaul and relation to speed, board control in chop and early planning. Skip to 5.10

?si=oGpy2_SWaVaPFHnz

I haven't had time to watch the both videos. Interesting info. I'll have to reference that for my racesails.
I'll be interested to see what he says as I know I was previously told by Severne to downhaul to specs/ max on the Turbos. It gives them the belly. Just use the outhaul..

And that is definitely the right approach.. So could be new mono just needs a few sessions to stretch a little so back off a little until then. plus consider the dh setting is for mean wind speed so for light wind setting it's -1cm on dh. That plus new mono and you get my point for first/2nd rigging.

or Ben says it good and don't worry. However consider you are using this sail in 5-16knots so you want lower dh setting and 0 outhaul and you should let Ben know wind range you are gunning for.

just on the race sail v free race sail rigging,, yes a full cam sail can take more downhaul. I find with my own freerace sails when I over downhaul I do get the same effect to the batten that I pointed out on your sail. Bearing in mind I'm using freerace sails in under 15 knots knots too.
anways, hope I have helped and not confused things. Please let us know what Ben thinks.. he is one of the best.

edit. the boomerang on the sail is there as a guide to help rigging. The leach is meant to start to fall away from the centre of the boomerang. if you have a look at the Severne sail range you will see the boomerangs is positioned differently depending on the sail typology

Just talked to Ben. Sounds like the downhaul for belly info someone gave me is wrong.
He suggests the settings I have in the photo are good for strong wind ( top end of my use) .
Try letting off 2cms to see what I think in lighter winds. He suggested 1cm then 2cms but the 2cms straight up should give me a decent change to note.
With less downhaul the sail will pull from higher up and plane earlier but may sacrifice control , be uncomfortable so just try it and see. Make a note of where the leech is loose to for future reference. I'll put a sticker in one of the panels at the distance I want the leech to be loose.

Great news. I like the sticker suggestion.. 1-2cm less downhaul is about what I'd try too for lighter winds.

I think after a few sessions once the mono has settled in a little you'll prob end up around -1cm for light winds. In general I back the severne written dims as Ben's been at this longer than most, knows what he's doing and has a world class team doing the testing.

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Gestalt said..
Great news. I like the sticker suggestion.. 1-2cm less downhaul is about what I'd try too for lighter winds.

I think after a few sessions once the mono has settled in a little you'll prob end up around -1cm for light winds. In general I back the severne written dims as Ben's been at this longer than most, knows what he's doing and has a world class team doing the testing.

Yes I usually find they rig well to specs straight out of the bag.

Select to expand quote

Gestalt said..
Hey Sue,

is the downhaul to spec because it looks a touch over downhauled to me.
when the third batten falls away more than the 2nd batten and 4th that's a sign there is too much downhaul. Could just be the way the sail is sitting on the grass in the pic.

as a tip. When you hold the sail up by the clew, the battens should evenly fall away from the boom to the head. Ie. more as the leach progresses towards the head. Batten tension will also effect this so you may need to tweak batten tension further but I find downhaul has a bigger effect at how the third batten falls away on most race sails. For me, a 100+kg guy your sail looks like it's a touch beyond max.

Is this a general rule and applies to other brands as well (Simmer in my case)?

Select to expand quote

dedekam said..

Gestalt said..
Hey Sue,

is the downhaul to spec because it looks a touch over downhauled to me.
when the third batten falls away more than the 2nd batten and 4th that's a sign there is too much downhaul. Could just be the way the sail is sitting on the grass in the pic.

as a tip. When you hold the sail up by the clew, the battens should evenly fall away from the boom to the head. Ie. more as the leach progresses towards the head. Batten tension will also effect this so you may need to tweak batten tension further but I find downhaul has a bigger effect at how the third batten falls away on most race sails. For me, a 100+kg guy your sail looks like it's a touch beyond max.

Is this a general rule and applies to other brands as well (Simmer in my case)?

Yep. I run simmer too. VMAX.

Is less of a tell tale with full cam race sails as they tend to be designed with higher skin tension and can take more downhaul.

I always fine tune the sail after using the dims on the bag first. Then i look to the battens along the leach to fine tune the twist. Regardless of brand there should be a point where the sail opens up and has an even fall away. If the batten ends are up and down unevenly further up the leach I look at the battens tension. in general the batten I pointed out to sue closer to the boom is a sign of to much downhaul. That's part of the draft so I still want some shape there for general confitions. Unless it's nuking and I'm out of control at which point I'm rigging smaller

Select to expand quote

Gestalt said..

dedekam said..

Gestalt said..
Hey Sue,

is the downhaul to spec because it looks a touch over downhauled to me.
when the third batten falls away more than the 2nd batten and 4th that's a sign there is too much downhaul. Could just be the way the sail is sitting on the grass in the pic.

as a tip. When you hold the sail up by the clew, the battens should evenly fall away from the boom to the head. Ie. more as the leach progresses towards the head. Batten tension will also effect this so you may need to tweak batten tension further but I find downhaul has a bigger effect at how the third batten falls away on most race sails. For me, a 100+kg guy your sail looks like it's a touch beyond max.

Is this a general rule and applies to other brands as well (Simmer in my case)?

Yep. I run simmer too. VMAX.

Is less of a tell tale with full cam race sails as they tend to be designed with higher skin tension and can take more downhaul.

I always fine tune the sail after using the dims on the bag first. Then i look to the battens along the leach to fine tune the twist. Regardless of brand there should be a point where the sail opens up and has an even fall away. If the batten ends are up and down unevenly further up the leach I look at the battens tension. in general the batten I pointed out to sue closer to the boom is a sign of to much downhaul. That's part of the draft so I still want some shape there for general confitions. Unless it's nuking and I'm out of control at which point I'm rigging smaller

Thanks, I am also on VMAX. I rig the way you describe, but the point about the third batten is new to me.

Select to expand quote

Gestalt said..
Great idea. Keen to hear his thoughts too. I had a chat in a pub with Ben years ago where he said he was always exploring ways to improve rigging outcomes on his sails by making things easier to get right. He saw that as a big part of improving the sport in general.

not sure if you've seen this video. Different brand but has great detail on fine tuning a race sail

?si=-81J-XV8lcwAuYhX

Interesting video, never heard of that method . For me it's always, is the twist progressive with a good belly and can I flatten with more outhaul.

progressive twist does look very different with the point 7 shape and like you I'm more accustomed to something that looks more progressive and even starting closer to the boom. Point 7 has that significant break point like a V further up the sail. I'd not rig other sails to do that. All The more reason to rig to spec otherwise we don't know the intended shape before starting tuning.

Putting that aside there are lots of ideas that work across most brand for final setup tweaks once factiory dh and oh are set. Some great comments on battens, outhaul etc.

same with the second video, I think Karen uses too much downhaul and don't agree with everything she says. I notice she says rig to spec straight out of the bag and add more as the sail ages. To me that leads to constantly being over downhauled. I tend to give a new mono sail a couple of sessions to stretch and go a bit easy first up.

the take away tho is sails are designed to work within a range. +/- 1-2cm is a lot.

How was the test run today? I saw the sail at a distance from Brandon Cl Budgie. Light winds but looked like you were keeping a steady pace- didn't get out myself.

Another great tuning vid.. simpler than the point 7 one.

?si=RReRgFhr_JDkFlm-

Select to expand quote

Hungrywave said..
How was the test run today? I saw the sail at a distance from Brandon Cl Budgie. Light winds but looked like you were keeping a steady pace- didn't get out myself.

Yeah keen to know too

Select to expand quote

Gestalt said..
progressive twist does look very different with the point 7 shape and like you I'm more accustomed to something that looks more progressive and even starting closer to the boom. Point 7 has that significant break point like a V further up the sail. I'd not rig other sails to do that. All The more reason to rig to spec otherwise we don't know the intended shape before starting tuning.

Putting that aside there are lots of ideas that work across most brand for final setup tweaks once factiory dh and oh are set. Some great comments on battens, outhaul etc.

same with the second video, I think Karen uses too much downhaul and don't agree with everything she says. I notice she says rig to spec straight out of the bag and add more as the sail ages. To me that leads to constantly being over downhauled. I tend to give a new mono sail a couple of sessions to stretch and go a bit easy first up.

the take away tho is sails are designed to work within a range. +/- 1-2cm is a lot.

I think Karen uses too much downhaul
Karen weighs c 50kgs.. I think as a lightweight I tend to over downhaul in case the wind comes up when I'm out there..

1st test yesterday. A super good test of it's lightwind performance 5-11kts with occ 13-14kt puff.
I gave it 2 cms less downhaul than in the photo which still gave quite a loose leech.
When I ordered I specified I was a lightweight, and wanted low end power and lightness for 5 -16kts patchy wind.
Yesterday I was wearing polaroids and could see some gust/ wind on the water in the stronger stuff . When I looked over the top of them it looked like 8 -10kts and I was wondering how I was actually planing .
I wasn't very powered up but I managed to plane 80% of the time .
Not enough for bearaways or nice gybes .
That setup is slow 112ltres Excocet RS4 ( fat foiled 24FF ) but I got close to 24kts on a reach in one of the better gusts.
Max chop was only 10-15cms high.
I did 42kms over with 2.30hrs moving time. Short runs and I was off the plane a bit.
I noticed with less downhaul the sail was throwing me around a bit more and I was pulled up when the wind came.
The wind was so light it wasn't an issue and more downhaul should fix that.
The sail felt light and powerful. It felt balanced and easy to throw around gybing ( although my old wrists are sore today) .
Very happy so far.
I've yet to check the upper end. Ben was saying the newer sails have more wind range. My older 7.5m was a 2021 model.
Still to test it in chop and stronger wind.

I think I'll start experimenting with my other sails and try less downhaul in lightwinds ..

Nice looking sail, congrats.

I still love my 7.0 Unit (predecessor of the Turbo). For me it is the best biggest sail in a quiver, the session saver if the wind is below 16knt. Supper nice low end and it can still be rigged on my 430cm mast and wave boom. Once it reaches its limit on the upper end, I am already happily rigging my 5.3 blade.

Unfortunately they don't make it anymore, so hopefully it lasts.

2nd test 10-18kts in fairly flat to 20cms chop. A few big gusts could have been close to 20kts.
This sail is my 5 - 15kts one.
I put a bit more downhaul on it as I expected it to come in. I've aggravated a previously broken rib so I was pretty careful yesterday and took out the big board ( 112ltres)..
Lightwinds - tick
I got to test the top end as some of the gusts were maxing me out at the end. I probably could have added some downhaul but because I was injured I just finished the session.
Scariest 28.6kts I've had for a while . I was super maxed ( I weigh about 68kgs kitted up) and the wind was trying to lift me.. A 7 scream run..
I'm not sure if the lifting was from the sail tuning or just that I was so maxed out.
It's been a while since I've had any fully powered speed sessions so I've forgotten what it's like.
I was trying to get more upright over the board in the bearaway to present more sail to the wind and not over sheet it.
Sail was great and controllable going upwind.
I still can't get over how light and easy it feels to throw around gybing.
I still haven't had it out in LM chop. I do subplaning gybes there so it might feel heavier.
The luff tube seems to collect a bit of water but drains easily.
I haven't been able to test the old and new sails back to back and probably won't . I can't remember the luff of the old one collecting much water ?? I do remember that water starting or uphauling it in 15kts was at the limits of my strength.
If you love your old Turbos but they re dying I'd recommend getting a custom Turbo...tell Ben what things are important to you. Price is good.
It takes a while but it's worth the wait.
I'm not sponsored ( worse luck ) or connected to Severne in any way.

I had Turbo 7.5m, a great sail. Sailing with pro and sail tester for mags in strong winds he told me to add 2-3cm more downhaul on top of what I thought was already loads, so it looked like yours. Sailed beautifully.

Hi sue. how much do you think you put on.. did you rig the sail to spec and then add .5cm more downhaul. That should get you more towards top end settings.

if you feel comfortable going upwind but getting lifted off the wind then you are most likely getting over powered. You can sail deeper to help as well. You may get some extra speed going deeper. Not sure, don't know what angles you are sailing. You may find due to lack of cams you loose drive when going deeper as well.

Select to expand quote

Gestalt said..
Hi sue. how much do you think you put on.. did you rig the sail to spec and then add .5cm more downhaul. That should get you more towards top end settings.

if you feel comfortable going upwind but getting lifted off the wind then you are most likely getting over powered. You can sail deeper to help as well. You may get some extra speed going deeper. Not sure, don't know what angles you are sailing. You may find due to lack of cams you loose drive when going deeper as well.

I had it at the -2 cm setting and got someone to give it another ratchet or 2 with the powerex extension. I had rib issues so I got help to rig..
I was feeling like I was getting lifted in a bearaway but I think I just needed a smaller sail ( or more downhaul).
It was one of my last runs and it was gusting to 20kts.
It could have been that I was trying to stay more upright and present more sail to the gusts..Usually when I'm that powered it's safety first and I pull the sail down low and over me to avoid catapults

Cool. From what you describe just needed more downhaul for the wind on the day. Am not sure how much a ratchet or 2 adds . Prob best to start at 0 and go up or down 1cm from there.

Either way . Not trying to lecture you. Understand you've been at this for a while and agree with you prob just needed a smaller sail once wind came up. Just helping

Select to expand quote

Gestalt said..
Cool. From what you describe just needed more downhaul for the wind on the day. Am not sure how much a ratchet or 2 adds . Prob best to start at 0 and go up or down 1cm from there.

Either way . Not trying to lecture you. Understand you've been at this for a while and agree with you prob just needed a smaller sail once wind came up. Just helping

No worries. I usually would have gone in and changed to smaller gear but I was looking after my injury.
I'm glad I got to try it's windrange out in flattish water. I'm off the water now for a few months.