A warning to anyone about to buy a kid's rig:
Just got one from a retailer in WA, good price, gear all brand new, BUT . . .
- Mast is 2 piece, alloy 35mm, that simply WILL NOT BEND
- Sail is made for bendy mast, WILL NOT RIG on stiff mast
- Vendor says his kid uses one just the same (impossible)
- Vendor says send back for refund if not satisfied
So I'm down $50 + $50 for courier each way, plus a waste of time & effort. The rig is clearly not usable. When they get it back they'll just sell it again until it ends with someone who does not know the difference and thinks the problem is their own fault.
WHY DO VENDORS DO THIS CRAP ? MUST BE REALLY HARD UP.
STX is the lable on the sail, looks nice. I know what you mean, have seen kid's sails fit on a rigid pole, but this sail absolutely needs some bend in the mast. When you get it with a rigid pole, you don't have a "rig".
Way back when I used both HSM and Sailworks kids rigs. Both worked just like the bigger versions. Worth every bit that I spent. So nice to have a 1.7 that you trim just like your own - made my kids' lives so much easier and enjoyable. I can not emphasize enough how much proper gear matters to them.
80- 100% carbon sunshine masts are great for cutting dwn to suit kids rigs.
got 1 in a 1.5 & 2.5 hsm.
Have you tried more down haul? My kids started with a Vandal sail. I needs a lot of downhaul to sit right.
the mast is a rigid pole. . . . forcing downhaul can produce only one result.
I need to get a mast that bends.
Are you saying the mast is solid? If not laws of mechanics dictate that the mast will bend... to some extend.
What size is it and what stage of learning?
You will only need a sail that twists once they are planing in harness and straps.Otherwise if the sail is light to uphaul thats all is required.
They used to make alloy masts for speed sails back in the 80s to keep the rig stiff and light.
Just googled STX kids windsurfing sail and they only have a slight bend in the luff area.
Judging by the terminology used in this thread I'd say the purchaser doesn't have much of a clue bout windsurfing.
The " Pole " will look very straight and wont look " Bendy " but if rigged properly, using the pulleys at the mast base, it should have a slight bend.
So whats your problem? the STX site states it has an Ali mast and you expect something different
The Hot sails set up I had for my kids also had an Ali mast and worked perfectly well with it as I imagine this would as well.
A nice whinge from a 4 post wonder (all on these two threads) probably green thumbed with your normal account.
Look on the bright side.
dune found a courier who freighted an entire rig (twice), for a fair price and didn't loose it or damage it.
Got to be first for these forums.
Probably most useful info here is what courier did you use ?
Hey guys I was just posting a warning to possible new buyers, and venting some frustration.
I didn't realise that I was inviting a gob fest from people who know so much about what they haven't seen. (why so defensive for the vendor).
I have another kids rig that down hauls, out hauls, and shapes up beautifully. When the sail laid out flat shows an obvious curve in the luff you need the mast to bend a little. It's not rocket science.
Thanks for the helpful advice to those who gave it.
Just because you have a little curve in the sail's luff doesn't mean the mast will bend, the curve could cause the battens to rotate.
Which is known as luff shaping.
I learned to windsurf in the summer of 85-86.
the first set up my dad bought for me was a 'see skip', the sail was a 2.8 and the mast was a 2 piece 40/36mm aluminium pole that did not bend, until one day it creased above the boom. It was perfect to learn the basics. When I learned to use a harness and get planing it became useless as the foot straps and their positioning were terrible.
i moved onto the smallest short board we could find at the time it was fibreglass weighed less than a 8kg and had about 70 litres of volume. Coupled that with a 2.5 m gastra wave sail. Having a the most flexible fibre glass mast cut down was essential for progression. But the sail was heavy, it forced me to learn to water start to increase my water time.
Dad did buy a replacement mast and have the sea skip sail repaired. My younger brother also learnt on that set up.
we kept that gear for other people's children to use and when I was 14 the light weight sail made it perfect for use on a skateboard in 8ish knots of wind. I learned to duck gybe and sail clew first on a skate board. Was a good starting point for getting it down on water, and learning to water start clew first.
i think the weight of the sail is important to reduce fatigue when learning. if an inflexible mast dramatically reduces weight when uphauling I would consider it.
If you don't have to pull massive amounts of downhaul a small child can rig and pack up their own kit. That also increases self rescue options.
The idea of a mast not bending does sound ridiculous, perhaps there is a reason.