Hey... What do you reckon... Severne NCX or Severne Gator or Neil Pryde Ryde HD 2015? Am looking at a 7.5 sail to use on 140litre board, rider weight at 80kg. Typically looking at flat water use only. Would like something fast but that has a few years of sailing in it. Comments on construction quality would be good too. NP seems pricey. thanks.

What mast do you have.


The best no-cam sails are Ezzy Cheetahs, by the way.

Have a 460cm NP X6 going back to 2005 but see some merit in going constant curve.

I love my NCX's I have from 6.5 through to 8.0 but I have also heard a lot of good things about the Cheetahs. No cams are the bomb, fast rigging times, longer lifespan, no broken battens and very light and easy to use. NP's are a bit pricey for me especially since they aren't any better. Here's a couple of shots of my 8.0 metre.

Go to windsurf.co.uk and check out test, 2014, sails, free race, 7.5m zero cam reviews.

The NCX does well.

I went for a blast on one last weekend with an AtomIQ 100L borrowed from our local shop owner, Simon from board crazy (cheers Si) and liked it so much I bought the 7.5 and 6.5.

I have owned the e- types also which we're also very good and typical North quality but the NCX seems to have a wider wind range and feels faster.

Select to expand quote

Cluffy said..


I love my NCX's I have from 6.5 through to 8.0 but I have also heard a lot of good things about the Cheetahs. No cams are the bomb, fast rigging times, longer lifespan, no broken battens and very light and easy to use. NP's are a bit pricey for me especially since they aren't any better. Here's a couple of shots of my 8.0 metre.

Hows the hawk 113 bamboo?
Looks nice!
I am looking for a fast freeride board for 7.5and 6.5 NCX with reasonable light wind planing and nice to jibe. needs to feel exciting when sailing it.

Select to expand quote

AUS729 said..

Cluffy said..


I love my NCX's I have from 6.5 through to 8.0 but I have also heard a lot of good things about the Cheetahs. No cams are the bomb, fast rigging times, longer lifespan, no broken battens and very light and easy to use. NP's are a bit pricey for me especially since they aren't any better. Here's a couple of shots of my 8.0 metre.

Hows the hawk 113 bamboo?
Looks nice!
I am looking for a fast freeride board for 7.5and 6.5 NCX with reasonable light wind planing and nice to jibe. needs to feel exciting when sailing it.

Don't worry Cluffy, just read your post on kit review post - says it all.
Cheers..

Select to expand quote

AUS729 said..

AUS729 said..

Cluffy said..


I love my NCX's I have from 6.5 through to 8.0 but I have also heard a lot of good things about the Cheetahs. No cams are the bomb, fast rigging times, longer lifespan, no broken battens and very light and easy to use. NP's are a bit pricey for me especially since they aren't any better. Here's a couple of shots of my 8.0 metre.

Hows the hawk 113 bamboo?
Looks nice!
I am looking for a fast freeride board for 7.5and 6.5 NCX with reasonable light wind planing and nice to jibe. needs to feel exciting when sailing it.

Don't worry Cluffy, just read your post on kit review post - says it all.
Cheers..

Hmm.. I don't know if exciting is the word I would use with the hawk lol. I think maybe starboard futura or tabou speedster might what you need.

Edit: windsurfing perth had a tabou speedster 69 going cheapish last time I looked. Don't know if they still have it though.

Select to expand quote

Homestraight said..
Hey... What do you reckon... Severne NCX or Severne Gator or Neil Pryde Ryde HD 2015? Am looking at a 7.5 sail to use on 140litre board, rider weight at 80kg. Typically looking at flat water use only. Would like something fast but that has a few years of sailing in it. Comments on construction quality would be good too. NP seems pricey. thanks.

I own a Neilpryde Ryde 7.0 HD and use it with a NP FX 100 RDM 430 Mast (the 7.0 rigs both on a 430 and 460). I primarily bought it as the 430 RDM Mast also rigs on a 6.0 and 5.0 NP Fusion and so I can cover with one premium mast a huge wind range. I'm quite happy with it - you can pump it on the plane it it performs well for a sail without cams. The only thing that I dislike is the white colour of parts of the Ryde HD as it gets dirty easily when you roll it up.

I also tried various Gators from 4.0 (2013 - you can see it on my avatar picture) to about 6.5 (2014) in Boracay, Philippines and have to admit that I did not like the Gators very much. My impression was that they felt very heavy on the water. Even the 4.0 still felt heavy, especially when directly compared to a 4.0 Blade which I very much preferred in the small size. I think the masts were the lower end Severne ones, so this might have been a contributing factor.

There is an interesting write up on the NP Ryde in the GEAR REVIEWS section. I found it using the search page under... Forums > Windsurfing > Gear Reviews > 2015 Neil Pryde Ryde ..... RAF freeride rig

I was happy with my Severne Ncx which is a great sail for going as fast as possible with the least fuss. Having said that I have been rigging my severnes with a constant curve mast of late and very happy with the look of them. IMHO I think that one should buy constant curve masts (have a look at the unifiber charts) that fit the majority of sails and then you can change sail brands, buy good second sails etc without changing your masts. Even if you keep to the same sail brand, some have been changing closer to the constant curve shape lately, when you study the unifiber charts over the last few years.

Thanks Cluffy,
I actually own an Isonic 107 but was considering changing it as I am moving away from cammed sails.

I have now read a few reviews and note that many sailors use zero cam sails on Isonics and they seem to go great. Sean O'Brien who races Isonics in the PWA went has posted previously that he uses NCX's on his Isonics when not racing or training.

So I will see how the NCX's go on my Isonic 107...

I'd recommend both the NCX (which I have in 7.5), or the NP Ryde (which I sailed in this years LOC). Both super controllable and light in the hands when going fast and overpowered.

Just check which NCX you're buying as the boom length changed recently.

After some playing around, I now run the NCX with a Gaastra RDM 460. I know this isn't the "right" thing to do, but the sail still sets well and it's so much lighter in the gybes. And I can even use my Enigma 150-200 boom with it on full extension if I have to (although I wouldn't recommend this long term!).

Own both Ezzy and NCX and have pushed them both pretty hard, slightly different feeling sails, the Ezzy being more dynamic with dealing with gusts, NCX feels more more solid and race sail like, speed peformance NCX 'feels' faster but its NOT! both easy to gybe, water start and rig and id take either of them over a Race sail for 'real fun and peformance' any day of the week, Ezzy Cheetah is probably better in rougher bumpy/ocean water, and the construction being no mono is heaps more durable, the Ezzy also has more 'range' in the tuning, you can effectively gain a half meter in size by adjusting the tuning for light or heavy winds.

The NCX has some boom/sail positives, that mean you don't need a +210boom and you can have 1 mast to suit say a 7.5 and a 6.5... This is a Big plus in my book as it means less gear...
Hoping that the new upcoming Cheetah addresses this, because less gear is good!
Both really good sails, recommend them both.

Hey thanks for your comments. Do you think the construction quality was comparable and durability?

One of the big advantages with the Cheetahs is the Ezzy masts. 91% carbon and essentially indestructible, you will find they are relatively inexpensive compared to the NP masts. I have three Cheetahs, 7.5, 6.5, and 5.5, that are covered by two masts, a 460 and 430. The Ezzies give away nothing in speed compared to the other no-cams I have sailed against (board and sailor are where the differences realy lie), and the construction quality is the best and most available.

Maaate, have a look at the Sailworks Retros ( no cam ) or NX's Race sails. Personally I love the Retro's, they are super easy to tune and sail, no big luff pocket to fill with water and super light in the hands. I use mine in the open water and flat lakes; I have a 6.5 and a 5.5. Great wind range, Australian supplier and, from my experience, superb durability. I'm having a very hard time trying to decide on a a 7.? for the light days, NX's or Retro?? So hard! I have an X - T which is the pre runner to the NX and it still goes great after 10 years.

Select to expand quote

Homestraight said...
Hey thanks for your comments. Do you think the construction quality was comparable and durability?

------------------

Construction on both spot on, just that the Ezzy doesn't use Monofilm so wins out on durability.

Maybe a Sailworks sailor can add comment about the Retro's, haven't seen them in the flesh but the specs look pretty impressive on the material and build quality also?

I'm a fan of the Ezzy sails as well. One of the advantages of the Ezzy masts is that they are interchangeable.
I use a 430 base with a 490 top to give me an effective 460 for my 7.5 sail.
The NCXs seem to be getting good raps and I'd be interested to know if an NCX would rig OK on a Ezzy mast?

Ended up buying a 7.5 Severne Gator as it looked choice in red and yellow. Got the 75% SDM to match but heavy than my 05 NP X6 which is a very fine mast indeed. But am going to boot all my NP gear due to lack of compatibility particularly with Maui, Severne, Naish, Gaastra in '14 all much of a muchness. Chur bro

The new blue ones look sexy