Hey guys,

Not sure if this has been covered previously but I'm new to windsurfing and was wondering if someone could help me out? I'm looking for a new sail at the moment (newER than what I've got - looking for something affordable as I get better), I like the look of the NP Evo VI and similar sails.Regarding size I'm looking for around a 7.2-8.2 sail which would be good to use at around 15kn on a ~100L slalom board. There are some on the market but many require a luff length of up to 5.7m and I only have 4.6m masts. Should I look to buy a longer mast? The only ones that I've been able to find second hand are expensive, the wrong size or not within driving distance.

When I buy a sail, or a mast, or both, should I try to match them up? It seems very hard to match all the specifications of the masts to each sail because of all the factors like IMCS, flex, SDM or RDM and length. How do you guys do it and how should I be looking at it?

While I was rigging some gear the other day I noticed that although the luff length was correct with the right amount of outhaul the sail did not seem to have the right shape - top of sail was dead flat and bottom was extremely curved - could this be fixed by playing with batten tensions until the desired shape is achieved? Something I was worried about was if the mast was too stiff (I believe it was IMCS 25).

Thanks for the help I'm just a bit stuck

Don't worry too much about imcs, but be aware that masts (and sail brands) come in 3 varieties:
Curve type: Hard top, Constant Curve (CC), and Flex top
Diameter: SDM or RDM, the latter being smaller in diameter.
So when you buy a sail you need to know if it needs a CC, flex, or hard top. If it has cams are they for sdm or rdm.
My advice would be to stay with CC sails and masts, because they are the majority and adapt better to the wrong mast.

For the last question it looks like you needed more downhaul, the top of the sail should be floppy and the bottom not too full with good tension on the luff pocket: it can happen with the wrong curve type mast.

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For the last question it looks like you needed more downhaul, the top of the sail should be floppy and the bottom not too full with good tension on the luff pocket: it can happen with the wrong curve type mast.

Thanks for your reply, one thing I can't seem to get is that near where the battens meet the mast there is a large amount of depth but toward the leech the sail is very flat. But it seems like the sail fabric is extremely stretched which makes sense due to it's age.

Hence why I'm on the lookout for a new(er) sail or a couple newer sails. Do you have any recommendations or suggestions to where I should find cost effective, second hand sails that'll go fast?

Thanks

IF Your board is only 100 litre a 7,0 might be your max size ,
If you check on this website on buy&sell , you will find a sail and mast

if you are new to windsurfing I would suggest a no-cam sail .easier , as far as water starting and gybing goes ,
and modern no cam sails are pretty fast ,

Thanks Tardy
I'll have a look now, it's just hard to find gear that's local.

If you are new to windsurfing dont buy slalom kit.
If you are buying kit from scratch, definitely match to mast and sails, and try and stick to 1 brand, you will find it a lot easier in the long run.
Brands could measure their sails differently, and might have a different feel.

Look up about rigging your sail properly online, theres lots of advice.

Slalom and race kit can be very specific to what mast you need and what board it will suit best too and its usually not the quickest to get you going either as the proper race guys always sail completely maxed out so although they are using a 7m sail it is in winds that us mere mortals would be on a 5.2m sail.

Get yourself a caM-less free ride.

Also get a matching mast, this can make a huge difference to how the sail performs. Use the link below as some sails just don't work on there masts.

www.unifiber.net/masts-selector

You will also highly likely need a longer mast. Do not get a mast that you need a long extension for IE: don't use a mast that needs like a 45cm extension. I always only use an extension 30cm Max on any mast.

The sail shape you described was right, you want shape where you hold it and not higher up in fact you want to back edge to be a bit flappy, its called exhausting the wind. If theres too much wind to handle in a gust the sail breathes it out a little. You also want the battens to rotate around the mast on the bottom two, these will then lift away as soon as the wind fills it, like halfway around the mast.
Sometimes sail measurements can be a little out too especially if you are using a different mast.

Usually too the board will have a sail range and its usually written on the board, this is usually for an average person of 85kg and this is usually the limit that the board works at so if it says "4.5m - 7m" don't think it will be any good with an 8m sail on it.

Good luck with finding some gear. If you get stuck or see something you might want to buy then Message me details.

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PhilUK said..
If you are new to windsurfing dont buy slalom kit.

^^^^^ 100%

Thanks for all the help guys