Hi everyone.
Totally new rig, not to mention the first one (after the lessons and consecutive hiring). Struggled today big time, still fun though. The problem was that I could not trim the sail across to tighten the sail enough, or bend the mast. Is there any specification for mast flexibility ???

Thanks for any advise.

If you bought your stuff from a shop go back and ask them to show you how to rig it right. Else ask another sailor at the beach we don't bite and are more than happy to help a newbie.

In the meantime
bit more info need before poeple can help here.
Sail size & make
Mast Size & make
boom min-max size
Mast extension size

Bought from the shop as a package after a long conversation with a guy ( so supposedly everything is thought through). Everything is a brand new, except sail. The shop though in Queensland and I am in Melbourne.

How many pulleys on the mast extension?

Two.

Not bending the mast - not enough down haul.

Not tighten the Sail - which seems strange if you coudn't get the the mast to bend - boom not set at right length.

You should have specs on your sail
Luff is the height
There should be a recomnded mast size
EG: luff 478 rec. mast 460
the mast ext needs to be set at 18 to get the right luff 460+18=478
make sure you use all your pulley's when downhauling
As a beginner err on the side of overdown haul.
Boom is the length you need to set your boom at
EG: Boom 195
If your boom is 150-200 size slide the boom out from minimum to a 45ext.

Post your kit spec's here and we can check them for you.

if its a very still mast for ur sail try downhauling as much as u can then pulling as much out haul as physicaly posible .. then going and u should be able to add more downhaul .. to corect setting and then set out haul to corect setting

Thanks indeed DavMan. I just did the way it felt right. Checking tomorrow all specifications. Not enough for a PhD but pretty close :)

BTW
when the extension is set right and you downhaul the sail , the pulley's on the sail should almost be touching the pully's on the extension.

I find it very difficult to put enough downhaul on a sail with my 2 pulley extension.
A three pulley extension is so much easier.

Hi Dioma,

I found that when i started windsurfing i was surprised at how much the mast bent and how hard you had to pull on the downhaul, i thought the mast would snap but a little trick is to thread the downhaul through the pulleys and then tie a bowline knot in the downhaul as close to the pulleys as you can, then get your harness hook or a solid bar of some kind and put it through the loop, then put your foot on the mast base and pull as hard as you can, this is an easier way as gripping the downhaul with your hands can sometimes be hard going especially with only 2 pulleys.

If you dont mind spending a few dollars then buy yourself a clamcleat which will do the same trick.

dont be afraid of pulling the downhaul on as much as you can (until the pulleys nearly touch each other) as long as you have got the mast and the extension lengths right (as DavMen explains in this thread) you will be fine and the sail will rig correctly.

Hope this helps.

With proper downhaul the sail will be very floppy at the top 2 panels.

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NotWal said...

With proper downhaul the sail will be very floppy at the top 2 panels.

Depending on the vintage of the sail...

They don't always sell the best gear to beginners...

.....windxstacy....I find it very difficult to put enough downhaul on a sail with my 2 pulley extension.
A three pulley extension is so much easier............

u only need 2 pullies on your mase base .... because the rope starts at the base goes thru 1 pullie on sail then 1 on base 1 on sail one on base and one on sail then gets cleated....meaning u only use 3 pullies on sail and 2 on base ....

some sails have a small marks ( sailworks sails have thier symboy in a position ..) u need to pull downhaul till the crinkels on the loose leech touch this symbol ...

...and when you downhaul use your leg(s) much more than your arms and back. So much easier when I figured this out.

^ and second everything said above. I really think having your rig setup correctly can make a world of difference to a beginner, just look at what it does for the pros.

So...

#1 Windsurfers are a very friendly bunch. Ask them for help and mention you are new to the sport. They will literally fall over themselves to help you out and debate endlessly about which gear is best for you.

#2 The internets. Just google "windsurf how rig sail" or something similar and you will be presented with a plethora of information like the following.

Once your gear is rigged correctly you should be able to sail like the introduction in a few weeks.



(this might not be a good rigging example, I'm supposed to be working)

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nick0 said...

.....windxstacy....I find it very difficult to put enough downhaul on a sail with my 2 pulley extension.
A three pulley extension is so much easier............

u only need 2 pullies on your mase base .... because the rope starts at the base goes thru 1 pullie on sail then 1 on base 1 on sail one on base and one on sail then gets cleated....meaning u only use 3 pullies on sail and 2 on base ....

some sails have a small marks ( sailworks sails have thier symboy in a position ..) u need to pull downhaul till the crinkels on the loose leech touch this symbol ...

If the sail has a three pulley system.
A lot (old sails especially) just have one eyelet or a hook on each side for the downhaul.
As I said, shops don't always sell the newest easiest gear to beginners. Some sellers try to fob off old stuff to the unsuspecting. It's cheaper but can be difficult to use. That sounds very cynical but it certainly happened to me when I was a beginner.

Can I suggest that you rig the sail and post some photo,s . Then those in the know can get you sorted.

I find it very difficult to put enough downhaul on a sail with my 2 pulley extension.A three pulley extension is so much easier.
Get a whinch! Only way for us females to get enough tension..worth their weight in gold!

After some investigation ļ: it is North Voodoo 5.0 wit a cup on the top. Luff 427, Boom 170. My mast is 430 so I assume I have to move the cup on 30 sm. and get 30 sm. on an extension or cup on 0 and no extension. It is still a guess.

Thanks guys.

Watched YouTube, everything is easy... in time.

andrew at board crazy has explained this to me many times ... so if its a luff of 427 u want 3-4 cm of cup out the top of ur sail .. that way when u fully downhaul ur pullies will be block to block and the sail will be as low as posible .. if u dont go block to block and say ur sail is sitting 4 inches high on ur base .. then u get planeing and angle the sail back thier will be a huge gap betreen ur lower leach and back of board meaning air can escape under and thru that area .. lowering ur sail closes ur gap and u will be able to harvest full power... just on shore experiment with ur rig .. try useing full mast extention and have no mast cap extention ... then means u will be rigging ur sail higher on ur mast and on a looser part of ur mast .. then try no entention and that 3-4cm of mast cap and the sail will set diferent ... a softer mast will give less power and drive than a stiffer mast on the same sail .... ..