I'm having trouble rigging and getting the sail to rotate and having good lightwind performance.
Top two show +4 cm downhaul, ok rotation but batterns very flat shape on the water.. next one shows recommended downhaul where I have real difficulty rotating and battern tips are level with front of the mast.

Mast type/ brand?

Severne 2016 sdm 90 490.

This oneo

NOT a freeride expert but my old NCX sets just like that and needs a good pump to rotate in light winds.
I reckon it looks good in last pic

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Mark _australia said..
NOT a freeride expert but my old NCX sets just like that and needs a good pump to rotate in light winds.
I reckon it looks good in last pic

i agree with mark,last one.top one is defiantly wrong.

How does the shape look if you downhaul till the battens immediately above and below the boom project to the midpoint of the mast? This has been my classic rule of thumb for all RAF sails.

Looks similar to the gaastra I had ...have you played around with the out haul ...
i could never set mine right even with the correct mast ,so sold it .but I think you have it set right ..
downhaul looks good mast is correct ,may be out haul settings ...I always had to put more on to get the
bloody battens to rotate round the mast ,specially the boom height one .

Hi Pete, I've just bought the 6.5 and 7.5 NCX's to use as my everyday sails. I've only really played with the 6.5 so far but I just downhaul them the way you showed me when you taught me to sail/rig. Just by seeing where the front end of the bottom three battens (for a seven batten sail) is in relation to the width of the mast. ie I pull it down so the front end of the batten is 1/4 mast width back from the front of the mast with neutral outhaul for maximum power (I got the 6.5 to perform similar to Adam's 7 batten Noa 7m like this) and then add downhaul/outhaul to de-power it from there. I've over-downhauled my 6.5 NCX to look like your top photo and it de-powered it to be less than the 6.1 I'd previously used, so they seem to have a pretty good range of tune. I found the sail rotated fine in both states of downhaul but just needed a quick pump (exactly as Mark suggests) when it was sacked out a bit for maximum power. I also agree with Mark that it looks pretty good for power in that second photo. I was so happy with the 6.5 I went and bought the 7.5 and the way this is going will probably buy the 9 sometime down the track to upgrade the 8.5 and 10 Speedfreaks that I've got ...................... actually they're rubbish Pete, you should give me that 9 when you're next up our way

Thanks for all the responses.The sail probably has an ideal setting, I just haven't found it yet!
Ill keep trying. I'll try a different mast too. I've had heaps of raf sails and this one has me baffled fo now.

Thanks for all the responses.The sail probably has an ideal setting, I just haven't found it yet!
Ill keep trying. I'll try a different mast too. I've had heaps of raf sails and this one has me baffled fo now.

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Paddles B'mere said..
Hi Pete, I've just bought the 6.5 and 7.5 NCX's to use as my everyday sails. I've only really played with the 6.5 so far but I just downhaul them the way you showed me when you taught me to sail/rig. Just by seeing where the front end of the bottom three battens (for a seven batten sail) is in relation to the width of the mast. ie I pull it down so the front end of the batten is 1/4 mast width back from the front of the mast with neutral outhaul for maximum power (I got the 6.5 to perform similar to Adam's 7 batten Noa 7m like this) and then add downhaul/outhaul to de-power it from there. I've over-downhauled my 6.5 NCX to look like your top photo and it de-powered it to be less than the 6.1 I'd previously used, so they seem to have a pretty good range of tune. I found the sail rotated fine in both states of downhaul but just needed a quick pump (exactly as Mark suggests) when it was sacked out a bit for maximum power. I also agree with Mark that it looks pretty good for power in that second photo. I was so happy with the 6.5 I went and bought the 7.5 and the way this is going will probably buy the 9 sometime down the track to upgrade the 8.5 and 10 Speedfreaks that I've got ...................... actually they're rubbish Pete, you should give me that 9 when you're next up our way

Hey there Paddles, if you have a 490 mast I might see if that makes a difference. There's a few different setting combos I haven't tried yet.

I have been using the 2016 9.0 NCX since buying new in Feb last year.
I don't find it to be a powerful sail at all, as paddles said its true performance shines when its overpowered.
It can be de powered quite easily almost feeling more like 7.5.
Neutral to negative outhaul with the downhaul as shown in your last pic is how i rig it for marginal/inconsistent conditions with a SLW, good for @ 16-24 kts (97kgs).
If you are using the the sheer size of the 9.0 ncx as a light wind wind sail or looking for bottom end grunt you won't find it in the ncx unless your under 80kgs.
I now have a new 9.2 reflex as my only other sail, totally different animal but thats where its at if you want power.
Same board, same fin, same mast, 12-18kts and it glides from one gust to the next.

The issues your having with rotation are a consequence of trying to bag out the sail for more power, your mast is fine but you have too much downhaul in the pic 1 and too much outhaul in pic 2 for what your trying to achieve.
Agree with mark, a good pump out of the gybe is what the NCX needs.

Thanks stump. Mid and high wind performance is fine as you say.
Ive tried a combo of lightwind setting most of which require me to help the bottom battern around with my foot. I'll keep trying. I'm trying to avoid getting a bigger cammed sail than my 7.8 for light wind.

I reckon mess around with it for a bit Pete, you'll find the right setup pretty quick. Like I said, I've only used the 6.5 so far and had enough wind to load the sail and twist the battens around easily with a light pump. I love the simplicity of the NCX, you just thread them onto any constant curve mast, pull them down to suit the conditions and go sailing, no messing around. I actually found the 6.5 to be quite powerful when it was sacked out a bit, but their ability to be so easily de-tuned with downhaul is pretty good.

If you want a good lightwind sail and like Severne I would be looking at the Turbo rather than the NCX. I've had a set of four Turbos 6m to 8.6m. The 8.6m replaced an Overdrive and was the best of the four Turbos, great sail that does exactly what I want - lightwind performance and light handling - it's a keeper. The Overdrive needed more wind to be effective so didn't really meet my needs. I now have two NCXs, a 6m and 6.5m which are nice a slippery in good strong wind. Seems a good balance for the quiver.

@Paddles - what's wrong with your 8.5 and 10.0 SpeedFreaks ??

Nothing Joe, they're great, I was just winding Pete up saying the 9m NCX will be rubbish and he should give it to me. Some time down the track though, if they end up needing expensive repair or replacement, I'll rationalise and cover both sizes with one sail and the 9m NCX will be that sail.

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waricle said..
I'm having trouble rigging and getting the sail to rotate and having good lightwind performance.
Top two show +4 cm downhaul, ok rotation but batterns very flat shape on the water.. next one shows recommended downhaul where I have real difficulty rotating and battern tips are level with front of the mast.

It may be just me, but I've found the NCX's gutless compared to other no cam 7 batten sails. The answer is to use it in 10 knots more wind then what you'd expect, but with a 9.0 that probably defeats the purpose of buying a 9, if that's the case add a couple of cams and you'll get the performance you were expecting. Don't you love not being able to demo sails before you commit your hard earned $

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Orange Whip said..

waricle said..
I'm having trouble rigging and getting the sail to rotate and having good lightwind performance.
Top two show +4 cm downhaul, ok rotation but batterns very flat shape on the water.. next one shows recommended downhaul where I have real difficulty rotating and battern tips are level with front of the mast.

It may be just me, but I've found the NCX's gutless compared to other no cam 7 batten sails. The answer is to use it in 10 knots more wind then what you'd expect, but with a 9.0 that probably defeats the purpose of buying a 9, if that's the case add a couple of cams and you'll get the performance you were expecting. Don't you love not being able to demo sails before you commit your hard earned $

I love how stable my NCX feels when the wind picks up, but I have to agree that it's not an early planing sail. And the last photo looks right to me.

i have used these a bit in the 7m and 7.5m, I would go with the bottom photo maybe 1cm more downhaul and stick with that mast.

Thanks again for the replies, maybe I'm looking for something the sail doesn't have..?
Ill keep tuning.

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waricle said..
Thanks again for the replies, maybe I'm looking for something the sail doesn't have..?
Ill keep tuning.

Maybe try the Turbo? It has more bottom end, but alas, less top-end than the NCX.