Hi,
Anyone having experienced the two sails mentioned here, could you please give me your thoughts?
I have been considering an Ezzy Zephyr 7.5m longboard specific sail for a while now, but a 2014 KA Koyote 7.4 has come up on sale and I am wondering if it would be anything like the Zephyr? The KA has 7 battons opposed to 6 for the Ezzy, The KA has two clew eyelets, opposed to one on the Ezzy. Other than that they appear pretty similar "to me".

What is important to me is as an intermediate long board sailor is control and ease of use, with a wide wind range.
Work well in light wind.
Not easily overpowered.
Light neutral feel in the hands.
Certainly don't care about top speed.

Links:
www.ezzy.com/sails/2015-sails/ezzy-zephyr/#prettyPhoto
http://www.windsurfing.kasail.com/koyote-2014/

Thanks,
Ken

Hi Ken,
They are actually quite different beasts, that are designed for two different purposes.

The Zepher is a dedicated design for light wind longboard sailing, if that's what your into then that's the sail for you.

The KA is a Freerace sail designed for blasting (in planning conditions) on shortboards, so if that's what your into that would be the sail to choose.

What sort of board do you sail and in what conditions??

Clarence

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clarence said..
What sort of board do you sail and in what conditions??

Clarence

I have a Kona One long board.
I sail in various conditions up to about 20 knots, not much more.

Hi Kenny, The Koyote is a freerace or camless race sail designed for use with fast freeride or slalom boards. I have used one on my SUP and it is OK but you will be much better off with a longboard specific sail.

Regards Martin

I own a zephyr which I have used a handful of times. I am still getting familiar with it in all conditions. I use it on a mistral one design in 0-18 knots (very approx).

It handles beautifully in the semi planing range (8-12 knot range), and I have found it pretty stable into the high teens (knots). The long boom and deep draft allow it to stay powered up very nicely through the lulls, which is quite different to the shallower draft, shorter boom freeride type sails.

The only problem I have found with it fully powered up on a reach is that the foot is very low. With the mast track right back the foot sometimes drags in the water more than I would expect- maybe this is a trim issue as I have only found it like this on a few occasions. I would suspect that with the kona the mast track is further aft, so the sail does not need to be raked back so much when planing in the straps.

If you plan on doing high speed blasting all the time, the zephyr may not be ideal. For all round sailing at various points of sail and in various wind conditions, it would be a good option.

Clarence

Thanks fellas.

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JonesySail said..
Hi Ken,
They are actually quite different beasts, that are designed for two different purposes.

The Zepher is a dedicated design for light wind longboard sailing, if that's what your into then that's the sail for you.

The KA is a Freerace sail designed for blasting (in planning conditions) on shortboards, so if that's what your into that would be the sail to choose.

Jonesy,
I have come across another cheap old stock sail that you may be able to pass comment on?
It's a Simmer Enduro 7.8m 2014. Would this sail be similar to the Zephyr or is it more like the KA?
Hers a link: www.simmerstyle.com/sails/product.aspx?modelNr=22
Cheers,
Ken.

Looks like a nice sail , but it is still designed for Shortboard Sailing.

At the end of the day you can use any sail you like on your long board in light winds and have fun.

However I think you are asking or looking for/about a sail designed for specifically long board sailing and maximising your performance of such, then picking a sail designed for the type of sailing you are doing is the way to go, not all of the brands offer a 'long board sail'.

LB is not my speciality I just happen to know of the Zepher as a user friendly long board sail...then you also start to get into long board specific race sails, from my understanding 'long board' sails will typically have a longer boom and tighter leech/head for light wind performance. The one design long boards often have their own matching sails, designed specifically for the purpose, Bic Techno, Kona, RS One, RSX etc

Some long board guys may be able to throw some other models or suggestions for you also.

http://www.severnesails.com/race-sails/severne-raceboard