Hey guys, just needing a bit of advice on sails. I've started a couple months back and am progressing steadily. I've got all my own gear now, and getting out whenever I get the chance. however I think I need to get more sails, I've been using a 5.6 Severne sail which has been pretty good for winds in the 20 kts, but I'm hoping to get something for both lighter (preferably uphaulable in a steady 15 kts) and stronger winds.

I'm currently using a 106 F2 Stoke and about 70 - 75 Kgs

cheers all in advance for any advice

In the old days, it was usual to have sails .5m apart in the 5m to 6m range, (gap gets smaller with smaller sails, larger with bigger ones, so say about 10% of sail size apart) but modern sails have a much bigger range, now you can go from a 4.5 to a 5.2 then a 6.0. So you should be ok with a 4.8/4.9 as your smaller sail and a 6.3/6.4 as your bigger one. If you don't want to extend this range further down the track, you could go for an even larger gap, but I think you'd be better of buying more sails.

you could also think about a board in the 85-95 litre range. maybe a freeride or freestyle wave (FSW).

there are a few in the buy & sell to consider $400-$600 range. plenty of performance and still get you
going nicely in 15-20 knots.

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It depends on money you are ready to spend. I for myself decided to go with 3 sails and have currently 4.9, 4.7 and 5.3 with which I am really satisfied.

well I'm only 16 and at boarding school and can't work as much as I would like, this is what I'm going to be putting my money into.

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[b]tomp said..

you could also think about a board in the 85-95 litre range. maybe a freeride or freestyle wave (FSW).

there are a few in the buy & sell to consider $400-$600 range. plenty of performance and still get you
going nicely in 15-20 knots.

I've only really been on the water diligently these last few months before and after christmas so I'm not really sure if I'm ready for a smaller board, also its a bit rare for us to get a good 25 kt + wind so im not sure I'd be able to use her enough though i could very easily be wrong of course.

I've struggled with the quiver question too, since getting back into sailing only a couple of months ago.

I weigh 85kgs (88kg the other night after a big dinner ) and ride a 93ltr FSW on Botany Bay (with a view to open ocean sailing when I build my confidence, fitness and skills back up).

I started with a 5.9, which I found is good for between 16-20kts. I took the 5.9 out in 25kts and was hanging on for dear life, so purchased a 5.4.

The 5.4 is good between 20-25kts, but again, I found myself struggling in gusts over 25kts, so I bought a 4.9 last weekend.

I haven't used the 4.9 yet, but I'm hoping it will be good for 25-30kts.

That pretty much covers the whole wind range for me. I'm not interested in anything less than 16kts and I can't justify a sail for use in >30kts because it would only get used a couple of times a year.

If you're learning, I reckon you'd be right with say a 5.0, 5.8 and a 6.5 or 7.0. It should cover you from 12kts - 25kts.

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borntosail said..

It depends on money you are ready to spend. I for myself decided to go with 3 sails and have currently 4.9, 4.7 and 5.3 with which I am really satisfied.

well I'm only 16 and at boarding school and can't work as much as I would like, this is what I'm going to be putting my money into.

[b]tomp said..

you could also think about a board in the 85-95 litre range. maybe a freeride or freestyle wave (FSW).

there are a few in the buy & sell to consider $400-$600 range. plenty of performance and still get you
going nicely in 15-20 knots.

I've only really been on the water diligently these last few months before and after christmas so I'm not really sure if I'm ready for a smaller board, also its a bit rare for us to get a good 25 kt + wind so im not sure I'd be able to use her enough though i could very easily be wrong of course.[/b]

I made a mistake :) It's not 4.9, but 4.0, 4.7 and 5.3 .... then again, you have Naish choppers, which are S, M, L and XL ... supposed S should be a range from 3.7 - 4.2, M 4.2 - 4.7, L 4.7-5.3 and XL 5.3 - 5.8 .... In my opinion you can be cheaper off by buying let's say S and L or M and XL, it should cover most wind and they all fit to 370cm mast, so you basically need 1 mast.
I agree with a 90ish freewave board. I am 84kg and my big board is a 97L freewave and big sail 5.3 which get's me on a plane from 15 knots up. 15 knots are perfectly fine for water starting and 95L would be enough for your weight to uphaul.