KA KOYOTE 7.4




Details:
Imagine a drunken night where the KA Koncept goes on a bender and scores a one night stand with a KA Kult…..the end result nine months later is the KA Koyote!.
There’s no denying its pedigree here…the pure speed of the Koncept and the solid “built for wave” construction of the Kult are clearly obvious in the Koyote’s design. But unlike its parents, the Koyote offers a great non technical all rounder with heaps of grunt and oodles of control.

First Impresions:
Looking at the weekend forecast….bugger all wind- (welcome to Autumn), I picked up a red 7.4 Koyote…not really knowing what to expect. I’d seen only a few around, and when my current sails started to get a bit long in the tooth, I thought why not try one out and see how they rate….
If I’m gonna be honest, what drew me to this sail in the first place was the graphics! These sails (particularly the black/silver) look hot!!
Closer inspection drew out a few more characteristics…
Firstly the sail is solidly constructed, with cross-ply throughout. Although slightly heavier than standard panels, some really clever panel assembly means the weight difference is negligible.
Secondly there’s a lot of sail area down low- right where you want it.
After spending about 20 minutes drooling over the pretty shiny bits, it was time to hit the water!

On the water:
One word..WOW!
I expected a sail that big would be a bit of a handful but what got me was how light the rig was. Positioning into a water start, it felt like a small wave sail until it powered up……then WOOOO-HOOO!! This sail had some considerable grunt. Power was low and forward but it was extremlly controllable. Gusts were handled beautifully and unlike most times I crack out a big sail there was no time where the scale moves from control to chaos!!
A couple of hours in marginal conditions 5-15 knots had me convinced that this is a pearler of a sail. So much so that the next week, I replaced my entire quiver!

Thumbs Up:
Australian designed and supported
Great power down low
Light feel and control- having muscled some pretty big sails in my time, I couldn’t get over how light this sail felt. In particular the 7.4 felt like my old 5.2…really easy to throw around.
Solid build and construction
Great graphics

Thumbs Down:
Not much to say here…these sails are awesome. The two things I noticed are not really to do with the sails themselves but probably more to do with the rigging characteristics of my previous quiver of sails. On the bigger sizes (eg 7.4 and up), the SDM Mast can “stick” on the reinforcing inside the mast tip. This is due to the curve induced by the luff sleeve. The other thing to watch, (and one again it is probably my fault due to my previous sail quiver) is that your 2 piece sdm can separate as you are threading the luff sleeve. Because there’s a bit more curve than I’m used to, there’s a bit more resistance as the mast is threading. The mast is held in there pretty tight and the pressure of the curve means there’s a chance that as you are getting the mast all the way into the tip, the mast can come apart by 5-10 mm at the join. I did this on my first two rigging attempts before working out that I need to put the mast over my knee about 75 cm from the tip and bunch the sail up as much as I could.

Overall:
A great allrounder…fast light and powerful
Maybe not suitable for the super speedies, but for those that like a bit of bash and crash and a bit of flat water blasting, this sail holds up perfectly…

MICK

Great review Mick. Can I make a suggestion for the seperation of your mast.....carry some electrical tape in your tool box and ALWAYS wrap it around the join before you slide the mast in. It works in 2 ways.....1- it stops the mast coming apart as you have described....2 (and most important due to where you sail with such fine sand) it stops any grit getting into the join and potentially sticking the 2 pieces together. I've been doing this for years and have never once had to call on any help to pull a stuck mast apart.

PS- How are the copies of Quickly Go Mad coming along??? I have a sad narcissistic desire to watch myself on a big screen

thanks rexie,
electrical tape is a brilliant idea...i'll give it a whirl.

watch this space for details on DVD...it will be available REALLY soon!
mick

Hey Drift,

Regarding bunching up the sail and luff curve, there is an easier way

When your mast won't slide in easily any more, grab the sail in the middle of the cutout, and pull upwards. This will make the sail material form a big loop, and the top and bottom of the cutout will touch. This will de-bend your luff so the mast should go all the way in quite easily. Now grab the tack pulley and pull it down to the extension... Bob's your uncle! No more crinkling sail material