Here are some early thoughts about a couple of new sails - the Sailworks Flyer 8.5 FR (a dedicated Foil sail) and the Revo 5.7 - a wave sail which I use for foiling also. Both are 2021 models bought during the Sailworks holiday sale. I don't have Sailworks masts for either one (and no budget right now to buy the right sticks) so I've been doing my best to get them working with what's on hand. I'm 100kg, 66 years old and value power, reliability, ease of use and durability most highly.

The 8.5 is just a delight. Very high aspect compared with the earlier Flyer designs - 530 luff and 220 boom (my 2018 Flyer 7.0 for contrast is 460/202). It rigs reasonably well on a CC Mauisails 490 and not badly on a Point-7 520, although it's easy to see where each is a little off from ideal spec which would be the Sailworks 490 Lightstick (SDM). Easy to rig - mast slides up through the cams which stay on reliably. No need for a downhaul tool on the 490 but it was helpful to have a crank on hand for the stiffer 520. Rotation is smooth and immediate on both masts, with no more than a little pop as the cams set. The sail is much lighter than my Sailworks 8.6 NX (a four cam race sail) and the pull is much further forward (harness lines a full 6-8" ahead) and much more toward the bow. It's really powerful and responds well to pumping - my pumping isn't all that good but on a big Taaroa wing I was pumping onto the foil before the wavelets were even beginning to fold over - so 10 knots at most. I was foiling at about the same time as an IQ and I'm sure a better, younger sailor would be flying in 8. It's smooth and balanced as speed picks up, and very mannerly even when a smaller sail would have worked - I felt ok even in 18. Felt great with slalom-style step-jibes. Very full foot closes the gap immediately. Beautiful, well made sail.

The Revo is just as nice and maybe nicer because it's so versatile. I haven't bought a new wave sail in years and this is a big step up from anything I've ever been on. I've foiled on it in 15-20, blasted around on it (today) on a fin and a slalom board in 23-28, and WindSUPed in small float-and-ride conditions in 8-12. It does all of that well. Easy to pump onto the wave and then depower for the ride, super easy to jibe, extremely easy to duck, very light and powerful even on my million-year-old Fiberspar and much more exciting and faster on an old Pryde CK (although the bend is definitely too flex-top on the Pryde). In spite of the light weight it seems built to last. It rigs on both SDM and RDM CC masts. I'm hoping to get the right mast into it soon but even with these odd spars it's a pleasure - very fast, points very high, rotates smoothly, and really handsome. For recreational foiling there may not even be a gap between the two - switchover would be around 16 I suppose, but for now I'm holding on to my 2018 Flyer 7.0 which I know well and am happy with.

I'll update as I get more time on them - I've had the Revo out six days so far and the Flyer four.

Thanks for the feedback. I also have a FR 8.5 and really like it. At 75 kg, I don't think a bigger sail will give me lower take off speed. Using it with a sailworks 75% carbon. Bruce told me that the 99-100% (lighstick) will make it behave even better for light wind.

I really liked the looks of that Flyer. You were definitely getting up nice and early on that setup.

I thought I'd post an update since I finally have the right mast in both sails. After plenty of searching on the web I scored a used Nolimitz Sumo for the Revo and a Lightstick for the Flyer FR. The improvement is substantial for both, I'm happy to say.

The Lightstick is IMCS 30, is lighter and noticeably tougher to downhaul than the Mauisails which is IMCS 29. On the beach the visible difference in set isn't all that pronounced. On the water it's a different story. It pumps MUCH more powerfully, responds much more noticeably to outhaul tuning (I use an adjustable outhaul), and tolerates being overpowered more calmly. Harness lines needed to be moved forward about 4-5cm. This particular mast has had 6cm trimmed off the tip (some previous owner couldn't fit it in the car! Not complaining since it meant I got it for a song) but I don't think it affects the performance much if at all. Still fits in the Flyer with a 44cm instead of 40cm extension.

The Revo fits on the Sumo like it was made for it, which of course it was. When minimally downhauled, but outhauled tight for foiling the draft is stable and it pumps really responsively. At more normal settings for riding on a fin it's extremely stable and predictable, and I've also had it out in seriously overpowered conditions - 30kt plus - with max downhaul/outhaul and that worked great also.

As an addendum, that same 430 Sumo is the preferred mast for my older Flyer 7.0 4-batten. The sail is pretty beat up but it's the one I've sailed the most, so I'm really used to how it feels on a Nolimitz 460. On the 430 it's noticeably snappier to pump but doesn't feel any less stable at speed.

Just a note since shipping has gotten ridiculous - the Sumo was shipped from the Gorge to Florida via USPS, packed in a plastic gutter-downspout, which I thought was a brilliant idea, and postage cost $26!

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Awalkspoiled said..
I thought I'd post an update since I finally have the right mast in both sails. After plenty of searching on the web I scored a used Nolimitz Sumo for the Revo and a Lightstick for the Flyer FR. The improvement is substantial for both, I'm happy to say.

The Lightstick is IMCS 30, is lighter and noticeably tougher to downhaul than the Mauisails which is IMCS 29. On the beach the visible difference in set isn't all that pronounced. On the water it's a different story. It pumps MUCH more powerfully, responds much more noticeably to outhaul tuning (I use an adjustable outhaul), and tolerates being overpowered more calmly. Harness lines needed to be moved forward about 4-5cm. This particular mast has had 6cm trimmed off the tip (some previous owner couldn't fit it in the car! Not complaining since it meant I got it for a song) but I don't think it affects the performance much if at all. Still fits in the Flyer with a 44cm instead of 40cm extension.

The Revo fits on the Sumo like it was made for it, which of course it was. When minimally downhauled, but outhauled tight for foiling the draft is stable and it pumps really responsively. At more normal settings for riding on a fin it's extremely stable and predictable, and I've also had it out in seriously overpowered conditions - 30kt plus - with max downhaul/outhaul and that worked great also.

As an addendum, that same 430 Sumo is the preferred mast for my older Flyer 7.0 4-batten. The sail is pretty beat up but it's the one I've sailed the most, so I'm really used to how it feels on a Nolimitz 460. On the 430 it's noticeably snappier to pump but doesn't feel any less stable at speed.

Just a note since shipping has gotten ridiculous - the Sumo was shipped from the Gorge to Florida via USPS, packed in a plastic gutter-downspout, which I thought was a brilliant idea, and postage cost $26!

For the taller, heavier rider the Flyer 7.0m also accepts the Sumo 460 RDM which provides more power and performance into the rig, this is also the secondary mast in the sail's specs. The new Flyer FR 7.0m only uses an SDM mast with the primary mast being a 460 or for the taller, heavier riders an SDM 490 is the best choice.

About the Flyer 7.0 (not the FR version). You can see in the spec charts that the newer 5-batten 7.0 has a longer luff.

The older 4-batten Fllyer 7.0 takes only a 430 rdm cc mast.

The newer 5-batten Flyer 7.0 takes either a 430 rdm cc (with really long extension) or a 460 rdm cc. The difference in performance is night and day in favor of the 460 for a heavy dude. I use a NoLiimitz FAST mast.

(Now the FR version.) The Flyer FR 7.0 is a whole new can of worms altogether. Not only does it take sdm, but all the FR sails have higher rig tensions than do the non-FR Flyer sails. Keep your crank handy.

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segler said..
About the Flyer 7.0 (not the FR version). You can see in the spec charts that the newer 5-batten 7.0 has a longer luff.

The older 4-batten Fllyer 7.0 takes only a 430 rdm cc mast.

The newer 5-batten Flyer 7.0 takes either a 430 rdm cc (with really long extension) or a 460 rdm cc. The difference in performance is night and day in favor of the 460 for a heavy dude. I use a NoLiimitz FAST mast.

(Now the FR version.) The Flyer FR 7.0 is a whole new can of worms altogether. Not only does it take sdm, but all the FR sails have higher rig tensions than do the non-FR Flyer sails. Keep your crank handy.

Yes, although I'd actually been using the 460 Nolimitz Skinny (not the slightly stouter Sumo 460) on the 2018 4-batten Flyer 7.0 until I got this 430 Sumo. I'm 102kg, so certainly a heavyweight but even so I'd say the 7.0 pumps better on the 430 and doesn't give up all that much in stability in the conditions I use it for. I generally rig that sail for 14-18 and drop to a 5.7 if it's any stronger than that.

That sail gets a ton of use and wasn't new when I got it, so it's getting pretty raggedy. I'll probably have to replace it sometime next year and that'll be a tough call - 5-batten Flyer, or older 4-batten again, or Flyer FR, or even Severne Foilglide which has the merit of being a decent fin sail and the disadvantage of being a lot less sturdy than Sailworks.

I don't need a crank for the FR, as I do for the NX on the same mast, but I do use my harness hook to get it downhauled, which is unnecessary on the older Flyer.

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Awalkspoiled said..

segler said..
About the Flyer 7.0 (not the FR version). You can see in the spec charts that the newer 5-batten 7.0 has a longer luff.

The older 4-batten Fllyer 7.0 takes only a 430 rdm cc mast.

The newer 5-batten Flyer 7.0 takes either a 430 rdm cc (with really long extension) or a 460 rdm cc. The difference in performance is night and day in favor of the 460 for a heavy dude. I use a NoLiimitz FAST mast.

(Now the FR version.) The Flyer FR 7.0 is a whole new can of worms altogether. Not only does it take sdm, but all the FR sails have higher rig tensions than do the non-FR Flyer sails. Keep your crank handy.

Yes, although I'd actually been using the 460 Nolimitz Skinny (not the slightly stouter Sumo 460) on the 2018 4-batten Flyer 7.0 until I got this 430 Sumo. I'm 102kg, so certainly a heavyweight but even so I'd say the 7.0 pumps better on the 430 and doesn't give up all that much in stability in the conditions I use it for. I generally rig that sail for 14-18 and drop to a 5.7 if it's any stronger than that.

That sail gets a ton of use and wasn't new when I got it, so it's getting pretty raggedy. I'll probably have to replace it sometime next year and that'll be a tough call - 5-batten Flyer, or older 4-batten again, or Flyer FR, or even Severne Foilglide which has the merit of being a decent fin sail and the disadvantage of being a lot less sturdy than Sailworks.

I don't need a crank for the FR, as I do for the NX on the same mast, but I do use my harness hook to get it downhauled, which is unnecessary on the older Flyer.

Interesting comparison between masts - I'll have to try them out now.