Hello,

I have some Severne Gators rather in the larger sizes (5.5, 6.5, 8.0) and am very happy with them for easy freeriding.
I am considering to buy some smaller sizes in 3.7 and 4.5 as all-round sails for high wind conditions. Purpose is for freeriding and bump'n jump only, no waveriding. I (80kg) would use them on a Fox 95 or Dyno 95, but they should in future also serve my son as light wind sails (now 40kg, growing fast :-).
One of the reasons I would want to buy them is that the 3.7 has an adjustable head and both sails work on a 370cm mast.

Does anybody have experience with such small Gators? Small Gators are difficult (if impossible) to find in windsurf rental places, so I couldn't test them. Any experience or reviews welcome...

best regards
Rainer

Hi .... Have never used Gators .... but have used a bunch of different severne models ... S1 , swat , pro's s1 & blade , freek , blade normal etc ...
They are all market leading sails / designs enough said ! .... I have a feeling smaller Gators will be heavily based around blade design / luff curves etc - ... and therefore amazing wind range / test winning pedigree ... So I would say your safe to buy without testing them first ....

Would also say - smaller 3.7 sails feel so much better on a softer mast - so it would be WELL WORTH investing in a 340 mast - particularly considering how much your son would use and the extra lightness & response he would get from it .... You could also look at small s1's , and blades .... with fixed head if you 340 mast ...

Would say also a 4.5 blade particularly would be worth looking at vs gator ... A fraction better materials / thicker film helps longevity for windier conditions etc and b&j conditions fine ... ( I think 3.7 blade would work fine also b&j)

Gidday M76
I've been using Blades for a while, my current range is 5.7+5.3+5.0+4.5. The new 4.5 Blade is fantastic & highly recommend it. I added a 4.0 Gator as my smallest sail instead of a Blade this year. We've been getting a few brown arrow days over the last few years and the Gator was available from Simon/Boardcrazy. I've used the 4.0 3-4 times now & love it. Feels like a 4 batten Blade, great control when getting blasted & bottom end suprisingly good for such a small sail for me (90kegs on 90L waveboard). BTW I rig the 4.5 Blade & 4.0 Gator on the same 370. If I break the 370, they'll both accept a 400 to see me through the session.
Hope this helps & happy sailing

To add to the very valid points above , As a featherweight sailor (sub 50kgs) I picked up an unused 2018 3.7 Gator for my "highwind - keep me out their sail" early this summer. Gotta say that although I have no experience on other sails such as the Blade/S1 etc the Gator is a great little sail and is actually surprisingly grunty for such a little unit. I'm rigging on a Gorilla 370. Build quality is very good on this esp for my flatwater only use. Another option to consider would be a 4.5m Severne NCX that may be another option for highwind freeriding for you and your son's use. I've been very happy with NCX aswell. Severne seems to have the "little sail" corner of the market better covered than the other manufacturers from my experience/research, if they stop I'll be stuffed!!

Cheers
Dave

Thanks for all your replies.
yes, Severne makes great sails. I do have as mentioned 3 gators 5.5, 6.5 and 8.0. A NCX 5.0, an OD 7.0 and a Turbo 9.2 :-) and my son a 2.3 Redback.
The Gators indeed have lots of low-end punch, that's what I love about them. Good to hear that the smaller Gators have the same characteristics.

Gonna buy them. I think I stay with the 370 mast for both since 370 is recommended by Severne and that's what the sails were designed for.

thanks and best regards
mariachi76

Hi,

I have 2020 4.2 / 4.7 / 5.3 gators. I think they have a wider wind range than blades (?) but not quite so "flicky" maybe for wave sailors? Definitely nice and powerful. Perfect for what I use them for - bump and jump freewave on the bay.
And look awesome

Select to expand quote

AUS729 said..
Hi,

I have 2020 4.2 / 4.7 / 5.3 gators. I think they have a wider wind range than blades (?) but not quite so "flicky" maybe for wave sailors? Definitely nice and powerful. Perfect for what I use them for - bump and jump freewave on the bay.
And look awesome

Thanks for sharing, b&j freewave and high wind freeride is exactly what I need. Just have to find them in small sizes :-).

best regards
mariachi76

Pity they are so hard to find 2nd hand..

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sboardcrazy said..
Pity they are so hard to find 2nd hand..

Yes, they are even hard to find new/current models in shops, at least in Europe and China where I mostly live.
Seems that for small sizes, most people go for blades and S1.
Generally spoken, I think Gators are very underrated sails in the Severne Range. Slalom guys mostly go for Overdrive, freeriders for NCX and wave guys for the blade.
Gators are really very universal sails with a very broad range of wind and conditions, deliver early power, are very light yet robust, easy to handle but fast.
Same for the Turbo GTs, very underrated although they are excellent performing 2-cam-sails, so easy going for freeride/freerace, good for maneuvers and still give that locked-in feeling of a good race sail.

Just my thoughts

best regards,
mariachi76

Select to expand quote

mariachi76 said..

sboardcrazy said..
Pity they are so hard to find 2nd hand..

Yes, they are even hard to find new/current models in shops, at least in Europe and China where I mostly live.
Seems that for small sizes, most people go for blades and S1.
Generally spoken, I think Gators are very underrated sails in the Severne Range. Slalom guys mostly go for Overdrive, freeriders for NCX and wave guys for the blade.
Gators are really very universal sails with a very broad range of wind and conditions, deliver early power, are very light yet robust, easy to handle but fast.
Same for the Turbo GTs, very underrated although they are excellent performing 2-cam-sails, so easy going for freeride/freerace, good for maneuvers and still give that locked-in feeling of a good race sail.

Just my thoughts

best regards,
mariachi76

Agree- I have a 5.7m gator which is very user friendly and a 7.5m GT Turbo as my big sail . I love the Turbo's lightweight , stability and easy gybing .

I sailed at boujima rental centre in morroco and he had mostly Gators in the smaller sizes and they were great, everyone in the group enjoyed them. I have blades 4.2, 4.7, 5.3, gator 6.0 6.5, ncx 7.5, turbo GT 8.6