Super Freak Maui Edition



You can still make great sails out of Dacron. I think I have caught the super freak bug!

Nick Warmuth Sept 24, Maui on a 4.7m Super Freak

Now all those hipsters can embrace windsurfing too thanks to the 80's throwback dacron retro revolution

It's always intrigued me this sail. Having grown up doing a heap of competitive sailing in classes almost all utilising dacron as their choice of sail material I know just how much better the laminate cloths are, not to mention the humble monofilm. My question is why? Cost, feel , UV stability, certainly can't be weight because dacron is heavy...?

Sorry for the negative point of view but having sailed a lot of dacron shod craft I can't see the positives for a high performance windsurfing rig. Take everything I say with a grain of salt because I haven't sailed one, I totally prepared to eat my words.

One thing they have going for them is, they LOOK RAD, those ones when you could (still?) get custom designs were alltime.

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CJW said...

Now all those hipsters can embrace windsurfing too thanks to the 80's throwback dacron retro revolution

It's always intrigued me this sail. Having grown up doing a heap of competitive sailing in classes almost all utilising dacron as their choice of sail material I know just how much better the laminate cloths are, not to mention the humble monofilm. My question is why? Cost, feel , UV stability, certainly can't be weight because dacron is heavy...?

Sorry for the negative point of view but having sailed a lot of dacron shod craft I can't see the positives for a high performance windsurfing rig. Take everything I say with a grain of salt because I haven't sailed one, I totally prepared to eat my words.

One thing they have going for them is, they LOOK RAD, those ones when you could (still?) get custom designs were alltime.

I have been windsurfing 30 years and too have gone through all the changes in sail materials. In the last year I have just started sailing with Super Freaks and they are just great. They are not going to be the fastest on the water but they are very comfortable to sail with particularly the Ultra light version which uses kite material and just absorbs gusts. It is one of those things were you have to sail them to understand. I even have a 9 meter Super Freak and it is a lot lighter than an equivalent 9 m made in a mylar X ply mix.

Yes,

Feel, weight (they are lighter than equivalent mono), longevity, impact resistance, gybing, handling of gusty conditions (their best attribute), bit of colour etc...

IMHO they are a great sail, BUT, sure you will get better/crisper acceleration and top speed from an equivalent sized laminates, if that's what you are after. (but for many the difference will not be that great - sportscar vs cadillac, both are great)

Probably a subjective thing, but I feel a LOT less fatigued sailing SuperFreaks than my other sails, maybe I'm just "special" as my kids would say

Do you sell any other brand of sail or just Hot Sails Maui?

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TonyMurray said...

Do you sell any other brand of sail or just Hot Sails Maui?

I was sailing with them before I decided to start selling them.

I borwed one the other day and loved it. it was a standard super freak. so light and soft. it was a season old but looked as if it was new.

Have only ever sailed mono and these feel much nicer. would like to try them in the waves.

believe they are great in over powered conditions but i didn't notice any huge loss in power in the marginal wind i was sailing in.

all that said i have got a set of Maui Hot sails fires, which are xply, arriving this week. starting to think the freaks are the go instead. will wait and see. might have to get a super freak also

I have Gaastra Poison in 6.2, Gaastra Manic 5.7 and Super Freak in 5.3, 4.7 and 4.2. I love the SF, I always feel less tired after sailing a SF vs. the Gaastra. Especially when the wind is gusty, I can sail far longer eith a SF than I can with a film sail.

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CJW said...

Now all those hipsters can embrace windsurfing too thanks to the 80's throwback dacron retro revolution

It's always intrigued me this sail. Having grown up doing a heap of competitive sailing in classes almost all utilising dacron as their choice of sail material I know just how much better the laminate cloths are, not to mention the humble monofilm. My question is why? Cost, feel , UV stability, certainly can't be weight because dacron is heavy...?

Sorry for the negative point of view but having sailed a lot of dacron shod craft I can't see the positives for a high performance windsurfing rig. Take everything I say with a grain of salt because I haven't sailed one, I totally prepared to eat my words.

One thing they have going for them is, they LOOK RAD, those ones when you could (still?) get custom designs were alltime.

Your scepticism is not un-warranted. While it's easy to compare the Superfreak to the dacron sails of old, they really have very little in common what so ever. Firstly, when comparing to the rigs of old, don't forget that those old sails were rigged on heavy fibreglass masts, a far cry from the carbon masts we use today.

The Superfreak is also special as it is semi battened, this allows the sailor to instantly depower the rig, and when doing so the whole rig becomes feather light! I was blown away when I first gybed my Superfreak.

Yes, I might be a little biased as I will be selling Hot Sails Maui gear, but hey, I have put my money where my mouth is

I'll be doing demos all summer, you're most welcome to try one for yourself anytime.

I was sceptical of these sails but ate my words after having a go of a mates 4.7
These things are so easy to sail in gusty conditions - no pitch pull (would be great for really short boards) and just seem to have an endless top end when overpowered (seems crazy considering the batten setup).
Sail weight seemed equal to or even lighter than equivalent monofilm sail.

I love light and direct wavesails in the bigger sizes for there faster and direct response, but when its galeforce and there is a huge diff between the constant wind and gusts+ lots of chop and confused waves its hard to beat the SF, and especially the ME. They just take the harsh out of it.
The are shock and gusts absorbing qualities are really is unknown to any other sail/brand that i tried (and thats a lot!).
That said, in the bigger sizes they make everything so easy its a bit boring for me but my girlfriend (just planing in the harness but no footstraps) loves them.
Another big bonus, they are almost indistructable so when she falls in it hooked in with knees full power in the footpanel or window..no big deal.
If i try a do or die action on a masthigh wave and get (as usual) eaten the sail survives.

Its really one of those sail you just have to try. Maybe you like it, maybe you don,t, but its at least fun to see how different a sail can be.

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CJW said...

Now all those hipsters ...

I sail with Simmer now so I have no "obligations" with Hot. But I must honestly say the Superfreak is in all senses of the word a modern sail and that non of the negative sides you mention are present in this sail. It is light. Not the lightest, but as light as a normal film sail. It stays fresh longer in the sun and takes beating better then most regular sails. This is particularly true after a few seasons use. They handle super high wind better than any other sail I tried, one reason is the HUGE trim range where you can set the sail very flat and take away some power without making the sail feel like a door. And they are quiet. You don't know how cool this is until you try. Absolutely no "yank" when they rotate either.

Many cool things. Then of course, they are not everyones cup of tea, but a rather cool sail. It took a while to design it. Just look at the panels. All of them there for a reason and probably 5 times as many as in most sails. One of the things that makes this sail tick is the 2 "short" (3/4) battens. What you may not notice is that with full battens in those spots, the sail would have so much rotation that it would be unsailable. SO the sail, despite feeling softer than any other wave sail, still has more tension in it when rigging that most wave sails. Essentially, the dacron cloth and the short battens allow the designer to combine some design traits that is just not possible to combine in a regular sail. I think it's funny no one copied it yet.

Having a couple of shorter battens isn't anything new. Most, if not all wave sails were like this before they went to full batten sails. They were referred to as soft sails.
I'd say they haven't been copied for good reason!
But you can have pretty pictures on them.

Yeah like I said i've never tried one so take anything I say with a grain of salt but it's a sail that's always interested me. I'll have to see if I can have a go of one sometime. They aren't light though, maybe in feel, but not in weight; the ultra light version is size for size 1kg heavier than my current 5.2 SWAT..that's 33% more...a lot.

i always wanted to buy one of these, and i enjoyed the couple that i tried (very light and comfortable)

the ones i tried needed to rig on very big masts, about 30-60cm bigger than the equivalent gaastra / np / north type sails of the year. is this still the case?

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TonyMurray said...
I'd say they haven't been copied for good reason!

True...its way too difficult and takes too much time for most brands as the dacron is a pain in the ass to work with due its stretching.
Way easier to build something out of film. Only one minor point but you will never get the feeling and durability out of a film sail the Freak has.

I love my 5Oceans and think the Firelight (still have to try it) as well but when its howling...3.7 Freaky time for me.



@Haircut, the Freak-ME have a rather short mast.

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Jeroensurf said...

TonyMurray said...
I'd say they haven't been copied for good reason!

True...its way too difficult and takes too much time for most brands as the dacron is a pain in the ass to work with due its stretching.
Way easier to build something out of film. Only one minor point but you will never get the feeling and durability out of a film sail the Freak has.

I love my 5Oceans and think the Firelight (still have to try it) as well but when its howling...3.7 Freaky time for me.



@Haircut, the Freak-ME have a rather short mast.

Nice Super Freak I just love the way they bring back some colour and fun into windsurfing sails.

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TonyMurray said...

Having a couple of shorter battens isn't anything new. Most, if not all wave sails were like this before they went to full batten sails. They were referred to as soft sails.
I'd say they haven't been copied for good reason!
But you can have pretty pictures on them.

Short battens are obviously not new, but here it is combined with a of other design aspects which is what makes this sail what is it.

Interesting how most negative criticism comes from people who never tried the sail... I'm intrigued, but I'd prefer to try the LE and not the ME. Too little drive in the ME for the conditions I sail in I think.