Hey guys, I recently bought a fully cammed sail (5.2m) and was thinking it felt more powerful than my 5.8m sail (no cams). Do cammed sails give same performance as a larger non cammed sail?

At 65kgs on a 165L, 305cmx 64cm board, 46cm fin:
what sort of wind conditions/strengths would you use sails of 7.4m, 5.8, 5.2?
7.4m-0-15kts i know works


Also are there any ways to de-power a fully Cammed sail in strong winds (25kts)

Sorry for the load of questions! any suggestions would be great!

waterlife, I learned on a cammed 7.5 with 165 & 50cm fin (@110kgs though!) Cammed sails are designed for speed, and do it well although there are some high performance non-cammed sails now that hold their own.

The size of your board means that you can sail nearly any conditions with the kit you mentioned, you should even get the 5.2 going in not much over 15kts.

As for de-powering...why would you want to that for? There are ways, but difficult in strong winds. Cammed sails are best used in the best suited conditions.

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waterlife said...

Are there any ways to de-power a fully Cammed sail in strong winds (25kts)

Sail more into the wind? No, the leading edge starts to get backwinded while the rest of the sail is at full power.
Sheet in less? No, as above.
Release pressure by tilting the sail forward? No, catapult coming. Unless you are still on your longboard in that windspeed.
Release pressure under the sail? Yes, but as tricky as clew-first sailing.
Bear off and enjoy the ride? Yes, probably a short one.
Fully cammed? Yes, perfect for a small windrasnge.
Looks really nice, too...

so would be best off getting a smaller sail for winds above 25kts.. eg 4.5m?


0-15kts -7.4
15-25kts - 5.2?
25+ - 4-4.5m?

Hello, WL,

With regard to your question "Also are there any ways to de-power a fully Cammed sail in strong winds (25kts)", the answer is YES. Firstly, make sure the sail is downhauled to its maximum spec. Then outhaul the sail to beyond the maximum outhaul spec. This flattens the sail, making it lose power.

Bear in mind that this works for perhaps another 5-10 knots of windspeed and no matter how far you outhaul, eventually you have to change down to a smaller size.

The disadvantage to this is when you are gybing, where you will find that the boom length will make it very difficult to get around the corner (unless you master a lay-down gybe, which kills the power of the wind) and also,it gets very tiring hanging on to an overpowered sail.

You'll have to experiment to find out what works for you.

Hope this helps.

thanks, it's little tips like that which really help beginners :)
how much extra downhaul can you pull on without harming either mast or sail?
is it recommended to pull much more than maximum for overpowered conditions?

"fully cammed"- you mean 2 camber inducers? Big difference between old and new (last 15 years?). Modern sails go floppy in the top 2 or 3 panels when correctly downhauled, which makes them happier in gusts. Downhauling past that will just break something. Downhaul winches are dangerous!
Maybe you can use the 5.2 without cams as your high wind sail? That will make a big difference to depowering with outhaul.

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waterlife said...

Hey guys, I recently bought a fully cammed sail (5.2m) and was thinking it felt more powerful than my 5.8m sail (no cams). Do cammed sails give same performance as a larger non cammed sail?

Camber induced sails are designed for more stable power and in some cases like yours a smaller camber sail may feel more powerful than a larger non-camber sail (i.e. RAF sail).

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waterlife said...


At 65kgs on a 165L, 305cmx 64cm board, 46cm fin:
what sort of wind conditions/strengths would you use sails of 7.4m, 5.8, 5.2?
7.4m-0-15kts i know works

7.4m with your weight on a big board you should be able use it under 10knots as you have stated.
5.8m about 15-20knots with the rest of your kit
5.1m about 18-25knots, but the board will be handful at this wind strength

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waterlife said...


Also are there any ways to de-power a fully cammed sail in strong winds (25kts)

Like Oldie has stated most modern sails have loose leach that helps exhaust excess wind.

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waterlife said...


thanks, it's little tips like that which really help beginners :)

As beginner I would not recommend a camber induced sail. It will hamper your progression. I also would not recommend removing the cambers as the sail was designed for cambers and may not perform well at all.

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waterlife said...


how much extra downhaul can you pull on without harming either mast or sail?

At least a cm or two more than the recommended settings should be ok.

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waterlife said...


is it recommended to pull much more than maximum for overpowered conditions?

Most modern sails work at one setting, which is about the recommended setting. In practice as most of us don't have the time to go and test our rigs we tend to play with our settings only when we are over or under powered and could not be bothered to rig another sail. In the end we do sometimes add a bit more down haul (e.g. 1cm). Most modern sails are more controlled by out haul now. You out haul can have a 5cm or more adjustment range.


As side note when spring returns Windsurfing Victoria will be having a number clinics, which will include rigging tips. Plus our local stores are always there to help guide you.

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waterlife said...


so would be best off getting a smaller sail for winds above 25kts.. eg 4.5m?

Honestly...I'd look at getting a smaller board, even if it's a 2nd hand 'cheapie' for those out of control days. Your sail range is pretty good, and rather than end up with half a doz sails & one board, 3-4 sails & 2 boards would be a better combo. For 25kts, I'm on a board with less volume than my weight. I'm not saying get a <65lt board, although that will come , but around 90-100lts will get you progressing faster, won't tire you as fast & you'll enjoy it more.

The sail has 7 cams, with the bottom few being roller cams and the rest "mini cams"
I might just have to suck it up and get heavier/stronger to enjoy the ride

Thanks, I didn't even think about the board which could be a major problem in feeling overpowered.. I have a smaller board, but am trying to sell it to clear out the garage. If I changed down fins to a 30cm or alike in those conditions, would that be easier/similar to my smaller volume board (100L with a 28cm fin)

Currently i've got a 46cm fin and the board is 305cmx64cm so i thought it may be ok (not a fat board) and thinking back, I found it a bit hard to control where I wanted to go (it seemed to always want to point towards an object where i didn't want to end up on.. eg piers, boats etc)

If not i guess i best pull my board off the market before somebody tries to buy it

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waterlife said...

The sail has 7 cams, with the bottom few being roller cams and the rest "mini cams"
I might just have to suck it up and get heavier/stronger to enjoy the ride

Is the sail a NP MkIV?

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waterlife said...


Thanks, I didn't even think about the board which could be a major problem in feeling overpowered.. I have a smaller board, but am trying to sell it to clear out the garage. If I changed down fins to a 30cm or alike in those conditions, would that be easier/similar to my smaller volume board (100L with a 28cm fin)

Currently i've got a 46cm fin and the board is 305cmx64cm so i thought it may be ok (not a fat board) and thinking back, I found it a bit hard to control where I wanted to go (it seemed to always want to point towards an object where i didn't want to end up on.. eg piers, boats etc)

Fins (inc size) are very important. A smaller fin will help with control.
WV had small intro on fins in their 10th edition of their newsletter.
www.wv.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61&Itemid=71

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waterlife said...


If not i guess i best pull my board off the market before somebody tries to buy it

Depends if you feel comfortable sailing the smaller board if it's worth keeping. In the end, when you progress you will want a smaller board.

It's a NP Vx Ltd 5.2. bought from sydney second hand and couriered down to melb.

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Windsurfing/Sails/~b4qr3/Neil-Pryde-Rs1-72-And-Vx-Ltd-52.aspx?search=72r0Sn4YWQ3nLQT51TCz6w%3d%3d
(black sail)

I recently got this 165L cause no matter what wind there is i can always go out.
46cms fin for 7.4
30cms fin for 5.8 and 5.2 sounds ok.

Thanks for all your help and hopefully see you guys out there. would love to try out Green point on a nice and manageable day or Elwood in a southerly/northerly

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waterlife said...

It's a NP Vx Ltd 5.2. bought from sydney second hand and couriered down to melb.

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Windsurfing/Sails/~b4qr3/Neil-Pryde-Rs1-72-And-Vx-Ltd-52.aspx?search=72r0Sn4YWQ3nLQT51TCz6w%3d%3d
(black sail)

I recently got this 165L cause no matter what wind there is i can always go out.
46cms fin for 7.4
30cms fin for 5.8 and 5.2 sounds ok.

Thanks for all your help and hopefully see you guys out there. would love to try out Green point on a nice and manageable day or Elwood in a southerly/northerly

Do a day trip to Inverloch. Trust me, you'll love it.

All those cams!
Provided that they all rotate, might end up as your favorite sail.
Should be rigged on the stiffest 430 Fibrespar or suchlike?
Fast but maybe a bit unforgiving.
www.fibersparsports.com/msguide/96_97/neil_pryde_limited/vxltd52.html
Maybe not the latest NP flexitop thingo?

it's slowly edging out my 5.8 :):):):)
I got a smaller fin (29cm)so will have to give that a shot now and may well be my favourite sail!