Hi all, I've just acquired an 2012 7.8m Loft Racing Blade (cammed) sail for use in light wind. On my first time out last weekend, I was very happy that I could now go out in 10kt winds and still have fun, but as the wind picked up I realised I couldn't get into the harness lines. I dropped the boom head to its lowest point (pushing down hard against the luff tube zipper hole, extended the lines and moved the lines back further than comfortable but I was still not able to get hooked in (a few inches short). Holding on to the sail my arms are more than 45deg above horizontal (felt like I was getting ready to do a chin-up) so I get the feeling the sail is just too big for me. Outgoing tide at GB (Sunny Coast, Qld) and what felt like 15+kt winds, after an hour I called it a day and haven't found any guidance via searching.

Does anyone have any advice how I can remedy this situation, or is the sail just to big for my short stature?

My previous large sail was a 7.0m NP Solo and my favourite sail is my 6.1 NP Firefly - I also have a old 5.0m but I'm not game to go out in 25+kt winds so it doesn't get used. My board is a Fanatic Eagle 126L and I use a waist harness. I weigh 75kg, 165cm (5'6") short and I've been sailing on/off for the past 10 years, harness lines and foot straps are fine but still chasing my first carve gybe (to give you an idea of my level of skill).

Hey buddy, at your height you should be fine with that sail. Check you have the right mast length and mast extension setting. The tack of the sail (right at the bottom) should be down close to the pulley block on the mast extension. The foot of the sail should be nice and close to the deck of the board. If you stand the rigged sail up beside you vertically on the ground, the front end of the boom should be no higher than your eyes, and no lower than your arm pit.

If if this is all ok, it just comes down to harness line length, hook height and technique. Bare in mind, as the board accelerates and you get out in the straps on the rail and the rig is canted over.....the boom height effectively reduces. If you are trying to hook in with mast vertical in light wind (or worse, canted slightly to leward) you might need to be up on your tippy toes.

The wider the board, the more apparent this situation becomes.

How long are your harness lines ? (it should have a small tag on each line indicating the length in inches)

peterowensbabs said..

jn1 said..
How long are your harness lines ? (it should have a small tag on each line indicating the length in inches)

Why the hell do they sell sails in sq Meters, fins in CM, boards in liters and meters but harness lines in bloody inches???? What the hell is that about. METRIC people METRIC, since what 1967????

SUP boards are worse , litres in volume and inches in length and width .
Conspiracy Pete would know why.

jsonmurphy said..
Hi all, I've just acquired an 2012 7.8m Loft Racing Blade (cammed) sail for use in light wind. On my first time out last weekend, I was very happy that I could now go out in 10kt winds and still have fun, but as the wind picked up I realised I couldn't get into the harness lines. I dropped the boom head to its lowest point (pushing down hard against the luff tube zipper hole, extended the lines and moved the lines back further than comfortable but I was still not able to get hooked in (a few inches short). Holding on to the sail my arms are more than 45deg above horizontal (felt like I was getting ready to do a chin-up) so I get the feeling the sail is just too big for me. Outgoing tide at GB (Sunny Coast, Qld) and what felt like 15+kt winds, after an hour I called it a day and haven't found any guidance via searching.

Does anyone have any advice how I can remedy this situation, or is the sail just to big for my short stature?

My previous large sail was a 7.0m NP Solo and my favourite sail is my 6.1 NP Firefly - I also have a old 5.0m but I'm not game to go out in 25+kt winds so it doesn't get used. My board is a Fanatic Eagle 126L and I use a waist harness. I weigh 75kg, 165cm (5'6") short and I've been sailing on/off for the past 10 years, harness lines and foot straps are fine but still chasing my first carve gybe (to give you an idea of my level of skill).

Next time you go to GB, stand on the beach and yell out "olskool" as loud as you can. Olskool will be there somewhere, he lives there! Once you find him ask him every question you need to know about your set up and he will be able to assist to get you feeling comfy with your set up and having fun on the water.

peterowensbabs said..
Why the hell do they sell sails in sq Meters, fins in CM, boards in liters and meters but harness lines in bloody inches???? What the hell is that about. METRIC people METRIC, since what 1967????

It's not as bad as the aviation industry . FYI: To be exact, it's "System International of Units" (SI for short). That's what Australia is. Metric is an older system.

3 words
Adjustable harness lines

Same altitude as you. No problems

Hi I have the same issue I find with a wider boom I can lean the sail back a bit and make the boom just a bit shorter to hook in and go back to my normal stance