I have recently purchased an older Dr X 5.7 (hardly used) and was wondering how you make the leech twist off like some of the newer north sails. It does have the Visual Trim system designed specifically for this use but I cannot seem to get the sail to go floppy in that area. Any ideas?
Ahh yeah. We bought it with the sail and its 21 IMCS North sails Sting. The sail reccomends 20-22 IMCS so I assume its the right Stiffness. I have tried to put plenty of downhaul on the sail and only get a very slight amount of twist. The luff is supposed to be around 153 cm (Maximum) and I have the extension set at 25 cm. Should I try with more mast extension?
Are you downhauling as close to the bottom of the base as possible....also if it has an adjustable head cap..is it pulled as tight as possible to the sail...
Yes. It gets to a point where I cant seem to pull anymore downhaul on and thus cant get sufficient twist. The sail doesnt have an ajustable turben so I dont think its to do with that. May it be that the sail just needs to be stretched? It has had limited use by the last owner.
A lot of extensions have the numbers printed very unrealistically..... like my Chinook where the first number is 6cm but that is measured from the extn pulleys and you cant get the sail pulleys anywhere near them. I use about 6-8cm more than what the printed numbers say, in order to get the right length. With right mast, extn set a bit too long, and pulling like mad, it should have floppiness come in halfway from the leech towards the mast (i mean the upper leech not all of it hahaha)
Great, I think that may be my problem . I'll give it a try this weekend. I wonder why they offset the measurements by so much. Oh well thanks for the help.
In my experience from the DR-X I had, they require a lot more downhaul pressure than expected to get the leach to go loose. That is, you need to get the best downhaul pulley system and the best downhaul tool to maximise the leverage on the sail.
I could never pull enough tension on my sail and so the leech was never that loose. The north ratchet system would work very well with the Dr-x sails . Try a pulley hook if you don't already have one in the eyelet of the sail. In general North sails needed more downhaul than the specs suggest anyway to get the best range out of them.
I own a Dr X 5,3 and I know exactly how to rig it perfect. It's a beautiful sail. First rule, make sure none of the battens are touching the mast! lol. Second, when you yanked down as much as you can, go max on the boom which makes more down hall more easier.
You'll see the sail has a beautiful beautiful shape and the mast has quite a curve to it.
When you out on the water, if the sail feels soft and heavy then something and you get tired easy, then try more. It's got to feel light, responsive and a bit twitchy.
i might be wrong here, but i think that sail like the voodoos of similar era, needed a mast with more flex at top and less at bottom. if you find that by the time you have downhauled it so it looks like the ezzy picture posted, you have the batten closest to boom sitting well back behind the mast (like it has lots of outhaul even with no outhaul) then i think you have a mast with too much flex down the bottom for this sail. I know from experience that my NP and Powerex masts aren't ideal for these sails, but they are still usable of course. you'll just end up with too much twist and not enough draft, or too much draft and not enough twist
Thanks for your help. I had a go with more mast extension and quite a bit of downhaul today. Still needs more though. Interesting to note that the battens should not be touching the mast. Is this only during rigging or also when sailing?
The mast I'm using is one reccomended for the sail by Norths and it seems as though it does bend quite a bit at the tip. I think it just needs more downhaul and maybe a pulley hook.
Really you shouldnt need a pulley hook with any sail under about 7m...I had dr x's and xxx's and used them on various masts and they all set well....b4 you go and spend money on masts etc maybe ask your local shop for their help...all the comments here are "right on the money" so maybe its something you are doing that you are not realizing...dont mean to be rude but sometimes it takes someone in the know to set you in the right direction...i sailed for years with sails that werent rigged correctly until i was shown how !!
I just had a go with a longer downhaul rope (last one was far too short) and I was able to get a substantial amount of leverage. The sail is looking fantastic and the top is twisting off fine now. I think the offset mast extension and suggested downhaul settings by North are a bit misleading.
I have a few sails with an eyelet at the bottom, also ahd 2 Dr Xs a while back. The only way I can get enough downhaul on any of them is with a pulley hook. 3 layers of rope thru 1 hole just bind on themselves. Or did the Dr Xs have to holes? even so a pulley hook is the way to go.
My DrXs may have been earlier than yours, mine had 3 spots marked on the head for light med and strong winds. I could downhaul it to the strong spot with bare hands, (had red marks on them for a few minutes after admittedly)
Yeh, my dr x is a gorgeous sail! It kicks in the waves. When I rig it, I aways make sure the mast sleeve is not creasey but pulled out nicely and the battens are well off the mast. You'll find a sweet spot, The shape really comes out then and when you pick the sail up its responsive. You'll be surprised at how much downhall you can go... lol.
I had an old Naish sail that had the same issue. I was always tired, my forearms killed and the sail was always full of power but I never go tgoing, it was soft and heavy. Pulling me forward all the time. I went into the shop, windsurf and snow. Andres showed me what I was doing wrong. I had hardly any downhall, and I thought I had a lot. He said no way. He shoved a longer mast extension in and pulled so much down haul I got such a suprise!! I loved the sail after that. I was like, dame!!!!!!
. I'll give it a try this weekend. I wonder why they offset the measurements by so much. Oh well thanks for the help.
