Hi guys need some help in sorting which sail I should buy. I am looking to buy a north sail natural, but still undecided on whether to buy the 6.6 or the 7 m.
Has anyone have any thought about naturals? Are they any good, I mean in terms of power. I used to have a duke 6.7 which I really liked, but used dukes are hard to find these days. Is natural a good solution?
Do you reckon 6.6 and 7 make a big difference? If I buy the 7 m that means that I will have also to invest in a boom. Is it worthwhile? I am not much of a light wind sailing guy. So if it is only 10 knots I often don’t rig.
All comments are welcome
Thanks
miguel

I have a couple of Naturals, one in 6.6 and the other in 5.4. I admit, I am not a fan of the 6.6. It's always had poor rotation despite having a mast fitting the specified characteristics. Other owners I have talked to have not found this, but despite playing with rigging settings, I've never been able to address it.

Besides that it is a relatively stable sail at the top end and can handle moderate gusts, but goes very back-hand in strong gusts (where you should be a sail size down anyway!).

For bottom end it's okay, but lacks a deep draft or significant profile in the foot to deliver hard acceleration unless really powered up. But this is not uncommon in cam-less sails.

So if you are lucky enough to sail consistent and moderate to fresh winds, it's probably the right sail for you. I've got it going pretty fast in the right conditions. It's also quite light so it makes for easy gybes and waterstarts.

As for the size, from my experience, I don"t think the Natural really has the stability to handle significantly overpowered conditions. If it is going to be your only sail larger than say 5.5, I'd go with the 6.6.