I just got back into windsurfing the wind was about 12 to 15 knots nw at rye,so i rigged my new 6.5 naish koa, on my JP exite ride 120 liter board. All the kiters were haven a ball skimming pass me. Like I am 90 kilos and i had a guy go sailing by on a 5m, pass me on my 6.5 ? 120 exite ? He was alot smaller, but g I wish I still had my old neilpryed raf sail, then i would like to see him go flying by. I use to sail on a old 6.1 neilpryed raf no cam, about a 1986 model, it had alot more power. I was saying to a windsurfer on the beach, I would normally be still out there sailing my old 6.1 and one other thing I thought of what the mag reviews say, yes the best most easy sails to use, but how come you never see Bgorn, kevin and all the top pros use them, no cams cant be that good .
I gave my brother ago and he said the same thing, has no power, he is getting back into it and said he will not buy a 6.5 no cam after trying mine out, he is now chasen a cam sail. So I really saw alot of other sailors going home that day and the kiters had all the fun. The new sails have wrecked windsurfing, they are flat as a window and i think they are designed for maui, hood river, or pozo.I think they have got it wrong and thats why windsurfing died out. Look up the video called dale cook jumping high in the sailworks web site, he backs me up on what he says, dale designed a sail for power called the hucker, to use anywhere, not just pozo.
If i need a strong clean 15-20 knots to windsurf everytime, i might just take up fishing instead.

Check out the 07-08 Ezzy sails. As much shape as a cammed sail, but much easier to flip.
The 09's are much flatter, bit of a backward step for me, I'll keep my 07's I think.

All the big names like Naish, North, Pryde etc use wind to give the sail shape, and have the effect you describe (gutless unless they're well powered up).

Next time you're down the beach see if you can find someone with an Ezzy and check out how much shape it's got.

Technique? Probably, I love no cams, I'm 85kg, can plane in 12-13knts with a 7.3.
and out pace most other cam sails around this area. I'm sure after 30 odd years of sail devolpment they havn't "got it wrong"
I use naish sprints 6.6 and 7.3 on my 122 futura, and find with couple of well weighted pumps they jump onto the plane easily.
Maybe, like the rest of us, you have more muscles(weight) than you used to have when you were sailing before.

Maybe, seeing as you just got back into windsurfing, you rigged your fancy new no-cam sail the same way as you rigged the last sail you used before you stopped windsurfing last time...?????

Maybe the mast is the wrong stiffness, or curve, or you just don't have enough downhaul..

Or maybe the sail is just rubbish despite many thousands of dollars of R&D, testing, and computer modelling.. it does happen!

If I were you, I'd wait until that guy who was flying around on a 5m gets back to the beach and ask him to take a look at your setup and see if he can offer any suggestions..

Agree with 555. It's amazing what a little tuning can do to a rig. I've been just as pizzed off in the past with people scooting past and me only dogging away on a 6.2. Only to go into shore, release a little bit of down haul and sure enough planing straight away.

Also, there is a lot to be said about pumping and technique.

Don't be mad at your no cam sail, it wants to get planing just as much as you do

mr windsurf said...

i just got back into windsurfing and rigged a 6.5 naish koa on my JP exite ride 120 and the wind was about 12 to 15 knots at rye all the kiters were haven a ball skimming pass me and the little guys on there wave gear like i am 90 kilos and i had a guy go flying buy on a 5m pass me on my 6.5 ? 120 exite ? he was alot smaller but g i wish i still had my old neilpryed raf sail then i would like to see him go flying buy i use to sail on a old 6.1 neilpryed non monofilm raf sail they had much more power i was saying to a windsurfer on the beach i would normally be still out there sailing my 6.1 i think it will be the last time i will buy a no cam and one thing i thought of what the mag reviews say yes the best most easy sails to use but how come you never see bgorn, kevin and all the top pros use em no cams cant be that good
i gave my brother ago and he said the same thing he is getting back into it and said he will not buy a 6.5 no cam after trying mine out he is now chasen a cam sail so i really saw alot of other sailers going home and the kiters had all the fun the new sails have recked windsurfing they are flat as a window and designed for maui hood river or pozo i think they have got it wrong and thats why windsurfing died out look up the video called dale cook jumping high in the sailworks web site he backs me up on what he says he designed a sail for power called the hucker to use anywhere not just pozo
if i need a strong clean 15-20 knots to windsurf everytime i might just take up fishing instead

Are you allergic to punctuation?

nikita this is about windsurfing not spelling son

the problem is 90kg now weighs more than it did inthe 80's

i think camber inducers are an invention of the devil, trying to waste precious sailing time for sailors and adding frustrations to a simple task like rigging up.[}:)]

Mobydisc said...

I know I'd be using my 7.2 RS6 and my Tabou 140 in that wind strength, and I weigh about 20 kgs less than you. I'd be planing, no problems too.

12-15 knots would make me reach for an 8 to 8.5m. I need 20 knots+ for a 5m.

interesting read, the gear has changed so much. I have just recently converted to cambered sails (North Ram F8) and found them to be very twitchy, problem was I was still running a 5 year old mast. Once I stuck the right mast into it, it was like a different sail. Also spent a lot of timing ginning around with different rig tensions. The great Fred Haywood used to say "its not how you rig it, its what you do with that thing." well the problem seems to be that the new sails are much less forgiving in the rigging department, but get it right and it certainly is worth the effort. I could not be happier with the rams.

WANTED anyone got a 6.5 cam sail for sale i am looking for one no older than 5 years old now i think i might put me naish Koa no cam sail up for sale

This is a bit off topic, but I don't think modern sails are much flatter than the old ones, it's where the shape is that has changed IMO. New sails are full below the boom and flatter above the boom as they transition to the twisted off top section, placing the power low and easy to control. Old sails were full above the boom giving a lot more lift as the power was higher up but this made them harder to control when over powered.

But what do you weigh Elmo? I'm sure it wouldn't have worked as well for my 68kg.
On the beach I put all my weight on the window, and the sail didn't fully turn on.
And for me that sail would be for a wind strength of 10 - 15kt, not the 15 to 20 you use it in.

This is almost a reversal of the wave sailing "100kgs are lepers" thread.

No Way!!!!

There's no reason big guys can't wave sail, and why shouldn't they?
All they need is the correct sized wave board, and I can't see any reason why they can't have one.

Same goes for small guys and speed, maybe we're at a disadvantage, but it's still loads of fun, and why shouldn't little guys be able to see just how fast they can go?
It just needs sails that don't turn off so hard, not hard to make if you know what you're doing.
(not saying I do here, but I know somebody who does, my 5.3 wave sail fully turns on in about 10 - 12kts.)

elmo said...


You wouldn't (and didn't) need the 7.2m though, would you?

>>>>>>
I was still quite impressed with the performance and stand by my comments, a camed sail would give you a more rigid fixed foil, but this was quite good to run without them.

I didn't need it today, but say at the beginning of the summer season in a 10 - 15 kt seabreeze, a 7ish sail should be about the right size for me. Big camed sails also have their disadvantages, it would be nice to see an uncamed sail that fully rotates with less pressure.

I don't think more outhaul would have helped that aspect.

There's no doubt that hardys 7.0 and that 7.2 work fine for you and hardy, but hardy's 7.0 was unusable for me, and I tried every combination of outhaul and downhaul available.
It felt just as hard to turn on as your 7.2, so I'm fairly sure that would be equally unusable, for me. If you've still got it in a 10 -15kt day I'm willing to try it with a relatively open mind.