Sail tuning tips

arnegahmig · Joined: 27 Nov 2013 Posts: 17 Location: El Médano

Hey guys,

I wrote an article a few days ago on trimming the sail (in this case without cambers). I would love to hear your feedback in case there is anything I can add to the list.

http://howtowindsurf101.com/how-to-trim-a-windsurf-sail/

Cheers!

techno900 · Joined: 28 Mar 2001 Posts: 4182

In general terms, a beginner or novice will get some helpful information from your instructions.

However, there are a lot of variations in how sails rig and look, such as: Manufactures, type of sail (wave vs free race), vintage/age (todays sails vs older sails with tight leaches). Maybe you need to offer up the fact that there will be variations and not all sails will rig exactly as you outline.

Also, I would start with downhaul, since that's what you do first when rigging. Also, commenting on having the correct mast (length, bend/flex, IMCS) will help get the rigging right. Too stiff, too soft, too flex top, etc. will change/impact all your visuals/diagrams of how a sail should look.

You might also suggest that trying to find the specific rigging instruction for a particular sail is worth the effort. Searching the manufacturer's web site could be helpful.

A good start and maybe better with some refinement.

manuel · Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 1158

First off, I'd love to have this type of information when learning how to rig. Ezzy offer great help with this.

Unfortunately since it is so sail specific, it cannot be so generic as to say, this is correct or this isn't. ex: Neilpryde sails have huge batten rotation while Ezzy's very little.

Then, there's sailor's preference, weight, conditions, etc. Some sails have naturally a great range with one setting, others need tweaking. Some sails love lots of downhaul, others don't etc.

What we can say is go with manufacturers' specs and try on the water. It can take a few sessions (or a lifetime) to tune new(-to-us) gear.

arnegahmig · Joined: 27 Nov 2013 Posts: 17 Location: El Médano

Thanks for the great feedback guys.

I have incorporated a section to encourage people reading this to take this advice more as a starting point to be tested for each person-sail-brand rather than a strict set of rules for sail tuning.

I will also include the guideline of modifying the downhaul before tampering with the outhaul.

Thanks for your comments!

Arne

rgomez · Joined: 13 Dec 2012 Posts: 112

I think this is brilliant...Im currently working on my sail tuning and this is very useful information that I'm sharing with my windsurf group.

Thanks

spennie · Joined: 13 Oct 1995 Posts: 975 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

Mostly very good, left some comments on your site.

U2U2U2 · Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 6:14 pm Post subject:

spennie · Joined: 13 Oct 1995 Posts: 975 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

U2U2U2: I'm into my second year in a row of terrible windsurfing conditions, and have only had about 4 or 5 sessions on Blaze, since she's a smaller board for me, but here's what I've learned:

The board's amazing, as expected. Fast & smooth, thanks to the convex nose and Nelson rocker line, and very easy to get comfortable on, the sign of a good board. The wings don't seem to help me plane earlier like I had hoped, oh well.

But the turning! OMG, it's the best turning board ever! If you come in hot and lay it over, the wings start to work, changing the rocker slightly and creating a pivot point, and you can turn it as hard as your ability allows. I loaned it to Jason Voss in the Delta one day, and he came back wide-eyed, saying "Wow, when you get it onto the wings, whew!" Still haven't had a chance to try her in the waves, but taking her to Maui for two weeks next month, where Matt Pritchard is waiting to try her. Stay tuned!

U2U2U2 · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 8:45 am Post subject:

Thx sounds interesting

konajoe · Joined: 28 Feb 2010 Posts: 517

I can appreciate your enthusiasm for the sport. But if a person has the means to look at this guide (access to the internet), it is much better to find the rigging guide for your sail model, including year. (Don't assume that the instructions for a sail are the same from year to year!) If you have the internet, you can also contact the manufacturer about mast compatibility, and what to do if you have the wrong mast.

In this day, generalizations are just unnecessary. I once had a very inexperienced windsurfer explain to me how I had my sail rigged all wrong, as I was dragging my stuff on shore. He didn't notice that I had just won a race, and that my next nearest competitor still hadn't crossed the finish line. Pretty funny. He had come across some general guidelines for rigging a modern windsurfing sail.