Need some help selecting a new sail quiver…

[jester]

Isonic är ju fullblods slalombrädor, och dom förtjänar ju “riktiga” segel… Om du tittar på just Gaastra så tycker jag att brädorna förtjänar Phantom istället för Cosmic. Naturligtvis skulle ju Vapor passa allra bäst, men då börjar det bli dyrt.
En fördel med Phantom är ju att du kan hoppa över dom allra minsta seglen. Du borde klara dig väldigt långt med 6.4, 7.1 och 7.8. Kanske att du kan komplettera med en 5.7, men eftersom du inte är extremt lätt, så är det väldigt sällan en 6.4 blir för stor. (Har själv inte kört mindre än 7.8 i år).
Med Phantom klarar du dig med 2 master, dessutom. Känner du dig lite rik, så skadar det inte med deras bästa mast till denna typ av segel (men 75% kommer fungera utmärkt också).

Cross skall du definitivt undvika, då dom inte kommer fungera till dina brädor!

[brett74]

@Jester 719134 wrote:

Isonic är ju fullblods slalombrädor, och dom förtjänar ju “riktiga” segel… Om du tittar på just Gaastra så tycker jag att brädorna förtjänar Phantom istället för Cosmic. Naturligtvis skulle ju Vapor passa allra bäst, men då börjar det bli dyrt.
En fördel med Phantom är ju att du kan hoppa över dom allra minsta seglen. Du borde klara dig väldigt långt med 6.4, 7.1 och 7.8. Kanske att du kan komplettera med en 5.7, men eftersom du inte är extremt lätt, så är det väldigt sällan en 6.4 blir för stor. (Har själv inte kört mindre än 7.8 i år).
Med Phantom klarar du dig med 2 master, dessutom. Känner du dig lite rik, så skadar det inte med deras bästa mast till denna typ av segel (men 75% kommer fungera utmärkt också).

Cross skall du definitivt undvika, då dom inte kommer fungera till dina brädor!

Wow, now I am glad I wrote this post and I have a bunch of questions ! Some of them are seem like stupid questions but I really have a lot to learn it seems. Thanks for the reply so far…

Are there any disadvantages to having such “racey” sails ?
I mean if I want a relaxed day just cruising up and down are they gonna be OK for that too? Can they still point upwind like a normal freeride sail ?

My next point is the sizes, how come you guys use such big sails? Are race sails more flexible when it comes to higher winds or is it just that you head so far off the wind when doing speed runs that you need the extra size ?
I had a day not so long ago when I was getting beaten up using an old 5.4sqm wave sail on my old freeride board, would I have had less stress using my new Slalom board and one these new race sails, say the 6.4 you suggested ?
What kind of windspeed do you think the 5,7 Phantom might be needed ?

My last question is about the masts, are there any disadvantages to 100% CF masts when it comes to durability ?
I am still crashing alot and don’t want to waste my 5000SEK mast the first time I am out trying to play with the “big boys” ! My sailing is at the level now where I am probably 80% Heart and 20% skill !

Once again thanks for the quick reply so far, it seems you might have saved me from wasting a bit of my hard earned cash…

[jester]

Några svar:

Nackdelar med race-segel? Ja, det finns. Först och främst så är dom dyrare. Är lite svårare att vattenstarta beroende på bred mastficka, och det faktum att man kör fysisk större segel. Vissa upplever dom som svårare att rigga, men med vev och rätt kunskap är dom nästan lättare att rigga. Det skall inte vara några problem dock att cruisa fram och tillbaka (men kanske att man får gå ner en storlek då). Upwind bör fungera minst lika bra som ett freeride, men det var ett bra tag sen jag körde ett sådant… 🙂

Vi kan köra större segel eftersom dom är såpass stabila. 7-8 latter och 2-3 cambers hjälpre till väldigt mycket här. Men naturligtvis är det just undanvindarna som gör att vi ofta väljer stora segel (en bonus med lite större segel är att man kan höjda lite bättre om man bara orkar hålla emot).
Om man bara vågar lita på prylarna, och översätter kraften i seglet till fart så hade du lätt kunnat köra 7.0 den dagen du körde 5.4. Som exempel körde jag 9.5 en dag och mötte en med full planing och 4.0… Ok, nu väger jag ganska mycket också, och hade säkerligen gått lite snabbare med en 7.8 just då men visste att vinden skulle lägga sig ganska snabbt igen… För mig måste det antingen vara väldigt platt vatten eller blåsa upp mot 18-19 m/s innan jag skulle börja fundera på 5.7… Har 6.4 som minsta segel, och har bara använt den storleken ett par gånger dom senaste åren. har haft 5.7 tidigare men aldrig använt dom. 🙂 Men då går jag itne ut om vinden närmar sig 19-20 m/s i byarna eftersom det blir för choppigt hemmavid då.

Masterna är nog mera ömtåliga ja. Även om 100% är bättre, så räcker en 75% i detta fall riktigt långt (om du köper Gaastras egna).

Kika gärna över i Slalom/speed-forumet där denna typ av utrustning diskuteras lite oftare än här ute i huvudkonfen… 🙂 Där finns tex tips om vilken GPS du skall ha, och hur man använder den.

[erree]

@Brett74 719139 wrote:

Wow, now I am glad I wrote this post and I have a bunch of questions ! Some of them are seem like stupid questions but I really have a lot to learn it seems. Thanks for the reply so far…

Are there any disadvantages to having such “racey” sails ?
I mean if I want a relaxed day just cruising up and down are they gonna be OK for that too? Can they still point upwind like a normal freeride sail ?

My next point is the sizes, how come you guys use such big sails? Are race sails more flexible when it comes to higher winds or is it just that you head so far off the wind when doing speed runs that you need the extra size ?
I had a day not so long ago when I was getting beaten up using an old 5.4sqm wave sail on my old freeride board, would I have had less stress using my new Slalom board and one these new race sails, say the 6.4 you suggested ?
What kind of windspeed do you think the 5,7 Phantom might be needed ?

My last question is about the masts, are there any disadvantages to 100% CF masts when it comes to durability ?
I am still crashing alot and don’t want to waste my 5000SEK mast the first time I am out trying to play with the “big boys” ! My sailing is at the level now where I am probably 80% Heart and 20% skill !

Once again thanks for the quick reply so far, it seems you might have saved me from wasting a bit of my hard earned cash…

Speed/slalom sailing is radically different from the other parts of w-surf in terms of sail-sizes. I am by no means a speed sailor myself, but these guys tend to use sails much bigger than those who blast around or freestlyle. The name of the game is weight and seat harness. If you wanna beat records, you gotta get LOW in that seat harness and really be on the edge of overpowering if you wanna go fast. As has been stated previously, by people who have more knowledge than me, the sails they recommended are probably the best. However, if you want more all-round fun, just blasting along on a really windy, choppy day at Klagshamn/Habo/one of our super nice Skåne-spots, a freeride sail around 5.4-5.5 won’t kill you. At least I wouldn’t feel the need of being constantly overpowered!

[brett74]

OK guys thanks for the tips, I am going ahead with Jester’s recommendations and ordering the Phantoms, 5,7-7,8…my wife doesn’t like him much now !
I also read his GPS advice and ordered a GT31 so I can see how I am getting along, thanks for all your answers and the GPS write up was very well written.

[jester]

No problemo!

Good luck, and have fun!

[kapten-k]

If you sail at habo ljung, don’t be afraid to as, as i use isonics and vapor sail i might have some tuning tips for you.
I would rather buy used or last year Vapors than new phantoms. But the vapors are more cumbersome and my 9.5 vapor from 2012 is heavy to carry up and down the beach in no wind.

[brett74]

Hey Kapten K, would love some tips, I have been out of the game for 18 years so I am really quite clueless when it comes to tuning. I drive a Blue V50 with a “readyheli” sticker on the back window…sail mostly during the week…there gotta be something pretty important going on if there is a SW blowing and I am not there !
How about fins ? I have a 32cm Chamäleon on the 107 ltr Isonic but have yet to buy fins for my 80 ltr Isonic. Was thinking of the 28 Chamäleon and a 28 Duo Weed to see if there was much of a difference and then when I get faster one of those in the 24cm version…

[kevlarsjal]

Duo weed är en bättre fena än chamäleon.

[kapten-k]

Duo weed is better, or should i say faster. Because it´s less draggy. The fastest weedfin yet is Hurricane weed but those are VERY hard to get. I drive a Black Old Chrysler voyager with Starboard and mystic stickers. Looks like Its SW this sunday!!

[brett74]

I am at work in the North Sea on a drilling rig until Tuesday ! We just had a hurricane out here, 80knots and 21 meter swells, batten down the hatches and hold on boys! The rigg was moving up and down, we call it heave, 12 meters! 6 degrees roll and pitch. Our Hull is nearly 40 years old so it not the first storm shes seen..

[kinetic]

When it comes to fins…To start with I´m not an expert. I’m using a “Performance Fins Weed 29 by Anders Bringdahl”, a decent fin, around 10-12 years old and not possible to buy (new) anymore. Apart from this I have a Lessacher Formula (40cm dept, huge surfacearea) and a one-off custom fin from Lessacher. This custom from Lessacher is a tweaked B+F, depth 30cm and raked around 38 degrees. This fins doesn’t feature his usual trademark (concaves…), its a really thin foiled, small fin regarding the surfacearea. This custom fin is a bit “unstable” at low speeds (sub 30 approx), but once you hit 30 knots it’s rock solid. It has little lift so it’s a fin aimed for narrower boards, say max 60cm. I have asked a friend that builds fins to tweak it, the tweaks are: slightly thicker profile (0.5-1mm), approx 45 degrees rake (the original fin was not raked enough, it catched weed). I have tried this a little (7,9 and 46 wide board). When starting the fin did not grip at low speeds. Once it gripped it was really great. Good tracking, and gripped great from around 22-24 knots, much better than the original. I’m pretty sure that this fin is as good as many other more known ones. As for know I’m trying to evaluate if a softer version is better than the original ultra-stiff, so far no feedback from the ones that has the softer ones, I guess it’s a game of “taste and like”, if you are happy and pleased with your (well known and unarguably good) fins then you might not wanna test a another fin once the wind is howling, it could be a record day and you don’t want to use that day to try a new fin, that just MIGHT be a good one…Time will tell if I get any feedback or not. My best topspeed with the original fin is 36 knots in Habo, and my PB topspeed is 37 knots, but that was in Haga Park in the famous “Duck pond”… I’m quite confident that in the hands of a good speedsurfer that this speedweed-fin will be in pair with other more well known brands.
Some pics of the stiffest one (pure carbon as the original one): http://www.surfzone.se/kop-salj/visa-annons/4596/fena-speed-weed-28-cm-tuttlebox/