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New sails to try this year.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Darbonne wrote:
Yep, I'm a wimp when it comes to the cold. My 3/2 is good in spring and fall. I would rather just take a break in the coldest months rather than invest in a steamer. I will not enjoy it if I am cold. You are correct about the conditions being better in the winter. Lucky for me I live in a warm state. I sail March through November. I have sailed my 8.0 when it is gusting well into the 20's. I don't have a lot of confidence in high winds. Part of my DIY slow learning progression. My 195 lbs combined with the Kona just seems to take a lot of sail to get it going.

I've weighed as much as 205, and much heavier sailors than I very often rip on smaller sails than I prefer. Skill trumps weight any day.

I grew up in WAY southern Alabama and the Florida panhandle, and also don't like being cold. However, I'll never get back all those days and whole seasons I sat out due to not realizing that the only weather that matters is the weather next to our skin. I still kick myself in the butt -- as will you -- for waiting so long to buy steamers and dry suits; they're the only climate change solution that actually WORKS. Dogfunk is just one of many online sources of very inexpensive climate change solutions -- wetsuits -- for water sports.

I've bought top of the line 3, 4, and 5 mm wetsuits and steamers for well < $100, and you can order out a few and try them on if necessary. Or you can buy a top, pants, a shell, etc., to wear over under another suit. It's like skiing (you know, sliding down mountains on that white stuff you read about): you can dress in layers according to each session's conditions. For example, I just picked up a 1.5 mm long-sleeved full-zippered neoprene water sports jacket that's so stretchy I can wear it under or over any suit. $30. New Hotline 5/4 steamer: $50. New Ion 5 mm steamer: $60. Just think: doubling your annual TOW and getting comfortable -- pun intended -- in higher winds for $50.

The sooner you dress for and try out cooler water and weather, the sooner you'll kick yourself in the butt, slap your forehead, and progress.
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adywind



Joined: 08 Jan 2012
Posts: 665

PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 9:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Boy my new Retro 7.5 is one hot sail Very Happy


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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just bought a 7.0 Retro with the same color scheme, but I haven't rigged it yet. What 490cm mast did you rig it up on?
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adywind



Joined: 08 Jan 2012
Posts: 665

PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

swchandler wrote:
I just bought a 7.0 Retro with the same color scheme, but I haven't rigged it yet. What 490cm mast did you rig it up on?

It's rigged up on an Ezzy 460 in this picture and it looked perfectly fine. I have a 490 Gulftech RDM that I intend to use it with-it will get me more range probably .
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 1:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Checked the specs, and it looks like you're right on the border where either a 460 or 490cm mast will work. It will be interesting to try both and see which works the best. From what Dale Cook told me, it's likely that the softer 460cm will be best for light winds, and that the 490cm being best for strong winds.
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jingebritsen



Joined: 21 Aug 2002
Posts: 3371

PostPosted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 4:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

no matter who makes the sail, rdm's behave differently than sdm. proven it over and over. if one has lots of masts from owning lots of older sails, one is likely to be throwing away money as well as better performance.

sdm masts extend the wind range of larger sails. tried it lots at all the different tests i've attended. experimented a bunch since. quite often, when i see something new to windsurfing come along, i try it. yes, there are personal tastes, but there's cold hard facts too.

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joethewindsufa



Joined: 10 Oct 2010
Posts: 1190
Location: Montréal

PostPosted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 6:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

based on the photo
is the leech okay - even if considered FULLY downhauled ?
also, wrinkle in "monofilm" ??

https://onedrive.live.com/embed?cid=24A66D5FF157BE39&resid=24A66D5FF157BE39%21341&authkey=AMXyA3zkmFYmodc
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jingebritsen



Joined: 21 Aug 2002
Posts: 3371

PostPosted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 6:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

SW 7.5 on an ezzy rdm. not a good match, but run it and see. borrow a powerx/epic/gun/triana/croatia mast and compare performances.

SW wants stiff down low. ezzy's, nolimitz and maui sails are flexy low, stiff up top. makes the SW's very unhappy.

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adywind



Joined: 08 Jan 2012
Posts: 665

PostPosted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 12:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nah guys I have RDMs only and I'm perfectly happy with the performance. I have 400 Sumo; 430 Ka 100%; 460 Ezzy and 490 Gulftech 100%-all of them constant curve bend in some variation. I have 6.5 and 9.0 /for sale/ Retros and several Revos and never had an issue with them on RDMs. Ones the mast starts to overbend it's time to downsize anyway. Sailing overpowered is overrated -it's a Macho thing that gets me tired sooner and my performance suffers and my body suffers -I was doing it a lot and I paid with my elbows Sad. I've kissed the SDMs and cams goodby and I'm not looking back.
The sail in the picture is at max downhaul and some outhaul and the extension is set at 30 which is correct on the max luff spec of 489 , all the battens have pulled away from the mast -even with 0 outhaul the low battens are just by the end of the mast -the head crease is past the med setting marker . If the visual markers are all there and the manufacturer settings are met it tells me that I'm good to go. 30 cm extension is a bit too much IMO and I think I'll use the 490 although I don't like head extensions visually.
The wrinkles in the low panels are fine -they come from the bigger sails build in shape and they disappear when the sail is powered. You can see them in the rigging pics/videos of the Retro too.
http://www.sailworks.com/retro-rigging
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 1:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

adywind wrote:
Sailing overpowered is overrated -it's a Macho thing that gets me tired sooner and my performance suffers and my body suffers -I was doing it a lot and I paid with my elbows

You use your elbows for windsurfing? That's what harnesses and harness lines are for: to transmit the sail's power while we just steer the thing with power steering and foot weighting. i.e. the harness takes care of the heavy-duty DC power transmission while we impart enough AC ripple to control that power. It's a very valuable skill and a huge boost to the visceral side of the sport. We power freaks have tried it both ways, and made our choice based on its real rewards. Claiming otherwise is like saying people do tricks/freestyle only to show off.

Once we learn how to do that, "overpowered" takes on a whole new meaning (i.e., too much power to get back and forth safely), begins much higher in each sail's wind range, and lets us know we really ought to rig down unless that was just an isolated gust or it's almost dark. Except for those gusts, the bigger sail helps us do things we can't do powered "nicely". Efficient sailors call it "macho", while those who appreciate its performance advantages call it more time spent planing, the elimination of lulls, less fatigue from slogging or pumping, instant planing after a power-robbing maneuver (spray takes energy from the sail), the ticket to upwind, a big fat cushion when the wind quits, greater speed out of power-hungry wave boards in B&J mode, and if we're REALLY lucky a whole day powered up on one sail.

Add proper harness use, and that day might mean 10 or even 12 hours on the water even in big terrain. If my arms or legs get tired, I know I didn't take proper advantage of my harness.
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