Trans-Am Rigging

pyro · Joined: 14 Jun 2000 Posts: 10

I bought a 6.6 Trans-Am from North and the rigging is confusing me. I have a North mast and boom that are the appropriate sizes for the sail(460). When I rigged the sail for the first time today, I had to extend the downhaul exension and the boom in order to have some tension in the sail. When I did not extend the gear the sail was a mess. I had to extend the extension 13 cm when I should have not had to extend it at all and the boom 5 cm from the manufacturers specs. Am I rigging the sail wrong or what? Slide mast in, outhaul fully, downhaul fully, trim and go. What am I doing wrong here???

artofwindsurfing · Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 182

Dear Pyro,

I have a few questions for you:

1- Did an instruction booklet come with the sail ?

2- Which mast is recommended for this sail, length and stiffness ?

For faster response, you can reach me at artofwindsurfing@yahoo.com

Looking forward to hear from you,

Sylvain Pilon, windsurf instructor, HI

artofwindsurfing · Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 182

I just rented this sail here in Maui. I had a great time on it. This sail takes A LOT of downhaul, much like a race sail. Make sure you look at the markers on the sail to see where it starts to fall off at the leech (top of sail).
Use the marker that is appropriate for the conditions. Do this of course with the boom properly set.

You will probably have to use a rigging tool to get enough downhaul on it.

I promise, this is a great sail!!! It is fast, very stable draft, and is light weight.

-Noel

artofwindsurfing · Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 182

Dear Jay,

Did you manage to try your 6.6 since I last e-mailed you ?

I would like to get some feedback on your experience.

Looking forward to hear from you,

Sylvain Pilon, windsurf instructor, HI

You can reach me at: artofwindsurfing@yahoo.com

BicBoy · Joined: 23 Aug 2000 Posts: 10

Pyro - did you check the stiffness on your North mast? I found that my mast was at the bottom end of the stiffness recommended for my Trans-Am 7.4, and so the VTS marks are off by a few inches. (BY the way, those visual trim marks *really* work.)

Tthe Trans-Am needs MASSIVE downhaul even in light wind to get the trim right, and I find I need a bit (1 cm) more outhaul than the maximum recommended when rigging for big wind with my North mast and boom. Be careful with the downhaul, the entire range of downhaul trim on this sail is within about 3 cm, its pretty sensitive.

The Trans-Am is an AWESOME sail with a wide wind range, and Im sure that youll love it. I know I do.

BB