'07 Ezzy Infinity help?

gobigkahuna · Joined: 11 Mar 2004 Posts: 144 Location: Eastern NC

I just bought a 2007 Ezzy Infinity 10.5m with carbon 550 race mast and carbon race boom. Everything looks to be nearly new. I didn't get a chance to try it before I bought it so my first opportunity to sail it was this weekend. I read the instructions from the Ezzy site and tried to follow the instructions as best as I could. The sail didn't come with a pulley for the tack, just a grommet, so getting enough downhaul tension is a real PITA, but I did the best I could. First thing I noticed was that the sail felt extremely heavy. I'm on a 170 liter formula board and when I up haul the sail, the board sinks! The second day the wind was blowing 12-20 and real gusty / shifty. In order to "soften" the sail's handling and maybe depower it a bit, I tried it without the cams and with more outhaul. People weighing a lot less than me were on 9's so I thought I should be able to handle the 10.5, but it was a real handful.

I windsurfed for 20 years before switching to kiting, so only have a few months of recent windsurfing under my belt. I had a 10m sail during the 90's but I don't remember having this much trouble with that sail. I've been told that Infinities are great sails so I'm really disappointed so far. So my questions are:

Are all relatively recent 10-11m sails as heavy as my 10.5 Infinity or are they known to be very heavy?

Are Infinities that sensitive to downhaul tension that a centimeter or two really makes that big a difference?

Thanks!

gvogelsang · Joined: 09 Nov 1988 Posts: 435

From what I can see, the last year Ezzy made a 10.5 Infinity was in 2005. They have discontinued that size since then.

I personally love my Ezzy sails, but my largest is 7.5. I am thinking that from 8.5 down it is a great range; maybe the 9.5 Lion - I don't know.

Also, do you think that your 170 lt board has water in it?

I would think that for a sail that size, cams would be a necessity to get light wind "guts."

gobigkahuna · Joined: 11 Mar 2004 Posts: 144 Location: Eastern NC

Ezzy made Infinities from 2002 through 2011, check it out:
http://www.ezzy.com/rig-support/all-years-ezzy-sails/

They come with two cams which can be removed to sail it cam-less.

cgoudie1 · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 5:51 pm Post subject: Re: '07 Ezzy Infinity help?

My opinion is that you probably made adjustments that caused your sail
to be really unruly. If your sail "feels" heavy, it doesn't have
anywhere near enough downhaul, and this is particularly true of the
Ezzys I've ridden. I suggest you get a crank, or al least a pull cleat.
You want that upper section of that sail pretty floppy, like down to the 2nd or 3rd batten at least. Pulling the outhaul tight on a sail that isn't down
hauled enough really exacerbates the twitchy feeling, so you get a
twitchy heavy sail. And, (I can't believe the words are coming out of my fingers) you really want those cams in there, when the sail is rigged right.
Yes, sails are that sensitive to a cm or 2 of downhaul.

Try it with more DH, the cams, and a little pocket (not too much outhaul),
and see if it doesn't make you happier.

-Craig

p.s. a 10.5 can only be so light without wind in it.

gvogelsang · Joined: 09 Nov 1988 Posts: 435

U2U2U2 · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 8:24 pm Post subject:

richi · Joined: 04 Jun 2008 Posts: 21

I have rigged quite a few of these large infinitys for a windsurfing club. The draft is so deep on these 2 cam sails that it takes allot of effort to rotate the sail after tacking or gybing. If you use just the bottom cam, your left with almost the same draft but half the effort to pop the sail.

gobigkahuna · Joined: 11 Mar 2004 Posts: 144 Location: Eastern NC

I plan on getting a pulley hook. With just the grommet it's darn near impossible to downhaul that sail.

The mast is lighter than any other mast I own, even though it's the biggest. I believe it's 100% carbon as is the boom.

I'll give just the bottom cam a try. It's actually pretty easy to convert back and forth.

My next largest sail is a similar year HSM Super Freak Ultra Light 8.0. That sail is light night and day different from this Ezzy. Super light, super easy to rig, super friendly. If I have no luck getting the Ezzy to behave, I may try to sell it and get a 10m SuperFreak Speed.

gvogelsang · Joined: 09 Nov 1988 Posts: 435

NOVAAN · Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1548

MORE DOWN HAUL.... Also these sails require positive outhaul. Infinity sails are designed as a 2 camber sail and should be used that way. With proper sail rigging, the sail will rotate without effort and feel stable and balanced. The dry weight of Ezzy sails is the same as any other sails from that time period. Go to Ezzy sails site to see rigging video's