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HiFly SuperFun - No Fun - Cant get the sail tight

 
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AMEVY



Joined: 06 Oct 2015
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 10:45 pm    Post subject: HiFly SuperFun - No Fun - Cant get the sail tight Reply with quote

I bought this old HiFly Superfun and when i went to set it up i cant the sail to go tight. The mast is a one piece fiberglass . The sail is a HiFly Speedline 5.9 (boom 185 luft 485)

The sail has battons which i have inserted first. I then I inserted the mast and tightened a the bottom of the sail. I then installed the boom and tightened the sail to the end of the boom but as you can see from the pics the sail is not tight.

When I spread the sail out there seems to be a significant amount of curve in the sail - is this correct?

Also on the board there are several settings for the position of the mast on the board - which is easiest for a newbie - the mast forward or towards the back of the board



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pjs



Joined: 06 Jul 1999
Posts: 59

PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pull REALLY hard on the downhaul. You may need to wrap it around something to pull the line tight enough. When it's getting tight enough the mast will start to get a pretty good bend.

I learned how to sail on the same HiFly funboard back in the early 90's (it's still sitting in my parent's shed). But, mine came with the older non full batten sail. They are a little tippy when you are first learning, but plane up pretty well and let you sail in a lot of wind.
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bred2shred



Joined: 02 May 2000
Posts: 989
Location: Jersey Shore

PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
When I spread the sail out there seems to be a significant amount of curve in the sail - is this correct?


Yes, this is what gives the sail it's curved airfoil shape. This "curve" is a large part of what you're paying for when you buy a sail. It is what defines the sail.

The above poster is correct, you need to pull a lot more on the downhaul. Buy or make a downhaul tool (handle) that allows you to pull the downhaul line with both hands (a short section of wooden broom handle with two holes in it works quite well). To properly downhaul, you need to sit on the ground at the base of the mast, put one foot on the base, knee bent & sitting upright. Then with the downhaul threaded through the pulleys and connected to the downhaul tool, grab the tool with both hands and simultaneoulsly straighten your leg and lean back straight. This is the only way to fully tension the rig (and don't worry about the mast breaking, it won't).

On the sail that you have, you want to pull on enough downhaul that the leading edge of the batten tips is in line with the centerline of the mast at minimum. You can see from your picture that the batten tips are well in front of the mast which is an indication that your are severly under-downhauled. Another indicator is the tension of the luff material (material at the leading edge of the sail). This should be tight with no significant wrinkles.

sm
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AMEVY



Joined: 06 Oct 2015
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:01 am    Post subject: Thanks PJ and SM for your response Reply with quote

I will try again with more pressure on the downhaul until the battens are even with the mast. You are correct SM the battens at the moment are on the side of the mast

Thanks again for your help
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bred2shred



Joined: 02 May 2000
Posts: 989
Location: Jersey Shore

PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just to clarify, by on the centerline, I mean when looking down on the sail while standing over it with it laying on the ground on it's side. It might have been better to say, "half-way back from the front of the mast" as a minimum.

In other words, it's ok for the batten tip to overlap the mast slightly, but it should definitely not be beyond the front of the mast (among other things, this will make it extremely difficult to "pop" the sail across after tacking/jibing). Having the tip fully behind the mast may be ok, but it could also be an indication that you have over tensioned the downhaul and/or the outhaul.

sm
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d0uglass



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Bonita Springs, Florida

PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

AMEVY-

Also, there shouldn't be more than an inch or so of space between the bottom corner of the sail and the pulleys on the mast base extension. It looks like you have at least a foot of space, and a lot of the silver colored mast base extension is showing. Is it possible for you to adjust the mast base extension shorter? About six inches less extension and six inches more downhaul tightness ought to make things meet properly.

As for where to set the mast track on the board, try the middle first.

Also, are you going to get lessons, or at least watch an instructional video? You could waste a lot of time and get really frustrated if you try to teach yourself because windsurfing is very non-intuitive.

Good luck!

-James
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spodmd@yahoo.com



Joined: 13 Feb 2023
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 9:30 pm    Post subject: I’ve been looking for this exact one. Reply with quote

I know this is an old post. I’ve actually been looking for this exact one. Let me know if you decide to sell this one. I hope you’ve had some fun with it.
Thx
Shawn
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jingebritsen



Joined: 21 Aug 2002
Posts: 3371

PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 2023 4:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

try to feed the lines thru the pulleys on such a way as to eliminate twisting and chafing.

harness lines look really far aft

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