Any sail knowledge?

[windthrash]

I'm looking at replacing my 7.5'ish range soon and would like some professional imput! Does anyone have lots of experience with Hot Sails Maui or Neil Pryde? I want to find something very fast and am looking at a used Pryde RS Racing or some sort of Hot Sails. Any input helps!
Thanx
NATE

[dhopkins]

Try a NP RS Slalom 08, cams work greater , hard to differentaite between the rss. I just ugraded a 7.8 from last year and got a 8.4 and 7.2 they have huge range and are awesome to sail. If looking used try Neil Pryde Maui.com (800) 321-7443.

D

[Woody]

I think the Pryde sails will be faster than Maui Hot Sails. I sail Pryde and they have a great reputation for being stable in high gusty (Midwest) winds. No experience with MHS, but look at the leader boards of any event in the world being it ham & eggers like us, or the pros. Chances are you'll see Neil Pryde at the top most times. Oh, and they (Pryde) do have the fastest sail on the planet right now with the RS Racing at 49.09 knots.

Cheers

[windthrash]

Thanx, and that is my main issue, the price. I'm looking in the $250 range, but NPM does have an RS6 for $250 and there is a 6.2 RS4 for $125 on iwindsurf. I love my V8 that I will be replacing, and want something similar, but faster!

[steveb]

Faster is a mix of many things. If you put the fastest sail in the world on a mast with a slow response and a flexy boom you'll still be slow. Additionally board has a lot to do with it.
You don't say what kind of mast or boom you're putting whatever sail on.

Using a GPS for speed recording, on a no cam sail using a carbon ( hpl) boom and a 90% carbon fast response mast, I logged 32.4 knots on a not particularly fast board, techno 283.
But it was a rig that was very contollable in gusty winds, so I could close the gap regardless.

What I'm trying to say is don't expect one sail to be faster than another, it's the total rig, and making sure whatever sail you use is on the mast and boom stiffness/response it was designed for. So maybe you'd be better looking for a sail designed to work well on the rig you have.Just a suggestion.

[windthrash]

I understand that too, but I'm taking the first steps to upgrading. I have a 30% carbon powerex 460 mast and Chinook aluminum boom, and I do have a Techno 283 too, but my speed board is an early 90's Fanatic Alpha 291. Some day when I have the money, I will upgrade to all carbon, but that will be years. I'd like to try racing and possibly earn cheap gear that way. I'm 18 and still have to go through college, but I will be by the Gorge since I will be attending Oregon State U, and would like to start my racing there. But until then, my torn, broken cammed 7.5 V8 needs replacing.

And I do understand Chris Lock has a couple KA's for sale too... I saw the adds on iwindsurf...

[SteveJ]

I have a 7.1 Neil Pride VX2 you can have for $75. If you are planning on sailing mainly in the gorge soon I would save your money for much smaller equipment for the big wind out there.

Steve

[windthrash]

Have any pics of it? I might just be interested... I'm not sure if the site shows my email, so here it is: windthrash03@yahoo.com

[steveb]

Racings good, nothing will improve your windsurfing more.
But longboard, formula, slalom? all are best with a slightly different sail. Longboards prefer a sail with a deeper draft, usually they have huge adjustability to handle most the conditions a board will face in a days racing. Formula sails are designed for upwind and deep downwind sailing, on a reach the faster apparent air usually makes them a little twitchy and heavy on the back hand. Slalom are usually a slightly higher aspect, they don't need the boom length for upwind as it's not as critical.
It's freaky to think how much stuffs come along.
Truthfully with a 30% carbon and a chinook boom you'll get the best performance and range out of a soft no cam or one cam sail. Your rig won't have the response for a performance sail so your leach won't twist off properly causing the sail to feel twitchy and sluggish, additionally your center of effort will move around because of the alloy boom which would cause a performance sail to feel heavy on the back hand and limit it's wind range performance. Sails like the loft o2 and sailworks retro, I'm sure there's many more models on the market now, would probably get you the best performance for your mast and boom.

[Uffe]

Speaking of the KA sails, I can say nothing but good things about them. I have a 2007 KA Koncept 7.5m sail for sale for $275, (similar to a NP V8 but faster). I used this in Worthington US National's on the two windy days on and I was super happy how fast and stable it was. KA Koncept has some of the fastest set speeds on GPS speedsurfing, it is a 3 cam easy to rig sail that I am extreamly happy with. I am going to get the 2008 version of this 7.5m as soon as I get rid of this lightly used one. I used a 70% carbon mast with this setup (nothing to fancy) mast is for sale as well for $150) but your 30% carbon mast would work fine as well. I have sailed it with that before and it performs great.

Let me know if you're interested, going through the Twin Cities on my way back from the Moose Regatta next week Tuesday night,
email: ujentler@gmail.com
or cell phone five one five - seven 10 four 8 zero 2.
/ Uffe
USWE 22

Below is pic of us racing at the National's, me on 7.5 Koncept and Formula coming downwind the really windy day 30-40 MPH. By the way, support Dan Norm and buy some of his photo's on his website, he did a fabulous job covering the event. http://www.danorm.com (and yes, I bought this pic before using it here, nothing like having picture proof of beating Woody on a downwinder.. )


Later on same downwind leg, yeah it was scetchy right by the sailboard beach, the waves hit the wall and came both ways at you...

[windthrash]

I have a torn Sailworks Retro 6.5 and a Loft O2 9.6 that is torn as well. But both are nice sails, but I still like NP better and love the designs and structure of the new Hot Sails Maui. I see lots of different rigs each time I sail and hear lots of great words for those companies, especially from gorge Scotty.

[steveb]

Gorge Scotty...you mean Scotty Freeman? Meathead?.

[windthrash]

I don't know his last name. He rides the Hot Sails Maui and Loft Concepts. Drives the red ford pick-up or Astro van?