big sails and big arms?

[jared]

I rigged up a pacific 10.0 on a 60% carbon mast and a pacific cheapy boom this weekend for the first time. Wow, is this thing heavy. After the 4th time up-hauling it my arms were toast. What are you sailers doing or rigging for the big sails? Do I need to invest in a
1) lighter sail?
2) lighter mast?
3) lighter boom?

or hit the gym?

[adamel111]

A 10.0 is generally just a beast to uphaul. Invest in an easy uphaul even though uphauling the 10.0 is a good workout and also added motivation to improve so that the sail doesn't fall as much.

[Dave Z]

Jared - I think you have the "road cyclist arms" issue Also known as Legs, Lungs, No Arms.

Since I've stopped road racing I started spending more time on upper body conditioning and it's definitely made a difference in terms of endurance on the water and the ability to throw the sail around...especially when getting overpowered.

[adamel111]

Toasted arms after uphauling 4 times probably means you should do some conditioning to strengthen your arms. However, a 10.0 is still a lot of sail to uphaul, particularly if there is a substantial amount of wind. I used to think that easy uphauls were for sissys when I was sailing IMCO equipment because I could uphaul a 7.4 in 25+ without much problem. After sailing formula gear and, more particularly, sail sizes in the range from 9.0 - 12. 5 I quickly realized that an easy uphaul is a good investment. I would rather spend my energy actually sailing rather than uphauling.

In other words, some weight lifting might be in order, but don't feel like you are a weakling for having some troubles uphauling large sails.

[jared]

I've got a 7.5 and a 10 and think I need something in between. Something like an 8.5 or 9. There seems to be a lot of times that the 7.5 is too small and the 10 is too big. Anyone have any suggestions on a good 8.5 or 9.0 sail?

Here is what I'm looking at
http://www.the-house.com/ltofr84zzloft.html
http://www.the-house.com/rwsf85zzrushwind.html

Windsurfing Direct
2005 SAILWORKS RETRO 8.5 or 9
2005 GAASTRA MATRIX 8.5
2005 SEVERNE NCX 9.0

Anyone have any of these or know anything about them? Or, recommend something? I'm fairly new to sailing so don't need anything too advanced. Something easy to sail.

[johntr]

Jared:

I've had great luck with both O2s and Retros. The Retros seem to me to have a little more low end 'grunt', to get you going in light air, but are a bit harder to handle when the wind picks up. I have a 9.5 and 10.5, and love them in light air, but in heavier air I haven't found the right tuning.

The O2s I have are 5.9 and 7.4, and they're a dream when there's enough wind. Easy to rig, very forgiving, and they handle a nice range of wind.

Let me add my voice to the chorus saying "get an Easy Uphaul". I have two, and never sail my big sails without it. The Easy Uphaul enormously reduces the work when you uphaul a big sail in wind. The problem with the big sails is that the long boom catches in the water, making you work for a long time against the wind. With the Easy Uphaul you learn to do that part of the work with your harness. You still have to finish the job, but with the wind and water off the sail, it's much easier.

My first couple of sessions with my 9.5 I was ready to give up the sport. I would uphaul it just a couple of times and my arms would be tired enough that I couldn't sail well, leading to a vicious circle of more uphauls, more tired, more bad sailing ... Now I look forward to sailing the big sails, because they can feel so wonderfully stable and fast in a steady 8-12 knots. The Easy Uphaul made a *big* difference for me.

Note that if you're daunted by the price of the thing (I seem to remember it's $35 or so), I think it would be easy to make one. It's just an extra line with a coated loop on it for your harness. You wouldn't need the adjustable part if you made it specific for one of your sails.

John

[steveb]

Whimps...Nancy can uphaul a Loft 10.6m you should be ashamed of yourselves!.
The only sail that ever really had a justifiable "bitch " factor was the Neil Pryde 10.7 light wind. A full wide luffsleeve that really could hold some water. I remember seeing Coach's face turn purple trying to break that sail out of the water. If you dropped it you felt like crying!.

[Coach]

Oh man - that sail was a beast, Steve! Even my 12.4m Loft is lighter and easier to uphaul than that 10.7 Pryde. I think it had steel battens. That wasn't my face turning purple while uphauling it.

Anyway, any Easy Uphaul has got to be one of the 10 best windsurfing inventions ever.


-Coach

[adamel111]

Amen to the easy uphaul. Like I said before, I thought everyone using an easy uphaul was a nancy too - until i started to have to uphaul some larger sails. Looks like you are humping your sail when you use one though.