ONCE A WINDSURFER, ALWAYS A WINDSURFER!!!

Most of people claim that at some point of ther life they had a lifechanging experience. This blog I dedicated to mine - WINDSURFING.

Monday, August 25, 2008

WINDSURF SAILS

After completing a windsurfing course, or learning form a friend or on your own, each beginner has to make a few important decisions. First of all is choosing your equipment. To make your life easier, here is some general info on sails.

Sails are usually measured in m2, ranging form cca. 3 m2 to 12.5 m2. The rule applied here is: STRONGER WIND = SMALLER SAIL.

You have probably noticed a label on the sail saying something about:

LUFF LENGHT - the "height" of the sail, determines the size of the mast you will use
BOOM LENGHT - determines how much you will extend the boom
Terms such as wave/freestyle, freeride or flatwater/race sail determine the design type of the sail (for egzample:...a wave sail will have stronger stitching, but a flatwater sail will have a greater endspeed...)

ASPECT RATIO is a ratio between luff and boom lenght. The higher this number gets, more manouverable the sail is. Wave sails tend to have a high aspect ratio in opposite to race sails.
The sails are often divided on sails with or without cambers. Cambers are positioned between mast and the battens. Camber system can be usually found on flatwater sails that are larger than 6.5 m2., giving them more pull and power.


When choosing a sail, consider the style of surfing you plan to persue (wave, race, freestyle...), and also the average wind power you will sail on. In my case, a best allround sail saize was 6 m2, so i choose that sail size for my first. Later as you progress, you will upgreade to more sail sizes to cover all the wind conditions you will sail on.


- after a wsurf session, don't leave your sail rigged

- wash it if you are sailing in saltwater

-don't leave it standing on the sun - it damages the materials...

- sails with cambers are usually harder to trim

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

the layout should be white. i enjoyed your post.
u speak so well and easy for us begginers.
i started surfing recently and i must sy i kick ass! FORZE!

Anonymous said...

dude, why did u quit posting?

is it because u r scared of becoming a windsurfer guru?