Hey
Theres this one particular sail that I bought a few years back, that i have barely ever used. Everytime I try to sail on it, it provides a terrible exhausting experience and as a result, ends up gathering dust in the garage.
Im just wondering as to the reason of this phemomenon... could it be bad rigging, too flexible mast, or just a **** sail altogether?
The sail is a 2004 Neil Pryde Search 6.2
Specified Rigging:
Mast: Neil Pryde Matrix 430 IMCS 21
Base: 40cm
Luff: 470cm
Boom: 183cm
I rig it as specified on a 430 IMCS 21 mast, and it pulls like hell, but the planing seems very very heavy and I feel to be lacking power. Im thinking the mast may be a tad flexible as the sail keeps folding and making noise as i go over waves.
The last time i rigged it, had a **** time, everything felt very heavy and tuggy, but no power, i then rigged a 6.0 straight away, and everything was back to normal, light, easy fun planing and full of power with not as much effort (Naish redline 6.0 cambered)
What am I doing wrong with the neil pryde sail??
Cheers
Jake
Could it be the board as well - sometimes too bigger sails just drive them into the water and don't get any benefit from the extra sail size
Maximum (sensible not overdone) down haul and reasonable out haul to let the sail exhaust may be worth investigating.
Had the same problems with a 96 freewave and 6.5 freeride sail - it just never worked.
I have a 6.2 alpha which I find gives a similar feel to what you described.
I found that if I rig it on a 460 instead of the 430 it feels better.
I also think that one of the main problems is, if you are in conditions that require 6.2 wave/crossover sail its just not gunna feel nice regardless 
Wierd that. I had exactly that problem with a 6.5 sail I bought a few years back, and i wont say the brand because it might be seen as sledging them unfairly. It was a reputable brand which was supposed to be exactly the right sail for the board I have. Others who I have talked to with the same sail recon they are great.
But,.. the thing was an absolute pig! It handled exactly like you say. It just never trimmed up right and I was always fighting the bloody thing. I had the "experts" help with the rigging up once when they were down there. They tweaked batten tensions and fiddled with outhauland downhaul, and although it looked a teeny bit better it made no difference.
Anyway, one day I lost one of the many fights I had with it and ended up having a big stack in. I went through the middle panel. 
I was so cheesed off with it I did'nt bother to get it fixed even though it was a near new sail.
A year or so later, I was patching up some of my favorite old sails with sail tape and since I had a bit left over, I did a quick sticky tape job on the torn panel of the 6.5, even though I didn't think I would bother using it.
It was a LOT of sticky tape and not a very neat job.
The odd thing is, when I tried it again, it rigged up better and sailed much better. 
I came to the conclusion that the original sail must have been a Friday sail or something and was either cut or sown not quite right. Just a few millimetres variation in some of the seams can make a lot of difference to the contour and I think because i taped it up as it lay on the driveway, it ended up a better shape.
KEY QUESTION
What brand mast are you using??
I think you are describing the design feel of a NP Search compared to the Naish redline.
The Neil Pryde Search is an onshore wave sail. It is designed such that when heading down the face of the wave, one needs more power as the apparent wind drops.
The Redline is designed to be stable and light in the hands.
Hmmmm... My sails feel like that if they don't have enough downhaul.
Someone had to say it. 
its because your tryn to windsurf without wind....irrelevant brands and all that "WANK" your are tryn to windsurf in sh1te conditions.
i understand this site is predominantly for boating community now and dosent cater for the windsurfing community.....
most of the sponcerers here like low winds and dick sucking.
Unfortunately im not a boater or sponsor this site.
I think the site is being populated with boater rather than windsurfers this is predominately showed in the wind predictions and the sponsors advertisements.
I dont believe this site caters for the windsurfing community anymore?
the dude is just chuckin' a sad cause he went windsurfing, the wind dropped, and he had to swim.
guess no one told him that meteorology isn't an exact science.
Kuba - what brand mast are you using? Different manufacturers have different curves. Are you using a NP mast? In 2004 I think NP and Gaastra were at opposite ends of the curve spectrum, try and rig or NP sail on a Gaastra mast or a Gaastra sail on a NP mast and the results are poor.
Check out www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=58798
I agree with Notwal, sounds like centre of effort too far back, with no head twist.
Most of my sails feel like that if I try to rig them below their designed range, ie under downhauled and outhauled. It will give a bit more pull, but they just feel heavy and horrible, I've given up doing this now. There's a minimum downhaul the sails need, if that isn't achieved they feel heavy and slow, lots of sideways pull which doesn't translate into forward motion.
I'd rig the sail by look not by specification, as pweedas say sometimes sails don't come out quite as they're meant to.
Downhaul till the leech is loose to at least 1/2 way down, for light winds and most of the way down for high winds.
Then check the outhaul by pressing the sail between the harness lines towards the boom. For light conditions it can come close to touching, but for normal sailing about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way, high winds about a 1/4 of the way.
i make the statement once again...
I still maintain that this site is prominently sponsored by boa-ties and is no longer the windsurfers site of choice...
I think seabreese is predominantly targeting the boating community rather than the windsurfing community with its green arrows and bs gust predictions
You can red flag me all you want but its true the maps cater for the boat community not the windsurfing community anymore.
i have gone to other sites for an accurate windsurfing prediction .
I had one sail that every time I used it I had a terrible time. Not enough power to do what I wanted but enough to pull me over the front when waterstarting.
No problems with any of my other sails which were the same brand. The problem sail was the middle size of the three. I used to avoid that sail because using it was nothing less than frustrating. I never had a problem with any of the others, and I used the same mast for all.
This season I got a new sail in that size because the other one gave me so much trouble. I love the new one. I think some sails just don't work.
Geez Buster, don't let the wind change or those frown lines will never go away! 
I'm pretty sure that Laurie is more of a wind lover than a boatie... I've found the seabreeze forecasts to be much better than anything else out there. AND you can check what the wind's doing from your phone -- which I reckon is the ducks nuts 
Hope you get a decent sail in soon
Actually i find this site pretty reliable. The predictions are usually pretty good, and the current wind readings are usually on the ball. Although i find the best wind indicator is the trees around my house...
Back to the sail, its definitely not a lack of wind that is the issue. I think the mast is just too flexible, and every time it goes over a bump the leach opens far too much and lets off all the power, resulting in constant pull but no real power. Im using a 430 IMCS 21 Powerex mast 30% carbon. Ive tried it on a 460 a few years back, but i remember a similar sh1t experience occurring.
Ive got to try extreme downhaul... dont want to snap my mast tho
you are using the wrong mast for the sail. you need to use a neil pryde mast before you can make an informed decission as to the good or bad side of the sail.
the top of the mast you are using is too stiff for your sail which most likely created the effect you describe.
as you have written above the mast specified for the sail is a "Pryde mast"
Ive got a 4m ( red revo) sailworks that feels flat , powerless & twitchy .. Ive had a few sails that werent too bad but generally when it was at the top of its wind range..someone I know has the same model in a 5m & complained about the same wooden feel.. I dont know if its the rigging or we just arent using it for its purpose.. maybe its designed for maneouverablity rather than speed..? I have a 5m sailworks revo few years younger & its great.
