I have been on the water for about two and half years, seem to be struggling at the moment making any progress , so i am thinking about changing sails,have been using KA for last couple of months but i dont think they are very user friendly for someone with my experience, i hear Ezzy are a good freeride sail!!Can anyone throw any good info my way??!!!
sounds like you might be rigging them incorrectly.
Rig the sails up as you would in the back yard, take photos and post them up and let us critique them.
Try before you buy if possible...
I think the biggest pro for Ezzy is its durability and preshape in the battens, this also equates to not really being able to depower it as much as a more 'normal' flatter sail.
If you're just blasting it's fine, if you're trying to do spinny tricks then I would imagine there are better sails out there for what you want to do.
Can't comment on KA's but I thought they were pretty good - so I tend to agree with the others RE rigging/masts.
Tushingham do really good free-ride sails (always highly rated in mag tests) and the Loft 02 seems very popular around here.
I was stuck in the intermediate phase for too long. One thing that really helped was changing to lightweight freestyle sails that depower completely. Makes tacking and gybing much easier to learn if thats where your stuck.
Wifee says "never hurts to get a couple of lessons" too. And the lightweight rig has helped her too.
Freestyle sails can also be rigged with a lot of power for early planing, downside compared to freeride is they are less locked in (less stable) for blasting back and forth if that's what you are in to.
Hi Seawitch
From a female perspective e.g. taking our different power to weight ratio in to consideration. I can let you know what works for me.
I have been windsurfing for 10 years now and finally believe I have got the "right" gear for me.
When it comes to sails, I have owned:
KA - quite a while ago, didn't like it too heavy even though it was only a 5m
Tushingham Vulcan - liked it, bit difficult to rig correctly. I believe the Vulcan has been replaced by a different name now.
Hot Sails Maui Diva - I made the most progress with this sail. Absolutely loved it - light, easy to handle, easy to rig. Just seemed so much easier to water start and gybe.
Neil Pryde Zone - I replaced the Hot Sails Maui Diva with the Zones and regretted it for a bit - took a while to get used to them. I would get catapulted regulary if I didn't get the gybe completely right e.g. the power would come on very sudden and I couldn't hang on. With the Diva I found I could "muscle" through it.
Naish Session - these are the sails I am using now and love them - light and easy to use and to me they feel soft.
The big difference for me is that I changed to skinny masts this year. What a difference -when handling the rig it is much easier, definately worth the money.
The best thing is to try before you buy whenever possible - ask other sailors if you can have a go on their rig if they are using the sail you are thinking about, most will let you have a try.
I have tried the Ezzy Wave Panther and I know it is very light on the scales it felt incredibly "heavy" to me. Ezzy's are cheaper than Naish so I would have loved to like them but, for me they didn't work.
Hope this is of some help
I HAVE BEEN USING KA KONCEPT 2008 SAILS WITH KA MAST.NEXT TIME I GET CHANCE TO GO OUT WILL PHOTOGRAPH AND POST.THANKS FOR ALL GOOD ADVISE IT HAS MADE ME REALISE IT IS NOT JUST SAIL,BUT PROB BOOM HIEGHT AND HARNESS LINE LENGTH AS WELL,WHAT A SPORT...SO MUCH TO LEARN!!!!LOTS OF DIFFERENT ADVISE ON SAILS ,SEEMS I AM SPOILT FOR CHOICE.TRY BEFORE YOU BUY WOULD BE GREAT IF POSS!!
I think advice re: softer sails and easier depower, like camless freeride, thru freestyle, to wave sails is correct.
The KA Koncept is something you really should not be on until you've been sailinga while. And that is if it is rigged right. With not enough downhaul it would be a monster.
Grab a trial powerful wave sail or freestyle/ride sail and the appropriate mast and try it ... I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!
Hi Seawitch. Although the Koncept is super easy, and user freindly for a race sail that has done 50 knots, I agree with Mark that it is not the right sail for a intermediate. With 3 cams, seven tube battens and a monofilm construction it is heavier and stiffer than you need at this stage of your windsurfing journey. A camless freeride sail is what you should be on.
In the KA range the Kult would be perfect. It has no cams, five rod battens and an xply construction, so will be alot lighter and simpler to use plus tough enough to handle all the inevitable crash's. Will also match your KA mast ( depending what size it is)
Another sail I would recommend would be the Severne Gator , very similar in nature to the Kult and there are numerous other suitable sails in other brands.
Both KA and Severne are designed and developed in Australia if that is of any importance to you.
Regards Martin
I would recommend maybe a Neil Pryde Zen, its a great sail thats helped me. Easy to control and rig.
You should follow this recipe for an easy to use sail.
-choose a non-cammed sail (i.e: RAF or camless) called a freeride type (every sail producer has one in their range)
-don't get one with too much x-ply (like lines of string thru the clear monofilm) (plastic) you'll be right.
-choose the right sorta size for your weight, water conditions and most frequent sailed wind
- rig it with plenty of downhaul, till the leech is real floppy (once you think you have enough on, put another heap on)
- buy a rig winch if you don't have the strength to downhaul it
Why I know this? Been there, done that (1.5yr windsurfer now) just past the stage of not enough downhaul. If you don't put enough in, then the sail doesn't work to design, so you end up putting in the extra work that your sail isn't (and would be if rigged correct).
Finally, got my eleven year old son to help me convert photo to computer language.Rigged up and no wind to go anywhere,the local windsurfing community seem to have taken up kayaking with their pets and cycling!!! Have taken on board all good advise and am now waiting for wind, will change sails as soon as opportunity presents, ie money, birthday ,christmas etc meanwhile got a tushingham to try, no cams!!! may persist with ka a bit longer as well!! BRING ON THE WIND!!
You might want to check the second batten from the bottom. the tip may be broken or it needs more tension. I say this as there is a big wrinkle close to the luff tube
The boom batten needs to be alot tighter, the bottom 4 can be tensioned quite firmly. 3rd and 4th from the top could be tighter also to get the creases out but don't overdo these ones.
The amount of downhaul is OK for just planning conditions. When fully powered you could have it tighter.
Regards Martin
