ive got a 6.7 and an 8.0 sail
do you think a 7.3 would be worth getting - or just too close in size so a bit unnessesary?
is the force generated by a bigger sail a square function of its size, like increased wind speed is?
some days the 6.7 is too small but the 8 becomes a handfull, esp in rip-your-arm off gusts.....
i personally wouldn't get a sail between the 2, that's a very good gap size.
maybe look at changing your rigging?
if it seems too windy i put maximum downhaul on and a lot of outhaul, think thats right?
probably i need to sort out waterstarting, that'd make it easier. I get too tired uphaullin although good for my bicepts :). Managed a couple of starts laying on my back but only after positioning the sail out of the water from chest deep first.
i guess a shiney new sail isnt the solution then :(
Gestalt is on the money, 6.7->7.5 is a tiny gap in that size of sail, wouldn't pay dividends imo. I think if its too windy for the 8 you should be easily planing on the 6.7, technique and body weight has a lot to do with it though.
For example my low end sail range goes 5.8 ->8.5. This is because all my small stuff is wave/FS gear and I have one huge sail for when i'm totally desperate. At the end of the day though I think the 8.5 will only get going in maybe 3kts less than the 5.8, hence I haven't used it for over a year; conversly I can quite comfortably use the 8.5 up to 20kts when I could easily run a 5.2; technique and correct rigging of the sail has a lot to do with this.
So basically those two sails give you more than enough 'gap overlap', make sure you have them rigged correctly, and work on technique.
completely agree with cjw,
8+ to 5.8 is a more than usable gap and one i've also used in the past. eventually i stopped using the 8.5 and got a 6.4 instead.
board width comes into it also.
rigging your sails. don't just crank on the outhaul on race sails.
in basic race sail terms.
if your sail feels to powerfull - use downhaul
if your sail feels to backhandy - use outhaul
there is also double clew eyelets. depends on your sail. in strong winds using the bottom eyelet will give you another 5 knots top end wind range.
Hi Zippy,
I've got a Loft 02 6.6m and 7.4m plus a North Warp 7.8m.
They were purchased at different times and I was planning to get rid of the Warp after buying the 02s. However I found the Warp too good to get rid of. There is a large overlap between the sails and its fair to say the Warp's wind range is quite large as its so stable. Sometimes though I prefer the easier handling of the 7.4m and easier rigging.
Instead of buying another sail in between it may be better to buy another mast, boom and extension so you can keep both sails rigged. Seems to be with the seabreezes at the airport the wind keeps getting stronger during the arvo which is great but means being overpowered on the big sails that were good earlier in the day.
Having two sails rigged would mean a quick change over when the wind increases.
yer the Race sail have a lot of Range I jumped from a 8.5 down to a 7.
easy sail the 8.5 up to 20.
Depends how much gear you want to have and carry around.
The more you have the hardier it is to make a decision what to rig
.
There are times in racing where I wish I had a 7.5 but gee I gotta stop somewhere 
.
I haven't sailed the freeride sails enough to know if they are as rangy as the Race sails but they seem pretty good. I think 1m jump should be fine but the make and model of the sail can make a difference too.
Others are spot on. We are in a similar position, I have a 6.4 and a 7.5 with a difference of 1.1 between them, yours is 1.3. No need for anything in between.
If you were prepared to buy another sail anyway perhaps a 5.0-5.5 would be a good investment and you are totally covered to 30 knots+!
But yes put in more time in your waterstarts! It requires less muscle and it's faster to get going again. Well worth the effort to even get half good at it. Have you tried using the board's tail to help lift the sail to get it into position? Would work well with your size sails.
I have a 6.8, 7.4 and 8.5. I don't use the 7.4 anymore, the 6.8 and the 8.5 have a huge overlap in their wind ranges.
5m is my 20kt sail!
thanks for the replies
think i'll stick with it for now see how it goes.
i dont reckon i'm overpowered often on the 8.0...just that uphaulling is a pain when its really windy and gusty, and a 7 might have been easier. So yeah i need to waterstart....
I had a blast on it last weekend on narabeen lake and i think others were out on some smaller and also larger gear also working well.
my other sails are 5.0 and 5.8 both gathering dust, but do come in useful once in a blue moon.
