Cam sails.... KA Koncept

Do you rig all cam sails the same?

1. insert into luff and a little bit of downhaul...
2. attach boom - so outhaul...
3. repeat 1 and 2 numerous times
4. pop cams onto mast.....

I have an old KA Koncept 7.5 and not so sure this works well when rigging mine....?

Are there other ways to rig a cam sail?

Cheers advanced.

Best way I find to rig my 6.6m KA concept is to feed the mast in with the cams above it ( I was told to put them below but as a weakling I find it much easier to pop them on by pushing down rather than up..).Downhaul a bit then outhaul heaps pop the cams on and downhaul the rest.Then adjust outhaul to suit the conditions. Dont know if thats correct but it works for me!

While I am out at - a few mates have been debating the merits of cam free sails - is it such a problem to have cams? Even at learning stage? eg. water starts etc? Or just man up and sail?

I used a cammed sail as my second ever sail I bought, and I found no problems with it other than the initial rigging. They hold their shape better than non cammed sails and in gusty wind this can be a huge benefit.

The types of cams on my sail, which was about a 2001 NP V8, are the type where you have to thread the mast through the cams and then downhaul. When the cams get old and worn they tend to pop off the mast or bend in the luff tube.

Most (all?) the modern cammed sails seem to have the downhaul, then pop the cams on the mast, idea. I first saw it on Ezzy Infinities, but I think all are like this now. It is a heaps better system.

Just the other day I tried to rig my 2005 6.6m NP V8, which has the old style cam setup and what a PITA it was.

When I rig my V8s and Koncepts, the cams snap on easily, but it takes a little while to get the knack of exactly how its done.

Yeah, water starts are going to be a little bit harder, but once you have the technique sorted, it is not much more difficult unless you are stuck in huge rolling swell or are water starting a 12m race sail with a huge luff full of water...

I went on a trip to Dahab a few years back and I far preferred their 8 and 8.5m cammed sails to their non cammed (6 to 7.5m) wave sails that were more suitable to the wind strength. The wind was so gusty that the cammed sails were more controllable, and the wave sails would be twitchy.

As Vando said above once you have attached the boom and outhauled, release the downhaul tension then pop the cams on, then downhaul again to required setting. Get this step wrong and it will not be a pleasant exercise.

PS - I usually put on as much downhaul as I can (about 4-5cm off max) so outhaul can be set to the max setting which seems to allow easier placement of cams onto mast.

Now don't throw rocks at me cos I've never actually rigged a Koncept but this is what has worked for all my cammed sails...

1. Insert mast over top of battens/cams and downhaul to remove all crinkles.
2. Connect boom and apply lots of outhaul tension, even set boom a hole over spec.
3. Now release downhaul.
4. Now snap cams on (push down on luff pocket seam with heal of one hand and up on cam with the other hand, thumb over top of mast and squeeze).
5. Apply downhaul tension to spec.
6. Adjust outhaul tension to spec.
7. Now play with adjustments as needed.
8. Have fun.

As for no cam sails there's nothing wrong with the modern ones, a lot of people would be very happy with these

Release all downhaul before attaching boom ?
Why bother downhauling at all then?
Adding the boom without downhauling means your boom is going onto the mast at the wrong height?
Definitely add boom then release downhaul any product web site confirms this for modern cam sail rigging.

You can do either.

You can thread the mast in over the top of the battens, downhaul until the mast appears in the boom slot, put the boom on, attatch outhaul and tighten then release downhaul tension enough to pop the cams on.

Lately I have been threading the mast over the battens puting the boom on first with everything loose but not clamping it up. Thread downhaul then tension about 10cm shy of max. Clamp the boom, attatch and tighten outhaul, pop on cams.

It is really a personal prefference but I am finding the latter easier.

Appreciate all the feedback / instructions and video linkage - will be applying this next time I rig up!

PS - we ripped it cause its luff is pretty worn and old.....

Nope. Don't downhaul to remove wrinkles at all. Leave it loose to put boom on so you can push boom onto mast without luff tension and then outhaul to max. Still leave it loose while you snap cams on. Only then should you downhaul.

See how it's best done here: http://www.kasail.com/windsurfing/sails/2008/ka%20_koncept_2008_rigging_guide.pdf

Later model sails need the exact same procedure (except for the small ones, they were different up until 2008 and the pictures show. Now you use the same procedure for all sizes). Note loose downhaul, particularly in picture 12.

I will definately give this a try next time as I've always found that since the cam zippers are on the starboard side my KA sail (as opposed to my Code Reds) and most boom heads are easier to clamp when rigging port side, clamping has always been troublesome if downhaul is applied and luff pocket is taut.