Hi all, I've just acquired an 2012 7.8m Loft Racing Blade (cammed) sail for use in light wind. On my first time out last weekend, I was very happy that I could now go out in 10kt winds and still have fun, but as the wind picked up I realised I couldn't get into the harness lines. I dropped the boom head to its lowest point (pushing down hard against the luff tube zipper hole, extended the lines and moved the lines back further than comfortable but I was still not able to get hooked in (a few inches short). Holding on to the sail my arms are more than 45deg above horizontal (felt like I was getting ready to do a chin-up) so I get the feeling the sail is just too big for me. Outgoing tide at GB (Sunny Coast, Qld) and what felt like 15+kt winds, after an hour I called it a day and haven't found any guidance via searching.
Does anyone have any advice how I can remedy this situation, or is the sail just to big for my short stature?
My previous large sail was a 7.0m NP Solo and my favourite sail is my 6.1 NP Firefly - I also have a old 5.0m but I'm not game to go out in 25+kt winds so it doesn't get used. My board is a Fanatic Eagle 126L and I use a waist harness. I weigh 75kg, 165cm (5'6") short and I've been sailing on/off for the past 10 years, harness lines and foot straps are fine but still chasing my first carve gybe (to give you an idea of my level of skill).
in this video
Eddy Patricelli manages to put the boom on for his kid
there is ALWAYS a way !!
good luck
Hey buddy, at your height you should be fine with that sail. Check you have the right mast length and mast extension setting. The tack of the sail (right at the bottom) should be down close to the pulley block on the mast extension. The foot of the sail should be nice and close to the deck of the board. If you stand the rigged sail up beside you vertically on the ground, the front end of the boom should be no higher than your eyes, and no lower than your arm pit.
If if this is all ok, it just comes down to harness line length, hook height and technique. Bare in mind, as the board accelerates and you get out in the straps on the rail and the rig is canted over.....the boom height effectively reduces. If you are trying to hook in with mast vertical in light wind (or worse, canted slightly to leward) you might need to be up on your tippy toes.
The wider the board, the more apparent this situation becomes.
Thanks joe, looks like I now have an option even if I still can't get it low enough (and better still I can start taking my 4yo with me in light wind) :-)
Chlidsplay, I had rigged the sail for light wind (under-powered), so I didn't have the sail down-hauled fully. On reflection, I think it was 2" off fully down-hauled and I was having trouble getting it lower so I may have stuffed up the extension length. The leech was tight and the foot of the sail was quite high up. I was also trying to hook in with the mast vertical in light wind initially (I got closer as the wind picked up) so basically multiple fails on my part. Thanks so much for the advice.
How long are your harness lines ? (it should have a small tag on each line indicating the length in inches)
Select to expand quotejn1 said..
How long are your harness lines ? (it should have a small tag on each line indicating the length in inches)
Why the hell do they sell sails in sq Meters, fins in CM, boards in liters and meters but harness lines in bloody inches???? What the hell is that about. METRIC people METRIC, since what 1967????
Select to expand quotepeterowensbabs said..jn1 said..
How long are your harness lines ? (it should have a small tag on each line indicating the length in inches)
Why the hell do they sell sails in sq Meters, fins in CM, boards in liters and meters but harness lines in bloody inches???? What the hell is that about. METRIC people METRIC, since what 1967????
SUP boards are worse , litres in volume and inches in length and width .
Conspiracy Pete would know why.
I'm 5'6" and with older sails often had trouble with the cut out being too high..I used to have the boom on the bottom zip and wrecked a few. My more recent ones seem better and in my experience it also varies a bit with brands. I find the KA's have a lower cut out than my earlier Severnes.
Select to expand quotejsonmurphy said..
Hi all, I've just acquired an 2012 7.8m Loft Racing Blade (cammed) sail for use in light wind. On my first time out last weekend, I was very happy that I could now go out in 10kt winds and still have fun, but as the wind picked up I realised I couldn't get into the harness lines. I dropped the boom head to its lowest point (pushing down hard against the luff tube zipper hole, extended the lines and moved the lines back further than comfortable but I was still not able to get hooked in (a few inches short). Holding on to the sail my arms are more than 45deg above horizontal (felt like I was getting ready to do a chin-up) so I get the feeling the sail is just too big for me. Outgoing tide at GB (Sunny Coast, Qld) and what felt like 15+kt winds, after an hour I called it a day and haven't found any guidance via searching.
Does anyone have any advice how I can remedy this situation, or is the sail just to big for my short stature?
My previous large sail was a 7.0m NP Solo and my favourite sail is my 6.1 NP Firefly - I also have a old 5.0m but I'm not game to go out in 25+kt winds so it doesn't get used. My board is a Fanatic Eagle 126L and I use a waist harness. I weigh 75kg, 165cm (5'6") short and I've been sailing on/off for the past 10 years, harness lines and foot straps are fine but still chasing my first carve gybe (to give you an idea of my level of skill).
Next time you go to GB, stand on the beach and yell out "olskool" as loud as you can. Olskool will be there somewhere, he lives there! Once you find him ask him every question you need to know about your set up and he will be able to assist to get you feeling comfy with your set up and having fun on the water. 
OW, yes im a repeat offender. 4/6 days this week. 
Been lots of new faces this last week. If rig is held upright n normally rigged you cant easily get into harness lines. Gotta rake rig aft quickly n raise hips to hook in. Then you can hold it upright again n put weight on rig thru harness lines. Im no guru, but find this works for me. 
Select to expand quotepeterowensbabs said..
Why the hell do they sell sails in sq Meters, fins in CM, boards in liters and meters but harness lines in bloody inches???? What the hell is that about. METRIC people METRIC, since what 1967????
It's not as bad as the aviation industry . FYI: To be exact, it's "System International of Units" (SI for short). That's what Australia is. Metric is an older system.
Select to expand quotejsonmurphy said..
Hi all, I've just acquired an 2012 7.8m Loft Racing Blade (cammed) sail for use in light wind. On my first time out last weekend, I was very happy that I could now go out in 10kt winds and still have fun, but as the wind picked up I realised I couldn't get into the harness lines. I dropped the boom head to its lowest point (pushing down hard against the luff tube zipper hole, extended the lines and moved the lines back further than comfortable but I was still not able to get hooked in (a few inches short). Holding on to the sail my arms are more than 45deg above horizontal (felt like I was getting ready to do a chin-up) so I get the feeling the sail is just too big for me. Outgoing tide at GB (Sunny Coast, Qld) and what felt like 15+kt winds, after an hour I called it a day and haven't found any guidance via searching.
Does anyone have any advice how I can remedy this situation, or is the sail just to big for my short stature?
My previous large sail was a 7.0m NP Solo and my favourite sail is my 6.1 NP Firefly - I also have a old 5.0m but I'm not game to go out in 25+kt winds so it doesn't get used. My board is a Fanatic Eagle 126L and I use a waist harness. I weigh 75kg, 165cm (5'6") short and I've been sailing on/off for the past 10 years, harness lines and foot straps are fine but still chasing my first carve gybe (to give you an idea of my level of skill).
Could be difficult for to hook in for a number reasons.
Could be because:
Harness lines to short
Harness lines to far forward on the boom
Mast track to far back
Hooking in whilst standing to inboard
The list goes on.........
Quick fixes:
Move mast track forward
Move harness lines back on boom slightly.
Make sure you stand further out on board when hooking in.
Fit longer or adjustable harness lines.
Other stuff like sail design will come into play too. The pull on the Loft Racing bald is completely different compared to your Solo (free style) and Firefly (freeride sail). The Racing Blade will feel like its pulling you on to your toes more. So it could also just you need to get used to the different way a full on race feels.
You'd be best speaking to some one at your local beach who knows their stuff. It'll be an easy fix one way or another:)
Just my 2 cents worth.
Select to expand quotepeterowensbabs said..jn1 said..
How long are your harness lines ? (it should have a small tag on each line indicating the length in inches)
Why the hell do they sell sails in sq Meters, fins in CM, boards in liters and meters but harness lines in bloody inches???? What the hell is that about. METRIC people METRIC, since what 1967????
So I started school and was taught feet and inches, a couple of year before I left we switched to metric, left school and worked as a sail maker and used feet and inches, metric and metric feet often on the same plans. You could end up with some very odd shaped sails if you weren't careful.
metric feet was the bugger, you'd see 2.5 feet and think 2foot 5inches but it was 2foot 6inches or you'd get something like 4.275feet and have to work out what that was
As a short guy, when I rig bigger sails (8+), when non planing, I literally have to jump to get out of the harness. I use 26 lines on larger sails. It doesn't help that I have short arms so can't use really long lines either.
If you are rigging for light wind, backing off the downhaul is literally no more than a centimeter or two. Anything more than that makes the sail handle like crap. I actually found it hardly ever made a difference (NP, Ezzy, GA sails). Bagging out the outhaul, OTOH, makes a big difference. The sail should be touching the boom a bit at max power. For small people, as soon as we are planing, we are well powered so need all that downhaul.
Hi I have the same issue I find with a wider boom I can lean the sail back a bit and make the boom just a bit shorter to hook in and go back to my normal stance
Also I like to loosen my harness a bit so once hooked in it angles up a little making it more comfortable, this solution can be a bit costy but another boom in your arsenal can be good.
good luck be safe and have fun out on the water.
