Hi all,
Just got back from my first (much awaited) sail on my new gear.
Me (64 kg's)
Mistral Super Vision 161L 278cm 69cm board with 42cm freeride fin
5.7 NP Soul (thanks neb)
I downhauled according to the settings printed on the sail.
Out on the water the sail felt like it the sail had plenty of power in it but the board just wouldn't respond. After an hour cruising around getting bored I decided to loosen the downhaul about 1cm. I also released the outhaul slightly to bring the battens into the position that neb told me to rig it to.
By this time the wind had picked up to about 20knots, the rig felt a lot easier to handle and didn't want to pull me forward quite so much. But still felt like I was sailing around in a bathtub.
Then all of a sudden an amazing thing happened, a gust hit me and I beared off slightly and it felt like the board just lit an afterburner. I was planing!!! (doing fishtails, yelling holy crap, then falling off).
After another hour or so I staying on the plane a bit longer each time (it was quite gusty which didnt help).
Anyway..
Is it normal for the wider boards to be pigs until they are planing? It's probably just me used to the old 50kg plastic fantastic that seemed to carry its speed better through the lulls.
Should I have been using a bigger sail in 15-20knots to get the board to plane consistently? (i'm assuming this is the case).
Going out again on thursday to start learning how to use the harness, as I couldn't sheet in enough (probably another problem today) with my arms alone.
thanks,
brad
Yes a bigger sail would have been the go. In those conditions you would have been much better off on something like a 7.5m. Otherwise the board wont bet planning and will always feel like a bath tub on water!
Well done, Braaad. I usually have something go wrong whenever I sail for the for the first time on a piece of new gear.
At your weight, you should be able to get a 160 litre board planing with a 5.7 in 15-20kts (with practice), especially with a 42cm fin. Wider boards, particularly with the sort of volume you have should be much easier to handle sub-planing than something narrower and with less volume, and should be easier to get up onto the plane.
Don't go out and get a new sail just yet. Hard to know exactly what the problem was, but maybe you were trying to head upwind too far too early. To get planing properly, you need to concentrate on "getting the foils working" (sail and fin). Try pointing downwind a bit more and even pumping the sail to pull yourself onto the plane, if your arms can take it. Once you are on the plane you will start to accelerate and the foils will be working well. That's when you will be able to hook-in with the harness too. Only then can you start pointing further upwind while keeping on the plane.
Gusty conditions won't help much, but again, once you get the hang og it, you can point downwind a bit more in the lulls to keep planing, then point further upwind once the gusts come through. If you try to point too much into the wind in a lull, you are quite likely to drop off the plane, making the board feel like a pig.
Cheers
Yeah, thanks Krusty, I'll definately be taking the 7m with me on thursday.
Would it be better to start using a harness on something like the 5.7 or just go straight to the 7 in moderate winds?
I don't think I could use the 7 without a harness as I'm fairly small and my arms would be dead in 5 mins.
Put your harness on all the time mate, get used to the feel, you'll find that you will learn quicker if its on. Don't be scared of falling into the sail, we've all done it and are still.
Hi there,
Im 65kgs and use a 6.7m race sail and get planning from 13kts up to 20kts on a 100L board. With a larger board I would imagine that you might need a bigger sail 7.5ish or larger to get going. Though as a beginner / intermediate, stick with a sail no larger than 6.5m-7m. That should be plenty to get you going and still be relatively easier to handle.
Cheers
David
Hey Braaad,
Congratulations on getting planing on your first outing! It took me a lot longer than it did for you, but it was the very same sail
Don't use that 7m just yet. It's big, heavy, and you will get the royal sh!ts in no time at all. Wait for a month or two until you get the hang of the harness: that 7m is a racing sail and will rip your arms out unless you're hooked in.
The problem you were having is almost certainly not sheeting in enough -- putting the harness on will help immensely here. Remember to put that boom bra I gave you on as well, because learning harness technique = lots of catapults.
That 5.7 is plenty powerful enough to get a lightweight like you planing on a big board in 15 knots... if you feel the wind's a bit light then try the 6m Streetracer, since it's only got two cams it will be a lot easier to handle than the 7m monster.
hth
Hey neb,
Yeah gonna get into the harness on thursday. Now that I have had time to think about it, that's definately the problem.
Didn't matter what I did (probably wasn't doing much with my jelly arms) I just couldn't sheet it in.
Also the wind conditions weren't the best today, hopefully next time will be better and can practice footsteering as well. More fishtailing to come 
Anyway ill keep you updated.
Might take your advice and try the V8 after a few more sessions.
I'm 67kg and have had a go on Hardy's bigger gear (130l) in lighter winds, (12-15kn) we all expected me to get planning early, but I found it surprisingly hard. And I've had conformation of this from an expert. There's a limit to how much extra planning area helps you to get planning, a light weight has difficulty developing enough power to "unstick" a bigger board, you have to almost jump up and down on it while pumping hard. But once it's planning it takes very little to keep it there.
I have had a 5.2 raf for 4 seasons now and have been very reluctant to get it out of the bag. It never feels right. Felt like a real pig and would not power up properly or gradually. I prefered to go out overpowered. Just lately I have played around with the setup and in the right conditions have found it to be a great sail.
On the weekend we had some gusty hang on for grim death wind and I had an absolute blast on it. In the lulls it felt comfortable, and when the gusts hit, the board just whistled.
I am no expert, but smaller sails may take a little time to understand.
Is that the first time you have plained? If so, it is the most incredible experience and I can totally relate.
think you just need to sail it alot more, hint: off the breeze slightly and pump a few times....
, now to just explain that to my girlfriend...
Yep, stick with the 5.7, point her downwind to get going, use your harness, again use your harness and sail sail and sail 
They all feel like pigs when not planing, that's why we sit on the beach waiting for wind 
With Nebs looking over your shoulder, you'll be flying any day soon 
