been taking my 102 JP FSW out in some swell and waves and find my 6.0 Ezzy freeride is not powerfull enough for the conditions I am seeing. I weigh 85 kg, would a 6.2 wave sail have more low end power than my Ezzy? Any feedback would be appreciated (except maybe recommendation for weight-loss, I already got that from my wife). Thanks.
I'm no expert but I have sails from 4.5 to 9mt and have a fair idea what wind I needed at 85kg given the sail I was using. I have dropped 10kg recently and it makes a difference of about a mt or so in sail size.
I don't think such a small sail change would make that much difference. Do you have any mates in the area you could test out a wave sail? What kind of wind strength are we talking?
A bigger board will solve all your issues in the marginal stuff. @85kg you are still fairly light.
You could also spring for a power wave sail If you want to go a bit further. Simmer, ka, pryde, naish all have power wave sails in their range.
Also are you using the right mast in your ezzy? Wrong mast is not gonna help.
The 6.5 Cheetah is a very grunty sail and a lot lighter than the old freerides. I'm about the same weight as you and in SEQ the 6.5 and 100 litre FSW are a great combination for blasting around in medium winds. If the wind's too light for that then you're on the big gear.
It's not a wave sail though, so if you need a higher foot look at the Tigers - there is a 6.3
Thanks for taking the time to give me some feedback, it is appreciated. I find the Ezzy Freeride has great high end but the low end is lacking. I like to use it more like a 5.5. I have a 6.2 Sailworks, but it has cams and I would not want to waterstart it in waves since I am falling a lot. Trying out a friend's wave sail first seems like a good idea. Losing 10kg may not be in the cards. Up until now I have only had wave sails for higher winds (below 5.0) and freeride sails for medium/light winds so I don't have any idea how a larger wave sail might perform differently.
For the majority of us recreational w/surfers the following quote works...
"Sails for the gusts - board for the lulls."
I have scaled back to 2 boards and 2 sails for 95% of the sailing I do. I have a couple of old smaller sails for the days when I know my gear is to big. At 85kgs, a 102lt board with a 6.0 (in waves) would be considered pretty big. I'm 30kegs heavier than you (wow that sounds bad!) and the setup I use now (I'm a typical chop-hopper / bay cruiser) is a 6.1 sail on a 116lt Tabou 3S. Marginal winds call for my 130lt and a 7.2m sail.
Having too big a sail in waves is pointless IMO
Once wave riding it just becomes dead weight.
You want a board that will float you and the rig in marginal conditions.
A sail big enough to water start with but not necessary planing.
In marginal conditions all you need to do is get in and out of the line up, the board and a bit of pumping will get you onto the wave.
yep, too big a sail acts like an air brake when you try and do transitions. it sucks.
your weight + 25-30 gives you the litres to aim for with your board for the light stuff.
