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Use different company for replacement cams?

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Created by akazzz47 > 9 months ago, 3 Sep 2020
akazzz47
3 posts
3 Sep 2020 2:24AM
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Hello,
I have a broken cam on an Aerolite 5.5 sail. I can't find an exact replacement online (or even find and Aerolite company website for that matter). My question is, how specific are cams to the sails/batons they come with/company that manufactures them? Is it possible to use a cam from another company for example Ezzy/Mistral/Neil Pryde if I match approximate shape/style and dimensions?

Thanks,
Austin

Tardy
5260 posts
3 Sep 2020 3:42AM
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sure you can , as long its the right length and width to fit you mast .

akazzz47
3 posts
3 Sep 2020 4:20AM
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When you say the right length/width to fit the mast, length makes sense since how long the batten+cam is will determine the curvature in the sail and whether or not you can even get the cam on the mast, but when you say width I assume you mean like the radius of curvature of the cam? Are there different diameter masts that would require a certain spec here?
I've seen cams that say "size3" or "size5" etc. What do those sizes represent?

Tardy
5260 posts
3 Sep 2020 5:47AM
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ok.with ezzy sails ,lion .you get 3 different size cams .to fit different mast diameters .if you have a shop near by ,take the broken cam in and see if they have one ,or you could post a photo and someone on the breeze maybe able to help you out ,I have a few lying around ..

mark62
509 posts
3 Sep 2020 6:50AM
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Should be easy enough, You might have to buy a few different brands of spare/2nd hand cams and a bit of trial and error. A hack saw and a good file will come in handy.

FormulaNova
WA, 15084 posts
3 Sep 2020 9:20AM
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Select to expand quote
Tardy said..
ok.with ezzy sails ,lion .you get 3 different size cams .to fit different mast diameters .if you have a shop near by ,take the broken cam in and see if they have one ,or you could post a photo and someone on the breeze maybe able to help you out ,I have a few lying around ..


I ended up using my Ezzy cams on my KA sails. I needed to make up some spacers by squashing plastic conduit flat when heated, but they do a perfect job. As you say, they have ones to fit different diameter masts, and converting the KA sails to RDM was easy this way.

sailquik
VIC, 6165 posts
3 Sep 2020 3:48PM
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Select to expand quote
akazzz47 said..
When you say the right length/width to fit the mast, length makes sense since how long the batten+cam is will determine the curvature in the sail and whether or not you can even get the cam on the mast, but when you say width I assume you mean like the radius of curvature of the cam? Are there different diameter masts that would require a certain spec here?
I've seen cams that say "size3" or "size5" etc. What do those sizes represent?


POST A PHOTO OF THE ONE YOU HAVE!!

cammd
QLD, 4268 posts
3 Sep 2020 4:06PM
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Aerolite Raceboard sails use NP RSX cams, not sure about a 5.5m, also Aerollite have changed their name to 2Win Sails, it is a small spanish company that hand make beautiful sails.

PhilUK
1098 posts
3 Sep 2020 4:00PM
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Ezzy cams have the 2 prongs which fit into the sleeves. www.ezzy.com/accessories/camber-inducer/
So those wouldnt be my first choice.

Other cams would fit, if you know the dimensions. Your best bet would be to find some sailors who have cams in their sails and compare. If you cant do that, post a photo and dimensions on here and have some sailors from all over the world helping you out. Also, measure the diameter of the mast where the cam sits, as that is also important.

Mark _australia
WA, 23450 posts
3 Sep 2020 6:49PM
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Select to expand quote
cammd said..
Aerolite Raceboard sails use NP RSX cams, not sure about a 5.5m, also Aerollite have changed their name to 2Win Sails, it is a small spanish company that hand make beautiful sails.


Trust someone with a name like cammd to know :)

akazzz47
3 posts
3 Sep 2020 9:50PM
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Select to expand quote
sailquik said..

akazzz47 said..
When you say the right length/width to fit the mast, length makes sense since how long the batten+cam is will determine the curvature in the sail and whether or not you can even get the cam on the mast, but when you say width I assume you mean like the radius of curvature of the cam? Are there different diameter masts that would require a certain spec here?
I've seen cams that say "size3" or "size5" etc. What do those sizes represent?



POST A PHOTO OF THE ONE YOU HAVE!!


I would, post a photo, but seabreeze won't let me since I'm new here and they want to prevent spammers.
I also can't post links, so I separated a link to the image into several lines. paste them together to see the photo.

https:
//drive.
google
.com/file
/d/1ZdV
IpkMX-kkgx
qPWEdyA
rfnGImDG
Ljyb/view?
usp
=sharing

FormulaNova
WA, 15084 posts
3 Sep 2020 10:27PM
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Select to expand quote
PhilUK said..
Ezzy cams have the 2 prongs which fit into the sleeves. www.ezzy.com/accessories/camber-inducer/
So those wouldnt be my first choice.

Other cams would fit, if you know the dimensions. Your best bet would be to find some sailors who have cams in their sails and compare. If you cant do that, post a photo and dimensions on here and have some sailors from all over the world helping you out. Also, measure the diameter of the mast where the cam sits, as that is also important.




Just because I went to the trouble ages ago of posting up the images of my adaption of Ezzy cams, here they are:




PhilUK
1098 posts
4 Sep 2020 2:04PM
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Select to expand quote
FormulaNova said..

PhilUK said..
Ezzy cams have the 2 prongs which fit into the sleeves. www.ezzy.com/accessories/camber-inducer/
So those wouldnt be my first choice.

Other cams would fit, if you know the dimensions. Your best bet would be to find some sailors who have cams in their sails and compare. If you cant do that, post a photo and dimensions on here and have some sailors from all over the world helping you out. Also, measure the diameter of the mast where the cam sits, as that is also important.





Just because I went to the trouble ages ago of posting up the images of my adaption of Ezzy cams, here they are:





Novel way of doing it. That might be the way to go for akazzz47 as he has something similar. I think most other setups have a hard plastic part on the sail itself and use spacers between the cam to get the correct tension, like in here www.andrewfdunne.com/ProductDesign.html

I actually bent a plastic prong on an ezzy cam when I had SDM mast as I didnt locate the fork into the pocket on the sail. It didnt seem overly strong, ok when done correctly but not otherwise. The Ezzy cams are reasonably priced as well, if you can gt them.



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"Use different company for replacement cams?" started by akazzz47