awesome! first sail was in 15-18knots in waves, heaps of power, got me powered up constantly, I weigh 90kg on 109l JP.
2nd sail in 30-35 open water, again faultless, sail was too big for these conditions, but added more downhaul and outhaul, sail was still controllable except for the peak gusts over 35knots.
2 thumbs up!
Tried a 5.4 Alpha in Maui. Very controlable, powerful, but light handling and great vision for down the line.Quite impressive.
But did you have to take to it with a stanley knife before you tried it
Or are ya legs cut
just a scrape on the foot during bottom turn, think it's designed to reduce wear and tear on the sail foot stiching. also used 5.4 alpha (15-18kts) in maui in july, could'nt fault it 
If you need to "modify" the foot piping of your Alpha/Combat/Zone then Robbie Radis reckons that a potato peeler does a great job. Heaps safer than using a stanley knife!
I did the mod to both sails, alpha and saber, took about 2 minutes, fixed the cut leg problem. The stanley knife was easy to do, however I found an awesome cheese slice in my kitchen that would have worked a treat! Potato peeler sounds like the go. This problem was only on the 1st 400 sails I believe, and has now been rectified.
Yep,
A friend has a new 5.4 Alpha just arrived and it has nice smooth beading which won't shave your legs!
open ocean 30-35 knts. on a 5.8? I don't think so...
... from my experience most people think it's blowing 30knts. when in reality it's only a constant 20-25knts with the occasional higher gust. In a solid 30-35 knts. 4.0 to 4.5 is more likely. You would be more than overpowered on a 5.8 wave sail. Maybe a race sail or mabye if you are Dunkerbeck... but then again in the ocean chop it would be pretty hairy.
I come in at a solid 95 kgs but rarely manage to sail a 4.7 in a solid 35 knts... but then again I guess I am only **** sailor.
I concur with you Stehsegler, seems very much like "Fishing tales" to me. How long would you have lasted at Corro's on that 30kt day with a 5.8m - didn't you have a 4.1m.......?
I must disagree however that you're a ****sailor, anyone who can do big planing forwards in my book is "SH#T HOT" not ****.
AB....
hey boys lighten up, it was 30-35 knts on flat water, this was my smallest sail, so by force not choice I had to use this sail, and yes I was overpowered to the crapper, but stayed out there. The wind swell was about 2ft or so. I guess Im just not a soft c*ck like you guys lol! Man I would have loved a 4.7m sail, but it was either 5.8 or 6.7.
the weird thing is, Im not a huge powerful man like you "boast" you are, Im actually 5'4" 72kg, so you kids had better toughen up.
you should know im piisstaking here just for a luagh, but the wind was up, a mate had his windgauge out on the shoreline, peace out lads .
sorry mate... 5.8sqm, 30-35 knts. and 74kgs, 5.4" ... very very much doubt that. As I said maybe on a race sail but not with that weight and height... I am guessing the wind was 25knts. with some higher gusts.
BTW, increasing wind speed doesn't mean and consistent increase in wind load. If I remember correctly the wind load increases exponentially. So 25knts. vs 35knts. compared to 15knts. vs. 25 knts. is a huge difference.
But then again there is nothing like spinning a bit of yarn as Kremlin would be able to confirm... ;-)
Big Al, I was on a 4.0 at Corros...
Drag/Lift increase with the square of velocity so as Junior says 25kts is a hell of a lot 'heavier' than 15kts.
oops... just realized that "junior freestyle" had recently used my laptop... I think I might have posted some stuff under his login...
so yes Big Al, I did use a 4.0 at Corros...
haha ask junior he knows me! im a tad bigger than 74kg lol, he may have even been out that day at Shearwater. yeah thanks Nebbian, he was out that day as well.
maybe the fact im 6'3" and 90kg "may" have something to do with it, btw im not boasting about how I could hold onto this sail, if I had a smaller sail I would have derigged and placed a smaller sail up without a doubt!
See here on the goldy our main wind is 20-25 kn max, so this day kind of snuck up on us, anyways, it was that windy, I did sail with a 5.8, I did use HEAPS of down and outhaul, and I was suprised that I could hold onto the sail in these huge winds, these are the facts.
hey md74, I am not doubting that you sailed a 5.8 that day... I am only doubting that the wind was a consistant 30-35 knts.
I sailed a 5.3 here in Sydney yesterday. Wind was 20-25 knts. In the upper gusts I definitly had to pull hard to hold the sail. Another 10 knts. of wind? No way I could have sailed on the 5.3 .
FYI, I am 188cm (approx. 6.5") tall and weigh 95kgs...
I might go to the wave nationals in Queensland in March. How about you put you money where your mouth is come for a sail with your 5.8 in 30-35 knts. . I'll shout you a few beers if you really managed to go out in with a sail that size in those conditions.
this thread is getting too hard for me lol see you are missing my point mate, I had no choice! it was 30-35 knots, I did not have a smaller sail, other guys were sailing with 4.7 sails and getting harny flung! And like I said the wind was measured by guage on the shoreline at 30kn plus, theres nothing more I can do or say.
If I had a 5 in the car I would have rigged it, the next day I bought a 5m sail, I would not want to sail with my 5.8 in that kind of wind again.
On a brighter note and hopefully we will get some good winds when the events are on, thats the cyclone season for SEQ so we should see some winds. See you then.
btw 188cm = 6'3"
no hard feelings mate... ;-)
personally I measure sailing days not by the amount wind I had but what sail I used: eg. great day... sailed a 4.7 slightly overpowered. I am not entirely sure how much wind that would be but I know would have alot of fun on such a day... I think that's what matters most: the Fun factor!
no worries mate, no offence taken, you might have read my blurb on the 6.2, great sail as well, Im thinking of changing my old 5m search for an alpha as well.
Have a great summer!
