Hi all,
Looking at getting a 5.3 and 4.5 2010 S1 but reviews are pretty hard to come by. I am a big fan of light rigs and the weights I got from Severne are pretty good.
4.5m - 2.96 kg
5.3m - 3.19 kg
Just wondering if any one has had a go with either of these sizes and how they have fared so far.
Cheers
Derek
I'm 65kgs, I use a 2010 5.6 S1 on an 83ltr board and get going in the 15kts days, its well balanced when your using it in light or strong conditions, for me thats when it suddenly gusts up to 20-25kts I can still get in without feeling the sail is out of control, and will stay out with the sail rather than rig down straight away. Even though its light it can take a beating, and I have put it through thick shore breaks.
You can tune it to cover a large wind range which definately helps.
I use the '09 Blades in 5.0 and 4.5 for when I take my 77tr out in decent waves and highly rate them, and when its 20kts I will take my 5.0 blade over the 5.6 S1
You may find a little gap between the 5.3 and 4.5 - (sailor weight depending)
I'd probably go for the 4.7, these sails can be tuned to flatten out alot and on a 4.7 you should be right to steady 30kts with say +35kts gusts if your in the ~70-35kg range
When I enquired about the S1, I was told the '09 5.0 blade would have a similar range to the 5.6 S1, however, what I found is that I got going with my 5.6 over the 5.0, and this was mainly because I tighten the battens up and set downhaul a bit less along with outhaul over the normal settings, which gave the sail a bit more depth and shape, and ultimately I going in a less wind.
I do prefer a shorter outhaul in my blades sails when throwing my sail around, but thats my personal preference, and when the wind is light, I'm just happy to get out and get going. plus I can rig it on my 400 mast!
Also I have spoken to a guy who had used 5.3 and 5.6 S1's and he reackoned he could tune his 5.3 to work in light conditions that his 5.6 could and he prefered having the smaller sail out so he could depower it if the conditions suited.
Hope it helps, been using Severnes now for close to 2 years and comparing them to say the Fly in the NP range, you can feel the weight difference off and on the water.
Thanks for all the info Kman5000.
My biggest sail is a 5.2m Loft Freestyle sail which has been great, nice and light. Their new model is too long in the boom for my liking which is why I am looking further a field.