looking for a new wave sail with some bottom end and something that you can turn the power down when you are on a wave? needs to fit on a rdm.
whats the latest and greatest?
Ezzy wave SE. Can't go wrong.
Much more shape than other wave sails hence better lower end, can still tighten the crap out of them and survive in high winds. The foil is a lot more stable so the CE doesn't wander around like other brands. Only downside is that the amount of belly means you can't turn them off as much as others when you're on the wave... small price to pay imo. And they're bulletproof.http://www.ezzy.com/sails/se08.cfm
The Gaastra poison has always been a powerhouse wave sail. What size are you looking for?
Hey Poida,
You'll have every brand claim they have a sail that has great bottom end and disappears in your hands on the wave. The only way to tell for yourself is to take one out for a sail. Go into 'Sails & Windsurfing Centre' and take the MauiSails Legend out for a blast.
It does exactly what you want, plus it's super light in the hands.
Strength is great... it survives Josh Angulo's abuse, so it can pretty much take anything you can throw at it.
The best wave-sails on the market!
thanks for that
just lookin what the options are at the moment
for my 5.0 to 5.8 sizes replacements
prefer to have a 5.0 and 5.5
or 5.3 and 5.8 if its got less power.
Ive got the less than 5.0 end covered.
I'm using a 22 cm fin on an evo 75 and didnt really want to go any bigger for wave riding.weight 75kg. maybe i gotta compromise with the fin and go a bit bigger, but I want it loose.
cheers
if u want it to turn off completely whenever u want. you cant go past a NP Zone and your weight would suit easily.
Alternatively for a little more grunt try a combat, however don't do the digital on/off thing as well as the zone. but i doubt u could find something with real lowend grunt and the digital effect.
you could try one of the flash "new" brands but why take a gamble with ur hard earnt cash.
Matt h here from Auswind
Its true that sails with Preshape in them can be limited in their ability to "turn off" in a classic cross off down the line top turn (with a decent lip pushing you into the wind)
the thing is - with most of the wavesailing i do i never get that opportunity - and i live in WA - i spend more time looking for more power than controlling it - so a "springy" sail with some grunt is important for most condiitons that people sail in.
that same inability to turn the sail off down the line is the same thing that lets you throw a reverse, taka or tweaked air in side / side on conditions - back hand pull.
This pre shape also makes for massive aerials in cross off in the bottom half of the sail's wind range.
A fuller sail can also allow for a squarer bottom turn out the front of the wave for a vert attack - for me the severne gator delivers all of that. With the tuneability to be alot of fun at margs and Gnaraloo when the classic raod trips come up - and the durability to handle the wipeouts- and this is the important bit - they are LIGHT AS DUE TO HI TECH MATERIALS AND SMART REINFORCEMENT - so no dull performance .
For a more unothodox combo of grunt and looseness-
see Scotty mckercher's Blade (which gives the square bottom turn that some draft gives but top turn control via the short boom) and his style - which stands out from alot of of down the line wrigglers that dont really throw radical angles in their wave run. Lets face it- No one wants to be a down the line wriggler..it just does not look cool.
Keep in mind that the board you ride will need the right sail combo - if you go for a modern rockered up stubby single or twin fin - throw some grunt at it to get around poptential planing and upwind issues... and use the grunt to work the rocker to its maximum ability - these boards like being on their rail - not sailed halfheartedly straight downwind.
If you are on an classic wave board (that would also nearly double as an effective high wind slalom board due to its fast rocker) then you can look at the flatter profile FAST wavesail designs like Severne S1, Pryde Zone etc - this smart gear combo tuning is super important.
Of course you can always ride a size up on the flatter wavesails or a size down on the fuller - "springy" designs to achieve your desired goal.
Thats pretty much where it is today.
I'd recommend the Gun Wave MC's - they have heaps of power but turn off progressively. I'd also recommend them as I'm selling my barely used 2007's at crazy pricess!*
*Shameless plug 
You can't go wrong with a Gaastra Poison for bottom end and a gaastra manic for complete control on a wave. I would highly recommend a 5.8 poison and a 5.3 manic as the perfect combo for lighter winds.
you guys in WA normally get pretty good winds, and can be fussy with your sail choices. Unfortunately for us poor SEQ folk with regular 12-17knots, we tend to have to stick with the big 3 brands (NP,Gaastra,North) because they generally get us planing the earliest. Gun and KA usually being another lightly built, early planing & shorter lifespan sail. Unfortunately although Ezzy, Severne arguably may last longer, they tend to need to be at least .5 metres bigger in size for the equivalent wind strength to get folk planing over here. Unfortunately for severne who is an aussie product which is fantastic (not sure where it's manufactured?) i'm yet to meet anyone on the seq side of aus who has said they are pleased with their severne sail's performance, and this is most likely due to our lighter winds, and those with them have much difficulty selling them
anyway - aren't you ex nsw poida? if you are you probably already aware of all this
no, I'm from perth, just some below average wind in the last month.
the servernes (edit) S1 (edit) do need to be powered up and then they are sweet
I'm thinking to go for the blades
Haircut,
Here in WA we have had somewhat of a diabolical summer- My most often used combo has been a 6.0 gator and 80 litre wave board (with a slippery rockerline)
I think you are making some broad generalisations in your sail brand comments -and you have to keep in mind that you are juggling
local wind conditions
sailor skill and ability
sail design
Board rocker / style
sailing style
nearly all the Sailmakers produce a sail that works best in windy conditions - for Pryde its a Zone, for Severne its an S1 - these are sails that may - especially for less dynamic sailors (or riders on heavy rocker boards) , need a little wind to get up and going - or riders that are happy to ride sails in the top half of their wind range - often "rigging big " for a particular day.
for light wind areas look to sails with pre shape - The Severne gator planes up earlier - size for size - earlier than anything i have ever used due to:
1,. its light weight
2. Its springy fuller shape
I am the often the heaviest guy in the break - and most often (although not always) the earliest planing.
There are 3 wave sails in the range - designed to cater to different styles and rider geometries (higher Boom riders (The s1)- suits DYNAMIC (ie near perfect technique to get planing with reltively little power) new school riders like jaeger stone often freestyle oriented sailors. Often but not always sub 75 kg riders. The S1 has recently been rated as the best overall wave sail by German Surf mag - the most read and respected review on the planet. Its also one of the most expensive sails on the market due to its extreme light weight and exotic materials
(the blade) low boom biased driving power riders like Scott mckercher - the pre shape drags new school rockered up stubbies onto the plane very effectively
(and right in between sits the gator) - you are also given a choice between exotic super light construction - S1 -and Full Xply (but smarter lighter xply..) with The rest of the wave sails in the range - The gator just blew the socks off the German Surf magazine test team..
if crew are having troubled getting powered up they may be on S1s - which possibly wasnt the right choice for QLD, rockered boards , static riding styles or all of the above.
what do you call diabolical? no doubt in wa they work great for your normal wind strength
we do have folk who have alternative brands over here but those sails usually only come out on the 25+ knot days, most other times (13-20knots days) 99% of sails are north, np, gaastra being used, and alot of those who ventured into other brands like naish or severne usually ended up back using north, np, gaastra because they got them onto the plane
come spend a couple of seasons in seq with our regular 13-18 knots and then see how you feel about the big 3 in relation to the other brands (wave or slalom sails) and i honestly have no reason to push any of the sail brands, except that for the good of the sport i'd rather see people planing and enjoying themselves than people floating around like statues. You need to appreciate that the average SEQ'ers most used sail seems to be 6.5m -7m slalom sail
Haircut
without wishing to offend you I have to say that is the biggest load of rubbish I have read in ages.
Your implying that unless you buy from the big 3 brands you won't get a sail that plains early. Yet the first post is about wave sails and your referring to 6.5 to 7.5m sails. Thats like comparing apples and oranges.
We have had a summer where the 6.5 to 7.5 sails have been the most used, but in no way could anyone make a call that sailors only on brand x,y,z were the early planers.
Without getting into a slanging match between brands there are brands biased toward top end and others toward low end but in general almost ALL brands have a low wind planer and a high end control sail to suit most people.
There has been no published sail tests that would agree with you on your assumtion in any year. For every sail I like there will be 10 people to disagree with me and the same for sails you like. But unless you are comparing sails on the same boards with the same rider and ability in the same conditions and are rigging them properly for the conditions, your comments are just bollocks.
So many people blame equipment instead of their own technique or simply rig the wrong gear for the wrong conditions.
I am not trying to have go at you Haircut but you should be a bit more careful with assumptions.
no probs
but
Your implying that unless you buy from the big 3 brands you won't get a sail that plains early. <---not saying you won't plane early, but most likely not as early as the big 3 in marginal winds from what i witness over here, which may mean the difference between people enjoying themselves or getting constantly frustrated with windsurfing
you should be a bit more careful with assumptions.<---- what assumptions? i see it happening. i don't need a sail test to know what i see
like i said to auswind, you guys need to spend some seasons over our end of the world, particularly before you make assumptions that i'm making assumptions
, i've never said i like or hated the brand sails i use, and as much as i'd like to own a tough sail like an ezzy or severne wave sails, unfortunately to maximise planing time on the water in SEQ, we are most likely gonna have to go for wave sails like a (likem or hatem) manic, duke/ice, alpha etc, or go for up to .5m bigger sail size in most other brands
p.s my apologies - i've just realised i typed naish when i meant ezzy in my second post
cheers
Could it be that the "other" brands don't have the support the top three do in SEQ? Therefore people are not rigging them as well as could be? There seems to be quite a difference in the correct amount of downhaul and outhaul in different brands, using the correct mast, etc. Getting advice from someone who use's NP's might not necessarily be correct for someone rigging Ezzy's for example.
yeah that probably contributes to it as well. folk here are pretty lucky as there are at least 5 shops to buy from and there's quite a range of brands available for people to choose from if your prepared to travel from goldcoast to sunshine coast - but again, on any given day, 99% are using the 3, or big 4 if you include naish too which is popular with the slalomers
sorry Poida - i didn't intend to hijack your thread
dont worry,
its just about shutter down time for the season here,
gears washed out and in the shed, maybe a few more sails in it?
moral of the storey:
dont buy an 2nd hand experimental proto 6 batten wave sail (great for fully powered up coast runs) if its going to be for light wind wave sailing, specially if all the other equipment you got is needing bottom end power and technique to get you on it
I would agree with ejmack that rigging has a lot to do with the problem. There many people that have sailed for years that still do not know how to set a sail especially when adjusting to a new sail or different brand.
I also fully agree that many people may be planing earlier on certain gear through the fact that the gear is the stuff that is the biggest seller in the area and thereby shear numbers gives off a certain appearance to performance.
Sails tests should be used as a guide but never taken as gospel although can be taken as a guide to what you may like to try.
I fully agree that bigger guys love the wavey "power sails" like the alpha-search, duke, poison, but would add that the other brands have now produced some very good power sails such as the current forces, blades, kaos,the old arrows impacts.
Personally I am lucky enough to sail with people who have a broad range of gear and am able to try many different sails and boards (yes even in light wind locations). Most of the stuff out there is very good, but not everything is set well or necessarily used in the right way.
Anyway no harm no foul - each to his own bla..bla..bla
I am SEQ and love my ezzys but it has to be the right day (windy...for us) have just gone the new alpha after much debate with the goodtime shop. Must admit never thought I'd buy new NP but absolutely perfect for here, my most used sail. Gotta agree with Haircut for local conditions.
The 07/08 models are really, really, really powerful. You can't make a comparison between the old and the new.
Put it this way:
Wind speed to get planing on a 5.7 North Ice: around 16-17 knots.
Wind speed to get planing on a 6.0 Ezzy: around 14 knots.
Just my personal experience.
I'd agree with nebbian and say I'm certainly planning on my 2007 6m Ezzy wave in 14knots. I generally check the wind speed before heading out and while taking a break using a wind metre so I know this is the case. I'm 80kg, 126 Litre board.
It's always a difficult question this one and it's often determined by what your local shop sells or what the other local guys use. Personally my first wave sails were Norths, 02-03 Drx and voodoos. Now these were powerful sails, lots of preshape and solid drafts. However from around 04 North went totally away from this and went to the NP/gaastra school of flat until the wind fills them out, something which I'm really not a fan of.
I looked around a bit and the only sails that seemed to fit the old school North ideals, with their own flavour of course were the Ezzy's. My first ones were '07 and the thing that I noticed was the preshape. You won't find a sail without a cam with more preshape, it's massive. by the same token it's totally tunable in that you can almost entirely get rid of it. They are super stable (as in SUPER stable) as the draft just doesn't move and have heaps of low end, imo.
Now the difference is that being such a stable foil they aren't 'spongy' like a lot of the other brands which personally is something I like, but it is different. They breath/spill extra power fine they just don't have that soft doughy feel, due to the stability of the shape. This also in turn means you need to pay a lot more attention to the tuning to get the most out of them. A bit more attention to outhaul particularly is required to ensure you're sail is set right for the conditions.
In essence their build quality is the best in the biz, are one of the cheapest sails you can buy, have a huge wind range and are bomb proof. They are built around a different philosophy to a lot of other brands but they are good wave sails. After all Josh Angulo won the PWA round at Cape Verde last year on Ezzy in epic conditions on what arguably is the ultimate DTL break.
In the end though it's always what 'feels right' for you.
Oh plus you get a cool little matching windsurfing sail keyring with ezzys (07 and 08 anyway), it's all about the keyrings!
My 2nd hand 06 Ezzy SE came with a keyring. I'm playing with it right now making "pschhhhew" water/wind sounds.
I've had one, just one ride on it so far, and to be fair I'm pretty crap and I've only sailed 3 or 4 other sails, ever. I usually sail an old 6.4 KA Kult.
But here are my first opinions, for what they are worth.
Very gusty conditions - dead calm to 32
1. Stable - cut through gusts like they were made of air.
2. Smooth - I'd describe it as "very smooth", my old sail as "crisp" in comparison. Actually when combined with the carve it's all getting a bit limosine smooth.
3. Big wind range - not sure at what point I got planing on a 111 carve. Didn't feel much diff than on the old KA Kult. However, the sail seemed fine up to those 30 knot gusts, which is not bad for a 6.5? Gusts went, somewhere.
4. Tough - You know you shouldn't, you know you're on the edge of your skill range, but you do anyway. You point her way off the wind, just to see how fast... SLAM! My mast base connector was no longer connected to the mast base, my spreader bar was bent 90 degrees, i was trapped under the sail hooked in, and my head and neck were aching.
The sail was fine. I'm pretty sure I hit it hard, but is a bit of a blur.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see how it goes in marginal conditions. It does have a lot of shape to it. I think it actually has a lot of grunt but is a bit heavy.
That said nobody planes as early as haircut , he seems to get going in 10-12 on a 5.8 when otheres are rigging 7.5s. Mind you he's on a freestyle board. You tell me.
All that said there must be/should be a way to objectively evaluate a sail for its intended purposes?
Having bought many sails over the years I found the following works well in wave rigs. I sail Neil Pryde so that is the example for in Qld. Having been in Gero in Dec the big difference is the flat water on the way out. Here it is like a washing machine.
Lighter wind ...........Power sail Alpha 6.2
Medium wind .......... Medium Sail Combat 5.4
Heavy strong wind ...light easily depowered Zone 4.7. and 4.2.
I sure this would work every where and in every brand that has a diverse range.
Neil Pryde are the best though........had to say that didn't I.
