Recomendation for more powerfull kit.

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Graham_U
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Recomendation for more powerfull kit.

Post by Graham_U »

As I spend a lot of time lake sailing in the summer, I've been thinking of getting some bigger kit. My current biggest sail is a Bic TechnoLogic 7.8M, which came as part of a package with a 460 mast, with ext about 50cm (not measured) and I have a boom up to 245.

This was good when I first started with my own kit, but I now realise it is not a very powerfull sail for its size, although to be fair, its quite robust as its meet the trees on quite a few occassions.

So I'm looking for recommendations, but with a couple of considerations.

1. The 460 mast is as big as I can fit inside the car or in the quiverack, so ideally would like to get something to rig on that.
2. Big kit would only be used on the lake, which can be very gusty. Don't plan to take it to the sea.
3. Looking secondhand/cheap so ideally would like to fit on current boom/mast. Is it worth trying to extend a 460 mast to carry a sail that is claimed to be over 520?
4. Should I look at Cammed options?
5. Would only be using it on the old "Cyrano Techno".

Any input/discussions would be welcome. The idea while I'm still trying to improve its to give me an excuse to get out in lighter winds in the summer, as I still feel I'm at a level where the more I'm on the water the more chance I have to improve and build up confidence. Or is this a pipe dream.
Graham
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Post by NeilB »

I too have been looking for a larger sail. My views/observations so far are:

- not much second hand
- I can't see much alternative to a 490 mast. I have never seen a mast extender longer than 50cm. Not sure I'd want to use one if I did. Second hand 490's do exist.
- current front runner for me is a Tush lightning which has 2 cams. The Tush T2 might be an alternative for easier handling.

At least you have a large boom.

Neil
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Post by kelvin »

hers a cheaper alternative !
change sailing venue , laKes are crap in summer !
get to the coast sea brezzes are great and wot u got will be big enough ,

my current BIG sail is a 6m and I dont miss many sessions .
forget dreaming "its time to loop"
kel www.winsurfing.co.uk
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dro
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money saver

Post by dro »

another possible solution which would also have the advantage of saving money so you could go on Mark Warner holiday without the financial worry would be to stop eating and drinking (other than water)

When you got down to about 6 stones the present sail should be fine

For any other useful advice do not hesitate to get in touch

Huw
What do you mean not ENOUGH wind ?
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Graham_U
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Post by Graham_U »

So that the medical professions solution covered then? :shock: :? :D
Actually doing one better Huw, going on a Neilson trip, to Vassiliki in June, better kit than Warners and cheaper beer. My better halfs already Level 5 qualified on the sunbed, so hopefully there will be a good selection of those for her to choose from.

As for Kelvin's suggestion, well I guess if I could convert the car to warp drive that runs on water then it could be a runner, don't see how else I get to save money or even get to the cost for the odd after work session from where I live. The coast trips are saved for big adventure days (outside the rugby season). Trouble is it looks like there will be no wind this weekend.
Graham
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Post by Ian Long »

In "the good old days" I used to have an early monofilm 3 split cammed Tush 7.5m race sail that I could rig on my one and only mast - a 460 that covered all my sails from 3.7m up to 7.5m. (Not sure what where the "good" comes in good all days though, the sail weighed a tonne, the monofilm was anything but transparent, and I was usually absolutely knackered by the time I can persuaded the cams to get onto the mast let alone tried to uphaul it :lol:).

Any sail designer would have had a heart attack if they had seen the amount of (very stiff) mast sticking out of the top of the 3.7 when rigged on the mast. The 7.5m had a 520cm luff tube. I got away with it on a 460 mast by using a 50cm mast extension, plus I also had a mast tip extentsion that slid over the top of the mast to provide an extra 20cm at the other end.

Not sure I would recommend this approach because I think sails these days are far fussier about curve characteristics of their mast than they used to be.

One option you could consider would be a different type of sail in a similiar size. Some sails (I am thinking particularly of the Sailword's Retros but they are by no means the only ones) will set properly with a large variation in downhaul and outhaul, allowing you to tune the sail with a lot of belly for either low end power or very flat for top end speed at the expense of early planning.

My experience of recent Tushingham sails (in the no cam variety) is that they only set very flat and it is hard to encourage any belly into them - although they have excellent top end stability and are very light in your hands (my 6.0, 7.1 & 8.6 are all Tushinghams). I don't know what the cammed variety are like but would imagine they are flatter than other cammed sails although that is only a guess. If you can find an option which allows you to avoid cams, I would suggest you take it. They are fiddly to rig, prone to breaking (either themselves or the battens that go into them at £20+ a time), make the sail awkward to rotate and power up very suddenly when it does actually rotate. Don't forget there is the Windy World demo at Axbridge this Sat & Weston on Sunday - you may be able to try some there.

In case you hadn't guessed - I don't miss camber induces at all :-{L
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Frosty

Post by Frosty »

Hi Graham

I remember seeing a chap on a 10m ish up at the lake a couple of years back, he was flying in a breeze while others were just tootling along. Can't remember what sail it was though - :?

I just bought a second hand tush max 9.6 for this reason, it was £130 on ebay and rigs on a 540 mast, boom 2.44. I've not had a chance to try it out yet so can't comment. You are more than welcome to try it out and see if it fits the bill for you.

Cheers
Frosty
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