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Ezzy Cheetah vs. Sailworks Retro 8.5
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Brian.bigfella@gmail.com



Joined: 11 Jun 2012
Posts: 127

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

brynkaufman2 wrote:
I sailed the Ezzy Zephyr for the first time in a very light wind and I am happy with it. It definitely has a lot more pull than my Ezzy Freeride 7.5. Whether it pulls like an 8.0 or 8.5 I am not sure, as I have nothing to compare it to.

So I probably lowered my wind minimum slightly, maybe another .5 to 1 mph. However, below that there is just very little wind, probably under 10 mph average, and I think I would need a 10 sail and a different board to even think about going in that low wind. Based on my smaller size, the Zephyr feels like a lot of sail to handle as the wind picked up just slightly, so I will not be going with a larger sail.

The thing I liked the best, and this was my main goal for the purchase, is when the wind picked up just slightly, I was fully powered. Where the regular 7.5 might have had me planing but yearning for more power to go faster and head more up wind, once the Zephyr was powered up, I had a ton of power, so I was very happy with the speed boost.

Also, the sail is very stable, I was able to take both hands of the boom numerous times. The sail just held in the same position.

It definitely feels bigger than my other 7.5. It does not move around or pump as easily, and it is so big with very little wind I can still use it to beach start easily. I did not end up falling in, so no report yet on up hauling it or water starting with it. My guess is slightly more work than my 7.5 but very doable.

One other interesting point is I experienced my first spinout ever on that board with my large 50 cm fin.

This was my first and only time on the sail so far. I am sure I will come to like it even more as I learn how to pump it better to catch perhaps even a slightly lighter gust to get going. I also found I did not tune it optimally for part of my session. I left a little extra out haul, but I think it was too much. When I pulled it in to Ezzy's recommended out haul for light wind, the sail felt lighter, easier to pump, and more powerful.


The spinout is interesting. I don't fully understand the physics of sail to fin ratio, but I know it has to do with the center of effort of the sail relative to the fin, and bigger sails have a COE further back. I would imagine the Zephyr's long boom moves the COE pretty far back for a 7.5, so you probably need a fin that would match a normal 9.0.

Or something like that.
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brynkaufman2



Joined: 10 Sep 2002
Posts: 383
Location: Kailua Oahu

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anton, I did have the dagger board sewn shut by Steve before he shipped me the replacement board. I also upgraded to the Bamboo Wood one, hoping it would be less likely to have any issues.

I am extremely pleased with both decisions. I never miss the dagger board and the board is really tough. I have launched into the air from a number of waves on it and I see no issues.

Regarding the Formula Boards you are sailing with, it seems like a more specialized board to me, although having not sailed one personally I don't know for sure.

The WindSUP seems like a good all round board, fast sailing, waves, light wind, paddling, etc. Honestly I am going so fast on the this WindSUP that I have never thought I need to go faster when fully powered up. Perhaps my 50 cm formula racing fin makes this happen. This board seems to cut through the chop like a large speed boat. I am not sure Formula Boards would do the same in the really choppy surf, nor am I sure they would catch the waves as easily.

Brian, I believe my 50 cm fin I added matches the Zephyr sail, so that is what really surprised me with the spinout. Had I had the stock fin on it, or a small fin, it would be expected.
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antonputman



Joined: 22 May 2014
Posts: 137
Location: North Shore Italy

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Could you maybe post a picture of the "sewn shut" daggerboard?
Again I have no idea what that means...
Cheers
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brynkaufman2



Joined: 10 Sep 2002
Posts: 383
Location: Kailua Oahu

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 6:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anton, please see below. The dagger board itself is out, and the rubber lips that stop water from coming through are sealed by the thread keeping them together.



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gvogelsang



Joined: 09 Nov 1988
Posts: 435

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

brynkaufman2 wrote:
Anton, I did have the dagger board sewn shut by Steve before he shipped me the replacement board. I also upgraded to the Bamboo Wood one, hoping it would be less likely to have any issues.

I am extremely pleased with both decisions. I never miss the dagger board and the board is really tough. I have launched into the air from a number of waves on it and I see no issues.

Regarding the Formula Boards you are sailing with, it seems like a more specialized board to me, although having not sailed one personally I don't know for sure.

The WindSUP seems like a good all round board, fast sailing, waves, light wind, paddling, etc. Honestly I am going so fast on the this WindSUP that I have never thought I need to go faster when fully powered up. Perhaps my 50 cm formula racing fin makes this happen. This board seems to cut through the chop like a large speed boat. I am not sure Formula Boards would do the same in the really choppy surf, nor am I sure they would catch the waves as easily.

Brian, I believe my 50 cm fin I added matches the Zephyr sail, so that is what really surprised me with the spinout. Had I had the stock fin on it, or a small fin, it would be expected.


I think that when you are going fast enough that you would have spin out, that you could probably rig the Zephyr flatter, using both more downhaul and more outhaul. Experimentation with the "hauls" should be helpful.
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It could be that a spin-out was caused by being too far back on the boom. That's the reason for most of my spin-outs, and it's often pushing a bit too far to windward, especially using a weedfin. Then again, having some weeds caught on the fin can do it to you every time. With a 50cm fin, it's not like the fin is too small.
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dhmark



Joined: 04 Sep 2007
Posts: 376

PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As a zephyr owner, I can attest to being mostly satisfied with its performance for the reasons that I bought it for. I wanted a powerful sail that would rig on a 460. However, I find the long boom a pain and the boom length is a total outlier to the rest of my sails. If I was trying to do the same thing now, I would head straight to Hot Sails Maui GPX 8.0. My other sails are Hot and I totally trust the performance and construction. This one rigs on a 460 (designed for RDM) and needs only 207 boom length. Having owned predecessors to this sail in other sizes (Stealth and others), likely to have very good power for its size.
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antonputman



Joined: 22 May 2014
Posts: 137
Location: North Shore Italy

PostPosted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 12:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the image but I can't see the full picture..
Why is everything black? Does your picture show only the rubber lips or is this the inside of the box or something?
I don't understand why one would SEW the lips, there should be a better solution for this. I think I remember James did something on his 11'8", need to check out his blog.
Is it not possible to make some sort of removable Teflon plug that replaces the rubber lips? Or what about just taping of the lips with some high quality tape?
And what about the box opening from the top of the board? Would that not collect a few kilos water?
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gvogelsang



Joined: 09 Nov 1988
Posts: 435

PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 12:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bryan,

Any update on the Zephyr?
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systemslib



Joined: 11 Sep 2016
Posts: 37

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 3:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bringing back this zombie with some new information....picked up a used 2009 zephyr this week as price was too good to pass on. Always curious about this sail as on paper it is indeed bigger than other 7.5 ezzys. You can see below that compared to the 2015 cheetah 8.0, the zephyr is practically a 8.0 with a longer/lower clew but then cuts the leech down at the top to likely hit the 7.5 sizing.

Proof will be this spring when I can take it out for some testing. Anyway I know the zephyr is discontinued though it can still be found at one dealer, but still for my long/race board it should be interesting on lower wind days to see if it can deliver a little more power. Will update later in the season.



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