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First time out with new (old) setup

 
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Thurston



Joined: 08 Jul 2013
Posts: 101

PostPosted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:05 am    Post subject: First time out with new (old) setup Reply with quote

So first of all a huge THANK YOU to all on this board who helped steer me in the right direction towards getting out on the water. I learned a lot about the gear and sport in the few weeks since I signed on.

I bought a used carbon 460cm mast, aluminum chinook boom and Northwave 5.7 from a guy in the classifieds section, as well as a brass mast apadter to mount the new style mast foot on my ~20 year old long board. I finally got it all set up and out off the beach late last week, with mixed results but an overall great time.

Rigging for the first time took a little time, lots of readjustment of the sail extension to get it fitting right with a tightened downhaul. I also forgot my centerboard and didn't realize it until I made it all the way to the beach, had to go back through traffic to pick it up. There was some wave action which contributed to making it hard for me as a new beginner to uphaul and get stabilized. The wind was around 10-12 kts and out of the south. The brass adapter and mast foot kept slipping in the mast track, which drove me nuts. I had to REALLY crank down on it to finally keep it from sliding every time I up-hauled or got a gust of wind. I spent a lot of time in the water, trying to stabilize my weight on the board, slowly uphauling and then falling back in the water as the sail came up and I lost resistance and kept pulling backwards.

I had a great time though, and I can't wait to get back at it. There was another windsurfer out there that I had a chance to talk to and it was good motivation to see him cruising back and forth. I was able to get up and moving on both tacks several times which was a freaking blast!

Needless to say, I'm hopelessly hooked Cool
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windward1



Joined: 18 Jun 2000
Posts: 1400

PostPosted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 4:17 pm    Post subject: Hooked! Reply with quote

Glad you had fun.

It gets better & better!
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Sailboarder



Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 656

PostPosted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 4:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great to see you going. I also restarted 3 years ago and I'm still really into it. So much to learn...

It's not typical to have to tighten the mast foot really hard in order to stop it from slipping. On modern boards, the large contact area between the plastic pad (or large washer) and the board anti-slip deck is good enough. This area is normally flat to allow contact on a large area.

If your deck is not flat (maybe the rail protrudes a bit), you could try to add a custom made thin "washer" of EVA or rubber.

Have fun!
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Thurston



Joined: 08 Jul 2013
Posts: 101

PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

windward1 wrote:
Glad you had fun.

It gets better & better!


Thaks man. Went out again yesterday and it was better, so you're right about that so far Laughing.

Something I noticed this time is that the grip of my board is terrible. This was by far the lead reason for falling. I have some O'Neil Superfreak (lightweight) booties on order that should help with this.

Sailboarder wrote:
Great to see you going. I also restarted 3 years ago and I'm still really into it. So much to learn...

It's not typical to have to tighten the mast foot really hard in order to stop it from slipping. On modern boards, the large contact area between the plastic pad (or large washer) and the board anti-slip deck is good enough. This area is normally flat to allow contact on a large area.

If your deck is not flat (maybe the rail protrudes a bit), you could try to add a custom made thin "washer" of EVA or rubber.

Have fun!


Thanks for the tip. It held just fine yesterday but I will keep this in mind if I continue to have trouble.

A question about rigging: I have a 5.7 sail that calls for a 430 mast, but also has an extension strap at the head of the sail. My mast is a 460. I would think this means that I'd need about to use about 30cm of extension, but with zero mast extension and only a few cm of sail head extension I was able to downhaul all the way.

Am I pulling too tight on the downhaul?
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Any time a beginner asks that Q, details don't matter: the answer is a resounding, "NO". But all them numbers don't mean much. What matters most is the sail's optimal appearance when tuned right, and that differs among brands. Google your sail's tuning guide and make your sail look like that, and you'll be in the ballpark.
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Thurston



Joined: 08 Jul 2013
Posts: 101

PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 9:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So it isn't unusual for a 460 mast to fit a 430 sail?

No info online (2003 Northwave 5.7) that I could find, but I sent an email to the company.
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 2:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thurston, the idea of having many different length masts for your range of sails is a more recent thing. In the 80s and earlier 90s, most of us only had only a couple of mast sizes, usually a 430 (14') and a 460 (15'). Most sails had adjustable mast caps, so that you could rig a smaller sail on a larger mast.

Regarding your Northwave and it's luff length, it's obvious that when a 430 is used you would need to use a lot of mast extension length to set up the sail. I have a Windwing 5.0 that recommends the use of 400 with 26cm extension. But I could also use a 430 with zero extension with a little bit of mast coming out the top. Both masts will work, but the difference is the stiffness of the mast. So, an average weight sailor would probably prefer using the smaller mast, whereas the heavier weight sailor would more likely prefer using the longer mast. Again, it's more about stiffness than length. However, if one was trying to use a 460 on a sail that requires a 400, things get really weird because the mast is far too stiff overall, and the top of the sail can't breathe well because it's located too far down in the stiffer zone of the mast. Kind of double trouble.
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