North Natural 6.6 (2007)

[theGrudge]

So I smashed up my trusty gaastra gtx 6.5 a month ago, and replaced it with a 2007 north natural 6.6, matching it with a recommended north mast. The sail is not impressing me at all in the past few weeks; the battens are very reluctant to pop across unless in quite strong winds and it doesn't seem to rig properly on its recommended settings, which probably accounts for its lack-lustre upwind performance.

Don't get me wrong, I like North...I have a 2004 natural 5.4 which is a great sail, but I'm having second thoughts about this new one.

So maybe it's just me....has anyone else had any experience with the larger 2007 Natural sails?

Cheers,
Shane

[Anonymous]

Hi Shane,

No experience w/ the new naturals yet.

But at the risk of asking a stupid question, are you sure you've got enough downhaul? if you're rigging it w/ a tight leech for light winds, it might prevent cambers from rotating ...

[theGrudge]

the luff is apparently 472 at it's recommended maximum setting. I have a 460 mast and have the extension set at 12cms and pulled it down till the pulleys met, and i could see that it didn't have enough downhaul.

So I have put my extension out to 14cms...and still I have rotation problems, I have to give the sail a violent pump when in anything other than fresh winds to get rotation.

I also find the outhaul is questionable. I find I cannot physically outhaul hard enough to meet the high winds, maximum setting. I double checked the boom with a tape measure, because I was not getting anywhere near it and thought there might be a misprint on the boom.

So, do I have to downhaul futher? I have a ratchet downhaul, so I can put an enormous amount of torque on the downhaul, I just wouldn't like to to break my new mast! Has anyone actually done that?

[clyde]

Tuning any sail can be frustrating when you aren't getting the results you hoped for. Perservere. Keep experimenting. Try downhauling more. Pretty sure you can't break the mast with downhaul alone. when down hauled the leech should be floppy. Next, try backing off the batten tensioners until the dreaded wrinkles begin to appear and then retension until they just go away. Don't over tension the the battens, just enough tension until the wrinkles they are designed to remove, go away. You said you have a North mast. Is it the one that that is recomended for your sail? As we all know, cambers are kind of stiff and mechanical in feeling. If this does not work call North Sails and ask for help. Sometimes battens can be a little too long, so you might need to shorten them, but don't do this until you have consulted the experts from North. As to the outhaul, some sails do not have much range for outhaul tension. Again experiment: pull until it feels tight for higher wind; less for lighter wind.

[clyde]

Apologies. No cambers on the North Natural. Tensioning the battens is still the same. Just enough tension and no more. Contact North. New sails will stretch, so maybe things will get better in time.

[Anonymous]

D'oh - I shoulda checked to see if there even were cambers on Natural.

What Clyde said.

Keep experimenting. And don't worry about breaking the mast by adding too much downhaul.


can you take pictures of how you have it rigged? Specifically, of the leech?

[theGrudge]

Thanks for the good advice people, I'll give it some more d/h and check the batten tension tonight (wind is blowing on a friday afternoon, there is a god, now I just need a plausible excuse to blow off work!).

I'll try to take some photos of it rigged.

S.

[Spennie]

A plausible excuse to blow off work? Can't be sure from here, but I'm guessing you're either A. Too lame to think something up, or B. A hard-core sailor who has used up all the usual stuff. I'll assume "B." on your behalf, and offer these suggestions:
1. Diarrhea. Gross and embarrassing, but that works in your favor, as no one wants to discuss it.
2. Your wife/neighbor called, and your water heater started leaking heavily. Only good every 3-5 years.
3. Forgotten VERY IMPORTANT doctor appointment, you'd "Rather not discuss" what it's about.
4. Variation on #3, mother/father/aunt,etc. called and needs ride to doctor.
5. If married, wife called from road, she's stranded in a bad neighborhood, scared and needs a ride.
Hope these help next time you need one--anybody else have any favorites?

[theGrudge]

Well, I've been increasing the downhaul and it seems to be improving the sail, but I still have reservations about it's suitability. I think I may revert back to cambered sails for the larger sizes in the future, they seem to perform much better in lighter conditions, which unfortunately is the norm where I sail.

And as to excuses to ditch work, yeah, I'm treading a thin line. I am reasonably new at my worksplace and don't want to get people too suspicious. I always make sure I don't talk too much about my windsurfing at work, so people don't look out the window and go, hey he's away sick again and its windy...what a co-incidence huh?