Advice for change of board and sail quiver
 

Hi all

I would like to seek advice for changing my current windsurf setup and hope you guys can help me out in this.

Currently, I am sailing on isonic 111 (2007) with a sail quiver of 7.8m Naish Grand Prix and 5.5m Naish Sprint. I sailed at open sea with wind strength averaging 8-12 knots and hits up to 25 knots when it really honks. The water state varies from flat to choppy depending on wind strength. I weigh about 54 kg and stand at 168cm.

I am thinking of switching to the latest isonic 97 with a sail quiver of option (A) NP 6.7m hell cat and 5.3m Severne Gator or option (B) Severne NCX Pro 7m and stick to my naish 5.5m as I felt overpowered sometime and was overtaken by guys who are larger than me on a smaller setup when i am sailing on isonic 111 and 7.8m at about 13-16 knots. I hope to plane as early as my current setup allows as possible if i made the switch.

Should i opt for option (A) or go for option (B). For the board should i go for isonic 107 or isonic 97?

Hope you guys can help me in this. Thanks.

At your weight you don't need much more than 97L/64cm for early planing. The iSonic 107 will be way too large for you in 20ish winds. However you may keep the 7.8 for marginal conditions (8-12 knots) and get a Naish Sprint 6.6 in the middle. It will become your favourite sail. Alternatively go for option (B). At 68 Kg I've been using GP 7.8 and Sprint 6.6 & 5.5 from ~11 to 25+ knots on a board 66cm wide. Perfect match.

Hi unregistered

With the element you give us the iSonic 97 with your 7.8 ; 7 Ncx Pro and your 5.5. 7m is the perfect size for this board and the Ncx is very close to the ridding style of a pure slalom sail.

The 107 is too big in my opinion for you when the wind will pick up and if you take the Wood/Carbon version in 97 your mini will be probably better than your 111 2007.

Happy new year

All the best

Hi Farlo and Remi

Thanks for the reply. For the board, i guess i will go for isonic 97. As for my quiver, I am thinking of keeping two sails as there are limited storage place at my sailing club. So if I am to discard my 7.8m, should i just go for Option (A) NP Hellcat 6.7m and NP Hellcat 5.2m ;
Option (B) Severne NCX Pro 7 m and use my current Naish Sprint 5.5m;
Option (C) Severne NCX Pro 6.5m and use my current Naish Sprint 5.5m / or buy Gator 5.3m.


My concern about option A is that it is using exceptionally short mast length for comparable sail size and if i were to switch out of NP and use other sail brand, I might have to purchase new mast in future. And is it true that for NP no cam sail like hellcat, it's performance will not be compromised if one use non-NP mast?

Many thanks for reading.

Option (B) is probably the best if you don't keep the Grand Prix. With option (C) you may loose too much in marginal winds. I don't know NCX but 1.5 m² gap makes sense for a two sails quiver. Naish Sprint 5.5 is already quite small, even for your weight. IS 97 may be too wide / not ideal for smaller sails.

Hi unregistered,

May I ask why you want to use a NP Hellcat on an Isonic ?

I'm a big fan of NP, but not of the Hellcat :(

If you don't want to go for the expensive NP slalom/racing sails, you still have the NP Heliums as a good alternative. These sails are MUCH better and faster than the Hellcat.

Are you afraid of the cambers regarding jibing ?
Or is it because you don't have the correct NP mast ?

I can tell you that there are a lot of good and cheaper alternatives for the expensive X6 & X9 NP masts.

Hi Farlo

Thanks for the reply. What is the recommended min sail size for isonic 97? I don't see it on the website? And what size fin do u recommend if i opt for option b since the new isonic doesnt come with fin.

Hi belskorpio

I tot of using no cam cause it easier to water-start with, gybe and required less maintainence compared to cambered sail. I have a cambered 7.8 2010 np grand prix and felt that it was very stable sail and easy to handle during planning but it is difficult to watertart with. Yup i also do not have the correct np mast and is using the naish 75% carbon mast. By the way, i also did consider 6.7m 2010 overdrive but give it a miss becos it is cambered

Just scroll the specs chart at the bottom. Smallest sail for IS97 is 5.5 indeed. I would use a 30/32cm fin as recommended. Add a 35/37 cm if you go for the NCX 7m². You can check on http://www.select-hydrofoils.com/en/...ed-slalom-race for more details. Of course you won't get the very best from iSonic's with freeride sails but you probably know that already. Alternatively you may consider the Futura's 93/101 or the Fanatic Ray 100 which would suit no-cam sails better.

Hi Farlo

Thanks. I was using my android smartphone to surf and thats why i can't see the specs. By the way, do you think the 6.7m Overdrive is comparable to the NCX pro 7m?