Gaastra 8.3 Total Flow F1-11

[Roly Gardner]

Hi All

I have been offered the above at a very low price and am thinking of buying it. I know it is old, but as I only have a Pilot 6.5 it would give me a little more wind range. It also rigs on a 4.60 mast as it has a carbon extension and my next move up with a Pilot would mean a 4.90 mast.

My Carve 145 will take up to 9.3 sail I think. I am 73 kg and sail on open water. Would this sail give me any advantage for earlier planing in light winds? I tend to sail in force 3/5 generally.

I also have a query on boom extension. I think that I would need a bigger boom to rig this sail anyway, but say that it has a max extension of 232. The 8.3 states a boom size of 230/232. I think I have heard that you lose rigidity if you extend to within 20% of the max extension. Is this right?

Thanks for your continued help!