Women favorite windsurfing rig?

[vtm81]

My wife is an intermediate windsurfer, she weighs in the 100 lbs + (<-- she will kill me when she find out that I disclosed this online!!) and she is not very strong with her upper body.

I am in the market to buy the perfect 4.8m ~ 5.0m rig for her. IT could be a rig with SDM or RDM mast, it does not matter.

I would like to hear other women perspectives on their favorite rig and the reasons why they like it.

Thanks!

[Surfmoe]

I am about 167 and 120 lbs (why would she kill you 100+ is really skinny ). I do other sports so I am not particularly weak. Still, I may have some advice.

1. Get her to do more for her upper body
2. Buy a sail with RDM masts (and designed for RDM masts). They work great with low weight sailors and are much more fun to sail with.
3. I love my Gaastra Manic. I use them for a number of reasons. I wanted a wavesail range, because I often wavesail and a freestyle or whateveer sail would not last long in Pozo or Cabezo. Still the Manic is very nice to handle without putting too much power in it and it does not feel heavy at all (although it probably is heavier that the usual freestyle sail). Still it has power, but less than the Poison. My biggest sail is 5.3 and I do plane easily from 13/14 knots (with the right board).
I don`t know if to recommend the Manic for your wife or maybe just slightly lighter freemove sail. It would probably be the better option. You can try the Echo maybe.
Some general remarks: I did not like North Sails, they felt heavy to me and it took a more effort to do moves with them. I liked Simmer pretty much, although I also know the wave range only. Haven`t tried other sails last year.
What board is she sailing?

[bred2shred]

Generally speaking, rig weight is the number one issue for smaller people, especially anyone who primarily uphauls.

This usually means light-duty wave or freestyle sails with five battens and no cams. Also high-carbon content masts (RDM is not required, but some prefer them for easier "grab-ability"). It's generally better to spend the extra money to save weight on the mast and go with a good aluminum boom. The weight difference isn't much between most aluminum & carbon booms and the loss of stiffness isn't generally a factor. Also try to use a boom that is more towards the middle or end of it's length range, this avoids excessive weight due to tubing overlap (or you can trim the boom arms or tail).

Another thing to consider is that, unless the rig is explicitly called a woman's or kid's rig, it's designed for an average size man. Many times, it can be beneficial to use a mast that is one size smaller/softer. This allows the rig to be more dynamic with a lighter rider. It'll also make it easier for a smaller person to downhaul the rig his/herself.

sm

[capetonian]

My wife uses Superfreaks. She prefers them to the Ezzy wave sails she was using previously.

The Superfreak Ultralight would be even better.

[kevinkan]

Some things to consider:

There are some sails designed for lighter riders like the Hot Sails Maui DD (formerly the Diva and Dawg) and also some high performance kids rigs out there. These sails generally have lower skin tension, rig on softer masts and have a softer feel, and have lower boom cutouts for shorter riders. There are also "regular" sails that many women will use and like just fine. Windsurfing is all about feel, and not everybody likes the same feel, so YMMV.

Most of these sails will rig on an RDM mast, especially in the size you are looking at. RDM's are easier to grab and generally have softer flexing characteristics.

Matching sailor weight to rigs is important b/c a 100lb sailor (female or male) would rig a 5.0 sail in say 15 mph or so. Whereas somebody my size (170lbs) would use a 5.0 starting at 20MPH or so, and a heavier sailor might not use a 5.0 until the wind was averaging 25+. The loading of the sail is vastly different in these three different wind strengths, so matching the rig to the intended wind range is important.

You might call Boardsports School. They are a Hot Sails dealer, and the owners are women w/ lots of experience w/ teaching women. They're also nice people and very helpful.

www.boardsportsschool.com

I also have a used Hot Sails Dawg 4.8 for sale that's pretty cheap. It's listed on the closeout page on my website. Email me if you have any interest for more details.

[vtm81]

Thanks all for your input...much appreciated.

I let my wife try the followings:
Gaastra Echo Team Edition 4 battens: too stiff for her
She tried an Ezzy (heavy sail), she likes the softness of the sail
She tries my RDM, she says it does not "float" during waterstart
I tried to make her demo a Superfreak but there was not enough wind on that day

I agree that weight is on the main issue and that's why I have a high % carbon mast + a kids boom.

Softness of the sail seems important as well.

If I am not mistaken, it seems that I would narrow to "soft" sail that can take SDM or RDM. Superfreak, Ezzy.....what else?

Thanks again for you feedback!

[coachg]

[jingebritsen]

Glad someone else "weighed in" on features and bene's of SDM vs RDM. Yes, the RDM is easier to handle. So what? If an RDM reduces the sail's range as much as it does for me, what about a lighter person? RDM's move the draft back sooner as more down haul tensions are applied than SDM's.

How a sail feels on the water is more important than how the mast feels when rigging, and uphauling, etc. If sailing on flat water only, opt for an old race mast. Smaller ones are very out of vogue and are feather light. They provide a very stable foil thru a wider range of winds and tensions. Used, they can be bought for a song.

EDIT: flat water meaning anything other than surf sailing. BTW, if RDM's are so fantastic, how come racers rarely, if ever, use them with race sails?

Soft sails mean spongy performances and a tiger by the tail feeling whenever the wind comes up. Sorry to be contrary and confusing, but this RDM thing is full of traps.... Same with 4 batten sails, they are a handful very quickly if the wind surprises to the upside.

In the Aerotech line, AirX, Charge, Free Speed or Phantom would do just fine. Cheers.

[isobars]

[3-phase]

In our school/team we use KA Kaos and some Kults, it is a wave sail or B&J, light and easy on the hand. It has more power then a Superfreak and it is lighter then a Ezzy.

Let her try one

Christine

www.windsurfdeal.com

[slalomark]

"Glad someone else "weighed in" on features and bene's of SDM vs RDM. Yes, the RDM is easier to handle. So what? If an RDM reduces the sail's range as much as it does for me, what about a lighter person? RDM's move the draft back sooner as more down haul tensions are applied than SDM's.
How a sail feels on the water is more important than how the mast feels when rigging, and uphauling, etc. If sailing on flat water only, opt for an old race mast. Smaller ones are very out of vogue and are feather light. They provide a very stable foil thru a wider range of winds and tensions."

This is the first time I have ever heard anyone say an RDM reduces a sail's range. To me, it was evident that a skinny increases a sail's range before I even got onto the water with one. That was because as I was rigging, the sail wanted to pick up and fly away. Am I missing something?
And I agree that how a sail feels on the water is more important than how a mast feels when rigging and uphauling, but I think most people feel that an RDM feels far superior to an SDM--better balance, more responsive, easier to jibe. And a windsurfer's wife who windsurfs is going to have a hard time sailing "on flat water only." That's cuz he's going to drag her to where he wants to sail, which probably isn't going to be flat water.
As for light sails, there's a guy out here in Hawaii who makes stitchless sails. All glued, no thread. His sails are feather light. Some older sailors and women swear by them

[Caribchakita]

The biggest tip I can offer is your wife needs to know how to rig...I learned in 97 and had old heavy stuff and did fine..I was 120 pounds back then. The other tip is time on water. If she wants to sail, she will make it work..you are all getting way too technical here..haaaaaaa

[jingebritsen]

Slalomark, please check your message center icon. Just under the greeting bar. That bar starts with search.

[Surfmoe]

[airwave]

I think this question is not considering the right things. Sail size, gusty verses steady winds, etc apply to women and men at 100lbs or women and men at 200lbs

My wife is a good 50 lbs lighter than me and has quickly become a very good intermediate sailor and sails 3-4 days a week during our 6 month season.

See loves our Ezzy Wave Panthers but usually wants the sail I am using rather than one that is 1/2 meter smaller. She seems to like the power depower capability the Panthers offer and prefers to be powered on the light side of the gust. I prefer to be powered on the high side of the gust. when the wind is steady we are about .25 to .5 apart on sail size.

The wind has a hard time figuring out if it's a guy or a gal sailing.

One other thought. I find that lots of gals like those sails with the great big flowers on them.