Sport Today

> I wanted to get some feedback on the 2006 Lip Wave 5.0 from The Loft.
> Anybody here owns or has tried this sail? It looks pretty good for the
> bucks. How does compare with the Ezzy SE?

> Thanks

>Love it, love it, love it.  It's 180 degree difference from the Ezzy.
>It's lightweight, super easy to rig and tune, with a large wind range,
>and a very fun, playful, pumpable feel.

>  The Ezzy, IMO, is the exact opposite: heavy, stiff, hard to rig. They
>feel overly "fixed" to me, not willing to thrash around, and luff and
>pop and swing and other fun windsurfy things.

> Glenn

>> Something is definitely not right with your setup! I have owned 20
>> Ezzys since 2001 and have never experienced anything like this.

>> Glenn

>It's all a matter of taste and what you've gotten used to. I don't
>particularly like the Ezzies myself - I think the head-wag makes them
>feel heavy and the "pop" is unusually pronounced for a wave sail.

>That doesn't seem to stop a whole lot of riders who're using them to
>absolutely rip.

>florian

> The Loft Lip is nice. I tried a 4.3m2 in the Gorge. Cool black and
> silver.

> The Ezzy SE is contructed the best. They are great, not hard to rig,
> and inspire confidence.

> apples and oranges. both great.

> I know Ezzy has lots of fanatics, supporters, and apologists, but most
> that I've talked to haven't sailed anything else for years. "Ezzy is
> the best!!", but how do you really know if it's all you ever sail?

>   Please bear in mind, when I say things like "heavy and hard to rig",
> this is just in comparative, relative terms, to the other sail. Every
> sail on the market is good enough to go out, blast around, and have a
> grea ttime, but I was a hardware designer for years at Chinook, and the
> minute details were the bread and butter. The Wave SE is still a fine
> sail, and I had plenty of fun on them the years I owned them, but if I
> had to describe the critical difference between them and other sails,
> those are the adjectives I would pick.

> > Well, I don't sail a Lip, but I do sail a  '04 Loft O2 in an 8.4.  It
> > seems to me that this is a Loft thread, not an Ezzy one, so I'm going
> > to add my two cents on Loft.  At first I loved this sail, but lately
> > I've been looking at the finer details.  It doesn't seem to show the
> > kind of loose leech shape that I find in my Gun, North or Gaastra.  It
> > also doesn't look like the N.P.'s in my Jimmy Diaz tuning CD.  The
> > panels don't loosen as deeply as these other sails do.  The head of the
> > sail which is made out of x-ply also seems to flutter more than twist
> > off.  Yesterday, I was out all day.  I was sailing with this sail, in
> > sub-planing winds for a couple of hours.  The wind picked up quickly.
> > I continued to sail until I was just terribly over-powered.  What I
> > just noted became obvious to me.  I don't think I'll buy a Loft to
> > replace it for this reason.  Perhaps the make better wave sails than
> > freerace, I don't know.

> From what I've seen (never sailed one myself), the Lofts have a
> different approach to achieve looseness and twist. The top batten is
> pre- loaded inside a curved pocket and seems to tighten the leach a
> little whenever its not under load. I think, by rigging the sail
> working with visual clues from other manufacturers you're misleading
> yourself and are not doing the sail justice. The same could apply, if
> you rigged it on a 0% carbon Epoxy mast like a certain Gaastra
> prototype.

> florian

> > Odd post there Florian.  Are you trying to put me down somehow?  In
> > actuality, I have done an indepth study of Loft rigging techniques
> > using their website.  Spindler has a number of tuning tips printed in
> > the House catalogues, too.  I also must state that I'm not fully set
> > against my O2, just that the honeymoon is over. I'm using the
> > recommended mast as well.  Now, when it comes to dealing with
> > prototypes which can be highly unorthodox, I suggest you leave the
> > criticisms up to the experts.

> No, Bruce, I am not putting you down. I am just trying to explain to
> you why a Loft looks and feels different from other sails. In addition,
> I'd venture to say that in your hands these sails may exhibit
> characteristics that were not intended by the designer - at least in
> the case of the Gaastra you posted about. About prototypes: I find it
> odd that Kevin sells protos on eBay. I always kept my own, but I did
> always appreciate an opinion - from experts as well as sailors as
> yourself.

> florian

> > > Odd post there Florian.  Are you trying to put me down somehow?  In
> > > actuality, I have done an indepth study of Loft rigging techniques
> > > using their website.  Spindler has a number of tuning tips printed in
> > > the House catalogues, too.  I also must state that I'm not fully set
> > > against my O2, just that the honeymoon is over. I'm using the
> > > recommended mast as well.  Now, when it comes to dealing with
> > > prototypes which can be highly unorthodox, I suggest you leave the
> > > criticisms up to the experts.

> > No, Bruce, I am not putting you down. I am just trying to explain to
> > you why a Loft looks and feels different from other sails. In addition,
> > I'd venture to say that in your hands these sails may exhibit
> > characteristics that were not intended by the designer - at least in
> > the case of the Gaastra you posted about. About prototypes: I find it
> > odd that Kevin sells protos on eBay. I always kept my own, but I did
> > always appreciate an opinion - from experts as well as sailors as
> > yourself.

> > florian