Sport Today

A quick question on rigging the (relatively) new Gastraa sails:  How much
downhaul is needed?  I bought a pair of 1991 (I think) Slalomfoil Pro's and
find that, despite all the talk about monster downhaul with the new sails, I
do _not_ use that much downhaul.  If I do really crank it, it looks really
flat.  Am I doing the right thing?  Should they be flat?  Is my sail a
pre-"heavy-downhaul" sail?  Any ideas?  (By the way, I use almost no outhaul.)

(By the way, I also find it very difficult to get enough batten tension.  
I've recently discovered that the best way to do it is to crank as hard
as I can initially, go sail for awhile, and then come back in and crank them
some more.  Can I use outhaul to help this?)

   Thanks in advance,

     Ross

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8' 8" Mistral Stinger, 9' 2" Bic Presto, 4.6 Simmer Style, 5.2 & 5.6 Gaastra
 Slalomfoil.  And one big smile.

The top of the sail starts to wrinkle when you have approximately the right
amount of downhaul. I haven't rigged this sail myself, so I don't know how
much downhaul this translates to. I know what the sail should look like,
since many of the local sailors have/had this sail.

The definition of flat depends on what you are used to. If you have the
correct mast, look for the wrinkles in the top. Downhaul more for a faster
sail and less for a more powerful sail with better acceleration.

To the person who wrote about the problem rigging windwings:

North extensions have the cleat well out of way and they are extremely
strong. I use a pulley with them on all large sail sizes (5.0 and up)
since large North sails have the grommet a few inches higher than the
bottom of the sail. North quicky race extensions also have a groove for
the tack strap.

Kevlar line costs about $2/m. It isn't much more resistant to abrasion
that the other kinds, but it doesn't stretch.

--
  Juri Munkki                                          Windsurf: fast sailing

I have the same model as you do.  Rig the downhaul as tight as you can.  The
sail will look fairly flat if the mast is stiff enough.  This is the way the
sail should be in all but marginal planing conditions when less downhaul may
get you planing quicker.

Put some outhaul tension on the sail and then push the battens in.  Then let
the outhaul tension go.  I usually sail this sail with almost nil outhaul
tension.  Don't worry too much if there are wrinkles at the top of the sail.
If anything it shows that you have rigged the sail correctly.

Simon Papps
Forest Research Institute,
Rotorua,
New Zealand.

I use a quiver of 1992 Slalomfoil Pros... Compared to some other brands of sail
like the NP World Cup doobies, I find my Gaastra's require much less downhaul
but on the other hand, the NP WCs tend to have a better wind range than my ol
Gaastras (but the Gaastras seem to hold together over time :-) ). Because
you can adjust the cambers on the Slalomfoils, you can get the nice flat
foil without having to resort to mega downhaul. Put enough downhaul on to
twist and loosen the leech a bit and if you're overpowered, start playing with
the cambers. I like having a decent draft down around the boom and nice and
flat up top for good top end...

Another thing. Some people will tell you that you should release the downhaul
in lighter conditions. NOT! Keep a reasonable amount of downhaul on the sail
coz once you get planing, you want the ol' twisty foil. It means having to work
a little and practise pumping. A modern slalom/race sail with almost no down
haul is a pig to pump and what if the wind does pick up while you're out there?
A megadeep draft and no twist means being in a real mess.

Yeah this is good... Dont forget that if you're battens are TOO tight, your
cambers wont rotate as easily (if at all). Gaastra seem to make some pretty
poor battens/buckles.

|> A quick question on rigging the (relatively) new Gastraa sails:  How much
|> downhaul is needed?  I bought a pair of 1991 (I think) Slalomfoil Pro's and
|> find that, despite all the talk about monster downhaul with the new sails, I
|> do _not_ use that much downhaul.  If I do really crank it, it looks really
|> flat.  Am I doing the right thing?  Should they be flat?  Is my sail a
|> pre-"heavy-downhaul" sail?  Any ideas?  (By the way, I use almost no outhaul.)

I had some '91 Gaastra Slalomfoil Pro's and rigged it like this:

Rig the downhaul as tight as you can, and use negative outhaul. Tighten the
battens as much as possible and go for it. The sail is supposed to look flat
and loose. The largest sail I rigged somewhat different to get power in
marginal conditions. I released the downhaul 2cm and removed the draftlocks.

PS! The new Gaastra's ain't that flat, but need a lot of downhaul too.

Arctic Surf Bums: Almost 70 degrees north :-)
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**  Stuff deleted **
On my '91 Gaastra Racefoil Pro, I find that if I rotate the sail a few
times after tensioning the battens initially, I can then get more
tension in them.
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