Sport Today

Assistance required.

I've had a UP (Ultra Profile of France) 6.5m Speed Slalom sail for a couple
of years now, and like the Bic sails it has a what I think is termed 'loop-
loop-go' fitting for the downhaul, ie no cringle but a plastic moulded pulley
type thing - if you've got one you'll know what I mean.
Obviously as a downhaul fitting it comes under a lot of stress, and the
friction of the rope running over the plastic moulding has produced
enough heat to melt into the plastic. It has gone about half way accross
now (ie an inch or so) and looks close to failure.
Has anyone had a similar problem and what is the solution? I guess I could
get a cringle fitted? or what?
Cheers,
Mikey

I don't know about that problem, but I had the whole thing fail on a
similar UP sail I was using down in the BVI's.  Sail had seen a lot of
use, but generally I don't think they're made that well.  I have a 5.5
Slalom Cam ++ that has seams falling apart all over the place.  A friend
and I have nicknamed them U-Piece-of-Shits.

|>
|> I've had a UP (Ultra Profile of France) 6.5m Speed Slalom sail for a couple
|> of years now, and like the Bic sails it has a what I think is termed 'loop-
|> loop-go' fitting for the downhaul, ie no cringle but a plastic moulded pulley
|> type thing - if you've got one you'll know what I mean.
|> [..stuff deleted...]
|> Has anyone had a similar problem and what is the solution? I guess I could
|> get a cringle fitted? or what?

i have one UP and a few no-name UP's (see signature).

i had the plastic downhaul ear crack off of my 6.0 during a cold sail...

i tried to get another plastic ear from the dealers and other sources: none
available.  the sail repair people i spoke with said that they never had
any luck repairing those anyway since they are hot-riveted on at the factory--
i guess implying that a simple pop-rivet job did not work.

i had a guy put a new cringle in the sail for $US5.  i am not terribly happy
about it since i now have to mess with a pulley hook...

in general, i like my quiver of UP's, especially the no-name versions, because of the price (very low); but they are not constructed for durability (ie, no taped seams, etc)

---
William L (Bill) Kleb                          195/6.3 (44kg/190cm)

mosaic: http://ab00.larc.nasa.gov/~kleb/       8.4 (260cm) in-the-works
mail stop 366, nasa langley research center    Gastra, UP, & no-name UP
hampton, va, usa 23681-0001                    3.3     4.0   5.0,6.0,7.0
ph: (804) 864.4364 day / 838.7853 other        White 77 Jeep Wagoneer

...
...

I guess it should really depend on the year and sail model you're talking
about. In recent years UP sails have come a long way. Last year review
magazines gave the UP race sails one of the best ratings over North, Sailworks,
ART and son.

This year (1995) the UP race sails are much better than last years winning
design. The construction seems very durable. On the other end of the spectrum
the UP wave sails are bomb proof even though they are monofilm.

In fact, the race sails are built in the same loft as Neil Pryde sails as
far as I understand it. Looking at the batten tension system on the UP's Neil
Pryde shows its influence.

The #2 man in the PBA got there on stock UP sails.

--

* AT&T Bell Labs       {    att!hoscd!felixc   }    a rad board, rad waves, *
* Holmdel,NJ           {     (908)949-1188     }    and a company sickday!" *

I agree. I have two Sailways UP clones - the UP Twin Slalom 5.0 and Slalom
Cam++ 4.5 and they both perform very well. Neither are really suited for
durability - I already had a new panel put into the Twin Slalom, but
what do you expect in the Gorge. The loop to loop things are still
holding although they don't look really durable. I saw one UP sail
completely destroyed by a vertical rip in the whole sail. I think next
time, I'll be buying something more durable, like used North or Northwave.
One thing I noticed is that the Twin Slalom rigs much easier on my new
Dynafiber 430cm Carbon40 mast instead of my old Aluminum mast.
I would have never believed it would be such a difference in rigging
ease - both masts are rated at the same MCS although the Dynafiber is
35 cm shorter. With Dynafiber, it requires a lot less downhaul and has
a better shapeas well as smoother cam rotation. Bottom line - try your
sail on your mast before you buy.
The cams can pop off and one guy in the shop suggested that I sew the
cams to the sail, to prevent their loss in case they pop off, which I
need to do.

Boris

--

Now windsurfing the Columbia River Gorge on Mistral Ecstasy, UP, and Gaastra.
"The views expressed are my own and not necessarily those of Tektronix."

Chinook makes a little gizmo for about $5 that you***permanently into
the  cringle.  It makes the loops for your downhaul line so you don't
have to mess with a pulley.  Sailboard Wharehouse has them.

This is not necessary. Just rig the sail with enough downhaul and the right
mast, and the problem DOES disappear. (I have a Sailways 8.5 twin-slalom and
initially had that problem til I learned to rig the sail correctly.

--
Chad Price

(402) 559-7936

testing reply