Interesting article in this months WINDSURF magazine. Ayman Rafael, sail repairer to the Dahab Centre, spills some beans. Quote; (on sail damage) ' A lot of it has to do with making sails lighter and so they're not built as strongly as they used to be.'

He also tells of a major sail brand managers visit, to find out why his companies sails were failing so often? When showed why, major improvements were brought in.

Does this mean that sail makers are so obsessed with performance at all costs that they don't even know whether they will fall apart, or not?

This certainly fits in with my perceptions. I have a full quiver from wave board gale to longboard cruise, and two sails have split in the last year. The most disconcerting was a year plus old North Dke 5.4 which split the monofilm panel above the boom from one side to the other with a loud bang when hit by a gust!

Looking around our beach last week I noted that the dozen or so regulars who were out all appeared to have brand new sails rigged. (Severne is flavour of the year.) I then remembered that I'd noticed the same thing the year before.

Are we really just being taken for granted by the sail makers, and shouldn't expect better?

My Loft Switch Blade's pretty good. No complaints at all about that sail.
My other sails are Ezzies and they just keep going and going and going. They are made out of tank armour. I take them to riots.
I have a Naish Stealth too but I don't use it enough to have an opinion. It seems well built though.

So what were the sails at the Dahab Centre?

Not Wal; obviously he was coy on that, but he mends all makes and not just from Dahab Centre. His comments can be read to include all the makes brought to him. (Again, he doesn't say which.) Presumably he can't comment on some of the stronger makes (a pity) since they don't fall apart.

He does say that a common way of saving weight is to miss out batten pocket end reinforcement, where it meets the luff. That is something the customer can't tell.

Nebbian; the ironic thing is that North claim to have a 5 year warranty on their sails, but only against manufacturing defects.I sail on sandy beaches, and the 5.4 Duke is a fairly strong wind sail. Naturally in such conditions the sand is flying in the wind.By the time I've walked wet board and rig up the beach at the end of a session, they (and my wetsuit) are caked in sand. I then have to derig in a wind and sand swept seafront car park, and roll the sail up into that sail bag, coplete with half the beach! The 40 mile drive home with it bouncing and grinding away in the car makes me wonder how monofilm panels even last a year.

That's what's so crackers. It's sold as a highish wind sail for use in such conditions, yet at the same time they claim such treatment is unreasoable usage!!

Agreed Ginger Pom. My old North Zeta 4.2 was indestructable, and I still have it. Sadly, it's performance is of yesteryear. I see though that Bic are reintroducing tough durable long lasting Dacron sails as part of a learner package with their Nova boards. Bic have a proven record of backing the right horses (remember Hard Rocks and Technos amonst many others) . How long before the other sail manufacturers follow suit?

Durability V’s cost cutting (to increase profit margin) – there lies the problem.

Well I'm going to check out the Ezzies. I sail a lot, and yearly renewal is not the path to go down.

there's plenty of sails on the market that last years.

if your sails are falling apart change brands and vote with your feet.

Mrgob said...

Do sails really improve in performance year on year KMAN5000? Ginger Pom said he was disappointed with his 2009 Gaastras, and that the old ones were a lot better.I can recall favourite sails which were replaced by less good ones.

Neither would I agree that if sails were built to last they wouldn't sell enough new ones. All they are doing is selling to a repeat and shrinking market. If gear was longer lasting and cheaper would windsurfing be in decline? Aren't Bic with their new durable and longer lasting Dacron starter rigs hoping to make that point.

I also Kayak, and when Polyethelene boats were introduced the same argument was used, but far from cutting their own throats, more and more people took up the sport. The gear was long lasting and cheaper, so they sold a hell of a lot more. (My favourite Dagger R.P.M. is ancient, but will outlast me.)

The second point is that year on year repeat sails to enthusiasts wouldn't dry up IF the latest sails were a genuine improvement! It's my observation that not many windsurfers believe this to be so.

" Do sails improve each year"

With my sails i,d have to say mostly.I currently run 07-08-09 sails with the 07 one being the high wind speed sail which takes most of the abuse and is still going strong. As a speed sail I believe its better than the 08-09 models,but the 08 and 09 handle better in a larger wind range and have better draft stability.I haven,t tried this years yet . The designers are always learning new ways to improve their product and some sails brands may not have longevity as their main thing.There are lots of museums with well built machines in them that will out last me,but we no longer use. I,m happy to have a sail that lasts for a few years before its junk, i do want a sail that is an improvement on the previous year.

KMAN5000 said...

Mrgob said...

Do sails really improve in performance year on year KMAN5000? Ginger Pom said he was disappointed with his 2009 Gaastras, and that the old ones were a lot better.I can recall favourite sails which were replaced by less good ones.



. I'm still perplexed sometimes that companies make a sail that suits both RDM and SDM's - IMO the SDM's are stiffer when rigged, so how can you design a sail that works with both types of mast.

It's called "tuning",rigging sails on RDM's requires some different tweaking than a SDM mast,modern sails have a large tuning range and if rigged incorrectly can be feel like $hit, it pays to play around with outhaul and downhaul to find the sweet spot for your style.