yeah tail is more pin than the 2008 too

the deck is neither here nor there personally. would have still been quite happy with normal deck, but if it's doing something to help then so be it. i thought it might be a love-it or hate-it thing but it really isn't that dramatic. my only complaint is that yesterday when i was really powered up trying to sink windward rail, my toes and ball of back foot are hanging in mid air and only my heel making contact with board which might make feet sore after a while. today everything felt perfect board wise. i like how it gybes more like a wave board. i normally don't bother with gybes but this one makes me want to gybe more often

anyway see how deck goes with time.

Haircut said...

if anyone is interested, the new alpha...

...it's quiet in chop (no panel crunching noises)good.

What is with that? One of the first things I noticed on the '09 Alphas, apart from the power (I've gone over handlebars 3/3 times on initial launch). Feels like the head is too loose?

Have you mucked about with the downhaul setting much? (of course you have).

Also I notice only one clew eyelet hole thingy this year? I found the higher hole to be a really simple and quick way to tighten the leech up when required. I thought it clever.

I'd PM ya but I know other people have Alphas/NPs.

doesn't take much downhaul EP, much like last year. i'm using it with a 2010 x9rdm. by the time ive downhauled for max power in light wind (no boom attached), there is about 2 inches of batten sticking forward of the mast (the batten just above boom), using the powerex mast there is 1 inch sticking forward, and then i give just enough outhaul to keep the sail from touching the boom when on the plane. maybe in the gusts it touches the boom a little. That's been my rigging technique for last few NP wave sails i've had and seems to gime me most early planing grunt. Like you, in light winds i use the upper hole if it has one.what is noticeable with 2010 one is it goes upwind ok even bagged out


this is how the creases usually look with no boom on it. obviously pink for max power and green for full depower.

will - what's your verdict on the sails? have you got it yet?

Here are a few stacked on top of each other so u can see the diffrences. They are all Alphas except the top one which is a zone. Unfortuntaley i don't have my 5.8 2009, but it was about 2 inches shorter down the leech than the 2010, but the same length luff as the 2009 6.2 in the pic

the 2010 5.8 looks about 0.3m larger then the 2008 ?

suppose thats why its so hard to make comparisons between different sails of the same "size"

the 2010 5.8 feels a similar size and weight to the 2008 5.8, handles gusts nicely and is stable, so all is good in that respect.

with the 2010 you can downhaul the absolute bejeesus out of it for strong winds and the top of the sail doesn't destroy itself flapping around out of control, unlike the older ones which sounded like they were going to explode in high winds if you gave them too much downhaul

The photo shows the 2010 5.8 as having same boom length as 2008 5.4 and 5.8 but in fact it requires quite a bit more outhaul to keep the sail off the boom because it is really springy. If I set it visually as I did with the old ones, almost the entire panel length touches the boom when powered up, and I have to give it another inch or two boom length to prevent it, which almost ends up being the same length boom required for the 2009 6.2