The biggest problem I think people who have not been windsurfing for some time have with rigging windsurfing sails is not putting in enough downhaul into the sail.

This might apply more to sails made in the last 10 years but if they are rigged without enough downhaul, they will be slower (sometimes surprisingly slower) and you can have problems like the camber inducers not rotation easy.

Here is a picture of a sail from this winter which did not have enough downhaul. If you look at the boom - mast opening area, you can see that the cloth is somewhat loose. It should be tight.

When the sail has enough downhaul (and you really need a lot especially with a stiffened mast - a crank helps to get enough), the top of the sail will be "floppy" maybe 4 feet down from the sail top! Seems odd that the real floppy top would be better but it is.

Also, I think it helps to rig the sail so that it sits as low to the fusalage as possible. I think this both helps with the sail "end plating" and also it better reduces parasitic drag of the pilot.

Mitch, if you see this, sorry about using your sail as an example of not enough downhaul. Well be up at Elevenmile again this weekend (Sunday if the ice is still good, it was great last weekend), might be the last of the season as Elevenmile is getting to be more open spots all the time.. Hope to see you up there again!

wh

I broke down and bought a crank to downhaul my sail after noticing how loose my sail was. Made a big difference in how the boat performed.

Two Of us in Ice Flyers sailed Wednesday on relative clear black ice. Both of us had no problem keeping up with the DN's.

Roger Livingston

Chinook/Harken makes a power downhaul mast base extension that I've been testing this winter. Nice product. Easier rigging and better tensioning cuts downhaul aggravation by half.

Thanks for the excellent photo, I think I am starting to understand why I have never got the top speed I thought I should get.... probably not enough downhaul.

On another note concerning rigging.... We had a little mishap this winter and ended up breaking the aluminum "extension" between the outhaul and the rest of the boom. It's just a 29 mm tube with a flange on one end to receive the outhaul. Before I go to the expense of buying a whole new boom, does anyone have any sources for a part like that? I've not had any luck online and the one shop nearby is closed for the winter.

^..^