Hey Ady,
Knowing you have experience with Sailworks... Any pointer on the rigging of my new Revo 5.0?
For info: 430 mast (normally 400 but Sailworks says 430 is fine), extension set to minimum (~7cm), head extension to 15cm, no batten tension yet...
Family-room rigging!

It's not critical, but for max downhaul like in the picture of the head I'll have the rollers on the sail and extension almost touching each other and for this much distance between them /like in the picture/ this will be my min downhaul setting and the crease in the head will be in front of the mark. Which means you need to release some more head strap. Recheck it again after use it may need readjustment after the first couple of sessions.

This sail looks like a modern 'Wind-Machine'!!
And, the colors are beautiful.....

I rotated the picture 180 degrees (upside down) then, zoomed in on the head of the sail and battens under the mast by the boom.
It appears the leech, at the head of the sail, is loose past the 'half-cog' logo. www.sailworks.com/the-gear/sails/revolution.html
This indicates the maximum downhaul (maybe a hair too much(?)),. But the sail will stretch a bit once it gets wet and powered up....

Ady has very good insight and comments. I also would loosed the head strap to close the gap between pulleys on the down-haul lines another cm. Then, I'd probably ease up the dounhaul a couple of cm, for a more 'medium wind' setting for its' first session (conditions allowing). As for the battens, under the mast by the boom, the outhaul can be used to throttle the sail. Beauty of this is it can be done on the water. And, it's easier than adjusting the downhaul.

All that said, the panels on newer sails are cut so precisely (most often with lasers) that one or two cm of downhaul and/or outhaul can make a significant difference in how the sail performs for any given set of conditions........ Tremendous range compared to most sails ten years ago or more..... And the weight , strength, etc...... least I digress.

Let us know how it "feels" on the water..... This makes me want to also "go-dip-a-fin"...............

doug

Curious - what mast manufacture/model/year is that? Just wondering if the curve is right for the sail (makes a difference).

Ady, Doug, thanks for the pointers. I'll give the head ext. an extra cm and ease a bit on the downhaul. I left the sail rigged up overnight and the head strap and sail loosened a bit which, visibly looking at the mark, released a bit of tension on the downhaul already. A bit of tuning at the beach is what's needed. Just need 25 knots and 50 degrees!

Adam: the mast is the current Nolimitz 430 Sumo Skinny. Sailworks recommends the Sumo for the Revo. However, the Sumo 400 is the preferred size to rig a 5.0 Revo. If I recall what the guys at Sailworks told me about the effects of rigging the 5.0 with a 430, is that it would add a bit of stiffness to the sail. Not a bad thing for heavier people! (I'm 190 lb) and it's insignificant for people of my skill level anyway. And finally I had to slowdown on the windsurfing expenses with purchasing only one mast for both 5,7 and 5.0 Revo's - at least for now.

The sail looks good - should be an awesome setup when you have it dialed in. Spending time tuning your gear is definitely worth it. I don't do it as much as I should and every time I go out I wish I had spent the time to get everything setup properly.

As for spending, the good thing about sailworks gear is that it should last you. And not likely to have much change in wave sails anytime soon.

I'm thinking of adding a 5.6 Hucker to my quiver. I already have a 6.6 (previous generation).

Yesterday we were launching from a sandy beach and I recalled how my Sumo mast got stuck last year at Montrose and the entire windsurfing population on hand couldn't separate it. So Greg, if you haven't already, sand down the ferule until the fit becomes loose because in a beach break sand will find its way in tape or not. I used an electric sander actually while rotating constantly with my free hand because there is a lot to be sanded down. The mast is strong enough so don't worry about compromising it.

Stuck Masts.......... Great topic...

Many newer masts come without plugs so the top can be stored inside the base. This allows a lot of 'heavy' water (8.36 pounds per gallon) into the base of the mast. Also, if the top of the mast is not plugged and water gets in then, along comes any silt in the water to jamb the the two halves together when the water drains through the joint while sailing....... This is maybe one reason the Ezzy masts have the ferrule on the top half of the mast as well as using a plug at the tippity top. The bottom half of the mast can drain through the mast base. However, I plug both the top and bottom of my masts which makes water starts and... uphauling (when needed) much easier when the mast floats and does not carry the added water weight.

Another thing to do is wrap the mast joint with electrical tape. This serves two purposes: 1) stops water and sediment infiltration through the joint and, 2) keeps the mast together while both rigging and de-rigging.... A good thing about using electrical tape is that it can be re-used over and over .... really.... and it re-sticks to the mast even when wet. I simply unwrap the tape from the joint then wrap it back around the mast for storage in the mast bag. Since electrical tape comes in colors to comply with the National Electric Code (NEC), i.e., Red, Yellow, White, Green and, Black, it is easy to pick a contrasting color to the mast as a visual reminder.... simple......

Taping the joint works... unless the mast is not plugged. Then, the silted water can still access the joint from either the top or bottom.....

Believe me-sanding the ferule works great. Foolproof and no tape needed.

I use electrical tape all the time at the joint and never had an issue with my masts getting stuck so far, and I've been in less-than-clear water with silt and other niceness. I also use McLube Sailkote dry lubricant to help with the joint to remain smooth and to minimize friction. This lubricant is also great to coat the top half of the mast to make sliding the mast in the mast sleeve go easier.
See here:
www.amazon.com/Mc-Lube-McLube-Sailkote-16/dp/B005MZ7EIO
Plugging the mas sections sounds like a really good idea! What have you been using? Polyurethane isolation expanding foam from the DYI store? A piece of closed-cell polystyrene?

ooops....
Ady,
Forgot to acknowledge sanding the ferrule in addition to the other things discussed.... my bad...

Yes, in fact my 2015 Maui Sails 460 RDM came 'tight in the ferrule' before ever getting it in the water. So, I sanded it down before even getting it near the water.

By the way, when sanding Carbon fiber, be very careful with the dust. It's like micro shards or needles.. It will cause lung issues if inhaled and, can penetrate the skin work into the joints...... bad ju-ju. Modelers using carbon material have developed emphysema as well as arthritis in their hands and, feet (if barefoot)...

www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?3...rbon-fiber-dangerous
www.monash.edu/ohs/archive-20-9/informat...hs-information-sheet

Gregory,

Plugging masts is a routine task at a good windsurfing shop. They have a variety of sizes of rubber plugs which they sell and, usually offer to insert them for free.

Inserting these things is straight forward. Clean out the inside of the mast, maybe put a little silicone spray lube on the plug and use your base extension (set to the hilt) or mast ferrule. For the top half of the mast, I just make sure the tip plug is in good condition.

In fact that reminds me... I have a few broken masts laying around which I'm saving to make wind chimes. I'm going to the shop now to drive out the old plugs for future use.

Ya know...., I saw an older Ezzy rigging video where David Ezzy wrapped the mast tip with clear packing tape so the 'rubber' mast tip plug would slide into and out of the mast sleeve a little easier. That little rubber plug seems to cause friction inside the mast sleeve...... I haven't yet tried this. My concern is the mast tip meets with significant resistance in the head of the sail and if the tape comes loose there, how does one get it out? Hmmmm???

Man, I have got to go sailing soon.......