Hello everyone

I had been using neil pryde equipment for 10 years and overall I was quite happy with it. However the great looks and raving reviews of severne gear got me into the process of gradually updating my equipment with the red sails. First rig I bought was a 2015 8.6 overdrive, a 190-240 alu race boom and a 460 SDM90 mast. The following year I added a 7.0 NCX to my quiver. All equipment bought new. Generally both rigs are performing admirably but I do have some concerns regarding their quality/durability – issues I never had with neil pryde gear and I believe they are worth noting.

First I noticed that the grip foam of the boom started falling apart even from day 1. I have to add that I mostly rig the sail on pebbles but still my x6 neil pryde boom was going strong for at least 10 years on the same rigging area. And then, last summer, after a couple of days sailing overpowered I got seriously soar palms – I am talking about craters at the metacarpal-phalange joint area that took at least 2 weeks to heal! Well this had not happened to me before! I don't know whether the alu race's tube thickness is responsible for that (is seems a bit thicker), but I seriously believe the boom foam should be made both more durable and softer to the hands…

Then it is the ropes. Well, either the clew rope is too thick or the holes on the boom edge are too narrow. Anyway I find it really difficult passing it through. Next it is the rope on the extension (race HD); it started falling apart on the edges (making it really difficult to pass it through the pulleys) and last summer (season 2 – approximately 30 times in the water) it got cut while I was rigging the sail. Thank god that didn’t happen in the water.

Now regarding the mast (460 SDM90): Last summer the two parts started getting stuck to one another giving me a hard time separating them after each session, although I had made certain the inner tube was perfectly clean and free from salt and sand. Eventually I resorted to applying some olive oil before each session to prevent this. Again, 10 years with neil pryde equipment I had never experienced something like this.

Now about the NCX; I noticed some serious wrinkles on the upper body on the first day I rigged the sail. I really am not sure whether I did something seriously wrong but the damage is pretty obvious.

And finally, and most annoyingly, although I love the overdrive’s performance on a straight line, the cams are impossible to rotate on their own! Approximately 30 times in the water, and yes, although the sail overall became softer and certainly much easier to rig (at first it was impossible to apply full downhaul and the top and middle cams kept popping out before attaching the lower one), cam behaviour is virtually unchanged and still require some kicking or heavy pumping in order to rotate (and yes, I have removed all cam spacers). I am pretty sure I 've read elsewhere as well that the 8.6 especially has issues with cam rotation - I don't know whether this was improved in 2016.

I really wish severne address issues like those because overall I am very happy with the sails’ performance and besides these concerns I still can't wait to get my sails to the water.

Cheers!