Hi All,
New to the forum, so I apologize if I diverge from any of the protocols.
So I was sailing (Severne Convert sail, 6 square meters) in no more than 20 knots and at some point I noticed a nasty rip near the clew of my sail (the site won't let newcomers attach pics).
I have this sail for about 1.5 years and I didn't rig it any different than I normally would for this level of wind - plenty of downhaul and a medium level of outhaul.
Is this common? Can it be due to the rigging I described? I'm led to believe that I rigged it properly.
Kind of disappointing for a supposedly high quality sail (that's only 1.5 years old!) from a reputable company.

Wow! Thanks for the detailed reply!
Yes, my rip at the clew is very similar to the one you showed (bummer about that other nasty rip!).
And yes, my sail has LOTS of monofilm. I guess it's all about trade-offs, just like the wing of an airplane (noticed your username, aeroegnr - I'm also an aero engineer originally, way back).
Oh well, I guess I'll try to repair it.
I think I'll go for a beefier sail on my next purchase.

nuteman said..
Wow! Thanks for the detailed reply!
Yes, my rip at the clew is very similar to the one you showed (bummer about that other nasty rip!).
And yes, my sail has LOTS of monofilm. I guess it's all about trade-offs, just like the wing of an airplane (noticed your username, aeroegnr - I'm also an aero engineer originally, way back).
Oh well, I guess I'll try to repair it.
I think I'll go for a beefier sail on my next purchase.

You rig it on the correct mast?

In case of doubt, Severne seems to tend towards "light" rather than "durable". That is certainly the case with the Freeks, which are made for freestyle, where weight really matters. I recently discarded some old sails, and many of those had reinforcements at the bottom edge that were extremely hard to cut through. A Freek I had was exactly the opposite - when a main panel expired from plenty of use, the top panels also started to go. With most other sails, replacing the main panel at this stage gives a lot more sessions on a sail, but the Freeks use thinner monofilm at the top to save weight. I think Severne calls this "gradient monofilm construction", and they are using it in the Converts, too. Other Severne freeride sails seem to have a more solid construction.

Mark _australia said..
Might just be lighting but it looks very faded has it laid in the sun all day when not in use?
Also, mono will break very easily if it's creased
so squashing a rolled up sail can do it

I was more careful with this sail (that I bought used from a racer) because I think the heat contributed to mast failures before. Still it might have some fading due to the FL sun, lots of sessions, and leaving it out for maybe 30min max while taking a break. I try to treat these rigs like the dainty sails they are but I'm not known to be easy on equipment .

Yeah good observation Mark, it looks extremely faded. If the colours in the photo are an accurate representation of the actual colour, I can only imagine how brittle that monofilm must have been.

Wow! What a great community! Thanks to all who replied. and thanks to whoever shared my pic (weird how you guys can see what the site wouldn't let me upload?).
I am using the recommended mast and extension, set at the correct height.
The pic was taken in very bright sunlight with a mediocre cellphone, so the color is a bit inaccurate (it's actually not as faded as the pic suggests).
But yes, I sail in very intense sun all the time. I put the sail away immediately after the session.
I only sail an average of twice a week for 8 or 9 months of the year. Each session about 1.5 to 2 hours. Which is about 100 sessions total - which is what aeroegnr reported regarding his rip-around-clew event. So I guess this is semi "normal"?
All said, I am still surprised at a longevity of only 1.5 years - these sails are not cheap, low-end stuff.
I think I'll be forced to go with a beefier (perhaps lower performance as a consequence) sail next time.

Gator is beefier than the convert. Look at that next time.

Buying a Gator would be a lot cheaper than buying an Ezzy sail and an Ezzy mast. Ezzy sails don't feel good with a stiffer top mast.

Good news and good news.
Got the Gator sail and tried it today - beautiful!
Repaired the ripped sail myself and tried it - I expected it to fall apart - but it held! Even in 15 knot wind!
Trying to attach a pic of my home-grown kludge patch now - might be on my profile, so look there - thought y'all might get a laugh
It's on both sides, but pic shows just one side.

Absolutely beautiful.
Just wondering if your thinking about using an outhaul rope ?

nuteman said..
Wow! What a great community! Thanks to all who replied. and thanks to whoever shared my pic (weird how you guys can see what the site wouldn't let me upload?).
I am using the recommended mast and extension, set at the correct height.
The pic was taken in very bright sunlight with a mediocre cellphone, so the color is a bit inaccurate (it's actually not as faded as the pic suggests).
But yes, I sail in very intense sun all the time. I put the sail away immediately after the session.
I only sail an average of twice a week for 8 or 9 months of the year. Each session about 1.5 to 2 hours. Which is about 100 sessions total - which is what aeroegnr reported regarding his rip-around-clew event. So I guess this is semi "normal"?
All said, I am still surprised at a longevity of only 1.5 years - these sails are not cheap, low-end stuff.
I think I'll be forced to go with a beefier (perhaps lower performance as a consequence) sail next time.

so you not only kill boards but also sails :-) Look 100 sessions is a lot and I think the the typical beginner will need 4 years to archive that. So also annother reason why your board is end of life. These products are meant for the average bloke. Making products the 2% heavy users does not make sense economically. My wave sails are all worn out after 100 sessions. That is normal. I talked to the sail maker of a well known brand and he agreed with my findings.

Yep. Windsurfing can get pretty expensive. I thought I'd 'have another go' and look to get back into windsurfing cheaply again after a 30 year break, so I picked up a secondhand board, booms etc. and quiver of three sails from someone getting rid of all his kit for NZD$1500. Eighteen months later and I probably don't want to think of how much I've spent on this sport. but its probably at least 10 times my original investment :lol:

Not all of that has been through breaking stuff though, but it did help to initally have some old gear to start off with that I could break and upgrade to newerer stuff, and then upgrade to betterer stuff and upgrade to fasterer stuff so on.. I am currently doing 3,800 kms windsurfing per year, so my wear-stuff-out rate could be slightly higher than others.

Loving it though!