Makes a big difference if it is the "ME" version or "Classic" version? Also they have been refined allot over the years so if it was much older than 2019, the newer ones are lighter & more refined. If you get a chance to try again, you should watch the rigging video & use the correct mast. The down haul is much different compared to mono/x-ply sails harder to judge. Also the wrinkle next to the luff is supposed to be there to some extent. My experience using flextop sails with CC mast is they often feel heavier & lose allot of the slippery feel we like. All that said, you may or may not like it. The feel is unique. I like them but prefer my KS3...

Manuel7 said..
Got the chance to try out a Superfreak (unknown year) in 4.7. Used an Ezzy mast 400. Sail rigged pretty flat, required tons of downhaul! Normal? Felt like I reached sufficient twist while nearly bottoming out.

Pulled the outhaul firm to unwrinkle the batten less zone. Profile looked pretty flat where the dacron just wants to spring back and not open up like stiffer material would.

Got to the water, perfect conditions were awaiting! Sail pulled nicely, swelling up. We can pump and get great lift in a springy powerful way. The pull is progressive, very stable and reliable straight in front of us.

Gusts don't seem to bother the sail, there's an elastic feel to the power delivery and it feels like it drives 80-90% of the wind power.

At the jibe I liked the drive the sail provided but at the flip it felt a bit slow and heavy. Same for tacks or simply laying it down. I believe a flextop mast could help there just not sure how much?

I'd say it felt s bit more than 4.7, coming from a recent Neilpryde TheFly in 4.8, it felt similar in pull force.

It has an Ezzy feel to it, depowers more easily but slower in transitions.

Going back to my north zeta, it's just as quiet but much more direct and way more reactive, more fun.

So too summarize, they work great when overpowered, pull on a plane nicely and keep the plane in light winds. Feel a bit heavier and slower to move around.

I had a small quiver of superfreaks UL 4.7+5.3 about 12 (or is it 15?) years ago and I liked them but eventually sold because the low end performance was just too lacking. What was somewhat nice in a gust (you did not really feel it, nor accelerate ...) was also not so nice when you needed it, for example to start planing. Overall they felt a bit like a yo-yo. They did not last too long (the thin UL dacron the culprit) and eventually I switched to Firelights that I really liked. Much more powerful and consistent and at least as good when powered up. Loved the first generation firelights, but I got a replacement 5.0 in 2018 after my old 5.0 disintegrated in small foil crash, and I could never figure it out. Somehow the low end was gone. It was kind of disconcerting how the sail switched off when you did not want it too. I tried a Q4AD (first generation ... it collapsed the front when overpowered in a gust), and then KS3 for a season (4.3 and 4.9). They were nice but slow and lacking drive. I finally ended a 25 years long relationship with Hot Sails Maui sails when I switched to a Point-7. 2020-2021 Spy quiver 4.2-4.7-5.4. Love these sails. Powerful, fast, easily tunable on the water, and they got the S-shape lower batten that works like a charm if you want to slow things down. Ideal B&J sail.

Ops, sorry! got carried away. Freaks are nice! If, as you already noticed, slower in transitions (and slower in general). Enjoy it.

My 2 cents....

just received a 4.2 super freak Maui edition.
had it out yesterday in super gusty westerly.
Out performed expectations. Got planning fine/well. handled gusts and was even pretty good when wind dropped. great on the wave, not as instant and direct as others but better for that reason in strong gusty conditions.
pretty much ideal sail for the conditions I recon. Maybe not a perfect light wind sail? But glad I went with it for my small sail, Was a bit reluctant to initially

it also snakes pesky kiters well.

few high quality shots from yesterday

Looks like the new SFME has a lot more grid material, kind of loses the point for me which is a sail you can literally roll in a ball with the battens removed.
Personally I've owned a few and not a big fan, I probably would be if we had side-off conditions.

looks sick Dunko ... Ive sailed the full dacron SFME a fair bit ... that xply in luff and window should improve the bottom end alot I would have thought ? topend will be insane ... so comfy the sfme ... and really good for waveriding / wave tricks

Grantmac said..
Looks like the new SFME has a lot more grid material, kind of loses the point for me which is a sail you can literally roll in a ball with the battens removed.
Personally I've owned a few and not a big fan, I probably would be if we had side-off conditions.

To be honest after having owned or tested a few Freaks I ended up not really too convinced by the idea. A lot of sail makers use dacron, but only in very small sections of the sail (e.g. a strip in the luff) and it is no such a surprise that HSM is using less in the SF Maui Edition. They market it as hybrid 50% dacron and 50% "modern material". The Speedfreak went through a similar process of dacron-reduction, with the window and the luff getting some real sail fabric. But why on earth there are still large dacron panels at the trailing edge is a bit of a mystery to me. I don't understand what they are doing there, why would a heavier trailing edge panel soften the ride? It would seem to only upset the sail shape. When I tested a 6.5 speedfreak you could see the panels close to the tail of the boom visibly deform under load ...

leto said..
If you want a bigger inefficient sail think about taking a smaller efficient one.

...says the guy who sails Choppers! ... Hilarious!

Grantmac said..
Looks like the new SFME has a lot more grid material, kind of loses the point for me which is a sail you can literally roll in a ball with the battens removed.
Personally I've owned a few and not a big fan, I probably would be if we had side-off conditions.

Why would you want to take out the battens and roll it into a ball?

And maybe I shall take gorgesailor joke more seriously and start sailing Crazyfreak sails instead of Choppers. Although may not happen soon. lol

I don't really have quivers of "favorites", but my old SuperFreak 4.5 works great windsurfing in 17-27 and foiling in 10-20 winds.

FreakDrew said..
I bought my first SuperFreaks in 2005 and have not found anything I like better since then. I currently have a 4.7, 5.3ME, 5.5, 5.8ME and a 6.3 which is great on a longboard.

Being lightweight (70kg) and living in an area where gusty wind is the norm, they have been a revelation.

I use them on flatwater as well as in waves. I recently bought a SpeedFreak 7.5 and while the camber was a challenge at first, I have become accustomed to it and love that sail like no other big sail I've ridden.

Drew

I also have a quiver of MEs (3.2 to 5.3) and a single cam speed freak (6.5).

Love em

thedoor said..

FreakDrew said..
I bought my first SuperFreaks in 2005 and have not found anything I like better since then. I currently have a 4.7, 5.3ME, 5.5, 5.8ME and a 6.3 which is great on a longboard.

Being lightweight (70kg) and living in an area where gusty wind is the norm, they have been a revelation.

I use them on flatwater as well as in waves. I recently bought a SpeedFreak 7.5 and while the camber was a challenge at first, I have become accustomed to it and love that sail like no other big sail I've ridden.

Drew

I also have a quiver of MEs (3.2 to 5.3) and a single cam speed freak (6.5).

Love em

Well, yes of course, put some material other than dacron on half of the sail and the sail is going to be improved!

But I still do not see the rational of using the heaviest material for the trailing edge panels. I do understand using some dacron on the luff, many sailmakers do so. But using it for the trailing edge is just going to make the sail feel heavier ...

Any reasons to do so that one can divine? other than a half-hearted recognition that a dacron sail is not such a great idea? Ks3, quad, and firelights have no trace of Dacron .

Yeah, the HOT dacron is not a heavy material. Compare the two HOT 5 batten sails:

Firelight 5.3 = 3.3 kg (made primarily of "superlight" laminates)
SuperFreak 5.3 = 3.3 kg (made primarily of dacron)

I love their lightness, luffability, durability, looks, and the amazing way they handle nasty gusty wind.
I would say they are more "springy" than "spongy" :-)
Drew

Awalkspoiled said..
Duzzi - crazily enough the Dacron isn't heavy. Jeff isn't using the tarpaulin material early Windsurfer sails were made out of, but something lighter and less stretchy. My 10.0 Speedfreak - essentially an all-dacron sail - is FOUR POUNDS lighter than my 9.3 Point7 AC1. Some of that is extra battens and cams but a lot of it is the extremely light material. It's also extremely strong compared with monofilm. My 7.5 7-batten Speedfreak is a pound and a half lighter than a 7.5 Ezzy Zephyr and much more fun to use. I've foiled on both, which I could never do with that Point7.

They're harder to tune than other sails, because it's harder to visualize the twist when on the beach, but it's pretty easy to see on the water. Not everyone likes the spongy feel they offer, but I kinda do.

Thinking about adding some full race sails for speed sailing. When do you go with the AC1 over the speedfreak?

thedoor said..

Awalkspoiled said..
Duzzi - crazily enough the Dacron isn't heavy. Jeff isn't using the tarpaulin material early Windsurfer sails were made out of, but something lighter and less stretchy. My 10.0 Speedfreak - essentially an all-dacron sail - is FOUR POUNDS lighter than my 9.3 Point7 AC1. Some of that is extra battens and cams but a lot of it is the extremely light material. It's also extremely strong compared with monofilm. My 7.5 7-batten Speedfreak is a pound and a half lighter than a 7.5 Ezzy Zephyr and much more fun to use. I've foiled on both, which I could never do with that Point7.

They're harder to tune than other sails, because it's harder to visualize the twist when on the beach, but it's pretty easy to see on the water. Not everyone likes the spongy feel they offer, but I kinda do.

Thinking about adding some full race sails for speed sailing. When do you go with the AC1 over the speedfreak?

The Point7 was a mistake, at least for me (and I'm selling it, at a loss, this weekend, I hope) although I bought it used and at barely 1/4 of full retail. It is insanely fast, as Duzzi points out, points incredibly high and will handle an unbelievable amount of wind. However, it's just brutal to rig, even using all the tricks. It requires a big pop coming out of jibes to get it to rotate and when underpowered I'm really aware of the extra weight, likewise if I'm anything but utterly committed when jibing and tacking - all this on the correct 100% Point7 mast. That's when I'm holding it up - when it's holding me up, fully powered, that's less of an issue. I'm sure I'd love the ACZ.

I've replaced it with a Sailworks NX 8.6 which is better mannered, handles just as much wind, can be foiled if need be and for someone at my level is just as fast. If I'm really overpowered I can usually just put a smaller fin on and downhaul to the limit and be fine. I don't believe I lose any low end at all versus the 9.3 AC1, because the NX is easy to pump. I'll use the NX when I know I'll be planing, so 14-20kt wind (9-14kt if I'm foiling). I use the 10.0 SF when I know it'll be up and down - 8-18kt. It's not fun when it gets up past that but the stretchy feel makes even very strong gusts manageable. It's not as fast as the NX but it's really not slow either - I have 28mph off the wind in flatwater on a Kona Carbone on that sail, which is a little nuts. Doesn't point nearly as high as the racier sails of course.