cammed sails vs non cam

waterlife, I learned on a cammed 7.5 with 165 & 50cm fin (@110kgs though!) Cammed sails are designed for speed, and do it well although there are some high performance non-cammed sails now that hold their own.

The size of your board means that you can sail nearly any conditions with the kit you mentioned, you should even get the 5.2 going in not much over 15kts.

As for de-powering...why would you want to that for? There are ways, but difficult in strong winds. Cammed sails are best used in the best suited conditions.

so would be best off getting a smaller sail for winds above 25kts.. eg 4.5m?


0-15kts -7.4
15-25kts - 5.2?
25+ - 4-4.5m?

thanks, it's little tips like that which really help beginners :)
how much extra downhaul can you pull on without harming either mast or sail?
is it recommended to pull much more than maximum for overpowered conditions?

Camber induced sails are designed for more stable power and in some cases like yours a smaller camber sail may feel more powerful than a larger non-camber sail (i.e. RAF sail).


7.4m with your weight on a big board you should be able use it under 10knots as you have stated.
5.8m about 15-20knots with the rest of your kit
5.1m about 18-25knots, but the board will be handful at this wind strength


Like Oldie has stated most modern sails have loose leach that helps exhaust excess wind.



As beginner I would not recommend a camber induced sail. It will hamper your progression. I also would not recommend removing the cambers as the sail was designed for cambers and may not perform well at all.


At least a cm or two more than the recommended settings should be ok.


Most modern sails work at one setting, which is about the recommended setting. In practice as most of us don't have the time to go and test our rigs we tend to play with our settings only when we are over or under powered and could not be bothered to rig another sail. In the end we do sometimes add a bit more down haul (e.g. 1cm). Most modern sails are more controlled by out haul now. You out haul can have a 5cm or more adjustment range.


As side note when spring returns Windsurfing Victoria will be having a number clinics, which will include rigging tips. Plus our local stores are always there to help guide you.

The sail has 7 cams, with the bottom few being roller cams and the rest "mini cams"
I might just have to suck it up and get heavier/stronger to enjoy the ride

Thanks, I didn't even think about the board which could be a major problem in feeling overpowered.. I have a smaller board, but am trying to sell it to clear out the garage. If I changed down fins to a 30cm or alike in those conditions, would that be easier/similar to my smaller volume board (100L with a 28cm fin)

Currently i've got a 46cm fin and the board is 305cmx64cm so i thought it may be ok (not a fat board) and thinking back, I found it a bit hard to control where I wanted to go (it seemed to always want to point towards an object where i didn't want to end up on.. eg piers, boats etc)

If not i guess i best pull my board off the market before somebody tries to buy it

It's a NP Vx Ltd 5.2. bought from sydney second hand and couriered down to melb.

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Windsurfing/Sails/~b4qr3/Neil-Pryde-Rs1-72-And-Vx-Ltd-52.aspx?search=72r0Sn4YWQ3nLQT51TCz6w%3d%3d
(black sail)

I recently got this 165L cause no matter what wind there is i can always go out.
46cms fin for 7.4
30cms fin for 5.8 and 5.2 sounds ok.

Thanks for all your help and hopefully see you guys out there. would love to try out Green point on a nice and manageable day or Elwood in a southerly/northerly

All those cams!
Provided that they all rotate, might end up as your favorite sail.
Should be rigged on the stiffest 430 Fibrespar or suchlike?
Fast but maybe a bit unforgiving.
www.fibersparsports.com/msguide/96_97/neil_pryde_limited/vxltd52.html
Maybe not the latest NP flexitop thingo?