I have a nice set of 2nd hand Severne Blade sails for my bump and jump windsurf sessions.
5.7 - 5.3 - 5.0 - 4.7 - 4.5 - 4.5 - 4.0 - 4.0 from 2021-2023, all in good normal used condition.
But to rigg it well every sail need 2 to 4 cm more downhaul and outhaul then specified.
I use the prescribed Severne red 430 en 400 rdm mast and a 370 blue rdm mast for the smalles sails and a Severne Enigma 140-190 boom and a Severne Cyclops RDM extention, all in good condition.
Before I used my other brands masts and booms, and recently I switched to the Severne Hardware to be sure the dimensions and rigg fitts the sails correct.
All sizes need this extra cm, then the sail still touches the boom al little bit when powered up, I think they rigged well with a nice loose leach like indicated on the Severne Rigg website instruction www.severnesails.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Severne-No-Cam-Rigging-Guide-Blade.pdf.
Is this extra length recognizable by other users?
greetings from Bart from the Netherlands
Yes, I have the same with most of my Blades on Blue Line and Gorilla masts when it comes to downhaul. Outhaul seems fine in my case.
Don't get too obsessed with the numbers, they are just a starting point.
Always found they need more than spec ,. Usually 2cm dowhaul and up to 4cm on some models for outhaul.
I am surprised by the extra amount of downhaul. In regards to outhaul it's basically measured in the middle of the mast cut out and the amount is then sort of an average. I generally have my boom at the top end of the cut out due to being 6'4. I then find at recommended downhaul I have to add 2cm-4cm to the printed measurement. If leave to the leech tight the boom length is about to what's printed on the sail.
That said the Blade has a pretty large range and responds well to different rigging. I would recommend you start with the downhaul. Tight leech for foiling and low end planing super loose leech if you sail crazy overpowered and somewhere in the middle for run of the mill sailing. Then run the boom at a length somewhere between it being super flat and it not folding over the boom arm. Play around a bit and you should find the sweet spot.
The downhaul has always been very accurate in the Blades that I have. I sometimes use a little less in really light winds but never more. To put 2-4cm more on the downhaul is really a lot, and is sounds really odd, to me.
The outhaul is different though as it also depends on the boom height. I often use 2-3cm less than recommended, but I've never used more than the recommended (from what I can remember).
I have 2020-21 and use correct downhaul (pulleys touching on SV ext and masts) and maybeee 1cm more but always 2cm more outhaul
I can't generally have the pulleys touching, either requires more strength than I have or the ropes look a bit too stressed that way with SV extension.
I leave a thumb (say ~1 cm) slack and run the extension 2cm longer. So effectively it's only 1 cm more.
I never use less as the sails don't work well when they are flat imo but for pure DTL wave riding it might be ok. Would use S1 in that case though.
It's also good to keep in mind that no sail is identical, and sometimes the measurements are off due to manufacturing error margins. Also, masts soften over time and sailcloth stretches.
On my blades generally i find the downhall pretty accurate but at 6' 4" i have the boom right at the top of the cutout so need to add at least 2 cm to the recc outhaul, sometimes more.
On my side last gens S1 wear out pretty quick(21/22/23). Seems to me that the fabric elongates over time. After few full power session and bigger wipe outs the tension gets different and I need to use more outhaul and downhaul. I don't care too much about the numbers but brand new they are mostly correct and after 1 year not. I like the feeling of the new ones but this gets lost over time and especially I feel that difference on the lower end. After more than a decade on this specific sails (S1) I think about trying something new. Maybe Goya Banzai Surf for next season.
For downhaul it seems a bit much. Depends on extension, mast halves, mast tip and sail tip/cap. Regardless you usually rig with 2cm of downhaul play right?
i have used blades for many years and i always just rig to the numbers on the sail, if i am overpowered i go an extra CM on the outhaul.
Over downhauling them moves the draft back to much.
Don't look at the leech just rig to the numbers.
Use S1,s now down haul to spec boom set 2cm more ,like to be able to add a touch more on the water if needed.It was only one of my blades that needed so much outhaul for some reason a 4.5 2020 ,never could set boom at 158 from new .Way to full for my liking.
Select to expand quoteP.C_simpson said..
Don't look at the leech just rig to the numbers.
Sorry but that doesn't make sense. The numbers are a guide and you have to check visually how the sail looks. No sail is identical or made perfectly to the specs. There are small and sometimes larger deviations so the measurements are not set in stone.
Agree, watch the leach when downhauling plus where the batten above the boom is in relation to the mast. #s are for reference once you figure out your sail, how it's designed to work and feel Vs your likings.
Ive got the 23-24' pros and from size to size, I find they each perform at their best with different visual characteristics. They have a pretty broad range and are lasting well so having some visual ques is really important as they stretch/change over time.
Select to expand quoteP.C_simpson said..
i have used blades for many years and i always just rig to the numbers on the sail, if i am overpowered i go an extra CM on the outhaul.
Over downhauling them moves the draft back to much.
Don't look at the leech just rig to the numbers.
This has been my experience with the S1 pro too. I rig to the numbers. Some years the leach is loose and more recent years the leach is tighter. Using the numbers on the sail lets me get it right as designed without needing to know if the sail has static twist or dynamic twist. Only thing I check is batten position on the mast.
Outhaul to suit with +/- for boom height
sure after a few sessions you get to know how far you can push the sail outside the settings to tune things further with 1/2cm here and there but that doesn't change the numbers working.
only time I mess with the numbers written on the sail is if I get rotation issues which seems was limited to the older models like pre 2019 that needed lots of downhaul.
ive also got a quiver of simmer sails and use the same approach. Rig to the numbers. Never had any issues.
Select to expand quotebarthbb said..
I have a nice set of 2nd hand Severne Blade sails for my bump and jump windsurf sessions.
5.7 - 5.3 - 5.0 - 4.7 - 4.5 - 4.5 - 4.0 - 4.0 from 2021-2023, all in good normal used condition.
But to rigg it well every sail need 2 to 4 cm more downhaul and outhaul then specified.
I use the prescribed Severne red 430 en 400 rdm mast and a 370 blue rdm mast for the smalles sails and a Severne Enigma 140-190 boom and a Severne Cyclops RDM extention, all in good condition.
Before I used my other brands masts and booms, and recently I switched to the Severne Hardware to be sure the dimensions and rigg fitts the sails correct.
All sizes need this extra cm, then the sail still touches the boom al little bit when powered up, I think they rigged well with a nice loose leach like indicated on the Severne Rigg website instruction www.severnesails.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Severne-No-Cam-Rigging-Guide-Blade.pdf.
Is this extra length recognizable by other users?
greetings from Bart from the Netherlands
Your sail looks over downhauled to me for general wind. That would be the overpowered setting. Plus, might be worth checking batten tension on bottom 2 battens. There are creases there.
It depends on personal preferences. You can tell me that it's designed to work like that, but for me it doesn't. If I rig a Blade with such a tight leach, I 100% wouldn't enjoy my sail. Now that might be because of many reasons, but for me the Blades work exceptionally well with more downhaul. Maybe I'm rigging one size larger than needed, not sure, but I like to be powered up.
I like to be powered up too which for me means less downhaul and outhaul. However I get what you are saying if you prefer to use the sail at the top of its wind range fully lit then you would add an extra cm downhaul. I notice you also set outhaul to spec. The op is using 2-4cm extra for downhaul and outhaul and I guess wondering if that's right by his post. Well, that's not right. His sail looks like a slalom sail in the photo. I would strongly encourage him to rig to spec, check batten tension and go for a sail
Teaching my son how to rig his S1 sails ive had to explain that more or less means .5cm increments. With less experienced windsurfers that scale gets lost.
Select to expand quoteGestalt said..
Blade correctly rigged.
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Not enough tension on the bottom batten. Downhaul looks good.
Select to expand quoteHanstholm said..Gestalt said..
Blade correctly rigged.
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Not enough tension on the bottom batten. Downhaul looks good.
good pickup re batten tension
Lots of great tips on here.
At 150lbs/68kg, bigger sails (4.7+) stronger downhaul, more direct lower power, easier transition slogging, good speed (slippery foil).
Smaller sails (4.2-) baggier, transitions and maneuverability are inherently faster. Power a touch higher, more lift early, less top end speed.
good tips.
i was talking about this with a guy at my local recently. Not over outhauling smaller sails.
Select to expand quoteptsf1111 said..P.C_simpson said..
Don't look at the leech just rig to the numbers.
Sorry but that doesn't make sense. The numbers are a guide and you have to check visually how the sail looks. No sail is identical or made perfectly to the specs. There are small and sometimes larger deviations so the measurements are not set in stone.
Blades are the "power" wave sail in the range, they are ment to have more grunt, with the power toward the front of the sail, the leech on them isn't ment to be floppy all the way down, floppy leech also kills some of the up wind ability of a sail.
As i mentioned, over down hauling them moves the draft further back and makes the sail less controllable in top of the range.
rigging sails by looking at the leech was a thing years ago but sails have changed, not every sail will
look the same when rigged properly, if anything look at the battery above the boom and also the next one up.
Regarding the cartoon image that shows the rigging of the sail, I'm pretty sure that it hasn't been changed during the last 15-20 years, while the sails certainly have. So it doesn't mean much anymore.
Agree on the batten. I use that as a ref in addition to the look of the leech. I have the batten above the boom sitting at 1/3th of the inside of the mast before applying outhaul.
While there might be an "optimum" tuning as intended by the sail designer, I still think that it's a personal preference and some might prefer different setups so don't think there's a right or wrong here (unless clearly well over or under downhauled, or the wrong mast etc). If the sail works for me, even though some might believe the leech is too floppy, ultimately I don't care too much. I've played around with the settings enough to know what works for me and what doesn't.
I feel like we should do a interview series at Coros to see how all the Blades have been rigged lol.
www.severnesails.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Severne-No-Cam-Rigging-Guide-Blade.pdf
Looks like some visual tuning to me.Still on current 2026 info.Minimum setting should have some loose material between top 2 battens..simple.
Select to expand quoteRango said..
www.severnesails.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Severne-No-Cam-Rigging-Guide-Blade.pdf
Looks like some visual tuning to me.Still on current 2026 info.Minimum setting should have some loose material between top 2 battens..simple.
No one is saying it shouldn't have loose material.
the manual also says rig to the numbers written on the sail.
Select to expand quoteRango said..
www.severnesails.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Severne-No-Cam-Rigging-Guide-Blade.pdf
Looks like some visual tuning to me.Still on current 2026 info.Minimum setting should have some loose material between top 2 battens..simple.
You also have exactly the same file and images for the Blade, S1, Gator, Convert and NCX sails.
Select to expand quoteptsf1111 said..
Agree on the batten. I use that as a ref in addition to the look of the leech. I have the batten above the boom sitting at 1/3th of the inside of the mast before applying outhaul.
While there might be an "optimum" tuning as intended by the sail designer, I still think that it's a personal preference and some might prefer different setups so don't think there's a right or wrong here (unless clearly well over or under downhauled, or the wrong mast etc). If the sail works for me, even though some might believe the leech is too floppy, ultimately I don't care too much. I've played around with the settings enough to know what works for me and what doesn't.
I feel like we should do a interview series at Coros to see how all the Blades have been rigged lol.
I was thinking something similar too. What about a rate my rigging thread? post a photo and let everyone provide helpful comments.
