so I've read a lot about canopy tension being good but not a lot about why. Just switched from a deep forward draft wing to one with a tight forward canopy. Wanted to share my experience. This isnt a better vs worse scenario, each has advantages and I just want to spell out exactly what I think those are.
Bottom end - the draft forward wing had a lot better bottom end for the size. If you care about being on the absolutely smallest wing this is still a factor.
Top end - that pretensioned forward canopy made the wing much more agreeable when it got windy, much more top end, much more overall range.
Backwind - the tensioned wing didn't backwind at all, it was never pushing back on me, made some new maneuvers like flying off the leash and back handle doable. Huge improvement.
Luff - we have breaks where your flagged out on wave going upwind. The draft forward wing made dramatically more drag in this scenario. All that flappy flappy produces much more drag.
Longevity - I can already tell The tensioned
canopy is holding up better. All that flappy flappy on the tensioned canopy is destructive to the Dacron, breaking down the resin and the fibers of the sail.
Maneuverability - the looser canopy of the draft forward wing was more Maneuverable. That little
bit of flop and movement gives it a little bit of play, like in gybes it's slack and floppy for a second where the tight canopy switches straight from pulling you to pushing you back as you overtake it for a sec.
I have both the Duotone unit v 2-3 and the Ozone wasp V 2-3,
is the Duotone the tight canopy one ?
