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Forums > Windsurfing General

whats the deal with luff length

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Created by wham70 > 9 months ago, 4 Sep 2010
wham70
NSW, 44 posts
4 Sep 2010 7:00PM
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Hi guys I have been using the same sails for 15 years and now I have a newer one the luff length is 454 where do you mesure from, the foot of the sail or somewhere else.any advice can be good advice let us know your thoughts .cheers Ian

nebbian
WA, 6277 posts
4 Sep 2010 5:24PM
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Luff length is normally set up as the distance from the tip of the mast to the bottom of the tack pulley.

So if your luff length is 454, then you'd use a 430 mast, and set your extension to 24 cm and downhaul till your pulleys are as close to touching as you can get.

Note that the luff length is a starting point only, normally you look at the sail, give it a shake, then figure out if you need more or less downhaul for the conditions.

Mark _australia
WA, 22858 posts
4 Sep 2010 6:18PM
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agreed --- but on most sails you can't get the pulleys closer than about 3-5cm and often the printed lengths are not quite right, and the numbers on the differnet brand extensions vary a bit. On my Chinook extension and another brand I use 4cm difference on the same sail/mast combo.

AND as a heavyweight I prefer a stiffer mast so I'd use a 460 / 25 with zero extension and have the pulleys about 4-5cm apart.

Forget the numbers and just rig it right. But you'll probably use a 430 with 26-28cm extension

Mobydisc
NSW, 9029 posts
4 Sep 2010 9:49PM
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Does the sail have an adjustable head or is it fixed? Also what size mast(s) do you have? From what you have posted you need a 430cm mast but if the sail has an adjustable head and you have a 460cm mast

wham70
NSW, 44 posts
4 Sep 2010 9:57PM
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i have both a 430 and a 460 mast with a 25 cm extension and yes the head is adjustible. cheers thanks for the input.

flipper4444
VIC, 1214 posts
5 Sep 2010 2:26AM
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another guitar player windsurfer join the club

Wet Willy
TAS, 2317 posts
5 Sep 2010 5:42AM
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Mark _australia said...

agreed --- but on most sails you can't get the pulleys closer than about 3-5cm


What? Time to build some muscles, boy!



mkseven
QLD, 2315 posts
5 Sep 2010 10:10AM
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what the others said but if set up with the correct mast & extension they are pretty close.

The length on some masts is a bit out & i know some extensions are a few cm out- designed for sails that have a 2cm tuning range!?

If you use a different mast you may not get anywhere near recommended particularly if its a very soft mast it will be around 3-4cm off.



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"whats the deal with luff length" started by wham70