What going on ? Less sails being made ?

From looking at the market it seems unless your company sells every single component of a rig it's an uphill battle. The big brands in terms of volume, Neil Pryde, North, Gun Sails, Severne (probably left out a couple ) all supply every single component. I've read an interview with Neil Pryde a while back were he basically said they got very close to pulling out of making windsurf sails for economic reasons.

In regards to Naish I'd say it's a market positioning thing. Their windsurf boards had a similar cull 3 or so years ago. Tushingham I think has always been a brand on the edge with little or no precense in certain markets.

Also don't forget the used gear market in most countries is now flooded with very good sails for a fraction of what they would cost new.

Im not sure the number sails in the range is a good measure of the status of the sport or a brand.

PS - Naish actually have a beginner sail too..that makes 5 sails in the range .

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Roy said..
Im not sure the number sails in the range is a good measure of the status of the sport or a brand.

PS - Naish actually have a beginner sail too..that makes 5 sails in the range .

nice one roy check out the seat harness you get a pair of pants to go with it .

I'm starting to question severne's use of soviet style graphics and all the talk of "revolution". Maybe part of a bigger plan........

Has the wool been pulled over everyone's eyes all this time, does a range of 4 sail types actually cover all sailing conditions and we just succumbed to the marketing and didn't know any better?

^^ that was my guess too. If you are not going to sponsor freestyle

soft wave
normal or power wave
no-cam freeride
full on race

that is a good range that covers what, 3/4 of windsurfing....?

If no race/ slalom, then add a freestyle/move and u have the wave and freestyle/ reccie market
I don't think it is wise for every manufacturer to cover everythign now...?

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stehsegler said..
From looking at the market it seems unless your company sells every single component of a rig it's an uphill battle. The big brands in terms of volume, Neil Pryde, North, Gun Sails, Severne (probably left out a couple ) all supply every single component. I've read an interview with Neil Pryde a while back were he basically said they got very close to pulling out of making windsurf sails for economic reasons.

In regards to Naish I'd say it's a market positioning thing. Their windsurf boards had a similar cull 3 or so years ago. Tushingham I think has always been a brand on the edge with little or no precense in certain markets.

Also don't forget the used gear market in most countries is now flooded with very good sails for a fraction of what they would cost new.

Are you talking about all sail components, or all windsurfing components?
Pretty much all sail companies sell all sail components, replacement pulleys, mast caps, webbing, cambers, etc, but they don't all sell booms, downhauls, unis, masts, or boards.
Many board companies only sell boards, and most are surviving pretty well doing that.
Some sail companies only sell sails and their components and are surviving pretty well, Ezzy being a good example, they do sell masts, but those are just No Limitz with Ezzy stickers on them.
If a company only sticks with what they do really well, their chances are good for survival, Like Ezzy, but over-diversification can over extend the companies economic health which can, but not always, lead to problems. That is what I feel Naish is dealing with, over-diversification, they just got into foilboard production also, does Robbie or Kai snowboard also? That could be a problem, the company seems to be driven by the sports that they do, lets hope that they don't take up flying/racing airplanes, that could be the company's death knell.

If Ezzy masts and Nolimitz is the same mast, then why are they advertised so different and priced different. I always thought Nolimitz was a stiffer mast and slightly stronger than Ezzy masts. Or is the Nolimitz another model of ezzy masts?

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Magic Ride said..
If Ezzy masts and Nolimitz is the same mast, then why are they advertised so different and priced different. I always thought Nolimitz was a stiffer mast and slightly stronger than Ezzy masts. Or is the Nolimitz another model of ezzy masts?

NoLimitz makes the Ezzy mast but I believe the ezzy is softer in the top compared to the NoLimitz

Bloody good mast too.
north masts are up there with the best of them .too.
both constant curve .

going back to naish sails ...I think 4 sails is enough to choose from ...
unless your a pro racer .or need a race sail..

Sails really aren't low cost to produce.

Look at sails today and sails of 20 years ago. Sails now are super high tech, shape wise and the cloth used.

Carbom rod battens and slicker batten end adjusters. A lot of the cost that goes back to producers goes into their team too.

Theres also a lot of R & D in new designs etc.

I do think that there are changes for change sake in the whole windsurfing market except Ezzy really.

Its a shame Naish dont do a wave board bigger than 92 litres now either, fatty's like me will never get planning.
Naish have obviously taken note of last years sales figures and are adjusting their range to the market.
Its a shame they dont make race sails any more but they also dont have anyone competing on the PWA race scene.
Race sails are a very costly thing to produce and the changes each year with cambers etc are actually huge.

I am also greatfull to the sail makers for using these high tech fabrics, our sails are lighter, more responsive and more balanced than ever before, just wish we had better winds in the winters on the NSW north coast....

Naish would be pretty aware of sales volume required to support a particular sail in line up, makes sense so they do stay around. Retailers must love the minimalist approach vs something like starboard where it would be silly to stock each model.

Unfortunately Naish have fallen victim to their philosophy, the whole make it easier for the rider/average sailor is correct but maybe misses the mark a little in a techno driven sport. Which is a pity because the bullet was a cracking sail & im not the only speedster to miss the stealth.

Six sails is heaps, given that JB says they are doing a cammed sail pretty sure that covers 99% of everything , not sure why anyone would go with a
10+ sail line, business wise, must be a nightmare to get stock levels/production/sales budget right.

think versatility is a better selling point than 'specifically' designed for...

Boards have got to be the biggest manufacturing night mare...so many models and sizes, even construction type! Naish with massive range of SUPS and also large range of kite boards..I'm sure some of the models would run at a loss if sales/production were assessed on profit per model basis.

Not advocating one design at all, but reducing choice and variety has got to be better for manufacturers and that should translate to savings for Retail customers as popular models are not subsidizing the manufacturer of low volume unprofitable models.

On the Naish sails though, I'm confused between the Noah and Sprint...I know what the marketing blurb says, but when you open up the 'specs graph page' it reads as the sprint is the performance no cam not the Noah...did they mix the tables up?

Tough business all up, I'm glad they all persevere with updates and improvements for our sake..Sail & Component wise I think we get pretty good value for money, boards , not so sure.

Is it just because sail manufacturers are not seeing any point in pushing out "new" sails by simply changing colours, tiny panel changes, or mugging around with battens? Surely they are still making sails, but not with those outlandish claims about 30% improvement in performance ?