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I am thinking of getting another sail which offers more control at stronger winds - ideally using the same C40 CC mast and same windsurfer lt boom.
Windsurfer sells a 4.7 storm sail in europe but not here in Australia. That is an option, but it retains the oldschool bermuda shape which probably has less gust control which is more important when the wind gets strong.
Does anyone know any smaller sails which rig fine on the C40-CC windsurfer mast and maybe even are a bit chubbier so tolerate the 180cm boom of the LT? I very much like the one design with having as little gear as possible and definetely dont want to carry multiple booms and fiddle around with mast extensions- though could maybe get a second mast.
The 4.5m is a trainer sail which I don't even think comes from the Windsurfer company. Just looking at the general shape I presume it performs rather poorly. I think before I get that I may a well get the official storm sail next time I am in europe.
I asked my friends. They ended up using the 5.7m sail only in stronger winds so the small sail only gets used by his daughter and wife.
as an aside, I've got a 4.5m too but not the one on the Australian Lt site. Effectively the same thing tho. My teenage son used it on his one design in stronger winds in open ocean a few years ago without any issues.
probably not the answer you are chasing. The windgenuity guys might be able to help. A lot cheaper than a trip to Europe.
i asked them before and they just said it behaves like a smaller version of the 5.7. They didnt say anything about the trainer sail - i presume as it is not affiliated with them.
Did they say why they dont like the small sail? Once it blows 25 knots the 5.7 is just too big. and for anything above 17-18 knots is probs too much but I am still learning.
I am from europe and go back usually twice as a year or so so thats not a problem (in fact I was a seabreeze member already before I lived in Australia)
there is no issue with the smaller sail. i'd agree it behaves like a smaller version. that shape has been used since the 80's to teach people and when the wind gets up. the schools i worked in in the 90's had heaps of them. they handle like any other longboard sail of the era.
the guys are typically sticking to the 5.7m because they are racing. that's the only reason really. to be competitive on the course means using the same kit as everyone else.
from memory the trainer sail isn't registered for one design use. but that only matters if at the top of the fleet or competing high level.
When my wife and I were running the Windsurfer class years ago, we got Barracuda sails to make 4.5s and 3.5s for kids. The 3.5 didn't work brilliantly because everything was designed to use the standard mast and boom, but the extra size of the 4.5 made it a brilliant sail. They were exactly like the 5.7s in panel and batten layout and a top lightweight like Jessica Crisp could use a 4.5 in strong winds and beat everyone. They were a low-stretch Dacron so you couldn't kill them with a bulldozer.
We bought a dozen or so for a club we were running and they made a huge difference in the ability of people to sail well and have fun in strong winds, compared to old pinheads or standard shortboard training sails, because they were light and powerful but had decent gust response.
The Trainer 4.5 that has been sold recently is far inferior in my humble opinion. It only has the full head batten so the leach shape is gutless and in general it lacks power and speed and I think is a bit twitchy as well. It is cheap and tough.
The European 4.7 Storm Sail that was demonstrated at the 2024 worlds is very similar to the Barracouta 4.5s, in that it's got the same panel layout and batten layout as the 5.7, but has a slightly longer luff than the Barracouta sail. It was getting very good reviews and looked very good. If it's like the Couta and like it appears, it will be lovely in a big breeze. I didn't realise it wasn't available here but for anything but very basic beginner work, I'd jump on the 4.7 Storm Sail one or ring up Neil Tasker from Barracouta and see if he still has the patterns for the 4.5s somewhere and can knock one up. I'm surprised the 4.7 isn't class legal yet.
I use a NP wave sail with P mast for my kids and when I'm teaching. Short boom & ply sail makes it very easy for the user and you can pick up these sail quite cheaply. Small sail & extra long boom won't give you high wind control.
