Goya Fringe 5.3-First look

The Goya Fringe 5.3

Well....I got my new 5.3 Fringe (3 batten) in the mail today but sadly I was not able to get it wet due to the weather and conditions not playing the game, That said it still had to be rigged up to see what all the hype is about. Firstly I have no idea what to expect from a 3 batten sail??? I'm currently running 4 batten sails (Goya Banzai) at the moment and find them awesome, Great wind range and stability and light in the hands. I'm a sucker for new toys so I had to get one to try, With a RRP of $980 I placed my order and waited to see what it was all about....It'll be interesting to see how a 3 batten sail holds up with a heavy weight sailor.




Here's the hype...

The Fringe...Super lightweight sail for easy handling through radical manoeuvres. Excellent low end power and flexible "up" lift gets you moving keeps you loose and incredibly reactive on the water. Large mono film window for easy visibility through the sail. New carbon stretch control layout for excellent stability through a big wind range. The Fringe is a very progressive wave sail targeting riders looking for great low end, great range and effortless handling in the most radical carving conditions. Lightness of the Fringe creates a very efficient and quick low-end power, and the lightness also makes the sail easy to handle in very powered up conditions. The Fringe works best on a higher volume board. This helps take advantage of the excellent low end power and also allows you to use a smaller sail size overall to maximise manoeuvrability.

Well how is that going to go for me? It actually sounds perfect, I live in Gerroa which is pure DTL and I ride larger quads and I love low end power and hate changing sails....Sweet.


(There are 2 sets of these mini battens between the other 2 main battens)

Obviously weight is the big talking point for sails at the moment, The 5.3 fringe comes in at 3.2 kg (the Banzai 5.3 is 3.5 kg) but is lightness everything??? This is what the sail designer Jason Diffin had to say about weight reduction (found this on the web somewhere)....

"Light is good, no question, but a balance between weight, durability (both short and long term), performance and hand feel all contribute to the static weight of the sails.
My working method is to make the sails as light as possible while maintaing the level of durability that I believe is required.
An under built sail might feel great when new, but as the sail gets used and the prevailing loads and shock loads take their toll, the hand feel of the sail will change, usually for the worst. My goal is for the sails to have a certain feeling when new, and for the sail to keep that feeling for a very long time- years in fact if the sail is reasonably taken care of. When people think of durability they think of puncture and panel tear, but that is only part of the story. Foil integrity, to me, is a critical part of the durability package, and to achieve it, load points need to be engineered to withstand the impacts, the long term tensions and also function to disperse attachment point loads in to the body of the sail without damaging the sail. Panel distortion under load also needs to be managed in order to ensure range in the sails. Achieving this requires materials. Considering, trying and testing these assignments of materials is a big part of the fun of designing new sails for me. I'm so stoked with how much weight we've lost in the last few years..., and I think there is more (less! ha) to come."


(The sails has a recommend downhaul marker)


Some facts....

The fringe 5.3 rigs on a 400 RDM with 27cm extension, The 5.3 Banzai rigs on a 430 RDM.
Both sails have a boom length of 127cm, And as I said it weighs in at 3.2 Kg Vs the Banzai at 3.5 Kg.
The fringe only has one clew eyelet unlike the the Banzai that gives you two options.
The build quality looks extremely good and the sail has nice padding around the base and reinforcement in all the areas where sails start to wear.
It comes in sizes from 3.0 to 5.3 (The 4.7, 5.0 & 5.3 all rig on a 400 RDM)



(The heavily reinforced clew)






(The head of the Fringe has a slightly lower aspect then the Banzai)



(The carbon stretch control system give the sail added stability)


Any way, Just a first look for those that are interested, I'll do a review as soon as I'm able to get it out in some waves.

....I do like what I see though

Hi jason
would you mind doing some photos of the two 5.3 sails overlayed?
unrigged is fine.
cheers
matt

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Dezza said..
That boom is still looking pretty good, how's the wear and tear?

The boom is still going strong, No signs of wear on the grip at all. It gets used on nearly max extension most of the time on my 5.7, I thought this may have been an issue but not so......I'll be getting another to replace my backup X9 before summer.

Thanks Jase great overview and we cant wait for some on water feedback !

In terms of weights the 4.2 comes in at 2.83 kg and the 4.7 at 2.97kg super light but strong and durable at the same time as per Jason Diffin's feedback to us about the trade off of weight v's longevity and ongoing performance posted in Jase Hales message above ... Note also Levi Siver won in Peru last week on the fringe and as he stated it was his first time sailing Port tack for some time !! And he nailed it!!







and here's another photos of the sail rigged in the Bern Roediger team colours ...

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Core Boardsports said..
and the 4.7 at 2.97kg super light but strong and durable at the same time

I don't agree wit this statement. 2.97kg is not exactly light for a 3 batten 4.7 sail. My 4.7 Neil Pryde Combat HD and the Atlas prior to that have always been just below 3kg. I'd venture to say when it comes to durability a Combat HD is about as bullet proof as it gets.

I have no doubt that they are decent sails but I don't think the weight is anything to write home about.

Our newly minted Team Rider Jason Hale sent me this yesterday so thought I would share on this post ... I think those that know Jase would agree that he tells it like it is and would not over hype gear nor show bias in any way. So without any further ado here it is verbatim....

That fringe is absolutely outstanding, Wasn't the best wind conditions but I could get the 5.3 with the 110 cube plaining quite easily. We had some good waves up to shoulder high, With the light wind on the inside the 5.3 fringe generated slightly more pull then my 5.8 banzai (I was running them back to back) which made getting on the waves much easier with the fringe. While the fringe had more low down power once you were up and going it was like the sail disappeared, It was almost like I had no with but I was hooting along. I'd class it as a power wave sail, giving you heaps of acceleration down the line but with the ability to dump the power in the turns without even thinking about it. The cube 110 is something else, it's almost too easy to ride. Even though this boards feels looser then any other board I own it still remains in total control. The lightest push with the back foot is all it takes to snap the tail out but it's just as easy to get back and setup for the next hack. This will be my goto combination for Gerroa, The perfect DTL setup. Didn't get a chance to get pics today, I got caught up in the moment and forgot all about it. Looks like we'll have wind for the weekend so I'll get the camera out then. Cheers.

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stehsegler said..

Core Boardsports said..
and the 4.7 at 2.97kg super light but strong and durable at the same time

I don't agree wit this statement. 2.97kg is not exactly light for a 3 batten 4.7 sail. My 4.7 Neil Pryde Combat HD and the Atlas prior to that have always been just below 3kg. I'd venture to say when it comes to durability a Combat HD is about as bullet proof as it gets.

I have no doubt that they are decent sails but I don't think the weight is anything to write home about.

Was the scale calibrated at -1kg or 'pryde kg's'? Because I don't believe it >_>

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DunkO said..
A n.p sail gets on the scales and the scale display shows "one at a time please"

Light is right isnt exactly a Pryde slogan anymore.

To compare, my Hotsails Firelight 5.3 (5 batten) is standard 2.85kg and with a set of aftersales batten set 2.6 kg.
More comparable to the Fringe, my KS3, a pretty strong build sail 5.2 is 3,05 kg, my 4.6 2.9kg
I haven,t seen the Fringe IRL, but i,m really interested how it sails compared to my 3 batten. Its funny to see how all the brands give a different feel on the 3 batten.

I saw a Fringe 5.0 at the beach today. Beautiful looking sail, looks very solidly built with no compromises.

Philn, I've had the 110 Quatro Cube for around 3 months but haven't had a chance to do much wave sailing with it. I picked it up at the start of our winter season where I switch my efforts to flat water sailing, I did take it for a few bump and jump sessions but this week was the first chance I had to play in some good X-Off wave conditions. First impressions are nothing short of being amazed, I've got a lot of great boards but this one for 110L is just something else. Like I mentioned in my feedback to Core, The board is super loose and surfy but feels in total control at all times. The board has nice volume distribution and I find I can slog out in really light wind, The volume making it easy to pop over the white water and pull off light wind tacks and gybes with ease. The board seems to have a rather flat rocker, it give you a feeling of gliding along even while slogging and it's this additional sub-planning speed that gets you onto the waves with little wind. The rider position on the board feels a little further back then I'm use to but I feel this really helps with the turn, Bottom turns being fully engaged and of the top being very snappy. The only thing I can say negative about the board (and it's not a real issue) is the foot straps, a They are a little harder then I'm use too. I've always run Dakine straps which are super comfortable but I'm quickly getting use to the MFC ones, But they do give you a nice locked in feel with the board so it not that bad....Just need to harden up a bit

But anyways a fantastic board for the heavier rider or a light wind machine for the rest of you, Try one.

Cheers.

Are you guys riding the purple 2014 110 cube or the white 2015?

I'll take you up on the test sail Jase are you going to be out in gerroa on Sunday? I think reg and I will be going down there anyway. It sounds like the power delivery is similar to the older sails that I'm used to.

Since each of guys have quatro 110 are you aware of differences between that and say the Goya 118. I suspect the difference will depend on rider weight but essentially my reading of the boards are that they are similar but the quatro may plane earlier due to its rocker and will be easier to turn since it is narrower and perhaps will also handle higher winds better than the goya.. any comments would be appreciated.

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aribenasher said..
Since each of guys have quatro 110 are you aware of differences between that and say the Goya 118. I suspect the difference will depend on rider weight but essentially my reading of the boards are that they are similar but the quatro may plane earlier due to its rocker and will be easier to turn since it is narrower and perhaps will also handle higher winds better than the goya.. any comments would be appreciated.

I have both. I bought the Goya 118 L to replace my SUP for ultra light wind sailing. The Quattro 110 is almost as loose as the 2012 95 L Quad LS, and sails like a board much smaller than 110 L, except for when the wind dies and then the volume is there. The Goya 118 sails like a 118 L waveboard, which is to say that it is pretty good, but takes much more force and commitment for me to turn tightly. I'm now riding it as a twin fin to loosen it up and I only use the Goya when it is too light to waterstart. I think if the Goya was scaled down to 110 L the Quattro would still be a better board. But the Goya is a lot better light wind wave board than any SUP I tried to sail.

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philn said..

aribenasher said..
Since each of guys have quatro 110 are you aware of differences between that and say the Goya 118. I suspect the difference will depend on rider weight but essentially my reading of the boards are that they are similar but the quatro may plane earlier due to its rocker and will be easier to turn since it is narrower and perhaps will also handle higher winds better than the goya.. any comments would be appreciated.

I have both. I bought the Goya 118 L to replace my SUP for ultra light wind sailing. The Quattro 110 is almost as loose as the 2012 95 L Quad LS, and sails like a board much smaller than 110 L, except for when the wind dies and then the volume is there. The Goya 118 sails like a 118 L waveboard, which is to say that it is pretty good, but takes much more force and commitment for me to turn tightly. I'm now riding it as a twin fin to loosen it up and I only use the Goya when it is too light to waterstart. I think if the Goya was scaled down to 110 L the Quattro would still be a better board. But the Goya is a lot better light wind wave board than any SUP I tried to sail.

Philn, Thanks. I have secured a Quatro Cube 110 2014 model from SurfSail in Perth. I am glad I did so as it was a toss up between it and the Goya 118 but I think the 110 will also replace my old 95 litre Exocet single fin as well.I am hoping the Quatro will be a one board wave quiver and will use the Bic Presto for the light stuff and slalom. Cheers Richard