Hi all,
so I tried the Fox 105 last Sunday, on flat water, but just after rigging it up, the wind dropped from around 16 to ~13kn. So I could get planing only in few gusts and only for few 100m. I used a Gator 6.5, and it felt very lively - too lively in fact for just flat water blasting.
Later I changed to my Lightwind gear, so I couldn't make an extensive testing of the Fox.
Anyway, I am thinking of buying a cam sail for the Fox for flat water blasting, with a much more locked-in feeling than the gator provides. And between my 6.5 and 8.0 gators, anyway a 7m2 sail is missing.
So in the Severne range, I consider either a Turbo 7.0 or a Overdrive 7.0.
I have a Turbo 9.2 as a lightwind sail and I love it with my JP Super Lightwind, but for the Fox I am also considering an Overdrive which I guess would be a bit faster. I never sailed an Overdrive, but about everybody says it is the greatest sail in the Severne range.
So any recommendations? Did anybody sail already a Turbo or Overdrive on a Fox or even compare them?
best regards
mariachi76
Hi all,
so yesterday I could finally test my new Fox 105 in good flat water conditions. Wind speed was 17kn with gusts to 20kn (measeured myself). I went out with my Gator 6.5 and standard 36cm fin. My weight is 78kg.
I had lots of fun, getting planing easily and got used to the small board size quickly. But somehow the gps speed was a bit disappoinging. Max speed I reached was 21,5 kn. With my Magic Ride 130 I go at least 2kn faster in such conditions and it really flies on the fin.
I had the feeling that somehow the Fox didn't really fly on the fin. Nose was rather pointing up, but lots of water contact in the rear of the board - it felt a bit sticky. The mast foot position was maybe 1 cm forward of the center position, medium downhaul and outhaul applied to the sail (upper cleavelet).
Below you can see a photo, maybe tells you more than my description. On that photo I guess I just made around 18kn of speed.
Any idea what I could improve in my setup (or position ) to make the board fly more on flat water?
Could the Gator be such a limit? Or is 21,5kn in 17kn wind on a 105L board anyway normal?
best regards
mariachi76
Your stance would be appropriate for sailing in 35 knots and high chop. For relatively flat water and 20 knots wind, you'd be faster in a "7" stance than a "power 6" stance. Your hands should be closer together, the front arm straighter, your body straight, and the front leg straight. Check the pictures and explanations at https://boards.co.uk/features/speed-and-control.html
Dear all,
thanks a lot for all your feedback. When I saw that photo (and some more) I immediately realized that it looks... different from other windsurfing photos.
I will read all your tips again before I go next time, and see if I can improve my stance and speed.
Best regards
mariachi76
Maybe the photo is deceiving but those do not look like 17-20 knots conditions, you do not have a trace of white caps anywhere. The asset is not great (as other have commented would be ok if you were grossly overpowered) but I am not sure that a better asset would gain that much speed. Under powered as you look in that photo I am not too surprised that the Fox was so slow. Assuming you have the same asset on the JP Ride the JP might be marginally faster just because it has more volume and you are still in a speed regimen where some extra float helps speed.
BTW: the Fox should excel in powered up and confused see conditions. It will still not be as fast as a dedicated slalom board, but somebody around here claimed to have clocked just a hair above 30 knots. I am not sure what the wind speed is when I do, but at 70kg when I hit my speed max (29-33 knots) I am vastly overpowered on 6.5.
Digressing, didn't someone go 40+ on the 95? So they have heaps of potential if you are prepared to push them.
Maybe try a seat harness instead of the waist harness, that will almost automatically get you into the 7 stance
Hi mariachi76,
I'm jealous your windsurfing where its warms and you are wearing boardshorts
My advice is to wear your current waist harness lower and pull the straps up tighter so it doesn't ride up then your harness hook should be about belly button height.
Good sailing!
Stick with the waist harness. Shift the mast foot back a couple of centimetres in the track to help the board ride off the fin.
Straighten your legs and bring your hands closer together.
Hi all,
so I went surfing again, around 18kn of wind, with my fox 105 and a new Severne Overdrive 7.0. I kept my legs as straight as possible, front leg completely stretched. Having hands closer together helped a lot to have my weight mostly in the harness and keep the hands more relaxed.
Still, I reached max. 22kn of Speed (40 km/h).
I think the main reason was that I went too much upwind - I didn't go 120-130 degrees downwind.
@dizzy, how do I keep the board more on the downwind rail? If I keep my legs straight, I automatically press on the upwind rail... so I don't really know how to put the board tilted to the downwind rail? Are maybe my harness lines too long?
best regards
mariachi76