After 14 years with Gaastra sails it is finally time for a change! My current sails are 2015 / 2016 models. I approached Ocean Surf Co was able to get hold of a variety of different demo sails to try. Ty had really good knowledge on what might work well for my sailing style. This is what I have learned so far. All tried at North Haven, all latest models.
All sails - lots of instructions on the actual sail to guide with rigging until you are used to them. All seemed better constructed in terms of materials and stitching than the old Gaastras. All had better wind range and tune-ability.
RRD Move 5.0 - certainly a lot better in wind range and handling gusts than my current sails. Very well suited to slalom / bump n jump sailing. A little too slalom orientated for me. Upper and lower clew eye to give even more range vs. control tuning. Seemed to work well.
Goya Guru 5.3 - heaps of power, about the same as my old 5.8 Gaastra Poison, but can be flattened out to cover down to about by 5m Poison, so heaps of wind range. Handles gusts much better than my current sails and lots of drive in close at the shorey at North Haven. I did have to shift my harness lines and change stance a lot, so clearly has the drive further back in the sail.
Goya Banzai 5.0 - a very special sail. Lots of wind range. Same power as 5.4 Poison when set for light winds. There was a strong day where I flattened it out and it behaved perfectly in 4.7 weather. I know this as I came in and swapped for my Poison 4.7 which was on the beach, and was just as powered up! Very stable for gusts.
I was getting bigger air with more control than current sails, especially if given a bit of a pump as leaving the chop. Also feels awesome through the gybe, so seems to suit our local on-shore plus waveriding. Upper and lower clew eye to give even more range vs. control tuning. I settled on the lower eye for control, but it was quite windy. I did not want to give it up!
Duotone Super Star 5.0 - its intended to be a bit of a freestyle sail and certainly is, in a good way! For local on shore, I loved this sail. Top end speed was down but control and height of short chop were awesome. Like the Banzai, can get more lift off the chop by giving it a bit of a pump as hitting the ramp. Heaps of control in the air, in moves and being the 'rcoket man'.
I found I needed to shift to a more upright stance to make the most of the sail, did not take long to adjust and helped with supporting what the sail is best at. Loops / areal moves are a dream with this sail. I would not recommend it for down the line but for onshore bump and jump, the best! I eventually got overpowered and went straight to my 4.5m Manic, and was instantly overpowered with that, so great wind range. Seemed to have similar wind range to the Banzai and handled gusts just as well.
Duotone Super Hero 5.0 - next to be tried, hopefully in the next week :-)
Thanks for investigation and write up.
Did you use the recommended mfg masts, or your own ? (if so, what are they ?). These are all CC sails ?. What boom height and lines did you use ?
Re Duotone Super Star 5.0, how come you don't recommend it for down the line ?
Joe is impressed by his Goyas. They sound like winner sails. I'm keen to try one of his.
I used the manufacturers masts.I used 28cm lines. Boom height for me is quite high, 3.5 in the sail markings?
The Super Star does not push down on the board compared to more focussed down the line wave sails.
Ok. Today was just light enough to use the 5m Duotone Superhero wave sail at North Haven. Easy to rig with good guides on the sail. It was actually solid 4.7m weather when I rigged. I thought I would not be out for long with it. Too windy. Solid construction with quality stitching. The Goya Banzai seemed a little more robust, but both are 'high end'.
The Super Hero was Easy to control when over powered. Ended up using it all afternoon! It was quite up and down but I always comfortably in control and felt correctly powered. It was 25 to 30 knots for the period with most on 4.7 or 4.2m. I weight 82 kg at the moment (thanks to a windy summer)! For on water wind range, the Super Hero is best of the bunch by a small margin over the Goya Banzai.
It felt easy to control through the gybe, just as fast as the other options, except the slower super star. Could also get that extra height by giving a little pump as leaving the ramp. Not as pronounced as the Super star, but there. The Super Star was slower but felt a little more agile on the water and in the air. Super Star was better to air off the second or third wave in a close set. The Super Hero has more drive through the board (as expected for a wave sail). I loved chucking carve gybes with the Super Hero.
I suspect the Goyas have a little more tuning range using downhaul and clew options. Goya same as Hero for boost when pumping off a wave.
If I was choosing a wave riding sail only, the Goya Banzai wins. But I'm looking for on-shore chop airs plus down line wave riding, doubling up on the common 4.7 to 5.3m range. So in order to keep one mast type, the Duotone wins.
Special thanks to Ocean Surf Co for the sails and advice. I've felt well supported through the process while not pressured into a specific option. I have had really good guidance on what to focus on.
Boom height set to 'large', rather than medium or small. The upper measurement.
