Max sail size for Hyper 105/125

[<Ben>]

Hi all
  Im looking at getting a hyper fo light wind slalom/crusing.Once it gets windy i will change to a mistral screamer 260 (6.5 and below) so i dont need a one board does it all thing.I am therefore looking for a big sail carrying board but not a formula yet.(i want to work my way into racing slowly/wait 4 a second hand 147). Will the 105/125 carry big sails ie up to 11m? U said you were going to test them with a 10.4 in your report but nothing has been said about it yet. Will they carry this sort of size and if not what size will it take comfortably? I weigh 80kg and so really want to get planning as early as possible on this sort of board and so is it worth getting the bigger sails or not?

Many thaks from sunny and at the moment windy england
Ben

P.S are there any other brands launching any similer models to the hypers and if so has anyone used them?

[ek9]

Hmmm... As you said

1) You weigh 80kg
2) You want to get planing as early as possible
3) You want to use sails up to 11.0m
4) You have a small board and a small sail to fall back on when the wind picks up

To me, the logical choice would be to get a board that supports your weight, supports your sail and gets you planing as early as possible, and that would be a formula.

What are the reasons why you don't want a formula? Maybe you can tell us more what are your reservations.

- if it's cos it's costly, there are used 155s or 156s that you should be able to get your hands on, or other boards from Fanatic, F2, AHD, Drops in the same class.
- no, you don't need to race to sail formula, I seldom race and I sail a 135.

But of course, there can be tons of personal reasons for not wanting to step on a 1m wide board, and I totally respect that. As long as you have give all alternatives due consideration..

And I've never sailed a Sonic, but I suspect the HS 125 should be able to handle a 10+ meter sail, but don't take my word for it, wait for others to reply.. Would love to try that board one day though..

Just my 2 cents...

[sukhdev]

quote:  Will the 105/125 carry big sails ie up to 11m? U said you were going to test them with a 10.4 in your report but nothing has been said about it yet. Will they carry this sort of size and if not what size will it take comfortably? I weigh 80kg and so really want to get planning as early as possible on this sort of board and so is it worth getting the bigger sails or not?  

the hyper can certainly take a 10.5 but you are far better of on a formula for this size sail. A realistic sail range for the hyper is 6.0 to 9.x. I've used a 9.6 reasonably comfortably on the hyper, 10.5 can work but needs skill and doesnt feel anywhere near as balanced as it would be on a formula. I'd say a grunty 9.0 or 9.3 would fit the bill for what you are looking for, bigger than 9.x and you are really in formula territory. You'd need about 10 knots or so to really get going on the hyper for your weight with a 9.x, maybe a tad less if you are skilled at light air sailing.

[<Ben>]

My main reasons for not going down the formula route are the fact that im not entirely sure racing is for me so i want to try my hand at slalom racing first. Is is a less costly as if i got a hyper i can always keep it as a recreational board should i not particurlarly like racing (Id Probably get one anyway) whereas a formula board takes up alot more room in my car and is not as enjoyable to sail i find.Also i can always bodge it and race in the freeride fleet on the hyper relatively successfully whereas slalom on the formula wud b a mare!Plus where i will do most of my sailing after work this summer is fairly shallow and not suited to 70cm fins!

Sukdev which would you recommend me to get the 125 or the 105? I have sailed the 105 with a very heavy 7m rig and uphauled on it fine. Is there a big difference in the sail carring of the 125 compared to the 105? Is the extra volume in the 125 worth the sacrifise in speed, feel and smoothness in chop over the 105? Also are there any other brands doing similar things in big slalom boards to the hyper?

Cheers
Ben

[sukhdev]

quote:  Sukdev which would you recommend me to get the 125 or the 105? I have sailed the 105 with a very heavy 7m rig and uphauled on it fine. Is there a big difference in the sail carring of the 125 compared to the 105? Is the extra volume in the 125 worth the sacrifise in speed, feel and smoothness in chop over the 105? Also are there any other brands doing similar things in big slalom boards to the hyper?  

Ben, you seem comfortable with your balance so I'd say 105. The extra volume in the 125 is more for slogging & margin of error in transitions; the effect on sail carrying capacity is not significant in my opinion.

Right now the hyper is the only board that fits the new slalom class rules (9 knots to 35, 1 board, 3 sails) but I'm sure by next season you will see similar stuff from everyone else and more (r)evolutions from Starboard itself.

[<Jean-Marc>]

Ben,

I have a NP RX2 10.6 sail and a Select Team Zero 54 cm fin on my HS105 to get planning as of 7/8 knots. For 8/9 knots, the stock 44 cm fin is plenty big enough. I'm 183 cm x 65 kg. I never ever have seen an advantage to use a  formula with such a sail. My previous board was a 309 x 70 cm x 170 L with same sail, fin and planning threshold.

Cheers !

JM

[<Jean-Marc>]

Sukhdev,

What would be the ideal 3 racing sail quiver with HS from 9 to 35 knots of wind (9.8 is max size allowed)?
a) 5.0, 6.5 and 9.8 ?
b) 5.5, 7.0, 9.8 ?
c) 6.0, 7.5, 9.8 ?
or any other mix ?

Cheers !

JM

[sukhdev]

Hi Jean-Marc,

Tough question. Ok to really cover 9 to 35 knots is pretty challenging but what I would do is pick the max and minimum first;this would mean 9.8 for low end and probably 6.3 for the top end, or even 5.9 - both would be a handful in 35. Mid size would have to be 7.6 (assuming all are nitro IVs) as this sail seems to have a really good range.

For our conditions for 3 sail slalom I'd go 9.8, 8.5, 7.0. My current "slalom" quiver is leaning towards 9.3, 7.6, 6.6 but that might change by the time racing season comes towards the end of the year.

Its not an easy choice, alot would depend on the overall conditions, ie which sail is most likely to be used most of the time and then just tough it out in the top and bottom extremes.

then there is fin matching to be done but thats another (long) story    

[<Bloggs>]

Sukhdev what fins would  you match to that spread of sails you mention? Also noticed on the starboard forum some controvesy regarding 1 foot off and fin size, what is your comments?

[sukhdev]

re fins depends on figure of 8 or downwind and water state as well.

9.8 - 44/42
8.5 - 44/42
7.6 - 38/36
6.6/6.3 - 32

At the moment the 32/36 are both gold wings (old well known fin to me) but I'm looking to try something with less rake and a more upright profile for the smaller fins.

Re 1 foot off = fin size, this is really just a rule of thumb to help size a fin. There can be variations based on fin type, sailor weight, point of sail etc. Still its remarkbly accurate as a starting point, but thats all it is, just a starting point.