YES Formula HA

[<Andreas>]

Hi,

I have bought a new YES Formula HA sail in 10,0 sqm. Under your "local scene" I have seen, that "SIN 0"(this should be Meng) has this sail in 2003.
Can you tell me something about the sail? I will use it on a Fanatic Falcon 110.
On what boards did you use it?
Do you still sail it?
Is the mastfoot position special compared to a Nitro or RS sail?
What about harness lines position?
Do you think the sail is fast or not so fast(compared to Nitro, RS)?
What about the monofilm? Is it durable?
Which mast do you use?

Hang loose

Andreas
ISA #31

[Meng]

hi andreas,

refering to your questions,

i had used the sail (presumbly the white one) on the BIC 1.3 FW board. mostly used in stronger conditions when my 11m² is overpowered. haven't try it on shortboards. however, that sail u see in the picture was a prototype.

i have changed my sails to Gaastra Nitros since.

on mastfoot and harness line positions, i can't really comment about it. several factors affect it. u have to test and see which positions is the optimum. i alway set my harness line to be very short, closer to the rig for better control.

i had great fun with the 9m² YES sail. since i'm on the Nitros now, the Nitros definately have the edge. in FW racing, I would prefer the Nitros now.
it will be unfair to compare YES (older model) to current Nitros or RS4s. there's always a improvement over previous years' sails.
that YES sail is as good to the Nitro 2 or 3.

the quality of monoflims on the sail is comparable to other brands. regular maintenance will prolong the use of it.

on mast, to date, i'm still using my 100% carbon mast for my racing quiver ( Nirto5 9.8m²).
i got it in early 2002 and i'm still using it for racing and training.
1 of the best masts for FW. other choices will be the Gaastra ignition 100% carbon or Fiberspar.
it seems like the YES, ignition and fiberspar are from the same made.

hope u will find some light in my reply.
have a good time with the sail and a great new 2005

happy saling

[<Andreas>]

Hi Meng,

thanks for your fast reply.
So you would not say the YES is a "rubbish sail"?!?
Is the speed difference downwind big to the Nitros? Do you have some GPS dates?

I switched from the ART TNT 5 (Model 1998) to the RS 4(Model 2004) in 5,4 sqm and I must say, that there is not a very big difference in speed!!!!!!! O.k. I can use the RS 4 with a smaller fin (25 cm instead 27 cm), but the GPS speed was nearly the same: 73 km/h(about 39 knots)with both sails on Karpathos/ Greece. Perhaps you have heard of the "Devil's bay" at Pro Center Chris Schill.

Hang loose

Andreas
ISA #31

[sukhdev]

Andreas, i used that sail a fair bit as well so some comments follow:

- definitely not a rubbish sail. however feel is very different given its high aspect design. for course sails i prefer sails with a back hand pull, the YES however is more centred & front. The YES also feels more rigid than other race sails like the nitro or the sailworks NX; whether this is a good thing or not is entirely sailor feel dependent.
- high aspect design seems to work well with lighter sailors but thats just my 0.0002 cents.
- mast foot slightly further back than longer boomed 10.x that i used (Sailworks NX, Nitros).
- the cams can be a bit of a pain, there is huge pressure on them so in some instances we modified them by sanding/filing a little to allow for easier rotation.