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ON SHORE WAVE 5.3
Mast: 430/21 Boom: 171
Battens: 5 Cams: NONE
Weight: 8/3.6kg Speed: 3.33 Power: 3.33 Stability: 3.33 Range: 3.67 Wtrstart: 3.67 Overall: 3.47 Price: $499
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SIMMER ON SHORE WAVE 5.3
Here’s the sail for the Starboard Starfish. It’s designed for 90 percent of the world’s waves—”onshore junk,” says Simmer, who was smart enough to stop short of naming the sail with such full description. It’s shape is full, to enhance upwind capability, an onshore need; and it has a lot of head, for more twist. The boom has grown and the luff has shortened in 2000, consistent with the direction of most sailmakers.
SCORE: (3 ratings)
Speed 3.33 Power 3.33 Stability 3.33 Handling 3.67 Waterstart 3.67 Overall 3.47
COMMENTS:
“A good all-around sail, but the leech seemed a little loose even with only moderate downhaul tension.”
FREEZONE 5.7
“A full-on freestyle sail,” says Simmer. Meaning: a
rearward draft for low end, and a foot cut like a wave sail for freestyle maneuvers, although that compromises low end. The leech is scalloped, to eliminate those mini-batten stabilizers. Some say that scallops are for fashion, that they only look cool, giving a sail that Batman presence; but Simmer says no, they have a function.
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FREEZONE 5.7
Mast: 430/21 Boom: 180
Battens: 5 Cams: NONE
Weight: 8.5/3.7kg Speed: 3.40 Power: 3.60 Stability: 2.80 Range: 3.80 Wtrstart: 4.60 Overall: 3.64 Price: $469
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SCORE: (5 ratings)
Speed 3.4 Power 3.6 Stability 2.8 Range 3.8 Waterstart 4.6 Overall 3.64
COMMENTS:
“It felt heavy and unstable, although correctly powered. I adjusted the outhaul and it still felt awkward.” So said a good sailor who was not careless with his criticism. He was one of the three testers who gave it a 2 in Stability.
STAFF: Nevin Sayre gave it a 2 in Stability, commenting that the sail was a disappointment. He found no use for the scallops, and said that the upper half of the sail was “unstable and overly floppy.”
Andy Gurtner gave it a 5 in Stability, but Andy is “biased.” So we turn to… Newfie. We’re tempted to say that if Newfie offers a discouraging word at all, it must be absolutely dreadful. But we won’t.
Says Newfie, “This sail did not overpower well, and felt unbalanced and heavy.” Allright, Newfie! So give us your numbers: 5, 5, 4, 4, 4-plus, and an extra 4-plus in a write-in category: Handling.
Go figure.
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