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WINDWING
Bill Hansen, Windwing's owner and designer, presents a fairly vivid, if not exactly technical, soundbite sketch of his sails, when he says he makes them for himself. His self-portrait: middle-aged guy of average athletic ability; wants to make sailing easy on himself; stays out for three or four or five or six hours at a time.
We resist the urge to exclaim, "That's AVERAGE??!!" But we will suggest that such endurance is pretty hairy-chested for a former nerd. Hansen was a research physicist before he gave it up for windsurfing, his true love. He founded Windwing in 1982, at the time in Berkeley, now located in the heart of downtown Hood River.
Not surprisingly, Windwings are known for their durability. It's been that way since he began building them, and remains so. He says that approach comes from his Yankee conservatism, although his Yankeeism is actually rooted on an Iowa farm. There was a time when Windwing was the durability king by default, but now other sailmakers build sturdy sails. So Windwing has not been resting on its laurels. Innovation is a big part of today's picture. "Windwing is certainly not lacking in the technical area," he says. "I have very a tight background in physics and math."
That innovation is chiefly in his convertible sails, which have removable cams, and his own tip design, which he calls Decoupled Truncated Tip, or D2T.
Which brings us back to the Great Cams vs. Camless Debate. Hansen would rather not get into it. His convertibles are perched neatly on the fence, so he doesn't need to.
Ha. Or so he thinks. The whole issue of whether one shape will work both with cams and without them is a debate. But the crux of the issue may be the definition of "work." What's the standard you're after? Do you mean work well enough, or work really really well? (And next, define "enough.") As in most debates, it actually may be over semantics. Often, after the semantics are dealt with, the debate is defused.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way…
Says Hansen, "There's no doubt that sails are more stable and powerful with cams." Little argument there, even from Bruce Peterson of Sailworks, the so-called Camless Crusader. But more stable for whom, under what conditions, at what price in lost performance in other areas? Again, the argument must be defined, and it gets subjective and relative.
Hansen doesn’t believe the complications of cams are as problematic to the recreational sailor as Peterson does, but he does recognize that cammed sails are more difficult to handle than no-cams in some situations—jibing and waterstarting, in particular. He also thinks a sailor shouldn’t have to buy two sails to get both worlds (but again, will it really be the best of both?). But the real reason Hansen made his Windwings convertible—beginning more than 10 years ago—was simply because he can. The types of cambers he was already using in his sails lent themselves to relative easy removal and insertion in the sleeve when the sail is unrigged.
"Mechanically, we were able to do that, so why not offer the option?" he said. "If we’d had to design a whole new camber system, we’d probably have two sails, like everybody else."
"The goal of every good sail designer is to put himself out of business," he continued. "The perfect sail would work in no wind and in a hurricane. That’s all I’m trying to work toward with convertibles."
His Decoupled Truncated Tip moves him farther in that direction. The Loft has Sensitip, Neil Pryde has Shear Tip, and Windwing has D2T. The general object is the same: to enable the use of a larger head whose tip is higher than the mast, gaining both the aerodynamic advantages of a longer trailing edge in the sail and the mechanical advantages of a shorter mast. Hansen's design is an internal headcap suspension system which "decouples" or separates the downhaul tension from the very top of the mast sleeve, and thus the head. But it doesn't mean uncontrolled flop at the leech, because the sail is also squared off at the tip, and a batten rises to the corner. But possibly the most radical thing about the truncated tip is that all his 2000 sails have it, including the wave sails.
We asked him if he invented the truncated tip. He wasn’t sure, and he didn’t care. What’s the definition of invent? At what level of evolution is it considered an idea?
"There aren’t any new ideas," he replied. "The human race is so diverse, somebody somewhere has always thought of something before you. So who did it first doesn’t really matter. If it’s a good idea, it will prevail."
Speaking of good ideas…
We were talking to Hansen while in lawn chairs on the edge of the storm-carved bluff over the sandy launch at our Maui test site, with the lapping waves singing backup for his ideas. It was nearly 2:00, the wind had picked up, and sailors were streaming out onto the water. Hansen gazed seaward, and a look of rapture rolled over his face like the waves rolling over the reef.
"To me, what we do is so cool and so unique, there will always be some sort of windsurfing," he said. "Cave men used to look at the water and dream about gliding over it. It’s even a biblical thing: walking on water.
"Every time I get on that board, I’m like a little kid. Cares go away, business worries go away. Even though I’m a sail designer, that’s not what I’m thinking about out there. To me, sailing is simply neat.’’
CATALYST WAVE 4.0, 4.2, 4.7
The Catalyst Wave is a new design for 2000, with a higher aspect ratio thanks to the D2T and a foot that's cut higher for today's more radical maneuvers, including "extended flight." Windwing's R&D sailor, Tony Barbieri, a.k.a. "Sargeant Loop," had a lot to do with that. Bomb-proof construction (It's intended to be the strongest sail ever made," says Hansen) includes a full X-ply body; glued, double-stitched and laminated seams; load-bearing foot and window straps; and a PVC window. The stainless 6:1 downhaul pulley, a rare feature on wave sails, is one example of Windwing's uncompromising use of the best materials. The pulleys also make rigging much easier for women.
CATALYST WAVE 4.0
Hansen pulled this sail out of his truck when the wind demanded it, mostly so Jackie Butzen could keep flying off the waves instead of being blown to the Big Island. She sailed it on two big-winds days in a row, and gave it 4's and 5's with a 3 in Stability, because, when she was overpowered, "It was difficult to control," she said. "In the strongest gusts I was getting tugged and back-handed. But when the wind backed off I had a ball."
But it was rigged on a 400/21 Windwing mast, taken from one of Hansen's personal rigs, when the sail calls for a 370/17. The fact that it was only difficult and not impossible to control may actually be high praise.
CATALYST WAVE 4.2
SCORE: (8 ratings)
Speed 4.0 Power 4.13 Stability 3.75 Range 3.75 Waterstart 4.25 Overall 3.98
COMMENTS:
With the 4.2, Jackie echoed her feelings on the 4.0. "Powerful, and performs well in marginal conditions, but difficult to control when overpowered. It tugged at me." She tried to correct it with outhaul adjustment, but couldn't dial it in. This sail was rigged on the correct mast, a 370/17.
In a very windy session, Tim Quarles never said the Windwing was difficult, but he found the Sailworks 4.0 Revo "a bit better in the gusts." Of course, it was also a bit smaller.
CATALYST WAVE 4.7
SCORE: (12 ratings)
Speed 3.75 Power 4.0 Stability 4.17 Range 4.08 Waterstart 4.17 Overall 4.00
COMMENTS:
"I sailed this both underpowered and overpowered, and had a great time throughout," said Gerry Sollner.
"Very well built with lots of range," said Steve Gottleib.
"It seemed twitchy," said Ralph Ruffolo, a dealer who describes himself as a "perpetual intermediate." He noted that he was underpowered. Twitchiness is not something that usually appears in those conditions. "I would have preferred the locked-in feeling of my trusty Pryde MPR's," he added, not surprisingly, as he sells them.
"Unstable going upwind," said Jackie Butzen, still obviously struggling to come to grips with the Windwing waves.
"So-so," said Randy Johnson, another dealer who doesn't sell them. But he gave it all 4's and one 5, which is actually four Goods and one Excellent, and equals an individual average of 4.25.
STAFF:
"Power, lots of power, along with incredible stability make this a great wave sail for those who like to know they have wind in their sail without any control problems." But "power, lots of power" was still only worth a 4 to him in that category. Same for Speed, the rest 5's.
Maybe as with the Hot Sails Maui wave sails, it might simply get down to a compatibility of sailing styles and sail feel. Preference.
CATALYST AIR 5.2, 5.7, 6.5
The Catalyst Air sails have identical outlines as the same-sized wave sails, down to the last centimeter in boom and luff lengths. The difference is that they are monofilm, and allow a single single cam to be installed in the batten above the boom, one of five. The shape is fuller as well, to allow for the effect of the cam. Plus there's a 6.5 Catalyst Air, while the Waves end with 6.0.
What kind of hybrid does that make them? Um.. could be, this is why Bill Hansen won't categorize them. "I don't approve of all these different names for sails," he said. " 'Freeride' means nothing to me. Race means something, slalom means something, but to me, freeride is some sort of vague term. I can't really label my sails that way, because to me, it doesn't mean anything to the consumer."
He's rolling now. "The more I think about it, the less enthused I am about making the presence of a cam vague in a sail category. If you ask any one of your guest testers if they know the difference between a cammed and camless sail, they'll all know. Ask them the difference between a slalom and freeride and they won't know."
And so, the sails are called Catalyst, because they are the "catalyst" of, well… we think he explained (in a Research Physicist sort of way), and we think he said that a sail should be a catalyst to inspire you, or at least these sails were, but it was a bit too vague for us to follow, for sure.
The Windwing convertibles prevented a special problem to the test, because, ideally, they should be tested with and without cams and with every possibility in between; but that would have effectively doubled, tripled and quadrupled the number of such sails to be tested. At least the Airs, with only one cam, were simple. Their state of camming is noted below. The presence or absence of the cam was very vague to our testers, however.
SCORE: (13 ratings, rigged with one cam)
Speed 4.0 Power 4.15 Stability 4.15 Range 4.31 Waterstart 4.23 Overall 4.17
"A great all-around sail," said Jeff Stewart.
And that's it. Not a peep from anyone else, including staff, despite the very favorable impression it made. Except Newfie, who of course gave it straight 5's, on the same day he also gave the Simmer 5.3 OnShore Wave and Pryde 5.0 NR straight 5's, commenting that it was "difficult to differentiate between them, as they were all extremely good in all respects."
Newfie really especially liked the Windwings. He rated six of them, adding the separate category of Handling (which we should have had all along, instead of burying it within Stability). He awarded 27 5's, six 5-pluses (5.5), and one 4—to the 8.3 three-cam Synthesis, in waterstart—for a 5.06 overall average on our scale from 1 to 5.
We disqualified the scores, of course, but maybe we shouldn't have. It should be noted that the Windwings worked at a distinct disadvantage, because none of the tester/dealers sold them. When you consider that most of them sold Prydes, and none of them sold Windwings, you kind of want to take a blind stab at balance, and ratchet up the Windwing scores on principle.
CATALYST AIR 5.7
SCORE: (7 ratings, rigged with no cams)
Speed 3.86 Power 4.14 Stability 4.14 Range 4.0 Waterstart 4.43 Overall 4.11
COMMENTS:
Again, Jeff Stewart is the only sailor who was inspired to offer any verbal input.
"A bit easier to handle in jumps, jibes and waves than the Hot Sails Maui 6.0 Stealth," he said. Being a bit smaller, it should be. And maybe it should be more than a bit easier, considering it's a monofilm wave sail and the Stealth is a camless race sail.
CATALYST AIR 6.5
SCORE:(rigged with no cams)
One sailor rated it, giving it a 4 in Speed, 5 in Power, 3 in Stability, 5 in Range and 3 in Waterstart.
SYNTHESIS 5.4, 6.0, 6.7, 7.5
Skill level: beginner to expert. So claims Windwing, and why not? That's the idea behind a sail that can be rigged with zero or three cams. But if it's "race-ready" when fully cammed, you have to wonder if the no-cam setup is appropriate for beginners.
We tried an experiment one morning on the beach, with some cammed and no-cam sails. For a number of reasons this mini-test completely failed to provide what we were looking for, but we still learned something. We mostly learned that comparing different brands of sails, cammed against camless, trying to isolate the effect of the cams, is impossible because the brands have different feels to start with. We learned that the three-cam 6.7 Windwing Synthesis feels totally different, cammed vs. uncammed. You truly do get two very good sails for the price of one. Uncammed is very soft and forgiving indeed. It would have been excellent for a beginner.
The Windwing convertibles aren't intended to be converted with the sail rigged. It can be done that way, but it's awkward. The function of the cams is such that they apply active compression to the batten betwen the mast and leech. This means the tensions (downhaul and battens) must be released and the battens partially withdrawn in order to remove the cams.
What this suggests is that it's really not practical to expect to tune your Windwing convertible at the beach, installing and removing cams for more or less power as conditions change, as you might adjust downhaul and outhaul. But it is entirely feasible to prepare the sail in advance, knowing the general conditions you're likely to encounter, or even how you might want to sail that day. Cape Hatteras, Padre Island and Florida come to mind, locations where sailors are blessed with a choice between flat water or open ocean. One reason Hansen believes in convertibles is that husbands and wives can share them: the man gets his edge, the woman her forgiveness. It's almost as if he means it when he says his goal is to put himself out of business.
Oh, by the way, the sail is named Synthesis because, out on the water, right there in your very hands, it synthesizes all the elements of sailing. Or something like that.
SYNTHESIS 5.4
SCORE: (10 ratings, rigged with two of two cams)
Speed 3.7 Power 3.9 Stability 4.1 Range 3.9 Waterstart 3.6 Overall 3.84
COMMENTS:
"A very powerful sail when rigged full," said Tony Cicale, who gave it 5's in Power, Stability and Range. "Cam rotation is smooth but a little abrupt when rigged full. When set with more tension, this is a very well balanced, stable sail. Lots of tuning range." Knowing Tony, we feel safe in saying you can believe this comment.
STAFF:
Nevin Sayre gave it all 3's with a 4 in Stability, saying it was, "all-around okay, but felt relatively heavy."
SYNTHESIS 6.0
(2 ratings, rigged with zero of three cams)
Two ratings simply aren't enough to warrant an official score, however they deserve to be revealed. Surprisingly, given the fact that the sail was rigged with no cams, they were mostly 5's, including five-for-six in Speed, Power and Stability. If they're accurate, this must be some sail when the cams are in. Let's go racin'.
COMMENTS:
"It felt light and on control, even in overpowered conditions!!" said Marco De Moraes.
STAFF: Mark Archer gave it 4's in Speed and Power, and the rest 5's. He said, "Sailing overpowered with this sail was a dream. Not once did it show any signs of misbehaving. It was almost laughable how well-behaved it was. The key to gaining range lies in the correct trimming on the outhaul." This impression is consistent with our experience on the 6.7 Synthesis, when it was also rigged with no cams, although not overpowered.
SYNTHESIS 6.7
SCORE (3 ratings, rigged with 3 cams)
Speed 4.0 Power 4.33 Stability 4.67 Range 4.0 Waterstart 3.67 Overall 4.13
COMMENTS: None
STAFF: Two staff testers gave it identical marks: all 4's with 3's in Waterstart. Said Mark Archer, "Light, powerful and a very clean feel. As with all Windwings it felt a little backhanded, which gave it a light wind and upwind bias, but you can tune that out."
SYNTHESIS 7.5
(2 ratings, rigged with no cams)
Ditto the 6.0, with only two ratings. The overall average was 3.90, with only two 3's, in Power and Waterstart. Given that this is a 7.5-meter sail designed for three cams and rigged RAF, the fact that it didn't fall on its face is alone impressive. There were neither comments nor staff ratings.
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