Monday, January 22, 2018

Two Awesome new Sails

Hi

Two really nice sails are about to break cover.   They are Avanti’s new race machine and their 2018 Poweride.  I have always fancied Avanti sails because of their construction and associated easy manners.

The 2018 Avanti M6+ Race Machine


For 2018 they have:
  •          changed batten angles slightly
  •          refined load paths across the sail body (as you are               able to do with string technology)
  •          dropped one batten from every size.  Seven                           battens at last - well done Avanti! 


There are some fantastic race sails out there right now but this has to be one of the most exciting for me.  Just look at the thing!  






I will try to find a shot of one fully rigged for some proper eye-candy.


Here are the sizes: (sorry – no weights)

We need to watch Juju in the racing this year.  His sails were as fast as anything else last year but I felt that he sometimes struggled on his gybe exits in light conditions.  
Avanti have worked on this aspect I think.  

The seven batten layout, being less locked in, will allow him to use his natural talent to squeeze every last knot out of the rig in varying real-world conditions.  Nice!


2   Avanti’s Poweride V1 Freeride Sail

The Poweride has always been good and the 2018 offering looks like the best ever. 




Here are the sizes:


Everyone watching sail reviews online, will know that this sail is consistently near the top of every review.  What has always given me pause for thought however, is the straight-line speed of the larger sizes.

The sail is designed to be easy and fun and that is absolutely correct for the two smallest sizes but when we get to 6.6 and 7.4, most of us want max speed on a fast slalom board in addition to easy control.
  
The aim is to have an easy sail which fits perfectly with your fast free-ride board over rough water.  On flat water days however, the same sail should be capable of smoking on a flat, fast slalom board.
  
I suspect that Avanti have nailed this aspect in the bigger sizes now.  I would need to ride one before I could confirm but I have a good feeling.
 
We don’t expect it to be as fast as an NCX, Point 7 AC-X or Goya Mark but it should be very, very close.  

If any of you should have a chance to ride a 2018 Poweride 6.6 or 7.4 with your 112(ish) slalom board - please let us know your impressions.

That’s all for now

Good winds 

1 comment:

  1. Hey, just wanted to let people living in the USA know that my experience with Avanti customer support has been ZERO. They spent three months jerking me around saying they would send me some replacement battens for my Powerride, only to finally tell me yesterday that I am on my own, and they will not help me. Support after the sale = ZERO.

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