Hi, I just got some North Ego 2009 sails and when rigged them was not sure on the outhaul. I adjusted the battens to get the creases out but to do this it seems like too much tension, the battens go s shaped. When I let the outhaul off it seems put more of a belly in it and the batten relaxes but the outhaul is 4-5cm less than they state on the settings. I have not used them yet but was wondering if anyone has seen this yet?

Yup, you're rigging the Ego wrong. I see a lot of people rigging the Norths wrong and wondering why when they try my sail it has so much more power than their sail. The markings for the outhaul and downhaul are the max settings. Those #s are there for buyers to know the maximum possible boom length and mast length so that they know what boom and mast they need to use. Those #'s should not be used to rig the sails. If you outhaul to those #'s you'll kill all the power the sail has to offer. Downhauling is simple, just go by the min/max marks on the top of the sail. For outhauling, the +1 - +3 cm #'s are referring to neutral, not to the max outhaul #'s. The easiest thing to do is put a finger through the clew grommet with the boom on the sail and pull it towards the clew until you feel any sort of tension. This is neutral. Now set the boom 1-3 cm beyond this point. It should pull batten directly above the boom even with the front of the mast for minimum wind and even with the back of the mast for maximum wind. DO NOT pull the battens away from the mast ever!! You'll kill all the power and have a super twitchy sail. I almost always use the sails with minimal outhaul.

Good luck,

Mike Burns

Mike, thanks for the info. I sailed to Voodoo's before and thats how I liked em. The Ego has a tag on the outhaul saying that they need considerable outhaul compared to other sails and this threw me. Should have gone with gut instinct and checked out profile of the sail. Been tweeking a bit and found exactly what you are saying the battens are tensioned correctly, no ripples in monofilm and held off on outhaul so the draft in the sail looks good. Can't wait till next windy day.
Thanks again,
Stevo.

Mike can this rule be applied to other (non NS) sails as well?

hi Vitez,

I just noticed you asked about non- North sails. I'm a Northsails rider so those are the sails I know really well. As for other brands, the theory is the same, more outhaul = less power, Less outhaul = more power. Play with the settings as each brand and many times each sail within a certain brand rigs differently.


Mike

Interesting to hear from Mike regarding egos. I find them particulary difficult to rig correctely.The downhaul indicator system is quite vague and the sails differ depending on the length of mast used (370 or 400). However once downhauled correctely the outhaul measurements on the cutout are spot on.
Once rigged correctely the egos are brilliant and superstrong , I've tried to headbutt through mine loads of times without success. They can get a bit back handed when well overpowered. Any thoughts on mast choice Mike ? I'm using Amex rdm 100's

Hi David,

I find if you use the recommended mast for the sail, then the downhaul marks are right on. But I have rigged the 4.2 Ice with my 400 instead of the 370 and I know what you're talking about. Also, my quiver consists of all Dukes and Ices, so maybe the Egos are a bit different with the downhaul, but I had no issues rigging the Egos that I tried with the right length masts. And yes the outhaul markings are spot on too once you've got the right downhaul. I've talked to many people and they are confused about the correct settings though. Many people were just giving it way too much outhaul. It helped correct the problem when North started putting the measurements on the mast sleeve at each boom height as the boom length changes as you change the height of the boom on the mast. This is why I give the rule of thumb with the first batten over an actual length. Just keep your eye on the batten and it's good to go.

For masts, I've never even seen an Amex mast here on Long Island, so I can't say anything about how they rig on the Norths. I'm sure of course the North Sails masts work great. I use Nolimits and have been for the past 3 or 4 seasons. The sails work really well with them, and because NoLimits has the skinny masts coming in different stiffnesses you can really get the feel you want from the sail. For example, the 2009 sails got much softer than previous years. I liked the soft feeling of the sails in the past so I used to use the Original Skinny which is NoLimitz's softer mast. But as the sails also got softer, I'm finding I like the Sumo (NoLimitz's stiffer mast with the same specs as the norths) to work better for me. it's all preference as to how you want the sail to feel, but they all rig just perfect in the sails. And they are like 1/2 the price of the equal North masts.

My 2010 sails are sick! The 2010 Ices were designed to be used on skinnies, and they just fit those Sumos I have like a glove.

Happy rigging,

Mike

Does anyone know if you can rig the north ego on an SDM mast or does it have to be an RDM? I have tried SDM but the sail seems really soft and lacks power when you pump - unless of course i have rigged wrong