Chuck Berry and a Formuline Update

In a previous post I went on about how spending $2 more on downhaul line makes a ridiculous difference in how easy any sail will rig and tune. No less than the ghost of Chuck Berry (posting as JB Goode in an iWindsurf forum) recently echoed the call:

"I can't believe how much easier it makes downhauling - I can now correctly downhaul my 10.7 race sail w/out using a downhaul tool. It has completely changed my experience of rigging and using this sail! Furthermore the line seems to be holding up well."

Make rigging a windsurfing sail faster, easier, and more accurate. Switch to the good stuff! Puffin regular Scott tells me that he's using the white line for outhauling as well as downhauling. I haven't tried this yet, but it makes sense...aside from the easier tug with those new sails that take a lot of outhaul, it might also reduce the occasional snag when derigging. This could be a good use of Formuline downhauls once they start to fray past the point of prudence (puffins love their p's!)

Recently on an older mast base extension I've noticed that if I don't make sure the line is 100% jammed into the cleat, at the end of a session there will have been a little slippage...letting out a cm or two of downhaul. So I make sure I'm all the way in there!

Comments

[tillerman]

Roll over, Beethoven, and tell Tchaikovsky the news.

[Bruce]

Partly because I read about it on this blog, I bought the new downhaul line from OceanAirSports last spring and have been using it. At $1 a foot, it costs twice as much as the old line. However, I agree that it is worth it. The most important feature would be durability. I'm replacing the old line, but not the new.

[Acai Berry]

Roll over, Beethoven, and tell Tchaikovsky the news.