How to rig your sail! The basics of preparing (rigging) your sail from start to finish.

In this video we will be looking at how to prepare our sail for a session.
The video may seem long but that is just me talking too much about all the little things...
Hopefully, however, you will pick up some good tips if you already know the basics about rigging OR you will be guided through your first sail preparation if you are new to windsurfing or to owning your own gear.
When it comes to rigging there are many differences between all the various brands and equipment on the market! So if something doesn't seem to match your own gear for whatever reason dont hesitate to drop a comment and ask me any questions you may have. If I can I will be happy to help! :)
Enjoy the video, drop a like and share with any friends that might need this information.
Subscribe for more video to come and see you on the water! :D

[@titoniubo]

Excellent tip for rigging up the sail while taking care of the gear. Thank you! I was first setting up the boom and then pulling, now I shall do it your way.

[@marneyman]

Great lesson, fills in a few gaps, particularly about the exit at the top. I've obviously had mine over - tensioned.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Good to know it helps. Like i said in the video it does depend on the sail type. So if you are riding a big race or freeride sail it usually is better to leave a bigger exit on the top and a large belly. That way your sail will feel lighter. But yes, you definitely dont want to over do it, especially if you are riding in wind that is just at the limit! :)

[@neilashford4179]

very helpful. Like another video on not crossing lines down and out hauls

[@cinokaftw6118]

Great Video! Keep it up! :)

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thanks, will do! :)

[@danneave6257]

Loved it bro

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thanks you!

[@haymolin]

great video! very helpful!

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thanks! :D

[@dimitriszachariakis1118]

very

[@garlinte3522]

Nice

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thank you! :D

[@djklermundable]

thanks a bunch, Im just starting with a mish mash of used gear.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Any gear is good! Keep at it :)

[@chrisisinthehouse1]

Nice looking sail friend! Also I'm pretty sure my does haul lines are crossed more than not haha living la vida🎶

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

haha well get it sorted!! You dont want one of your lines to snap while you are in the water! :D

[@radovanbalazi16]

Thank you

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Your welcome! I hope it helps

[@SNDWCH-yi8uy]

I get what you mean about keeping the pressure off one area by evening tightening the boom end at the same time as the downhaul however it would be more preferable to rip the sail on land rather than out at sea if there are any hard creases or tiny tears on any of your panels and when you have older sails they are used to most ways of being rigged up so its more of a preference of what way you wish to add down/outhaul other than that great video, well carried out and you should definitely make a video on the different ways to set up your roping system! :)

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Very true! But I do work with a large number of sails and although we try to refresh our kit every year there are some beauties left in our hands for many years. So I explain this way as it is the best (in my opinion) for maintaining equipment for the longest time possible in good shape. And yes ripping on land is preferable but I do believe that you could have a bad crease that could have held on for a season or even two before breaking but would tear with all the pressure going through the boom! Of course that doesnt mean that anything you said was incorrect... on the contrary it is all very true. As for the video on different ways of tying ropes I will have to look into it! Get as many as I can in the video if/when I make it! :)

[@SNDWCH-yi8uy]

@@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind Brilliant! I can tell you only work with Gaastra and Tabou although when/if you make the roping system video you could always add in the Duotone Power XT and Uni XT to show how those extensions only use the 2 rollers on the sail's tack just for ease of use giving everyone many options if they are new to windsurfing and looking to buy equipment. I know I could have done with a video like that when I was buying at the time! lol Also the Noer stick is also a very interesting one to look into :)

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

@@SNDWCH-yi8uy I work with GA sails and Tabou as well as Neilpryde and JP... but I also try out whatever else I can get my hands on and do a fair bit of testing! Thanks! Great suggestions! :)

[@stever7964]

Great video, really helps a lot! Have bought some old kit and not been out with it yet. On inspection it seems I don't have a centreboard, are they really necessary? I'm sort of an improver level windsurfer if that makes any sense. Anyhow great video, thank you again.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Hey! glad you liked it! About your centerboard dilemma, I guess it depends if you mean that you got a board that needs a centerboard and is missing one or if you mean that you got a board that simply doesnt have one and is not designed to use one. In the second case then the answer is no, you dont need it. It may be harder if you have not tried without it before but you will eventually get used to it. It might even help speed up your learning!

[@chorfamohamed6026]

Thanks for all the info 🇩🇿🇩🇿🇩🇿

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

No problem! I am glad to help :)

[@Alfacinhadesign]

Does this Gaastra sail could accept an SDM MAST? I have one Manic 5.0 (2018 year) to starting on flawater and dont know if the luff have space enough for SDM instead of RDM.

[@MilkoVidev]

Hi Kyriakos, thanks for the videos. I am a beginner and I'm struggling finding the "sweet spot" of the rig against the wind. Will appreciate any clues. Thanks

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thank you Milko! I am not quite sure I understand what you mean but if you want to explain I would be happy to help where I can!

[@Dan.Dan.42]

I think the term for "method used for threading the pullies" is reeve or somthing. Good stuff

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Thank you! Good to know :)

[@pauldupuis8414]

Very helpful video, bro. One thing that was not mentioned is the height of the booms on the mast... what’s the general rule of height, for a taller person as to a shorter person? Much appreciated....

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Hey! Thank you for your kind words! It is not mentioned because there is not a strict rule for it. It depends a lot on your style, personal preference and even when you learned, as old school riders many times ride with lower booms, for example! The recommendation if you don't know where to put it, is at shoulder height. Or if you are setting up on the ground (as in not on a board/mastfoot) then your arm should be put between the boom and the sail and the boom should be approx at your armpit level. Another way I like to say it is nipple height :D This means that when on your board, with the mastfoot it will be shoulder height. From there you can adjust to your preference. Hope this helps! :)

[@emanuelecrociani8884]

Hi, many thanks for your useful tutorials videos, they are really helpfull to me! I have one simple question: do the battens have to touch the mast or not? In this video they seem to touch a bit, isn't it?

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Hello! I am glad you like the videos! Yes in most cases battens are supposed to touch the mast when the sail is not in power. As you see here. If your battens dont touch that usually means your sail has no belly and therefore holds no power. So, as long as you battens change side when you are using the sail and turning then it doesnt matter if they touch the mast. I hope this helps! :)

[@thematronsmilitia]

Have you ever seen a windsurfing rig with reefing? Could be important if someone wanted to do a longer distance sail, island hopping or something where they might get caught out in unexpectedly high winds and not want to lay the sail down and drift off course. Do you think it's possible without losing the functionality of a windsurfing rig?

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

I think the closest you will find is the RSX style sails... they can change their riging while riding and they work perfectly.

[@nikolaoskortimanitsis1577]

My sails are Vandal! I can't rig them properly by setting the recommended values. Sometimes I have pulled it too much (downhaul) and some times the sail is loose and there is note tension as you describe. What am I supposed to look at ? Do you have a tip ? Do the tubs also have touch or lick the mast ? Is there such a tip ? Very nice videos! I expect more for the turns mainly and for the ortsa ,😁

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

I have only worked with Vandal once before so I cant say for sure. But definitely make sure you are using the right mast shape. The recommended values are also usually set for the brands of boom and mast they work with and using other brands could make them wrong. So if you are having a problem ignore those numbers and set it up by eye. I remember having similar problems with Vandal sails and as you mentioned the battens overlapped quite a bit on the mast. After playing around with it a while I managed to fix it! Good luck!

[@ipenee]

very helpful! I recently bought a 6.7 used sail and haven't had the opportunity to go out and try it until today, but for some reason it's impossible to rig. I sweated out every liquid in my system,only to end up giving up , because the sail was sent to me sort of damp so i feared that between that and it not being so new , as it folded on itself it could've ripped. do you think it's something I can overcome by just letting it (hopefully) dry or are there some tips for when it comes to rigging bigger sails?

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

What sort of problems are you having? Is it maybe a cambered sail? Are you sure the mast is the right shape?

[@ipenee]

@@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind I suppose my struggles are putting the mast all the way in without getting anxious about the way the sail folds ( also because in videos the process looks so effortless and the sail more resistant). is it totally okay for it to be dealed with so much, or should I fear it ripping? also by mast shape do you mean like rdm/sdm or are there shapes I'm not aware of? thanks so much for the help by the wayy, your videos are very helpful

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

@@ipenee HEY! I understand what you mean but its not as easy at it looks to get the mast in! However, There are different mast shapes like Constant Curve, Flex Top, Hard Top etc.... So if your mast is wrong, especially on a big sail, it could make it very hard to put in and you shouldnt actually use it.

[@user-ql8ib7dn8n]

Πολύ ωραίο βίντεο και εξαιρετικά τα μέρη στα οποία βρίσκεσαι! Αυτό που με αγχώνει σαν αρχάριο είναι όταν τα καμπερς αγκαλιάζουν το αλμπουρο με αποτέλεσμα το πανί να μην έχει τριμάρει 100% καλά. Κάποια συμβουλή??

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Ευχαριστω πολυ! Αν μιλας για καμπερς κανονικα τοτε ειναι λιγο διαφορετικο και θελει πιο πολυ προσοχη στο τριμαρισμα. Αν εννοεις τις πανελες του πανιου τοτε πρεπει να ειναι το μεγιστο στην ιδια ευθεια με την εξωτερικη μερια στο αλμπουρο. αν πεταγοντε και αλλο τοτε θελει παραπανω τραβηγμα. Οχι μονο απο το ακροματσο αλλα και απο κατω (φυσικα πολλα πανια εχουν σχημα με μεγαλη κοιλια αλλα ποτε δεν θα πρεπει να μην μπορεις, τουλαχιστον με ενα πομπαρισμα, να περασεις τις πανελες απο την αλλη μερια). Εαν με αρκετο τραβηγμα ακομα δεν ερχοντε οι πανελες στην σωστη θεση τοτε μπορει να ειναι επειδη χρησιμοποιεις το λαθος σχημα αλμπουρο. Ελπιζω να εγινα κατανοητος και να σε βοηθησα λιγο.

[@user-ql8ib7dn8n]

@@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind Καλά κατάλαβες, για τις μπάντες μιλάω. Απορώ που είχα το μυαλό μου όταν σου έγραφα . .χεχε. Από άποψη αλμπουρου είμαι οκ οπότε ίσως χρειαστεί να τραβήξω πιο καλά από ακροματσο πριν ολοκληρώσω στο downhaul. Σε ευχαριστώ πάρα πολύ για την άμεση απάντηση και τις συμβουλές! Σου εύχομαι να συνεχίσεις τα καλά βίντεο αλλά και να ζεις σε τόσο όμορφες τοποθεσίες !

[@ekontogia]

I am writing in greek because i don't know the exactly word. The battens in the mild of sail doesn't have to go from one side to the other of mast? Η μπανέλα στην μέση πάνω απο την μάτσα δεν μένει απο την μία μερία με το τέντωμα που είχες κάνει; Δεν πρέπει να έρθει σχεδόν στο μέσο του άλμπουρου οπότε να γυρίζει ήτε απο την μία ήτε απο την άλλη; Ευχαριστώ.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Εξαρταται απο το πανι και παλι. Αλλα γενικα δεν χρειαζεται ναι ειναι ακριβως στην μεση στο αλμπουρο. Θα ελεγα απλα να μην ξεπερνανε το αλμπουρο εντελως. Εμενα εδω ειναι ακριβως εκει που τελειωνει και το αλμπουρο γιατι θελω μεγαλη κοιλια. Οπως ειπα δεν χρειαζεται να εχεις παντα μεγαλη κοιλια ειδικα αν εχεις υπεραρκετο αερα και ο τροπος που ανεφερες εσυ ειναι ενας καλος τροπος μετρησης. Αρκει οταν ΄φουσκωνει' το πανι με αερα να περναν οι μπανελες... τοτε εισαι οκ! Ελπιζω να σου ξεκαθαρισα την απορια σου :)

[@ap5194]

I've bought some old equipment and the mast doesn't go all the way to the absolute top of the sail. It sort of stops because of a taper about 3 inches from the top. Is this common for older sails and masts?

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Hey! No this doesnt sound right. You either need to feed it in more or the mast length is wrong.

[@MarcoFullWindsurf]

🤟🤟🤟

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

:D

[@jimkewley3790]

What if the Barton’s are not free to move across the boom... more down haul or out haul or both?

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Do you mean the battens get stuck on the mast and dont switch to the other side? If yes then it really depends how much they overlap. For example if you already have your boom set to the recomended setting and fully pulled but your battens still dont move across the mast then more downhaul should do it. If the overlap is too big though then you might need both downhaul and outhaul. Hope this helps!

[@jimkewley3790]

Ya - sticking battons... if I use the boom outhaul then I don’t have much belly in the sail... will try more downhaul- thanks!

[@jimkewley3790]

Ya - sticking battons... if I use the boom outhaul then I don’t have much belly in the sail... will try more downhaul- thanks!

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

@@jimkewley3790 Hopefully that does the trick! Or else the problem could be that you have the wrong mast bend.

[@drowzysailor2308]

can a boom that is too big (10cm bigger) be used

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

I mean technicaly yes it can but it wont be balanced out and its extra weight for no reason. If that is the only option you have then go for it but ideally you need another smaller boom.

[@seleldjdfmn221]

Amazing. i find that a big breakfast helps make good videos. Also, Can we be Friends? :o

[@jimkon2489]

Why you use the extesion ?

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Extension is for getting to the right size. The luff as it is written on the sail is the total length you need but masts come in set lengths. So for example if you have a luff of 420 and your mast is a 400 mast then you need to add 20 on your extension. Hope that helps

[@lisali9824]

Captions at 0:17

[@devmich99]

In all the rigging videos I found here on youtube, I'm missing how to properly rig a sail with vario top. IMO it's not self explanatory, especially not for beginners.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

Vario tops are quite annoying! i know what you mean... but honestly unless you are using a brand that has the measurements on the line you just have to measure it yourself or eyeball it! Annoying system but has its benefits... Sorry i couldnt help more.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

In case i misunderstood and you problem is that you dont actually understand what its for, the vario top allows you to use for example a 400mast on a sail that the luff might be 395. That way you can use your 400 mast and just open 5cm on the top. Saving you from having to buy another mast for your smaller sail.

[@devmich99]

@@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind Thanks for the explanation. Yeah, I understand what it is good for. The problem I have is to set the right length on the top and how to use it with the mast extension. Example: I've a North Voodoo with a 400 mast and mast extension. Luff is approx. 390. So according to what you say I set 10cm on the top (do I need to carry a measure with me?). And from this point I don't know how to proceed further with the mast extension.

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

@@devmich99 Yes you add 10cm on the top and set the extension to 0 (if there is no 0 and its starts at 2 for example then add 12 to the top). As for how to find the measurement on top then hopefully you can find it once using a tape measure or whatever means you have and then it will stay set there (or somehow add a mark for future rigging).

[@devmich99]

@@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind Thanks a lot. Really appreciated. Makes totally sense now to me, especially the bit about if there is no 0. In fact, there is no 0 on my extension.

[@jregamey]

Safe from what? Communism?

[@kyriakosgiakoumaroswingandwind]

How we got from rigging sails to communism is beyond me... :D But I am guessing its on the threading the downhaul part... so safe from the rope rubbing on itself and snapping like I mentioned earlier. Just giving you the answer in case you actually wanted to know and were not commenting simply for the comedy factor :)