Spent a couple of weeks with the my new Hot Sails Maui GP2 6.6 on Isonic 110 (2010) and (close to self-distruct) Carbon Art 58 in a variety of conditions, from pre-planing (gasp!) to overpowered. For comparison I used GPS 6.6-7.3 (2009) and 8.0 (2011). It is rigged on a HSM RDM Hot rod 430 (might upgrade to the HSM Ultra), but it comes with two sets of cams and can be rigged on SDM.
The good:
- Rigging is easy, down haul to 4-6 cm from final tension, add some tension on the out haul, pop in the two cams, finish down haul, done.
- Sail feels very light. In pre-planing conditions it is surprisingly easy to handle. Tacking is as comfortable as with a rotational, with an easy cam rotation that actually helps the tack. You can play with this sail
- It seems to be very tolerant to fine tuning. There is a sweet spot for a given condition, but the sail works well in a variety of settings
- It has a beautiful pull, very neutral without any jerking around. The day I did my max speed (33 knots in a choppy location with people powered up on 4.7), I was very impressed by how easy and effortless the sail was: literally disappearing in my hands. Way more comfortable than a overpowered wave sail (or a speed demon of old)
- Top gear downwind is lovely, in a gust you feel the sail open up and the board just accelerates forward. Very smooth
- Upwind, especially with the Isonic, is very impressive, pulls like a train at an good angle. (The sail is small for the IS-110, but it has very forward/downward pull that seem to work well with it.)
- Powered up sailing (as opposed to overpowered) is easy, it is a cruising sail
- Jibes when overpowered, at top speed, happen fast and using a rather aggressive lay down is a good idea unless you want to get back winded and ... well you fall in but guess what: the sail sleeve does not retain any water and you are off again in a blink
- Did I mentioned this already? It is very very very very stable.
Some peeves: the top cam: I would have preferred a pocket with a zipper .. current version looks a bit like an open cam of ages ago ... according to HSM this is done to increase the range of possible boom positions (for very tall people).
The so so
As I mentioned while sailing the weight is irrelevant, the sail feels light and under power it simply disappears in your hands. But ... it is 5.15 Kg on a digital scale out of the box and you feel it on the beach (or maybe I am spoiled by my weightless Firelights). It is around the real weight of similar twin/seven battens but every detail in the sail seems a bit overbuilt and even carrying some extra weight, from the logo at the foot to the sail, all the way to the mast sleeve in OX webbing ... as a result it is probably bulletproof. Not a big one but it would be nice to see half a Kg shaved off. The two cams, by the way, are just 125 grams.
And ... a great sail! Easy, powerful, fast. A twin cam that is as easy as a rotational but more stable and rangy. Great choice, at my weight (72Kg), for 15 to 20 knots in the rough seas of the San Francisco Bay area. A 7.3 might be next in line although my current 6.6 to 8.0 GPS gap works nicely.