EUROPE
Latest
designs
WB-Sails put a considerable effort in sail development before
Athens 2004. From this development we have now come up with
sails for three different weight ranges: 50 kg, 60 kg and
70 kg.
Light air sail
Since Athens was expected to be a light air venue, the main
focus of our development was on light air performance.
We did a thorough masthead camera study of our existing
design, then made a special light air version with less
mast bend. After several prototypes, computer flow simulation
and many small refinements we had come to a sail shape
that was clearly superior in less than 4 m/s winds than
any previous design we had done.
Tests in Athens waters showed that Sari Multala
and Virginia Kravarioti of Greece were fastest in the fleet
up to 3-4 m/s. Initially the new design had a slight weak
spot between 4 and 5 m/s true wind (a very important wind
regime!), North NZL showing a slight edge in medium air.
In over 5 m/s the design was fine, carrying up to 8-9 m/s
where the sail got really hard to hang down even for the
fittest. Boatspeed in the upper regime was again fine with
NS and Toni Tio falling back as wind increased. In the
upper wind range, the sail is not beautiful to look at,
fully creased and starving for the luff curve it does not
have, but still quite fast.
With a few small changes we
could improve the medium air range so that the sail now
is polyvalent from 0 to 8 m/s, with exceptional performance
in the lower wind range.
Heavy wind sail
For the heavy air sail, we tested many variations, amongst
others with different leech lengths. At the end of the day
we could not better our design from Sydney 2000 developed
with Margriet Matthijsse. We learned that in heavier winds
the shorter leech sail was easier to hang down and did not
bury the bow as much as the long leech sail, but downwind
the long leech appeared to have an edge. This sail has become
the standard for heavy air performance in the class, together
with a certain Green sails design.
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| Research
& Development
Our
MastCam system was used extensively in the development of
the new sails, when the carbon mast came to the class. In
the course of the exercise, we learned a lot about how the
new masts behave, and we can give advice regarding what bend
you should look for to suit your weight and the area you race
in.
To support
our on-water testing we use computer
simulation and wind tunnel testing, striving for a more
verstaile, longer lasting and faster sail.
Design
Every sail
is designed with a sofisticated computer program and cut with
a laser-cutter. For any sail, matching the luff curve with
the mast bend is very, very important. We design each sail
individually from the beginning to match the luff curve &
mast bend perfectly. We work closely with Marström and
other new sparmakers, and can help you to find the right mast
for you.
Support
We
try to give the best possible support though our website,
E-mail and with Yocki
Wilenius and/or Mikko Brummer often present at the major
events. For trim tips, look at Europe
sail trimguide and
Europe
Mast Rake basics. For something more technical see our
article Note
on the effect of mast side bend. For masthead camera
video, look at Making
movies.
Online
Mast Bend
& Order Form
Printable Mast Bend & Order
Form
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The
MastCam was an important tool in the development of the
World Champion sails for Margriet Matthijsse.
In
Sydney 2000, Webe Sails filled 5 out of the 9 first places.
Margriet Matthijsse won Silver. The racing was characterized
by light and tricky winds.
Pictures
& video from the Sydney 2000 Olympics
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