Had the opportunity to trial new (fresh out of the packet) 2018 7.1m Simmer 2XC - the twin cam
As a guy that has Neil pryde in my veins this was a big step into the unknown!!
In short great sail, very easy to use and surprisely good
Conditions :- 15-18 knots (according to seabreeze) sailor avge ability-85kg, board 125l rocket
Pros/ cons below
negative
- slight humming/ vibration from around the boom cutout that was a bit distracting but am certain easily fixed
- perhaps a bit small for wind conditions/ my weight but I planed almost the entire session
positives
- very easy to rig/ derig and rigged well on NP 100% carbon mast plus downhaul force required wasn't insane
- very very stable when gusts came through and powered up nicely ie you just leaned on the harness with more weight as the gusts came through
- very very easy cam rotation this was perhaps the best bit and made gybes easy
Thanks very much to Jesper at Sail Repairs WA for the opportunity to try !
I initially got the 6.5 to learn to foil with and was so impressed with it got the 7.1 and the 7.8. They are so light and easy to use and as Adam said the rotation is faultless on all 3 of them. Just because they are light doesnt mean they will fall appart quickly either, the construction and quality of materials is top notch as with any of the simmer range. They come supplied with an rdm cam so you can use either rdm or sdm. Recently i have been using them for windsurfing in choppy conditions rather than my race sails untill my fitness improves as they are so good to use and not noticeably slower.
I would have got the smaller sizes as well but went for the Enduro instead as they will be good for foiling in stronger wind and a bit of bump and jump on the FSW.
As Adam said the only negative is the slight humming from the boom cut out which would benefit from a zip up cover. On the plus side the boom cut out is quit long making it good for really small or tall people.