Select to expand quoteStuthepirate said...
I think i saw a proto of that board in WA late last season.
Shhh
Select to expand quoteSubsonic said..Stuthepirate said...
I think i saw a proto of that board in WA late last season.
Shhh
The new Severne board appears to be in the TAS threads, warming up!?
Yes they're certainly severne boards, not the ones to which Stu and others were refering to though 
Well to add to this thread I picked my 2017 NP hellcats on Saturday after a couple months wait - 6.7 & 7.7 ...first new sails ever! tossed up quite a lot over getting the newer versions of the Ryde or the new V8 but the hellcat is sold as essentially NPs best no cam sail so went that way
Ive changed over from 7.5 2015 Ryde & 6.7 2014 hornet. Primary sail I've used over the past two seasons was the Ryde so any comparisons I make wil generally be verses this
Rigged the new 7.7 on the lawn when I got home ....first issue needed a 490 mast which I didn't have so ended up with 42 ext on a 460. Rigged ok regardless ... took a lot more effort to get down haul on but with 20mm gap at the pulleys Set pretty well straight out of the packet Although needed a little batten tension to get creases out. May still get a 490 mast but just getting over the buy price of the sails at the minute and still about 150mm in the mast from the ext
First sail yesterday => board tabou 125 rocket, sailer 80kg avge ability, on the river very flat...wind according to seabreeze 15knots gusting to 20k but think was a bit lighter than this. Again took a bit of effort to get down haul on and rigged with essentially no out haul as wasn't supper windy Plus was so so flat.
Impression after 1st 1.5hr-2h session =>
- super super stable ie no huge front arm push pressure when the gusts come through not like the Ryde at all in this regard
- bottom end a bit lacking and ended up significantly increasing batten tension/ length over the sail to try and get some more shape in the lower batten ie wound in about 7-10mm on each of the lower battens and I think it was getting better
- acceleration is simply amazing when hit by a gust ie almost instant and feels smooth not a battle which the Ryde always was all over the place
- Gybes like the Ryde ie easy
- the 7.7 feels much bigger than the 7.5 Ryde ie With nearly 300mm longer mast req and 60mm on the boom I guess this should be obvious but feels a lot bigger
In short happy but need more time to get the initial low end working. Hopefully try the 6.7 later this week
Looks sweet. Definitely needs more batten tension and looks a bit flat with not much belly. Then again Im used to Evo's.
Nice lay off in the leech. Great looking sail. Did the draft stay where it should??
Yes agreed will crank a bit more tension in the battens so far just focussed on bottom two below boom but may also experiment with the one directly above the boom as well. Draft was super stable and didn't move front to back at all this was -biggest change from the Ryde's ie just seemed to go forwards faster when the small gust came through as opposed to fighting in a way to keep sail locked in
Select to expand quoteAdam555 said..
Are you using a NP mast? It looks wrong to me 
, super tight leech up to batten 3 and then super loose or is it how NO sails look? Hopefully the 490 rigs better.
Select to expand quoteBSN101 said..
Hellcats are here. 6.7 & 5.7. Hope to test one tomorrow after work.
Looking forward to your feedback, had them out and about yet?
Select to expand quoteOrange Whip said..BSN101 said..
Hellcats are here. 6.7 & 5.7. Hope to test one tomorrow after work.
Looking forward to your feedback, had them out and about yet?
Go back today from exmouth & coral bay so will pen some thoughts very shortly
Dave
NP Hellcat 2017 6.7.
Been out a few time now in various conditions 12-18 & over 25knts.
In the higher spectrum the Hellcat has very nice manners, in fact exceptional. I have found that it wants to go faster & faster as the wind/gust hits. I have not yet been in conditions that Ive been 100% comfortable with this amount of speed given the board & fin size that i was riding but i have used it on 94l & 124L slalom boards & Mistral Equipe in rough choppy water. It has pushed me to scary speeds (for me) in nasty waters. The sail thrives when its windy and I have not been near its upper capabilities, yet.
In the lighter winds (Im not good here) it feels light & controllable in the hands and does not fatigue the arms. Playing with a little less DH and 0-neg OH helps the sail get the board going but I still have plenty to adjust here to get the most out of it. Once on the plane the sail allows you to go further than the Ryde would but Ive not experienced amazing glide through lulls on any sails but i may change my view on that as I get used to the rigging subtleties.
When i first rigged it up it looked small compared to my NP Ryde 6.5 although it was on a 460 with +4 extn. It rigged really easily with the correct anti wrinkle technique (twist mast into luft pocket the use pulley on extn to complete mast insertion & derig with screw driver through top loop and twist mast out). This equates to the sail not feeling big on the water in the hands even when its really wind and gives confidence to push harder & maybe beyond...
The build.. It is a great looking sail and its built from the EVO program plans. Then finish is great (so far) but i have notice that the mono film is finer than that of the Ryde. You can hear the difference when rigging and carrying the sail. The sail has a few strange creases that I have even seen on sail new in the shop. I will keep an eye on these. Using the NP extn getting suitable DH is easy enough to do but as always the last bit is tough but not impossible. Twin clew positions allows for a bit of playing around but Ive not been able to notice a significant difference yet. I will play here again when i get another day on flatter waters as Im interested to see how much it can change the feeling.
Pros
Fast & controllable ie tune able
Light in the hands
Looks great
Cons
Light mono film
Low end wind range? More testing tuning
Ideas
HD version?
Dave
Your bottom end concern is the reason I didn't like the NCX I sold to your mate. After using a 2 cam sail in same size I wanted that reliable powered up feel through the lulls.
what mast you using, SDM?
Select to expand quoteOrange Whip said..
Your bottom end concern is the reason I didn't like the NCX I sold to your mate. After using a 2 cam sail in same size I wanted that reliable powered up feel through the lulls.
what mast you using, SDM?
Yep SDM.
Still have to play with the tuning.
I have only thought of High Wind tuning. Now have to be aware of low wind with RB sailing.
In all fairness, the low wind sessions that I've been out in, the 6.7 was too small. I just wanted to use the new sail!!
Steve is after a NCX 8.0 now! to go with his SB Barn Door 
