The Daytona is North’s cammed freerace sail,
which they proudly state is ‘all about speed’.
Incorporating three of the brand’s intelligent Hyper
cams that have their rollers right on the corners,
the sail has been developed from their race series
and is designed to match top end performance
with impeccable handling. A very detailed and
attractive looking sail, it has all the latest features,
including a TT.Top, stiff box battens, abrasion pads
on the batten ends and head cap, seam beading
in the foot and their Easy.T elastic cord for holding
the rolled sail together.
Rigging and Set
Rigging the Daytona requires you to sleeve the
mast up the luff tube beside the cams, and apply
significant downhaul (nigh on the stated increment)
and outhaul tension before popping the cams on.
There is a pocket on the luff tube for each cam will
help you carry out this process. The moderate
downhaul tension needed is easy to apply thanks
to the efficient tack roller pulley, and the VTS
trimming guides are very useful, accurately
displaying the tuning range available. Irrespective
of set, the Daytona sets with quite a shallow profile,
whilst the leech falls away progressively.
Ride and Handling
On the water the Daytona provided the top end
performance to match any here, with the stability
and power to partner the most demanding slalom
board. Preferring to be used in powered conditions,
its shallow draft doesn’t generate masses of bottom
end power, yet accelerates with interest once
enough wind is there. Perfectly balanced and stable
in the hands, it physically accelerates in every gust
and transfers the power to the board, pinning it
down and charging efficiently through both gusts
and lulls. With a low clew eyelet, the boom angle is
very racked back, encouraging the rider into a
locked-in posture and providing a great deal of
control over the rig. In severe winds, the Daytona is
incredibly composed, never doing anything
unexpected as it vents excess power, the leech
profile twisting off smoothly without any hint of
flutter. Slipping efficiently through the air, the
ultimate speed of the Daytona is stunning,
delivering power smoothly whilst feeling solid and
dependable in the hands, rather than ultra light or
precise. In transition the swing weight of the sail is
minimal, although we did find the Dacron luff tube
presented a noticeable issue when tacking in
strong winds, filling with wind and making the sail
slightly heavy to reposition.
For: Top end stability and speed.
Against: Bottom end power
Verdict
The Daytona does exactly what is says on the
tin, providing exceptional stability and speed to
cater for the most power hungry freerace/
slalom board.
