Neilpryde V8 Helium Press release

V8 HELIUM – 100% PURE PLANING

NeilPryde is proud to introduce a new addition to the V-Series flat water sail collection – the all-new V8 HELIUM.

The V8 HELIUM is a light wind specialist sail, designed to deliver powerful planing performance on days where most other sails just stay on the beach. With five batten construction for lightweight handling, twin UltraCams for super-smooth rotation, and a deep profile for all the low-end acceleration you’d expect from a sail with a V8 performance pedigree.

So now, even in light air, The Wind Can Tell The Difference.

Visit www.neilpryde.com to watch the introductory video and make sure you enter the draw for your chance to win a V8 HELIUM sail or a limited edition V-SERIES T-shirt.

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All photos must be credited to Photographer: Jerome Houyvet

V8 HELIUM SPECIFICATIONS

§ The V8 HELIUM is available in 3 sizes – 6.5, 7.5, 8.5

§ The V8 HELIUM is available in 2 colourways: C2 – red. C3 – Aqua

§ The V8 HELIUM uses two UltraCams for smooth gybing performance.

§ Full details on the V8 HELIUM are available now at www.neilpryde.com

BACKGROUND

The Helium concept originated in response to a German Surf magazine competition to find a smaller, more powerful, sail for use in light winds. The sail presented by NeilPryde went on the win the competition and another year later was developed further to integrate UltraCam Performance Technology and join the NeilPryde V Series as the V8 HELIUM.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT SAIL

“A unique feature of the V8 Helium is the sizing. The V8 Helium comes in three sizes, but contrary to regular sails these are not designed to cover different wind conditions but are in fact all designed to be early planing, extreme light-wind specialised sails and the design of each size is optimised to deliver this performance to a specific body weight. For this reason a light weight person should choose the 6.5, a medium weight is suited to the 7.5 and heavier riders should choose the 8.5 for uncompromised light wind performance.”

Robert Stroj

NeilPryde Sail Designer

KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A V6, V8 and V8 HELIUM

There are three key points of difference between the V8 Helium and the V6 and V8 sails; the number of battens, the design of the luff curve and the outline.

The V8 Helium has just 5 battens. The large spacing between battens really improves the low end performance of the sail as it makes the profile softer, easier to inflate in light wind and of course brings the weight of the sail down.

The V8 Helium features a "light-wind" luff curve. The luff curve is designed in a way that top of the sail opens with very moderate downhaul tension (low tension in the body makes sail softer and perform especially well in light air), even though the actual maximum luff curve is slightly higher than on V8. This is done by having a relatively straight section in the very top that will get the head to twist of early while the round mid section will support the mid-leech which is critical for early planning and upwind performance. Since the downhaul tension is considerably less than on V8 and less than on V6 it was important to adjust the bottom of the luff curve in order to control the entry depth; with regular luff curve in the bottom the low downhaul tension would result in excessive fullness at the cams. For best light wind performance you want a full profile, but a smooth entry to reduce drag in light air.

The V8 Helium outline features a relatively small head and longer boom than on the V6 and V8 sails. The idea was to bring most of the sail area in to the "supported triangle", so the head roach was minimized.

The actual shaping numbers of the V8 Helium are very similar to V6 and V8, although the profile distribution is a bit further back. The additional fullness you will see on the rigged sail is result of fewer battens and very specific luff curve (as explained above) and not result of very full shaping. Excessive shaping will, of course, add depth to the profile, but it will at the same time make sail stiff, so to certain extent it would work against the objective of early planing and optimal light wind performance.