RAPID 2022

A GUNSAILS windsurf sail is a combination of selected and high-quality materials, combined with years of experience and construction knowhow. Sail designer Renato Morlotti is responsible for the performance and quality of the sails. In his working environment he has optimised everything down to the smallest detail. Every piece of material in the sail is continuously improved in terms of durability and weight savings. Only a closer look reveals the quality, good manufacturing and durability of a GUNSAILS sail.

To ensure the functionality, easy handling and durability of our products, we have developed various features over the years and established them as our standard. The dedication and precision of our sail designer Renato Morlotti are once again evident in the individual details. An important factor that makes our quality possible and distinguishes us from other sail brands.

OVERVIEW: The Rapid is Gunsails’ no-cam freerace sail, sitting in between the 6-batten freeride Zoom and the twin cam Exceed. With a batten count of seven, each of which is reportedly tubed, it has a compact outline and is compatible on either SDM or RDM, albeit tested here on the former. Setting with a medium to high amount of luff curve, the Rapid’s draft is relatively shallow at rest, with the four lower battens retaining rotation around the mast. The amount of tension to apply is guided by the F.R.E.D. marker in the second upper panel, encouraging the leech to fall away progressively right down to batten six above the clew eyelet. Setting cleanly, Gunsails’ sail designer Renato Morlotti has carefully considered the Rapid’s makeup to “improve stability and durability”, using 4mil square-ply in the head panels, and 3mil Bi-ply in the mid-panels above the monofilm window. There’s a double-stitched seam along the main fault-line in the foot of the sail, connecting the x-ply foot panel to the monofilm window. Finished well, with abrasion patches in vulnerable areas and beading along the foot battens, it has a large step to its inset clew eyelets and mini battens that run the length of the leech, giving some indication of its intended wind range.

BRAND CLAIM: No-cam does not imply a loss of performance. In fact, it’s quite the opposite - early planing, instant acceleration and exhilarating top speed are the Rapid’s hallmarks.

PERFORMANCE: Light and neutral in the hands initially, the movement in the Rapid’s luff sleeve combines with its Dacron luff panel to deepen the depth of the sail’s draft as pressure builds. The power delivered is soft and manageable building steadily as it pulls from a low and forward position. Light and practical rather than crisp and punchy, it’s an easy and practical sail to get on with and can be partnered with a wide variety of boards, from freemove and freeride, right up to freerace and even slalom, such is its wind range and adaptability. In marginal to comfortably powered conditions, the use of the upper clew eyelet was favoured amongst the team, making the power delivery more obvious and feedback more positive. Happily cruising around with an upright stance, the Rapid doesn’t need to be asked twice to lock in and go for a drag race, twisting smoothly through its trailing edge and accelerating willingly as it’s pinned down. In strong winds and overpowered conditions, a quick change down to the lower clew eyelet increases the already significant rake in the boom geometry, further improving control and stability. Balanced and planted, the Rapid displays an impressive top end performance as the conditions strengthen, being fast of all points of sail and inspiring confidence in the rider to keep pushing. And in the turn its compact nature and easy power delivery make for a forgiving partner through the corners, bestowing the rider with the time and easy handling to complete the transition, without getting pulled off course. At €545.00 Gunsails have once again cracked a tough nut and delivered incredible value for money.

THE VERDICT: A good-looking and user-friendly sail with a wide performance range, the Rapid is much more than simply a straight-line no-cam racer, giving it a great deal of user appeal.

DESIGN: The Rapid is the only profile in this comparison that is held by 7 battens. The battens are tubular and arranged in a "cross batten" style. The leech is clearly indented at the level of the eyelets and has two offset clew eyelets. For 2022, the amount of monofilm in the sail top will be slightly reduced in favour of lighter fabrics and the mast sleeve will be widened.

ON THE WATER: The Gunsails has the advantage of being very easy to adjust thanks to precise instructions. Follow them and you will be well balanced and efficient without having to think twice. The Rapid 6.7 shows a lot of tension at the sail top and at the open leech, while the fabric under the boom is a bit loose and the battens protrude over the mast axis. However, there is plenty of tension on the clew. The design, tested this year on an SDM mast, is free in the upper part of the sail and still easy to handle. The Rapid 6.7 is a performance-oriented, wind-stable sail that is slightly delayed in action. Due to the pronounced profile, the rig loads itself into an inclined position to the rear, and off it goes with the acceleration. The sail no longer moves, as it is fixed by the seven battens, and can be guided out of the arm with ease and without effort. The speed you reach is in the upper league and the stronger the wind, the lighter the Rapid becomes. The board is also lifted, lighter and offers a lively feel. A minimum of steering feel is required underfoot, but the rig is anything but exhausting.

CONCLUSION: With a highly tensioned profile and a slightly upwind range, the Rapid is very easy to ride. Easy to trim, easy to ride, the Rapid's 6.7 allows performance without stress, provided you accept its excessive speed. Between freerace sail for its performance and freeride sail for its simplicity, you can think of the Rapid on a sporty freeride board that is naturally powerful.

+ Rigging, lightness, easy performance, adjusts well in the wind, price
-  For the expert a little discrete in hands

Power to the max

The Rapid is stabilized by seven (stiffer) tube battens and two clew eyelets (8 cm apart) and shows a pronounced profile in front and a large loose leech. You have to tension the sail well on the downhaul.

ON THE WATER: Tested with the SDM mast (recommended), the Rapid is not the first to catch and exploit the air shreds in the light wind. It's much better in steady winds, and once launched, it offers balanced traction in both hands. It's livelier, more explosive than average in acceleration thanks to its stiffer profile, which boosts mid-wind performance as if you had a turbo. It benefits from a permanent power reserve on the forehand, a profile that does not move backwards, and a pronounced loose leech to release the excess air on the back hand. It stabilizes in the wind and planes strongly on its own, it just sometimes gets a bit nervous (or even too nervous) in gusty winds, where it straightens the pilot more than others. All you have to do is quickly shorten the boom by 8 cm by attaching it to the lower eyelet, increase the outhaul tension again to refine the profile at the front and reduce the pull on the back hand. In racing, it is one of the best performing of the group when ridden by a good rider on a sporty or even slalom board, with above average acceleration. It is better off in the lower/middle range than in the upper range, where it requires more effort.

CONCLUSION: The Rapid is much more dynamic, powerful and racy than its Zoom sister model. It is extremely efficient on long runs and challenging courses, and has the ambition to outperform race sails on half-wind and downwind courses, while being simple and easy to handle. It is more of a freerace sail than a freeride sail, but it is a performance oriented sail.

+ Very stable, high speed, good acceleration, a modular outhaul adjustment, price.
-  Wrinkles in the mast sleeve when at rest, a little less light.

For the Rapid 6.2, more or less the same applies as for the Zoom 6.0 test... In recent years we have always tested this type of sail in the larger sizes. Unlike its brother, the Rapid 7.2 is a more powerful sail, supported by a 7-tube batten construction "reinforced" by Kevlar strips, and even the clew features the double eyelet, a " package " usually found on slightly more technical sails. On paper, the 2022 edition has been improved by making the upper part of the sail lighter and increasing the amount of light materials, which leads to an improvement in the response to pumping, a characteristic that is noticeable in the water, especially in the presence of chop. So there's nothing better than trying it out in the "home" of cubic chop and the killer squall. It was once said that a surfer who does well in Noli will do well anywhere in the world and have no problems surfing.... with the proper precautions, the same saying can be applied to sails. The Rapid 6.2 can be rigged quite quickly with any good 430/21, both rdm and sdm, although for this sail, considered the F1 without camber from GunSails, with a respectable speed sprint, the absolute killer would be a nice 430 sdm carbon 100 mast! Well trimmed you get a leech that opens generously and is noticeable in particularly strong winds.

We tested it both with the WaveFree 97 AV board, with which the Rapid is easy to ride but can't develop its full speed potential, and with a Tabou Manta 110, which is becoming a little long in the tooth but still does its 'job' of going fast quite well. The Rapid 6.2, when the wind is not " appropriate ", is not a flash to start planing, but with a few well given pump strokes it gets going and never loses its planing again. On the edge, you just put the bottom of the sail on the board and the acceleration seems endless, especially when the wind picks up. Reaching a truly remarkable top speed in gusts depends only on the skill of the surfer at the wheel, who can exploit all his "talents", because the profile doesn't move, the sail doesn't wobble and you don't feel it on your back hand, even with overpower. All that remains is for the surfer to turn all that thrust into pure speed with a bit of craftsmanship.

And it's all very easy, even jibing, although the base of the Rapid has a large surface area to say the least. Acceleration, speed, easy trimming, simple and intuitive to ride.... it gives the best of its pure freeride spirit combined with a "race" board.

+ easy trim and handling, stability of the profile in strong winds, comfort, top speed, price-performance ratio
- no explosive power development