Witchcraft Slayer Sail 2022

Witchcraft Slayer Sail 2022

Serious Business

The Slayer was born for solid wave sailing and riding. Don´t expect a flicky sail, the Slayer means serious business, aimed to delivery stable reliable power. Like where motocross has moved away from the more direct but nervous 2 stroke engines to 4 stroke engines, we wanted the sails power delivery to be very smooth and stable to be able to do more with the wave and hit the lip where you want to hit it.  The Slayer´s higher aspect ratio also gives more power on the rail to drive the board. You can make tighter harder driven bottom turns than you could before without getting thrown off balance.
It is quite unique with a morphing seam shape through the range, with each size up, seam shape increases slightly to allow you to take a smaller big size. So the bigger sizes are also very good for float n ride, when set full the Slayer has a “turbo boost”. Even higher up it gets shape where there is more wind, especially between waves. Like this it delivers a lot more power, even when you think it´s too light to go out. Because the sail has a full shape which pulls all the time, so this makes one feel pumping has less effect but in float n ride conditions, you can´t be pumping all the time anyway. In its fuller setting, the power delivery is very smooth and the sail can still depower well as battens want to flatten by themselves. Set flatter, the Slayer becomes more direct, yet still smooth and stable. Heavy sailors love the power, light sailors love the stable predictable behaviour and precision.

The smaller sizes are flatter to handle high winds better. Our team-riders in Pozo did not want to have to go down to too small a size, you still want something in your hands, so the smaller sizes are increasingly designed for high wind control. So in effect the whole range covers a bigger wind range than the sizes indicate.
The dacron luff panel and PVC window gives a softer feel with the ability to go neutral allowing the rider to concentrate on the wave and not the sail.  The higher aspect ratio also keeps the boom shorter and gives more room to manoeuvre the sail, to be able to lean it more into the turn without having to change its angle, allowing to make tighter turns and get closer to the lip. As luff length is more important than plain area, higher aspect sails are more efficient so you can rig around 0.3 to 0.5m² smaller than with other brands. The Slayer has the centre of effort located higher and forwards, placing the rider into a more upright, manoeuvre-oriented position and moving the sail around in turns has more effect. It also makes water starting between waves, where there is less wind down below, easier and faster to get out of trouble.

As we are very experienced sail repairers as well, we can safely say that you will not be able to find a better built sail. The sail is built to handle getting washed by waves, without ripping or overstretching and loosing it´s crisp feel. A sail that keeps its shape feels lighter than a physically light sail that can´t keep its shape as well, either because its overstretched, less seam shape or has less battens.

Summary:
-bigger wind range
-can be set very grunty for float n ride conditions
-smooth power delivery
-More drive and control in the bottom turn
-Tighter turns
-Faster water starting
-Highest durability with average weight
-Repairability

The Slayer is best paired with the more dedicated high grip wave boards like our Wave, Haka or Reaper or similar boards from other brands. Especially in combination with our Wave V4 or V5, both board and sail enhance each others performance.

**Due to the efficient higher aspect ratio and semi rotational sail design with pre shape, the sails should be rigged from 0.1 m² smaller on the smaller sizes to 0.5 m² smaller on the bigger sizes. See comparative size table.
The weights are to be compared accordingly. The 5.2 should be compared to a 5.6 of other brands as they will deliver the same power. A 5.2 with the same weight as a 5.6 will still feel lighter and provide better handling due to lower swing weights and smaller dimensions which can be leaned into a turn better and the power can move about even less.
*** The 2.9 and 3.3 Karma are 4 battens and a mix between Karma and Slayer.

The Slayer and Karma work best on masts with a bendcurve of 13 to 15 which is constant curve but on the flex top side