Vele di Pasqua perfect testground for new DNA

Sjoerd Hoekstra, first in the Vele di Pasqua

 PJ, fourth

Cesenatico promotion pic  (Arno in 2010)

Sjoerd scored another first the last day, PJ and Arno had a bad start and did not really recover, despite excellent boatspeed.

The 2013 model with J-boards, rudderwinglets and progrip in the site has been tested in two events now, which were both won. The boat feels more slippery both upwind and downwind. Although the winglets do add drag, the boat seems even better in the light stuff than before.

The J-boards could only be used because we also added the winglets to the rudders.  We have already sold 50 sets of winglets and keep on producing. We like to see our DNA sailors competitive and do the best we can to provide our innovations before the major Championships.

To service DNA sailors with a previous model we will start making kits to modify existing boats from this week on. Kits include daggerboardset, two cases, two sliders, a set of progrip and a manual.

Due to the progrip you do not need to repaint the topside of the hull. Mounting the kit is pretty straightforward but should be done by a composite professional. (The whole operation will take 4-8 hours, excluding drying time).

The J-boards make it possible to sail deeper downwind once you can do the wildthing. The boat can fly (see twitter of Manolo) but not in a consistent mode. The boat is even easier to control than before. The result of the J-boards is that you sail the hull 80-90% out of the water downwind. It is still foil assisted sailing.

The boat has gained in light weather performance too, an opinion shared by Manolo and Sjoerd.

Although L-boards are illegal these do fit in the new daggerboardcases. The platform is in that sense future proof as either the old boards boards, or the new boards or L-foils do fit. The new sliders have a wider range, so you can adjust the lift/rake of the boards to your personal preferences.

The progrip makes life much easier while trapezing downwind, it offers both comfort and grip.

We see many new competitive sails this year. Manolo uses a new Ashby, Sjoerd a radial Brewin, PJ a Landy OEM and Arno a new Mischa sail. I was really happy with the sail Mischa made and showed excellent speed both downwind and upwind.

Brewin, Landy and Mischa designed the sails for our DNA mast, where we used to sail with more generic sails. Especially the 80 kg plus guys have more options now.