NAISH RALLY 6.4M 2013 TEST REVIEW
NAISH RALLY 6.4M 2013 TEST REVIEW
BEST FOR
Any size, body type and ability on a wide range of board styles. The Rally leaves plenty of ‘growing room’ for intermediates who want an easy-to-use sail that’s not redundant after mastering planing skills.
RECOMMENDATION
Find the rigging sweet spot and leave it alone!
BRAND POSITIONING
Naish pitch the Rally as ‘An easy handling no-cam sail for freeride/freemove sailors of any age, size and skill level’. It’s placed alongside the Moto crossover freeride/wave sail and Indy 2-cam models in the Naish range.
OVERVIEW
Outline: Medium aspect ratio with a fairly straight luff, two leech cutaways and a medium cut foot.
Build Quality: The Rally doesn’t have all the ultra light scrim or Kevlar framing of some of their other models, but that’s reflected in the price too. It’s still got a super lightweight build, but look closer and you’ll see there’s plenty of woven warp kevlar taffeta and strong x-ply/film scrim that add stealthy strength.
Rigging and Tuning: The sleeve’s nice and slim and easy to rig, but bear in mind you’ll need an RDM 430 mast. Naish always have a nice tack fairing with moulded padding and easy access to the downhaul and tack pulley area. Overall only very minor tweaks with the outhaul or boom height are required to suit varying wind strength.
PERFORMANCE
Low End & Acceleration: The middle-to-high and forward pull encourages early planing. There’s no aggressive low-end torque like some on test, but the power is refined and can easily drive larger boards.
Top End: Again the sensation is subtle but the Rally is a covert drag racer that feels casual, yet head-to-head is actually pretty quick.
Gybing & Manoeuvres: Being light’s obviously an advantage for those mastering gybes and the general feel is of a nicely throwabout sail that’s easy to de-power for carving moves.
Handling: Everything’s balanced superbly with a featherweight feeling and smooth levels of drive. The Rally is forgiving without being either overly soft or producing throw-you-over-the-handlebars sensations in the hands.
THE VERDICT
The Rally ticks a lot of boxes for handling, early planing and control – all in a super lightweight package.
READ THE OTHER REPORTS – to be released over the coming weeks!
Gaastra Matrix 6.5
Goya Nexus 6.4
North Natural 6.6
RRD Evolution 6.4
Severne Gator 6.5
Tushingham Concept 6.5