03/09/2026
Most of the Challenger sails I see in customers’ hands are rigged wrong.
Not the wrong size. Not damaged. Just never set up.
Daniele Benedetti goes through the three things that decide whether your sail works or fights you.
1 — THE SHIMS Every new sail comes with its black shims, and most people leave them in the bag. Without them the sail stays flat: it doesn’t twist, it doesn’t open. In the video Daniele shows exactly where each one goes. Two, then one, then two on batten 5 and one on batten 4.
2 — THE TRIM Too tight and the sail goes flat: no profile, and it gets unstable under your feet. Too loose and it turns into a balloon: all the power ends up in your arms and none of it turns into speed. What you are looking for sits in between.
3 — THE LEECH Closed at the bottom, where the battens are under pressure. Then opening progressively towards the top. That is the part that lets you accelerate when the gust hits, instead of getting overpowered.
Ten minutes before you hit the water. Same sail, different ride.
“This is the best shape we have ever done” and we are already working on next season.
Deeper on the blog: → Batten tuning: chswindsolutions.com/windsurfing-batten-tuning-guide → The leech: chswindsolutions.com/the-leech-the-most-underestimated-part-of-your-windsurfing-sail
