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CHEETAH
Do you want to rig quickly? Do you want stay on the same sail even when the wind changes? Do you want to go fast and jibe smoothly?
So do we, which is why we make the Cheetah.
What is the Ezzy Cheetah?
A high performance, no-cam freeride sail.
Who is the Cheetah for?
Intermediate, advanced and experts who love going fast and do not want the hassle of cams.
What makes the Cheetah special?
The Cheetah has the power and stability of a cambered sail, but without the hassles of cams. Shape is sewn into the panels to create the Cheetah’s deep, wing-like profile and stable, locked-in power.
What feels different on this year’s Cheetah?
1) More compact
2) Lighter
3) More low-end power
What else?
The center of effort is moved lower and forward, so the Cheetah pulls evenly between the front and rear arms. New scrim reinforcements are lighter because they don’t absorb water.
The Cheetah takes less downhaul tension, which results in a fuller leading edge and improved low-end. Read more below.
What makes the Cheetah different?
Broadseaming. The Cheetah's shape is "baked" into the sail with broadseaming. This gives the Cheetah a deep belly of shape that mimics what cambers do to a sail, making the Cheetah stable and powerful while still being camless and easy across a wide wind range.
The endo-batten system further locks the shape into the panels. The Cheetah does not have batten pockets. Instead, the battens are inserted in the space created between where the panels are sewn together. With a traditional batten pocket, the sail is asymmetric. But, the endo batten allows a perfectly symmetrical profile.
What do we mean when we talk about the Cheetah's quality construction?
Living and testing on Maui, we have learned how to make sails that survive the the elements. The Cheetah is a freeride sail, but it is built with the wisdom of over 35 years of making wave sails. There is no monofilm that will quickly crack and break. The Cheetah is made with lightweight and strong scrim, Dyneema, and Technora-reinforced sailcloth. We use RBS epoxy battens, the strongest battens in the world.
Every seam is glued and covered before being sewn. David Ezzy owns his own factory because no other factory can produce the quality he demands.
Every sail is rigged in the factory by our experienced craftsmen who scrutinize every milimeter from headcap to pulley. While rigged, the battens are tuned to be ready right out of the bag for your first session.
We obsess over quality so you can enjoy the Cheetah today and for many years to come.
How does the calibrated rigging save you time?
No one likes to spend time rigging. The Cheetah sets up in minutes with rigging gauges that remove all the guesswork from tuning. Just downhaul until the gauge lines up with the bottom of your mast. That’s it. No guessing. Markers on the clew further ensure accurate and precise rigging. Each and every sail is rigged and calibrated in the Ezzy Sails factory.
What do our testers say about the new Cheetah?
"The biggest difference, generally, is how much lighter and compact the Cheetah feels and the much wider range. The sails feel a lot lighter in the hand when sailing and significantly “softer” as a result. They are more powerful than the last generation at a given setting but have the same, if not more, stability. This meant, to Pat and I , that we could rig the sail at one setting, leave the beach and not have to re-adjust for increases and decreases in the wind.
My notes from the testing indicate the Cheetah powers through lulls and is stable in gusts without feeling overpowered. This was particularly significant in the larger sizes. For instance, I never would have thought that I would have so much fun on an 8.5 but, in addition to feeling lighter than my old 8.0, its range is gigantic. The old sail would feel overpowered very quickly and get unwieldy. The new one felt good even when the wind increased enough that I could have gone to a 7.0.
The new Cheetah is significantly better in light wind. You can rig it tighter for more powered up conditions, but for any given setting it will be better in lulls. At the loosest settings you can make the sail work like a sail a full meter larger. The old one were pretty rangy as well, but these feel even more so.
The lightness and compactness of the sail were a joy. The sails feel really clean and fast without feeling sloppy or having any instability in gusts. They are very confidence-inspiring in terms of not worrying if you have the right sail or not. If the wind backs off for a moment, you keep going; if the wind gusts up, you go faster. I am extremely comfortable on these sails in variable conditions. The Cheetah makes you feel like you can go anywhere without a worry." -Dan on Oahu
Is the Cheetah right for you?
If you want a well built, fast, stable, light, and camless freeride sail, then the Cheetah is for you.
CHEETAH SAIL SPECS
| CHEETAH | Luff | Luff | Boom | Boom | No. of | Suggested Mast |
| Size (sq.m.) | Min (cm) | Max (cm) | Min (cm) | Max (cm) | Battens | Length / MCS / IMCS |
| 5.0 | 410 | 414 | 160 | 170 | 6 | 400 / 25 /19 |
| 5.5 | 432 | 436 | 170 | 180 | 6 | 430 / 25 /21 |
| 6.0 | 441 | 445 | 178 | 188 | 6 | 430 / 25 / 21 |
| 6.5 | 453 | 457 | 186 | 196 | 6 | 430 / 25 / 21 |
| 7.0 | 464 | 468 | 193 | 203 | 6 | 460 / 25 / 25 |
| 7.5 | 475 | 479 | 201 | 211 | 7 | 460 / 25 / 25 |
| 8.0 | 483 | 487 | 209 | 219 | 7 | 460 / 25 / 25 |
| 8.5 | 498 | 502 | 216 | 226 | 7 | 490 / 26 / 29 |
| 9.5 | 511 | 515 | 228 | 238 | 7 | 490 / 26 / 29 |
Note on Ezzy Masts
How To Choose The Perfect Mast Combination For Your Quiver:
- Pick the top and bottom that fits the sail you use the most.
- Use a longer top for your bigger sail.
- Use a shorter bottom for your smaller sail.
|
X
|
= Best Combination
|
= Good Combination
|
The Ezzy Hookipa Mast
Ezzy Sails work great with the Ezzy Mast system, but also work with a variety of other brand masts (RDM and regular diameter). You could contact your mast maker and see if the bend of your non-Ezzy mast is compliant.
Ezzy mast bend curves are tip: 75% to 79% and base: 62% to 65%
Note: this is not carbon content. This is percentage bend relative to the midpoint bend.
What does SURF magazine say about the Cheetah?
The largest windsurfing magazine in the world--German SURF--tested the Cheetah, and here is their verdict:
Original German Language:
Text:
"With Ezzy, the fun usually starts with rigging, as it
does with the Cheetah. For the luff and clew
there are very clever aids for the right trim - and the
trimming forces on the luff are very low. This is also
based on the unique design concept. The sail is
very much stabilized by the clew tension and
always has a clearly visible profile quite far forward
in the battens, which do not touch the mast and,
when trimmed properly - with more clew pull - are
clearly behind the mast. On the water, the Ezzy sail
is very stable in your hands, with low holding
forces and a very soft, cushioned feeling. Only in the
max trim does it appear a little tighter, but mostly
it appears elastic and flexible. It pulls a lot of gliding
power and good speed from the soft belly in
light to medium planing winds - it largely ignores
lulls and simply jets on; at top speed it lets up a
bit. Controllability with a balanced distribution of
tension remains very easy, even in strong winds - if
you trim the clew in good time, you'll need a few
extra centimeters (see page 34). The Ezzy is really
great for jibing and other freeride manoeuvres: very
light, nimble and absolutely without batten rotation.
Perfect for comfort freeriders and intermediate sailors."
A portion of every sail we sell goes to help schools in Sri Lanka.
Click on the image to read more about the Ezzy Foundation!