Dictionary D | E | F | G

- D -

Daggerboard: Daggerboards are found in some long boards. They are usually about 3' long, and are sometimes called a center board. The daggerboard slides into a slot in the middle of a sailboard, and provides lateral resistance through the water, which helps the sailor beat to windward.

Divinicell: see PVC foam.

Downhaul:(the verb) Amount of pull (via line & pulley) down on a sail creating bend in the mast.
Downhaul:(the noun) The downhaul is the rope used to pull the tack towards the mastbase. The diameter of this rope is usually 5mm (3/16"). The length varies depending on the amount of luff, and the number of pulleys (an average length is about 5 feet). Click here to see Windance's downhauls.

Draft (in a sail): Draft is the location of the deepest part of the shape (curve) of the sail. If the draft moves back, this means that the deepest part of the foil is moving towards the trailing edge of the sail. This makes the sail hard to control. The sailor can feel this effect in high winds. The pulling action on the sail becomes harder on the back hand.

Drysuit: A thick wetsuit with long arms, long legs and a dry zipper that does not let any water come through. There aren't many of these made for windsurfing anymore because the zippers themselves are very expensive, making the suit cost too much.

Dry zipper: A zipper that does not let water through. These are fairly expensive, and stiff, so aren't very commonly used anymore.

Duckjibe: A duckjibe is a jibe in which the sailor ducks under the boom instead of letting the boom rotate around the opposite way. It is more difficult than a standard jibe.

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- E -

E-box: E-box stands for European box. It is almost identical to the A-box (American), but is a little deeper, and a little wider. An A-box fin can work in an E-box, with some shims. The concept uses a roll pin on one end of the fin, (in windsurfing it is on the back), and then a tab on the front through which a hole is drilled. A machine screw goes through the hole in the fin, into a slider plate in the finbox. This is how the fin is tightened. The standard screw for the E-box is a 4 mm diameter screw, the length, about 25mm long. Click here to see all the boxes together.

Epoxy: Epoxy is the matrix (glue) that is used to hold the fiberglass, carbon, or Kevlar fibers together. Unlike polyester resin, Epoxy won't dissolve Styrofoam (Expanded Polystyrene). Because of this, and the superior bonding abilities, and its flexibility, epoxy is the choice for all high performance boards. Epoxy boards are usually painted, as some of the stronger epoxies are susceptible to Ultraviolet light. If epoxy is exposed to the sun for extended periods, the epoxy breaks down. Some epoxies have UV inhibitors in them, which protect against UV, so as a result, you may see some boards which look like polyester/glass boards, when in fact are epoxy/glass boards.

Epoxy board: An epoxy board is a board made with epoxy resin as the matrix. Epoxy boards often have an EPS core, and fiberglass skin. Sometimes carbon, or kevlar are also used in conjunction with the fiberglass.

EPS (Expanded Poly Styrene): EPS is the core most commonly used in Epoxy board construction. It is often called by the brand name: Styrofoam. It is the same material as that used in Styrofoam cups, and a host of other items. It is very lightweight (3/4 lb to 1 1/2 lb per square foot) making it preferable for use in Epoxy boards. Because of its styrene base, it will dissolve if polyester resin contacts with it. This is why all boards that have an EPS core are made with Epoxy resin.

"Eye of the wind": The eye of the wind is the point from which the wind is coming.

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- F -

Fiberglass: Fiberglass is found in virtually all sailboards including custom polyester, epoxy, and most production boards (excepting polyethylene boards). Fiberglass used for sailboard construction usually comes in cloth form on a roll. It is white fabric, and only becomes clear when saturated with a matrix (epoxy or polyester). It comes in many different weaves like: standard, crowfoot satin, unidirectional or many others. It is often used in conjunction with other materials like carbon, or Kevlar.

Fin: The fin is attached to the bottom of the board near the tail. It keeps the tail of the board behind the front of the board. There are many different types of fins: wave fins, pointers, and blades. Wave fins are designed to be easy to control, and easy to turn. Pointer fins are higher aspect (taller, with a shorter chord length).

Finbox: A finbox is the fitting into which you put a fin. There are quite a few varieties around now (unfortunately). Following are some of them, in order of popularity (at Windance) The A-box (for American), The Tuttle box (usually on custom race boards), the Power box (Mistral, F2), the Trim box (Bic), Tiga box, E-box (old European boards), or Ameritex.

Fit Kit: Click here for a definition of Thule fit kits.

Flex top (mast): Flex top masts are masts that have a much more flexible top than base. I don't think anyone has made flex top mast since about 1995. North Sails, and Windwing were a couple of the big manufacturers who promoted flex top masts. Virtually all masts are now considered constant curve, and because of this, they no longer mark on the mast one way or another.

Foil: The foil is the curve of something. In windsurfing, this can be on a fin, daggerboard, or sail (airfoil). Smoother foils are more efficient, and have less drag. This means if there is a big bump on a fin, it may increase the drag, and slow it down.

Foot: The foot is the bottom edge of the sail between the tack and the clew. Often there is a foot batten or two along the foot to hold the foot roach out beyond the straight line between the tack and the clew.

Footstrap: The footstrap is the nylon/neoprene strap which you slide your foot under on a board. Usually there are 3 footstraps or more on a board.

Fore: Fore is "in front of". The opposite is "aft".

Freeride: A term to describe slalom sailing in a range of conditions. Generally refers to lighter winds with smaller chop. Boards and sails in this category tend to be bigger but very versatile.

Fullsuit: A wetsuit that has long arms and long legs. These come in a variety of thicknesses and qualities.

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- G -

Gap "Closing the Gap": The term "Closing the gap" refers to the space, or "gap" between the foot of the sail and the board. In racing, a lot of air can "leak" out of the gap between the foot of the sail and the top of the board, reducing your efficiency, and speed. Race sails have a larger foot than wave sails, so that when you are sailing along, there is very little space under your sail, in fact, the sail may actually be touching the top of your board.

Gybe: Alternate spelling for jibe.

Glass (polyester) board: The term "glass board" is often used incorrectly to differentiate a polyester board from an epoxy one. The term has become misleading because both polyester and epoxy boards use fiberglass (glass) for the structure. But just so you know, when you hear the term "glass board", people probably mean a polyester board, which often has colorful designs underneath the glass.

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