Hi All
I want to get out on the water more often and so i'm looking for lighter wind board to get me going earlier than my beloved Futura 122 which is a 2008 model.
I use a 7.5 NCX as my biggest sail and like to hammer around flat out. On looking for a beast of a light wind board I have learned that width is now more important than volume.
I wanted a 140lt board but now it seems a wider board with about the same volume is the way to go! I may well grab a 8.5m sail in the summer to be the main sail.
I have spotted a iSonic 117 which looks fantastic. so i'm just wondering whats the general feeling on this?
Cheers
Scott
Yep width is great and you can ,drop the volume ..
I use to have a 150 /70 wide
now 130 litre / 83.8 wide
I use sails from 7.0 - 8.5 .on it .
wide boards are great for light Air.
What year isonic is it? They have changed the widths from year to year. I have a 2011 isonic 117 (it's 75cm wide) gets me going in about 12knts of wind, and 18 knts is about it's maximum with my 65kg of weight trying to hold it down.
Given youre a little heavier than me, and depending on how light a wind speed you want to be able to get going in, you might want something a little wider than that.
The isonic 117 is a great board though
I am about 105kg. Reflex 9.7 (4 cam full race sail) and jp super light wind which is 92cm wide and 168 litres is my light wind gear and gets on the plane and goes super fast when in the same breeze i am chugging on a mistral 137 which is 82cm wide with a firewing 7.8 (3 cam free race sail). The difference is extrordinary. I havent tried the 9.7 on the 82cm wide board so i cant say exactly what is due to sail power and what is board drag. But the slw definitely feels like it glides over the water even when i am chugging, compared to the 137 which feels like its pushing through the water. If you are 25kg lighter than me, probably something like the mistral 137 might suit you. Of course steve allen used to get going in not much wind on an isonic 117 (now on patrick boards) with a reflex 9.7, so that might be a good choice for you.
I am 93 kg and sail a Mistral 137 (82cm wide) with a 8.7 race sail as my light wind gear. It gets me going in 10 to 15 kts. My favourite combo is the 137 with my 7.9 race sail. This is the combo in my avatar. This combo works in 12 to 18 kts. Also the extra length of the 137 means I can easily tack it, which is really useful in underpowered conditions. At 80 kg, you'll fly on this board with your 7.5 sail.
I have to agree with john340, the mistral 137 slalom with a 7.8 is a sweet combo when its powered up so maybe i need to try it with the 9.7. In the light stuff. Sounds like 82cm wide might be good for scott265.
as a heavyweight like PIV, I have tried MANY combinations in light wind
on a longboard like a Mistral Equipe or Fanatic CAT I use 8.x sails (8.0, 8.4 and 8.5 - depending)
once the wind goes past a certain threshold - about 12 + knots THEN i use a JP SLW92 with the larger 10.0 m² sail = fun,fun
i have tried the larger race sail on longboard and on an AHD FF 160/79
for me it felt like too much work/ heavy
especially in less than ideal conditions - light wind does that !!
for someone of 80 kilos, 8.x should be GREAT
on a board of around 80 cm width s/b MAGIC !!!
let us know what works for you !!!
Repeat after me... "the wider, the lighter"
Grab a formula board+sail, then your low-wind limit will be around 7-8 kn.
So the 2014 isonic 117 looks to be 80cm wide, which gives you 8cm more width than your 2008 futura. Sounds like it could be what your after.
Obviously you're not going to get formula board light wind performance, but it'll be an improvement on your futura.
If you buy it, don't forget to get a decent/ appropriate sized fin for the size sail you intend to use on it. It makes a huge difference to how well it goes upwind and how controllable the board will be.
Grab something like that:www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Windsurfing-Boards/~vbkqj/2011-F2-Sx-Slalom-234-cm-135-litres.aspx?search=EjQ0DoWvNYhAy8mo2nnt4wfcOTkVVZH7
I have an old one from 2006 and use it sometimes with a 7m when I'm to lazy to use my big sail. I'm not going much slower than smaller board...If the wind pick up and you use a small sail, all you have to do is to move the mast base forward and the board stay nice and flat.
Advantages are that you will get the planning easily and be able to use a bigger sail with it if you wish to later on.8.5 is probably the max you can use on a 117 from 2014 ( I can be wrong though).
Although, that would depend whether you keep your futura 122 L or want only one board...
Select to expand quoteSubsonic said..
What year isonic is it? They have changed the widths from year to year. I have a 2011 isonic 117 (it's 75cm wide) gets me going in about 12knts of wind, and 18 knts is about it's maximum with my 65kg of weight trying to hold it down.
Subsonic, what size sail do you need to get going in 12 knots?
Select to expand quoteHarrow said..Subsonic said..
What year isonic is it? They have changed the widths from year to year. I have a 2011 isonic 117 (it's 75cm wide) gets me going in about 12knts of wind, and 18 knts is about it's maximum with my 65kg of weight trying to hold it down.
Subsonic, what size sail do you need to get going in 12 knots?
That's depends a lot on how, where and why you measured 12 knots.
7.8m overdrive.
The 12knts of wind speed is from looking at the seabreeze wind meter readings after a session.
It involves pumping onto the plane at 12knts, but there's enough board surface and sail area to keep me planing once it's up.
Thanks for the advice, I went with the iSonic 117 carbon in the end. Will get a better fin straight away and then a larger sail proberly 8.5 in the spring. Can't wait for it to turn up.
When you go to get your next sail have a look at this years 8.6m overdrive since you are already with Severne. Really light and requires a lot less downhaul than last years model, and the shorter clew length and moderate luff sleeve means you will be easily be able to up haul if the wind is really light. I did prefer the red of the 14 model though.
Hiya Scott. Do you still have the World Cup 265?
Hope this might help. Largest I have is 7.8m and 121L and weigh 78kg these days. As you can see in this video the wind is 10-12knots but can still burn along ok. As mentioned above - the wide board helps and you don't need the volume as much because of this. I don't do any crazy sail pumping just run with a bit of swell and pump the fin to make the board plane and you will be away.
Cheers
Marty
gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2013-12-26&team=6
Select to expand quoteSubsonic said..
7.8m overdrive.
The 12knts of wind speed is from looking at the seabreeze wind meter readings after a session.
It involves pumping onto the plane at 12knts, but there's enough board surface and sail area to keep me planing once it's up.
Seabreeze readout can be dodgy depending on where the local windmeter is situated. Better to take a handheld meter reading and then you might have to adjust a bit for local topography.
Select to expand quotesboardcrazy said...Subsonic said..
7.8m overdrive.
The 12knts of wind speed is from looking at the seabreeze wind meter readings after a session.
It involves pumping onto the plane at 12knts, but there's enough board surface and sail area to keep me planing once it's up.
Seabreeze readout can be dodgy depending on where the local windmeter is situated. Better to take a handheld meter reading and then you might have to adjust a bit for local topography.
True,
But this particular wind meter resides on a spit post in the middle of the swan river (I sail past it on a regular basis). It doesn't get much more accurate than that.
Hand held meters can also be a dodgy way to collect wind readings. As you stated, generally you have to account for the local topography, which is a guess at best.
I'm quite sure some of the seabreeze wind meters are in back sheds, and sometimes they forget to open the window.
Select to expand quotesboardcrazy said..
Subsonic said..
7.8m overdrive.
The 12knts of wind speed is from looking at the seabreeze wind meter readings after a session.
It involves pumping onto the plane at 12knts, but there's enough board surface and sail area to keep me planing once it's up.
Seabreeze readout can be dodgy depending on where the local windmeter is situated. Better to take a handheld meter reading and then you might have to adjust a bit for local topography.
I'll also go with the closest sea breeze anemometer, which is from an approved BOM site, as the best measure of the wind. ( if you really need to put a number on it). Otherwise just use the sail sizes used by your test fleet who've beaten you out onto the water as the comparative measure. Whitecaps are OK once you've learnt to allow for the sun angle.
Have big gaps in your quiver and its easy. Not much wind = 9.7m lots of wind = 7.8m 
Hi Marty
Yes it's going up on the wall but i would love to get at sail it before it does, I just love looking at it. boards just don't look as cool these days.
Great video and it looks like almost no wind but your up and away, looking forward to getting the new board and putting a 44cm MFC fin on it.
Not sure on a bigger sail yet and will wait for the summer to kick in before I worry about that.
