Hi Windsurfing community,

I have a quick general question regarding board volume.

I am currentily learning on an old Minstral Equip and a F2 funboard. I have a mate who is going to hook me up with an old Zolt shortboard once my skills improve to a point where i might be able to manage a shorter board.

My quick question is: Im looking at either purchasing ( after convincing my wife ) either a Starboard Carve or a JP Xcite Ride. I Sail in sydney so im sure you all aware of Sydney wide averages etc..
Im just curious of any experiences that you may have with either of these boards.

My main concern is Im 6'2 and weigh 90kgs. I am aiming for a board which volume is just above my weight Plus the weight of my rig so that its still slightily bouyant ( in case i still need to uphaul ). Whats the point of getting a larger volume board is it simply because its stronger and therefore you can use a larger sail for lighter wind conditions ??

Any advice is greatily appreciated

Best regards

Matt

Hi Matt,

I have a Tabou 140 and its an awesome board for Sydney. Its the best board I have ever had. You can have a go of it next time we meet. I think the F2 Xantos would be good for you too. Basically any reasonably modern board around that volume will be good.

point of bigger board... (note; all this is generalisation)

bigger board = lower wind board because...

larger planning area, therefore higher lift at lower speeds.

bigger board = wider tail+your weight = more leverage over the bigger fin required to match with a bigger sail therefore less wind need to create x amount of power to get planning.

bigger board also = easier to uphaul as you know but more effort in higher wind+chop to hold down.

Thanks alot for all your input guys.

I hope the winds in Sydney are treating you ok, I saw about 8 windsurfers ripping over here in NZ afew days back and im missing my old gear , its a shame its so cold in the water cause its been moderiatly windy since i arrived.


All the best

Matt

Matt,

I've found myself in a similiar situation.

I weigh around 100kgs and have only just started wind surfing a few months ago, After using the initial 200+ litre hire boards I moved to a JP excite ride 150L FWS (bought second hand at a bargain) which volume wise I found great. But I've since dinged and damaged it through the learning process. I intially thought it would be too big but it turned out to be a great board.

In my limited experience I'd not only be looking for the right volume but more importantly a tough and durable board, because as a beginner you'll bang it up. (repairs can be costly) As a beginner I've wanted to progress as fast as possible, it hasn't helped being in the repair shop for a week at a time. I've since traded the X-cite ride and gone for a Starboard Go 144. (bought yesterday...will hit bay this wk end...hardest part over...girlfriend's been won over by the colour...)

Below is what I put my issues down to:

Issues:

125-130L can still uphaul but could feel unstable under your feet and may sink a little below water level. But once yr a confident sailor will probably not notice it (may take time). This is dependant on yr skill level and this will intially depend on how consistently & often you can hit the water.

140-150L easy to uphaul extremely stable and can handle larger sail.

The important thing is you want to consistently enjoy yr sailing. My experience has been that light winds are fine but once the wind picks up technique becomes critical, a STRONG & DURABLE board will allow you to progress quicker and be more confident in trying stuff. There's nothing worse than waiting for the right conditions to come along, then hitting the water and smashing your board up and having to sit on the shore watching everyone else blasting, if this happens to many times, windsurfing becomes wind suffering and it can become all to difficult and you just give up and take up an easier sport.

Solution:

Whatever volume works out right for you, bye a strong, durable board. Its about havin fun and staying on the water.

Gusty Willie said...


Solution:

Whatever volume works out right for you, bye a strong, durable board. Its about havin fun and staying on the water.

Lucky for me back in the day I learned and then used plastic boards like Bomboras. Basically I couldn't afford anything else and they were just as good as other boards too. I'm passing my Zot onto Matt and that will be an ok high wind board for him. If he can bust that board then I dunno whether there is any board out there for him.

I'm 95kg's so not far off your weight.
I've found that I can just uphaul a 116ltr board. Any less and I would have to see saw it like crazy.
Thats with a 7mtr sail.
My first board was a Bombora South Pacific and it was indestructable.