Need to know a bit more. Like how many litres is your board(s) and what strength winds do you usually want to get out in??

Bondalucci said...

Need to know a bit more. Like how many litres is your board(s) and what strength winds do you usually want to get out in??

Not sure how many litres my current one is.....what would you recommend for my weight?

If your an intermediate. Lets say footstraps harness and making some jibes, I'd suggest a no cam sail between 7 and 7.5 so you can get out on the "nice" days,
and a 5.5 to 6 for the slightly windier days.

Then add smaller a sail (4.5 to 5) if you need it.

As for boards, I reckon you ultimately want 2. Although you are light, youve got a lot of leverage so I reckon something between 120-130 litres as well as something 90-100 litres.
Second hand market is good these days. If money is a constraint I reckon you are better getting 2 second hand boards rather than sinking a heap of money into one brand spanker! (this'll nearly double your sailing days and give you the chance to be on the right gear when the wind picks up)

Good Luck!

Lalalamort,

I'd recommend you concentrate your money on getting a good board around 130 to 140 liters in volume and a good 7 to 7.5 meter sail to complement it. There will be many days this summer when the seabreeze is around 12 to 15 knots in speed. This combo will be ideal as the wind will not be very consistent. The bigger board will allow you to plane through the lulls and will make the experience more pleasant. Spend your money on gear you will use most of the time.

There will be times when this combo is too big, like last Monday arvo. If you have a smaller fin then you will be able to go out to about 20 knots or a bit more. The north easterly seabreeze seems to be lighter on the north side of Sydney compared to the southern side. Go to Wind Surf and Snow and have a look at what they have.

Thanks guys.

Why would you recommend a no cam sail over a cam sail?

lalalamort said...

evlPanda said...

Approximately a 6, a 6.5 and a 7.

Whereabouts in Sydney do you sail? Anywhere near St Kilda?

Narrabeen or Palm Beach.....isnt St Kilda in Melbourne?

Sorry, thought you were perhaps someone else.

I'd recommend:
- 120litre FreeRide board
- (camless) 6.0, 6.5, 7.0 sails.

Board
Freeride boards sit between FreeStyle and Slalom. I take my freeride board out in small surf and am thinking of starting some freestyle on it. They are sort of jack-of-all-trade boards, master-of-none. They are quite easy to ride, if rigged right even sail themselves.

Examples are the JP "Exciteride" or the Starboard "Futura".
http://www.jp-australia.com/2009/index.php?id=35
www.star-board.com/2009/pages/products/v_futura.php

Sails
I'm only 2 years into this sport myself and I reckon a 6.5 sail in a steady 18-20 knots is the easiest to progress with. A 120 litre board will still allow you to uphaul when needed.

Again a FreeRide type sail is what you would probably find easiest to progress on. Same as the boards they can do a little bit of everything, but nothing extremely well.

Examples are the Neil Pryde "Zen" and KA Sails "Kult" or "Koyote" (what I use).
www.neilpryde.com/sails-2009/crossover-sails/zen.html
www.kasail.com/windsurfing/sails/2009/2009_kult.html
www.kasail.com/windsurfing/sails/2009/2009_koyote.html

Where to Buy
There are some good deals on the 'Buy and Sell' section of this website, probably a good time to look too because all the shiny new gear is out and people are selling their old. There's not much difference between something 2 years old and brand new apart from the condition and price of course.

Cool. Thanks guys. Im heading into WindsurfnSnow tomorrow as recommended, I doubt they'll tell me anything that I havnt learnt on here, but who knows.

Mobydisc said...

lalalamort said...

Cool. Thanks guys. Im heading into WindsurfnSnow tomorrow as recommended, I doubt they'll tell me anything that I havnt learnt on here, but who knows.

Once finished there come down to Narrabeen Lake, at the western carpark. Hopefully there will be a bit of breeze and a few people will be there. I drive a white Mitsubishi Delica van, its one of those funny looking 4WD vans. You can have a go on my kit if there is some wind and my kit is rigged.

Cool. Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately, I'm busy afterwards. But yeh, im down at that western carpark generally about once a week so I'm sure I'll see you round, haha.

Sounds pretty good. However if you can go for a 7.5 it may be worthwhile. Today at Narrabeen many people were using 7.5s or bigger. I was on a 7.8 and I was underpowered a fair bit.

Maybe you could look at one of those V8 Heliums?

The board would have been good for today. Plenty of people were out on big freeride boards of about that size.

Lalala,
Assuming you will want a smaller sail one day (5 to 5.5m), when working out your largest sail size (7 or 7.5) you may want to consider if the 7.5 will require you to need a second boom. (more money)

I can get away with 1 boom covering 5m up to 7.2m. But if I went to a 7.5 I would need a new boom.

Some people would say that the 7m Pride V8 would be equivalent to a no cam 7.5 anyway. (Jman on seabreeze buy and sell has one for sail, I've seen it and it's in mint condition-he's just bought the '08 model,-you could compare his price to the one in your shop, and make him an offer)

The other thing to consider if you want to keep it to one boom and go 7.5, is the Neil Pryde Hell Cat (see web site) as they have a "cut away" clew that reduces the boom length. It's a no cam sail.
Happy hunting.

Oh man maybe I was wrong about the sail type, i remember being told it was a no cam sail....apparently it has two....hmm maybe it was another....I'm going back in either tomorrow or thursday to rent and then hopefully buy the gear

Wineman said...

Mobydisc said...
I was on a 7.8 and I was underpowered a fair bit.

A lot of us out at Botany today were powered up with 7.0 & 7.2's, with just enuff to get thru the lulls.
From Normo, it's not that much further & a quick run thru tunnel - clean open water with a good breeze. Come out & have a go - you won't be dissappointed.

Whats Botany like? which side of the bay do people launch from? is there much swell?

It would be interesting to check it out. Narrabeen tends to be a bit poor until we get "proper" seabreezes.....theres too much protection

Sure Botany is a better place on the water but for me is worth the hassle of finding a park and somewhere to rig? Its so crowded on the water, every man, woman, eight children and their dog goes down there, bringing their jetskis and speedboats.

Maybe during the weekdays its okay but on sunny hot weekends its mayhem. Perhaps Lake Macquarie is the go. Probably takes as long to get there. You get away from the crowds and according to Bonzle its one of the windiest places in Australia

I had a look around Umina last summer and it was very busy on the weekend and limited public access because houses are built right on the waterfront. If anyone can advise of any good spots around there that would be great.

dism said...

lalalamort said...

I figured the gear I'm looking at "JP Freeride 144, a Neil Pryde V8 7.0(although I'll not sure if thats the sail now), 70% carbon mast and new boom' all used gear....would come to around $1800......with the board making up $1100 of that....does that price seem about right? is it a good deal or am I being conned?

by the way, thanks for all the advice so far guys. Really appreciate it.

If the boards worth it
This is what stuff normally is:
New boom - $150-$350 aluminium average size
70% mast new - $300-$500
NP sails used - ~$300-500

Depends on what brands (is it all NP? - thats expensive) or are you getting poor quality mast (maybe wrong bend characteristic? and boom)

WindSurfandSnow are good to deal with, they sold me a used board, good price, good service, so I reckon if the gears in good nick and right sorta brands, it's a good deal (if you have the cash!)

Yeh the sail is going to be $400 whoich i figure is good, the mast is $200, and boom is about 175.....just the board Im not sure....$1100 seems a lot.....

I'm heading back this afternoon, hopefully take it out for a test on Narrabeen