I totally subscribe to your view. I know that I am not up to standard but I still like surfing my good old 250er Tiga Wave, called "Hughes". Granted a bit "flexible", but it doesn't break and I have already had a lot of fun with it

Do you think, the locals are going to laugh, if I show up with that stuff?

quote:

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Originally posted by decrepit


Not at Geraldton, you could have a lot of fun at coronations with that gear, but I'm not sure about gnarloo. OK if it's small and high tide, you'll have room to get back over the reef. But if it's big and low tide, you might find out how tough it isn't.
And yes take booties, there's lots of nasties on the reef and it's quite sharp.

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Thanks for your tipps. I have experienced a lot of ups and downs during the last 20 years or so, I am used to suffer and I am addicted to the great feeling windsurfing can give. No doubt, you can break every board if you surpass a critical load in a critical situation. I'll do my very best to keep my board. On the other hand: There must be a lot of attractive wave boards in West-Oz!?
Hang loose, Michael

8 out of 10 cats prefer whiskers

I think thats because whiskers has a higher fat content in it and therefore it's more appealing, it's a bit like offering us Mackas fried chips or a boiled potatoe.

It's like cars. How many people expect to keep a new ford or holden for more than 5 years before serious problems occur. My old EH was about 25 years old when I had it, my uncle still drives it 15 years later. My subaru is 25 years old with 420k's and still goes. Don't expect to see too many vt's vy's ect in 25 years.

Yes I agree with decrepit. there can be a problem with the sales people Or the expectations of the customer with the tool they want.
A sledge hammer can bang in nails but it want do a great job. A Kia will go off bitumen but that doesn't mean you should take it bush bashing.

If I buy a new tv for $10K I would expect it to last at least 15 years. But these too like windsurf gear are fashion items and constantly evolving and subject to break downs.

Sometimes the desire in the mind (or the cash in the wallet)is different to the reality of the product. While some will be conned others can't be convinced.

Decrepits enjoyment certainly doesn't suffer for using home made boards. You must be high on the list for number of waves per year.

boards are that light these days that putting on even a kilo wouldnt be the wnd of the world..older wave boards that are 7kg or so still perform excellent, so compromising some weight for strength on new boards would still only make them 6kg...

Whatever happened to the use of stringers in boards to create strength ?
They never added much to the overall weight.

bring back those glass boards they might be a bit heavier.
but you can ding them put holes in them and still keep sailing.
easy to repair and a lot cheaper.
unfortunately there not many people that make them anymore.
everyone gets suck in by those magazines that promote production boards.

quote:

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Originally posted by hardman


Decrep,

Who are you referring to here? You eat one too many big macs and people start referring to you as the larger gentleman

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Hey, Hardy, did I mention any names????
But there are 2 gentlemen who's boards seem to spend a disproportionate time in my repair bay!!!!

Vando... you must be joking right? The old glass boards were a hell of a lot weaker than a current sandwich board (wave board). I have a video from when the first epoxy sandwich boards became common in Maui (about late 90's) and top shapers on it remark that you could not jump an old board 50ft at Pozo cos it would break. Pro's jump new boards to that height regularly. Yes I know they land better than us but the guys who know were commenting on the same hypothetical guy riding an old board and a new one... whcih would break first do you think?
I have a 2001 Sonic waveboard (Cobra made) which I have jumped between mast and double mast often (and landed flat mostly, yes my knees are now stuffed) and it has no heel dents at all.... with 4mm thick (thin?) ****ty pads on it. Further I ran it over the reef in a bottom turn at Gnaraloo and only put holes thru the first sandwich layer (just) so no water got in and it was a 10min repair then back out. An old glass board would have been torn 2 inches deep from end to end in that one trust me.
We're doing pretty good I think (in real money terms) when my glass board in 1990 lasted 3 years and it was rooted. I now hammer a board a lot harder and both my new style boards have had 5 years with no discernable damage at all. Even with 5% inflation the new board is cheaper.

I do agree with the original poster that a bit more strength in slalom / freestyle / freeride boards would be nice. Maybe that is what the Super-X boards do well as they are designed to be fast and flogged hard ????

mark also you'll find that the top pro wave riders aren't on production boards, but reinforced customs so they can take those drops.

also when the wind is 20+kn who really cares about another kilo or two in the board?

poley

After repairing a few production boards and custom boards I can say there is less glass in a production as compared to a custom of similar weight. Not all glass is the same! some are stronger than others, also the weave of a glass can change it's strength, hopefully your board manufacturers is using the strong expensive glass.

I'm not sure about the pros but I believe the custom boards should be using S glass, satin weave or crowsfoot or maybe a 60/40 unidirectional, which would give a stronger laminate as you say. I've seen inside an old 5.6kg wave board that was used by a Hawiaiin pro sailor it had no pvc over the polystyrene just 2 layers of carbon 4 layers of kevlar and then 2 more layers of carbon thats about $1000 in carbon and kevlar for just the deck!
Mark I know what you mean about that dry production glass, infact that dry inside glass looks more like canvas/cotton than glass. Have you seen all the metal staples used inside the productions as well?
Bugger....
I didn't want to get sucked in to this post