WA
6277 posts
Look around at your local spot, and ask the people there what sort of board they're riding.
I'd guess that about 70% are riding "freeride" boards. I'd also hazard a guess that a freeride board is what you're after.
QLD
2315 posts
Racing & harassing blow boats in less than 20knots.
No
Pros
Go upwind like a rocket
Go super deep downwind
Good for racing dinghy's & yachts
Good for going fast in light winds
Good for not hanging round in light winds
Good for fishing off of
Light
Something different
Good for improving you're skills
Cons
Expensive (ok some boards are cheap now but all the associated hardware adds up)
Fragile
Not suited so much to beam reaching, which is what most intermediate sailors spend their time doing
Deep water ports only, you need decent sized fins to get that hull up and moving
You can't jump them
In 14 knots + most would go faster on a slalom/fast freeride board
Other freeride boards plane not much later
I'd rather be fishing
That all said there are plenty of intermediate sailors using them.
27 posts
If you want to use a 70cm racing fin and have money to burn, it's the board for you. Even going with the big freeride boards has it's pitfalls, so I really think that a guy who has to ask, shouldn't be sailing these things.
WA
23684 posts
But they are great for freestyle.
I mean just yesterday, cosmicharlie managed a Willy Skipper on one. Just ask him. Oh sorry, on here he is using "bigboard" today. Maybe tomorrow he'll go back to swiftsurfer or snowyguy or snowblower or some crap.
If "he has to ask so shouldn't be sailing one" is so true.... maybe you should give up windsurfing for good Brucie. I mean, at your peak you have posted some 20x questions per day to 4 or 5 forums using about 30 different names.
Get your hand off it Brucie
QLD
2172 posts
The idea of a Formula board is that they can get planing in as little as 5 knots. For pro sailing the idea is that they can hold a comp in pretty much any conditions. They are usually around 140-170 litres and you would use them with sails 8.0m or bigger, with fins about 60cm or bigger.
For recreational sailors, they are a great idea if you live some distance from the water and "just want to go sailing"... When combined with a second board, you can pretty much sail all the time (except when it is becalmed or cyclonic).
With my formula + a 10.7m sail, I can plane is about 6-8 knots of wind. I use it up to about 12 knots; after that I use a 7.0m + short board. With my weight (72kg) they get very flighty in chop, especially so above 10 knot. If you have a *really* flat area, you can use them up to about 16-18 knots but I wouldn't suggest it -> use something smaller. As mkseven said, once it hits 14knots you wont be sailing it.
They shouldn't really be used to teach absolute beginners as the skin is quite brittle and is easy to damage - mostly due to mast/boom impressions or harness hooks. Also, the formula sails are very quite big (aka. heavy) and often with wide luff sleeves, so uphauling or waterstarting requires plenty of sailing experience. And something they dont tell you -> when waterstarting it is very easy to kick the big fin and thus leave you with spurting blood... :)
However, if the sailor is getting their feet wet after 10 years of no sailing (ie: they have some skills), they are great to re-learn how to sail again - I have seen people with 6-8m sails just crusing around in 10-12 knots just learning how to hold the rig again - works reasonably well with a short fin, say 50cm.
hope this helps...
