Well here we go! I think this might be my first thread, so don't crucify me too much (and try to keep kites out of it).

I always used to sail with both hands on top of the boom. Peter Hart in Windsurf Dec 2004 recommends overhand grip, although he does point out that undergrip is not wrong, it can just lead to other poor techniques, such as throttling the front of the sail.

Last year I had some training and was told that undergrip is better, so I tried it. After feeling uncomfortable at first I now find it normal.

So I am confused. The guru says that overgrip is preferred. All the manouvres are done with overgrip and you really only plane with undergrip. That means you have to adjust your hands.

I sail flat water, but do have the intention of some small wave stuff. Is the general concensus for an undergrip or overgrip?

Weird isn't it? I've recently started going front hand undergrip, and justify it to myself by the following thought experiment:

Imagine a vertical pole in front of you. Grab it with your hands. Chances are your left hand will face right, and your right hand will face left.

Now do the same with a pole at 45 degrees. Again you'll grab it with one hand palm up, the other palm down.

Lastly, do the same for a horizontal pole. You'll grab it with both hands palm down.

Moral: If you're really raking the rig back (and therefore the boom is angled down) then front hand undergrip works better. If the boom is more horizontal, both hands overgrip is better.

I guess it all comes down to what you find easiest to control

I agree with nebian, I use under when blasting, over when grovelling or wave riding.
But I use wave sails that need to be raked back more to close the slot.
May be different with lower bottomed sails that are used more upright.

I find it's also easier to waterstart hand under, lets the sail get more vertical.

That's why my mate loves his "z" boom, front hand stays in the same spot in all conditions.

if it feels good, do it!

Been trying both myself lately. Undergrip for long peirods of flat straight sailing, but always overgrip if I'm trying new things (chop hopping and whatnot)

Gybe overgrip aways

Front hand under, back hand over for 15+ years. Came from the Z boom I used to use. I also find that grip (which of course alternates as you change tack) gives each wrist/arm the use of different muscles on each tack, giving the un-used ones a bit of a break (or so it feels to me).

Can anyone tell me if Z booms can still be bought new? Are Hydrodynamix still in existence? Having just gotten back into windsurfing after a 6 year break, the new conventional boom I have bought isn't as good as the Z boom I used to have for wavesailing.

Dip916
We are alive and well!
In fact today we are cooking a new batch of Z-Booms.
Have a look at the web site and see the improvements since way back when.

Paul.

PS. I sail overhand on Port Tack & underhand on Strarboard Tack when planing & overhand both ways when grovelling.

Paul

I didn't realise this thread would create so much reaction. General consensus seems to be 'be dynamic'. Use the technique that is suitable for the situation and be able to use both.

Kremlin's stress on undergrip in the waves was a surprise. I would have thought that wave sailing was all manouvres with very little fanging in a straight line, so overhand would have made more sense. Kremlin has had huge amounts of wave experience though, so I will definitely keep it in mind.

Now where is that wind.....

I think it comes down to what you're comfortable with, I use both depending on the situation. If I'm cruising or trying to go fast I'll always use undergrip on front hand. If I'm gybing or wave riding I mostly use overgrip. Freestyle moves like vulcans work better with overgrip too but I always do forward loops and back loops with undergrip. So I don't think it matters too much, I think most moves can be done with either grip - just do what feels right. Happy sailing!

O.P wanted to keep kiters out of the thread but you JUST CAN'T.

The best thing about underhand front grip is that it is a very small movement required to pull a fingersign at kiters as you pass them. Likewise those who don't give way etc.

Seriously...... I've been using underhand grip for about 15 years due to wrist problems, and I thought spreading the load around a bit on different muscles and a different wrist angle would help as the wrist is not really 'worked out' in one area. Now I masturbate less.....

Anyway I digress. After 15 yrs with underhand front grip, I tried overhand at front, only when gybing. It improved them no end as I could get more mastfoot pressure. Now I think that will improve my bottom turn........ no chance to test yet cos I busted my damn ankle and I'm out for the season.

i've always sailed front hand under, these days when my arms get tired i switch to front hand over. the different grip seems to help rest my arms but i switch back pretty quickly.

a few months back someone on SB suggested palm down was better for gybes, so i tried it and found it was better.

i also find when i "try" to jump hand over it doesn't feel right and i can't get any height. something to do with the lifting action i guess? also when i am doing "s" turns hand over doesn't feel right. hand under allows me to grip the boom and through the rig around a bit.

i have been told by plenty of race pro's to go hand over, helps the sailor to relax the stance etc. mainly aimed at fast broad reaches.

Retroboy, That's a tad harsh
I wouldn't say the web site is Crappy.
It is basic, it does work & it shows the product, that is the aim.
We could spend a fortune on a -wanky one that has all the moving parts and so much crap going on that it takes 15 minutes to open the home page, people would then bail before seeing the product.
Personally I hate those sites, they usually take you around in circles and tell you nothing about the actual product anyway.
How much do you estimate Starboard spent upgrading their site?
What a disaster that was, so much for the big money and the experts.

I'm like you when it comes to looking at some of the other brands of Booms on the market, we tend to be critical of what we know best.

You could show us your first attemt at building a Z-Boom or at least have a go at gripping one and we'll see how crappy that is
That's right your a Graphic Designer not a Boom manufacturer, but you could get someone to custom build one for you, that wouldn't be very cost affective though

You know the industry and you know that we could never justify the outlay of a -wanky web site, our portion of the market is tiny and we would never recover the money let alone make profit.
No amount of money or marketing will bring back the Z-Boom to where it was 15 years ago and we accept that.
If you can design a better web site for the price of a Z-Boom then you got yourself a brand new Z-Boom

Paul
Not a Graffik Deez-Eye-Nah

I agree Paul. Their website is fine.

What drive sme insane is the ones that are TOO good, like you said. I wanted to buy a new wettie, so looked as Quiksilver and Billabong's sites. I gave up after 2 min of waiting for the ****y animated movie thingo to load (with no link down the bottom that says "skip intro".

BTW, don't think I'll go back to a Z-boom it has been too long and a bit of a risk I may not like it. BUT your site has sold me on a RD wave boom (the 28mm). I've been using Chinook for ages, need a new one and was just going to buy Chinook again. Now I've seen your site I will buy one of yours in a couple months. There u have it, a success story.

Am I being 'ganged-up' on...
Reality check... a site can look cool without the heavy overheads of unwarranted Flash animations etc...
The cover page is shocking... really looks amateurish... which is a real shame, coz the products are so good...
Sad fact, 99% of ppl out there judge a book buy itz cover, so with just a little more design time/thought, the site could look great, and reflect the quality of the products... that was my point... anyway, this isn't a thread about the state of Hydro's website - just a gentle 'hint' that those who don't know the excellence of the Hydro products - particularly the Zed, will tend to judge its quality/function negatively if the site looks ordinary - which is certainly does... and it wouldn't take much to pick the site up... right now, it looks like itz stuck in the 80's...