Not sure why they didn't include footstraps on the LT like the Japanese Windsurfer Ultralight of the 90s:




Hard to go past a raceboard for comfort and control in a wide range of wind and sea states which is why raceboards are a good choice for cruising / voyaging.

I have not sailed the LT but I have a Kona a Phantom 320 raceboard, and had a Exocet 380 Raceboard (65 cm wide), so may be I can give you some info for the comparison.
I love the Kona and I'll always have one.
Nothing compares a full on 380 Raceboard railing upwind in the beating straps but the Kona is much easier to sail and enjoy overall. With the footstraps it planes and jibes shortboard-like (slower, of course). And you can waterstart it easily with more rounded and thinner rails vs a Raceboard. 70cm wide is quite stable in heavy seas/chop, but narrow enough not to bounce much when blasting. The daggerboard doesn?t protude the deck as in the raceboards so easier to sail in marginal conditions, where a daggerboard protuding sometimes interferes with the place you would like to position your feet.

And the new raceboards are so fragile that require lot's of dings/crack repairs. That's why I sold the Exocet 380 and bought a Phantom 320 tuffskin (also a little wider and easier to ride in the straps, but not as plug and play as the Kona). That?s the board I have in the sailing club in the Barcelona downtown, not as windy as my beach house, where I keep the Kona as a the lightwind board. Regarding fragility: if you can get a 2nd hand old raceboard with a working daggerboard and mast track you wouldn't have the problem.

The rig sizes of the Kona are bigger and monofilm-battened, so, performance wise, I imagine the Kona having an extra notch vs the LT. But the fleet cannot compare with the LT (only in Florida and in Scandinavia there are stablished Kona fleets)

About the availability of the Kona in Australia I cannot comment, but they are still manufactuing them (a hollow and 11kg version in the works)

Hope it helps!

Marc

Later model Equipe in the tougher construction.

techno 293 really fun have done 23.4 knots on mine with 7.8 and 46 fin

Techno 293+ if u can count that as a long board , done 27+ knots

RichardG said..

Roy1000 said..
Techno 293+ if u can count that as a long board , done 27+ knots

Sorry, I don't think that is a longboard. Reasons given: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Ezzy-Zephyr-search?page=1#lastpost

Bic Techno 293, RS-One, RSX, Glide, Phantom 295/299 etc are hybrid raceboards that comply with the old R300 Raceboard rule.

Generally the hybrid raceboards are around 3m long and underperform compared to "longboards" in displacement mode ( <10kns windspeed) because of less waterline length but can perform well in planning mode.

Current full list of WS approved boards can be found here:
d7qh6ksdplczd.cloudfront.net/sailing/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/23104337/WS-List_Raceboard2023.pdf

cammd said..

Roy1000 said..
Techno 293+ if u can count that as a long board , done 27+ knots

If it didn't have a mast track and footstraps you might call it a windsup but given it has those it is definitely at longboard.

That would make a 1992 Mistral Shredder and a 1992 Mistral Screamer a longboard. I think that a Techno and the others mentioned just now are not true longboards. Infact short boards in the 1980s included boards of the length of those.

cammd said..

RichardG said..

cammd said..

Roy1000 said..
Techno 293+ if u can count that as a long board , done 27+ knots

If it didn't have a mast track and footstraps you might call it a windsup but given it has those it is definitely at longboard.

That would make a 1992 Mistral Shredder and a 1992 Mistral Screamer a longboard. I think that a Techno and the others mentioned just now are not true longboards. Infact short boards in the 1980s included boards of the length of those.

I assumed we were talking about contemporary boards.

Even the word contemporary lacks precision as the earlier mentioned boards are still contemporary and many exist even today even though made in the 1990s. Now Techno is a totally different style of board to the LT for sure and not a true longboard while it may be a hybrid race/slalom board. Now modern boards are getting even shorter so all is relative and not helpful.

cammd said..

RichardG said..

cammd said..

RichardG said..

cammd said..

Roy1000 said..
Techno 293+ if u can count that as a long board , done 27+ knots

If it didn't have a mast track and footstraps you might call it a windsup but given it has those it is definitely at longboard.

That would make a 1992 Mistral Shredder and a 1992 Mistral Screamer a longboard. I think that a Techno and the others mentioned just now are not true longboards. Infact short boards in the 1980s included boards of the length of those.

I assumed we were talking about contemporary boards.

Even the word contemporary lacks precision as the earlier mentioned boards are still contemporary and many exist even today even though made in the 1990s. Now Techno is a totally different style of board to the LT for sure and not a true longboard while it may be a hybrid race/slalom board. Now modern boards are getting even shorter so all is relative and not helpful.

anyway if it hasn't got a mast track its not a true longboard, for example how do alter trim for different points of sail on a windsup.

I wouldn't consider the below a longboard, its a windsup there's a difference IMHO, longboards have a track and straps, simples

tahesport.com/au_tahe_en/11-6-breeze-sup-wind-rigid-composite-108842

That's a longboard.

I guess "longboard" is broad term, if RichardG can consider a windsup a longboard than Roy1000, myself and the International Raceboard Class can consider a techno293 one as well. Sound Fair?

cammd said..
I guess "longboard" is broad term, if RichardG can consider a windsup a longboard than Roy1000, myself and the International Raceboard Class can consider a techno293 one as well. Sound Fair?

As you wish it is not a term of precision. All boards have a length it is just that some boards are shorter than other boards.

I have had more than a few longboards that include.... D2's, lots of different raceboards old and new, techno293 and a few windsups. Currently I have a Starboard 2018 Phantom 377 and a 1999 Mistral Superlight 2.

Each to their own but for me the Mistral is the keeper for the long run, solid construction, versatile, a good racer and a good cruiser. If I could only own one board it would be the one.

Yes, why do longboards languish? I don't understand. In my experience, they are ALWAYS fun, and versatile. I am a hoarder of the classics - Equipe in both versions (have 4 total), Superlight and Superlight II, Ultra and Megacat. I long for a D2, but am in US. It seems to have been forgotten that in the mid-eighties the D2 was the fastest monohull sail craft around a triangular racecourse, bar none.

Anyway, to the original post about footstraps, they are mostly not needed. On all of my old boards I have applied EVA deck pads, and can rail the boards, am comfortable in most condition. Sure, when wind is over 15 knots or so, it would be nice to have "front" footstraps for downwind, but again, if not racing, not necessary.

I would dearly love to see plans or a kit (with parts like dagger board trunk) for a wooden D2 appear in the market.

It seems to have been forgotten that in the mid-eighties the D2 was the fastest monohull sail craft around a triangular racecourse, bar none.

Ummm, I love D2's and have owned a few in my time, but I'll trump your claim above with the International Canoe...

Paducah said..
...unless you were racing, the motivation to own a shortboard dropped. They were cumbersome ...

Oops, should have been "motivation to own a longboard dropped"