Sailor weight vs. Board Volume

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General Gps & Speed Waves Foiling Gear Reviews Lost & Found WA NSW QLD SA VIC TAS

Macroscien

QLD

6809 posts

Macroscien

QLD, 6809 posts

21 May 2011 9:37pm

Is there optimum volume of the board for specific weight of the sailor?
I am 82kg and in recent years downgraded from 160L to 130L then 110 and now sit on JP 92L.
I think I reached my safe limit for average wind conditions.
I still could use 7.4 sail when needed, but I don't think will be able to up-haul it anymore.
I feel more comfort on smaller board in extreme above 30kn winds but for everyday 92L seem to be optimal.
How this formula work for you?
Weight + 10 kg?

Gwendy

472 posts

Gwendy

SA, 472 posts

21 May 2011 10:02pm

I,ve always used the weight or +10% theory/litre but only for waveboards. The way boards are these days I dont see a problem in having something that will float you for other kinds of sailing

GazMan

848 posts

GazMan

WA, 848 posts

21 May 2011 9:18pm

Heard it said that same number as body weight plus 20 Litres is optimum for 'average' conditions, though for me it appears to be somewhere between +10L to +20L. I weigh around 73-75kg and currently use only a 93L Fanatic Hawk for local conditions up to around 25-30 knots, though I think a freeride/FSW board around 85L would cover my range of wind/water conditions as well as current sail range better at my weight.

Macroscien

QLD

6809 posts

Macroscien

QLD, 6809 posts

22 May 2011 12:18am

I just realized that buoyancy is not this as board volume!
My older already JP 92L weight possibly 7-8kg by itself.;
So in fact I have only 2kg buoyancy without event taking rigging into account.
Overall my total balance is negative ~10kg with my 7.4m2 sail then.
Since I don't want to back to my 110L the only way to improve this balance is to loose 5-10 kg and am happy to do just that.
Sadly the wind is rarely this winter on G.C.

Waiting4wind

NSW

1871 posts

Waiting4wind

NSW, 1871 posts

22 May 2011 10:07am

It does depend somewhat on the type of boards you use. I'm 90kg and my most used board is my 90L slalom, it works from 6.2m to 7.8m sail. I prefer the lowest volume I can get away with. I have 5 boards and 4 are below 94L in volume.

You can also have a larger volume board which is narrower and easy to handle in rough conditions.

forsyth

NSW

18 posts

forsyth

NSW, 18 posts

24 May 2011 11:20am

I have read on this forum that your weight is relative to board volume depending on the conditions. If you are sailing in light winds with a bigger sail and going through lulls then rig for the lulls on the basis of sailor weight plus 20-25 = board volume (therefore is you weigh 80Kg you would take out a 100-105L board). If the conditions are big then you will rig a smaller, lighter sail and not need a big floaty board so you would take out a board of volume equal to your weight (therefore if you are 80kg you would take out a 80L board). Hope this helps.

KenHo

NSW

1353 posts

KenHo

NSW, 1353 posts

24 May 2011 12:05pm

Macroscien said...

I just realized that buoyancy is not this as board volume!
My older already JP 92L weight possibly 7-8kg by itself.;
So in fact I have only 2kg buoyancy without event taking rigging into account.
Overall my total balance is negative ~10kg with my 7.4m2 sail then.
Since I don't want to back to my 110L the only way to improve this balance is to loose 5-10 kg and am happy to do just that.
Sadly the wind is rarely this winter on G.C.

If you are sailing in salt-water, you get an extra 10% uplift, so the board and rig weight is pretty much neutralised.
Fresh water is a different story.

swoosh

QLD

1929 posts

swoosh

QLD, 1929 posts

24 May 2011 12:09pm

its more like 2-3%

KenHo

NSW

1353 posts

KenHo

NSW, 1353 posts

25 May 2011 7:56am

swoosh said...

its more like 2-3%

OK, so I didn't look it up, but it's significant at the marginal edges.
Maybe JP's are just better than I thought.
92L quad with my 80kg + wetsuit/harness/helmet etc + rig floats at a standstill, though really it should sink.
Maybe it's an uber-model ...........

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