I often wonder about this one. I'm using a 65 cm wide 130 litre board, and I've had it out in the 25-35kts days a few months back, and plenty of 20kts+ days. No problem. And I can plane earlier in lighter, 7m conditions.

Why do so many people opt for much smaller boards? Besides the obvious challenge to improve your skill level, I mean.

BIIIG formula boards are uncomfortable in nasty chop in high wind, yes I know, but that's different.

Just curious. Think I'll stick with my one-board-wonder-quiver for the forseeable future. But I still wanna know in case someone asks me.

Have you have your 130l out in the open ocean on a true 30kn day and been able to make every gybe (planing out too)???
If so it is not a wonder board, you are a wonder sailor.

lanky said...

Smaller boards are easier to jump, it's easier to do moves like jybes and freestyle, they are faster, easier to control, etc, etc, etc. The big down side is that they are less floaty but you get used to this quickly. If you sail a 70 or 80lt board for a couple of days suddenly 100lt's seems really big. I would not recommend staying with a board of 130lt for the rest of your sailing. I would buy a 100lt and then when that feels big a 90lt. You will notice an improvement in your own personal sailing and it becomes more fun as well.

But that is just my view...

Good question! I recently went from a 165lt to a 135lt.....now itching to get on a 100-110lt, the 'big' (165) is great fun as a fast board on flat/choppy water, but I can relate to what everyone's saying about 'smaller' boards, just by the difference between my big boards.

Can't wait to get good enough winds (and ability) to be on a 90-95lt wave board!!!

Planing in 10knts?

What sail do you use?

Hello Harrow. Been on long service leave or something? Welcome back.

Wet Willy, if you don't feel that your board is too big, then don't change it! Smaller boards sure are easier to manoeuvre, jump and control once you have the right skill level, assuming it suits your weight, normal sailing conditions etc.. I find smaller boards to be a lot more fun. Every time have upgraded I've gone for a smaller "big" board every time my previous board started feeling too big. My "big" board is now 86 litres and that's fine for me for anything up to low to mid 20kts. Beyond that it gets too bouncy and I change down to my small board. I don't have the weight (or inclination) to keep any more volume comfortably controllable.

But if you feel comfortable and in control on 130 litres over the full wind range you want to sail then that's great. But you might want to try a smaller board one day to see if you like it better. (Don't the Buddhists say 'desire is the root of all evil'?)

All you have to do is take a short board out when the winds up and you will see what Harrow's on about. Once you've gone small it will help your big board skills. They also fit in the car easier.
Birdseyeview took this avatar shot which is a sub 70lt board, I wouldn't feel as confident trying this on my 85lt.

No way can we say "small boards are better in all conditions, flat and wave". In some conditions, bigger is better. A sinker doesn't work very well in fluky 4-10 knot winds, it's not as good for cruising around a harbour, or going upwind, or marginal planing conditions.

As Goodbrewster says, in gusty conditions a bigger board can offer more performance a lot of the time.

At a weight of 95 kg my 130 litre is used a hell of a lot while the 95ltre stays in the bag most days. But when I get somewhere like maui, short chop, wind of true 25 plus, 5.0 to 4.7 m I suffer from the lack of practise on my smaller board.

If you are keen to try smaller boards get a 100 - 95 litre used board and give it a go. You will need smaller sails around 5.8 or less

Wet Willy said...
As for gybing, I have a 100% failure rate. Would a smaller board help? No, that's not strictly true, I made one gybe about 6 weeks ago. "Made" as in didn't fall off or drop the rig. I've been sailing regularly for 2 and a half years, so I guess this makes me a slow learner. (OK, I can gybe on formula gear, it's just the freeride stuff that always throws me off)...

Hey, thanks for the feedback. I guess I'll get my gybes right before I downsize. I wonder what waveboards will be like in 2010??

I have continually downsized as soon as I could and I have definitley found that each time it has improved my sailing once I have spent a few hours of feeling like a beginner again. I think that some of the downsizing has been fuelled by the idea that a smaller board must mean you are a better sailor.

However, as I have never learned to tack of gybe properly I have found that I have suffered significantly as a result. Therefore, as continually having to waterstart significantly reduces your sailing time (time and energy spent), and life expectancy , I have decided to go back to a 120-130L board until I get them cracked; then straight back on a smaller board to improve them, and generally have more fun.

FormulaNova said...
[brHow much do you weigh? I weigh around 95kgs and found that I could just hold a 90 litre board on the water in 36 knots (according to seabreeze/BoM), and that was at Safety Bay where it is pretty flat. 25 knots is a different story.

I also think your 130 litre board is quite narrow compared to current boards. How old is it? I think that width today would mean around 110 litres.

For me, a narrower board in lots of swell can make the ride much easier, but then the volume drops. I would prefer to be riding a 90 litre board in huge swell, just because it doesn't seem to fly off the tops of the swell, but at 90 litres, I am not going to have any bouyancy, and the wind will need to be pretty consistent.

If you are heavy, 130 litres might be a small board. For someone that weighed 50kgs, it would be the equivalent to me of a formula board.

If you have no problems with your current board, stick with it.

I'm down to around 85-90kg now, thanks to healthier lifestyle choices...eg wine instead of beer!
My board is 65cm wide, which is similar to a lot of lower-volume modern boards, I think.

OK, I admit that really windy week a few months ago was somewhat "challenging" for me on my 130l board, but I hadn't sailed for several weeks at that point and wasn't used to my gear either, and didn't have it dialled in, so I don't want to say the board was too big - could've been a combination of factors...

Wet Willy said...


As for gybing, I have a 100% failure rate. Would a smaller board help? No, that's not strictly true, I made one gybe about 6 weeks ago. "Made" as in didn't fall off or drop the rig. I've been sailing regularly for 2 and a half years, so I guess this makes me a slow learner. (OK, I can gybe on formula gear, it's just the freeride stuff that always throws me off)...

Hey, thanks for the feedback. I guess I'll get my gybes right before I downsize. I wonder what waveboards will be like in 2010??

I found that a large board made gybing rather easy to learn. I'm not stating that gybing is easy, I didn't start doing until my 12th year of sailing, but rather learning to gybe is much easier with a new 155-160 liter board. It's definitely what made the Starboard Go so popular.

. I've also found that just negotiating shore break can make a large board a nightmare.

Wet Willy said...
How is this so? When the onrush of whitewater kills your speed, what keeps you up? Please explain.

A small board is easier to handle. It doesn't get tossed around as much. Try it and see.

Orange Whip said...

I haven't read so much crap since the last Labor how to vote card was handed to me !!!!

Your stupid comment certainly tops it all off.

Orange Whip said...

Excuse my ignorance, I'm just a recreational sailing that pumps adrenalin on twice as many day as the "expert" <120 ltr board sailers that sail at my local beach. The statement posted by Lanky about being able to plane a 100 ltr board in 10 knots was enough for me not to visit this forum again. R.I.P. gurus !!

Dude, Chill out!! I was just trying to be helpfull. there is no need to get angry...

Al McLeod said...

i can plane on a 100L board in 10 knots.

I can't. I need to use a 105.

Sorry to hear about the 105lt's Harrow . I guess I am one of the lucky few who weighs little enough to plane on a board that size. HAHAHAHA this is really getting way of topic we better start another forum asking something different and more sensible.....

130 liters sounds like a good size for an esky