flipper4444 said...
sail power is better i have found out.. i would not get a bigger board.. you should be able to plane with a big 115 L wave board in light wind even like say a big rrd freeride board.. big boards with duel foot straps suck big time, you can never really jump proply and they feel soooo bad in chop wide foot straps.. if i were you i would go smaller not bigger, and get a 110 - 115 rrd board with a single foot strap, and use a big 6.6-7.5-8- freeride sail with it.. fins play a really important part too with early planing..
i have a excite 120 litre and i totally hate the board, i have gone down to a 102 now and love it, i will never go back to a board that size.. i can sail my 102 in light wind and i am 90 kilos.. big boards stop you from improving they really do.. there ok for learning on, but then ya best to flog them off.. And i think formular boards should be banned..
Glad to hear you got a new board Flip but sad to hear you shelved your bigger board.
To be honest if I could afford it I would love another big board like my 131 Carve to go with my smaller ones. Loved blasting on that when other sailors sat on the beach. Double back strap will give heaps more power to the sail too, it's just a different type of sailing.
Gearbreaker: 120kg is a lot of weight. I feel heavy at 90kg. The advantage is, with good technique you will be able to hold down a lot of sail. There are plenty of large light wind boards to fit your needs but you'll need a larger sail to match it.
My light wind kit is a 8.5m Ezzy freeride with a 130 Starboard Hypersonic. My old formula board will plane up a lot quicker though but isn't as much fun. If you're in chop a lot either of these two won't be much fun.