hardpole said...

I am looking at buying a board for use in the river, up until now I have been using my 79l Kombat and its generally not really big enough (fine in the ocean).

What volume would you all recommend for a general purpose speed/slalom board. I dont think I can stretch to more than one so need something that will be good on the lighter days. I will probably look at getting something other than wave fins for the smaller board which might help that.

I have seen a few Isonics in the 80 - 90 - 100 range and am not sure which one I should consider. Of course there is the CA slaloms which would probably be excellent but again I dont know what size I should consider.

I am 80 Kg and on the 79l cant seem to get better than 32 knots.

I dont want to start a fight here - so everyone play nice

IMHO something like a

Isonic101, 105 or 94
Sonic 90, 95 or 100
Stardboard S-type/Futura in 93, 101, 115

F2 SX small(thinks its 90L) or medium at 105L

JP Supersport 100 or 115

The width is probably more important than volume of you are after early planing.I reckon something in the 60-70cm wide range should do the trick

What sails do you plan on running on them. These types of boards really need to be sailed powered up and partnered with at least a freerace type sail.

I sailed the futura 122 a while back and it was sweet with the 7.6.Planing in 12+ knots. 111 was good but needed quite a bit more wind.Patrick has gone well on his 93/ 122 combo. Nice compromise. Straps can be set inbound or out. Would be less full on than a slalom.
If you are serious go the isonic or the JP slalom (had a good sail on one of Elmo's)but go at least 100litres.
Claude goes well on his 101 in a huge range of conditions (but then again Claude would go well on a door).
My JP84L slalom II will carry a 6.6 but is much better suited to a 5.8 and 18+ knots.

You will need to get a suitable sail to go with whatever you choose to get the best out of it. For a range of river conditions something about 6.5 and cammed.

Firebob of FNQ raves about his CA sl58 in both ocean and river. He got 36+ when he was over here with a 6.8 loft blade. Try and sail a few boards before you commit.

All good advice but Hardpole 32Knots on the river is not bad. Bigger kit will probably be slower.

If you are looking for speed follow Slowboat around at Melville for a while. Water state and angle is the biggest influence on speed, as those guys who have done 42+ at Sandy Point on wave gear will attest to.

yoyo said...

If you are looking for speed follow Slowboat around at Melville for a while.

Funny you should say that, thats exactly how I got my PB - he zoomed in front of me on one of my first days at Melville and I thought "thats the way to do it" and tried to copy him and on my next good run got a PB - what I noticed is how much more downwind the angle is for max speed.

One of the real frustrations I have with my board is getting back up again, and Im sure a better (not wave) fin will make a huge difference, but the kombats have us boxes so the choice is a bit limited.

I enjoyed sailing at Hardies but didnt compere in the races out to the platform as I could hardly hold that angle, and on the first one of those days I got all the way out there on my first "practice" run and hit a light patch. Thought I would be swimming in.

Thanks for all the advice everyone, something to think about while wishing it was windy !

Well I took the plunge and bought a 2006 Starboard Sonic 95 from the buy and sell on seabreeze (thanks Julien). Now all I need to know is what fin I should be looking at. It has the original drake fin with it but I know if I want to use it at Hardies Im going to need a weedy.

Still got some change from the Kevin.

now lets all hope for some wind !

Hey hardpole unless u lost weight in the last 3 days whats this 80 kg mass

Benz said...

Hey hardpole unless u lost weight in the last 3 days whats this 80 kg mass

When I donate blood they weigh me !

Havent tried the sonic yet - soon when the wind is right.