Forums > Windsurfing   Western Australia

Board for lighter winds

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Created by Kalerider > 9 months ago, 10 Apr 2018
Adam555
WA, 162 posts
26 Apr 2018 10:33AM
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I've sailed all 3.. And have both 105 and 125 rockets. From memory I thought the 108 is the rocket wide ?

By way of comparison :-
-the magic ride feels a bit slow/ mushy compared to the rockets and very very wide but easy enough to gybe
- the isonic is very fast compared to both magic ride and the rockets, tends to very much be on the fin as the wind picks up and in my opinion is much harder to gybe plus is a hard ride
- the rockets are a good compromise nice and easy to gybe, fast enough especially the 105 and pretty comfortable.
I'm 85kg and sail the 125 in 15-20+ knots and the 105 up to high 20s - 3 fins 31/36 &42 with sails 5.7-7.7 able to be used on both
For your weight I'd go the 105 or the 115 in a normal (non wide) rocket
Good luck

Kalerider
WA, 15 posts
26 Apr 2018 11:12AM
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Thanks Adam - yes I checked the ad and it is the Rocket Wide. What would that mean in terms of handling do you think?

Maybe its best to stick to a freeride board then rather than the faster but harder to handle isonic...

Kalerider
WA, 15 posts
26 Apr 2018 11:18AM
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the other one I was looking at was the RRD Fire Move 122L. again a wider board like the Rocket wide. this seems to be the more modern shape of the freeride boards...

any thoughts on what difference an extra 12 or so litres would make? more flotation obviously, but I presume in windier conditions it might bounce around a bit more for someone of my weight (70kg)

petermac33
WA, 6415 posts
26 Apr 2018 5:27PM
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For a 70 kg person not that much benefit in going bigger than a 70 cm wide 110 litre unless you are looking to sail in very marginal conditions of around 10 knots.

Ive ridden the older Sonic 117 W which was 80.5 cm wide - and the feel for my 70kg was one of riding a very big board. It caught the chop a lot when powered up in 15 knots. It did plane super early but the feel was terrible with poor top end. So happy to get off it!

Same with a Tabou Manta of around 122 litres. Patrick 135 litre was ok but again the bigger you go you lose feel and top end when powered up.

My biggest board is a 70.5 cm wide Manta 116 and with my 44 Volt and 7.6 m it planes in 11 knots.

The Sonic carbon 107 is another medium sized board that paired with a big fin and a 7.5m gets going almost as early as the bigger boards of 120 litres.

Not sure about choosing a Tabou Rocket for lighter wind.

Not really designed to maximise early planing.

Adam555
WA, 162 posts
27 Apr 2018 9:31PM
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I haven't sailed the rocket wide but shape wise I'm guessing is similar to the magic ride. Not a hugely popular seller from what I was told.

From observation re the RRD - they seem to sail really well and those that have them highly recommend

Key is getting the volume right I'd say for your weight the 115 size would be ideal with big fin 42+ and big sail 7.5+.

Mark _australia
WA, 22088 posts
28 Apr 2018 8:34AM
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Forget wide and thin for your ocean use. They get up and boogie but are very limited in many other aspects.
There is a reason why a non-wide Rocket is good in flat out ocean sailing...... and renowned for it.

PM33 recommends all these things that are fast but I suspect thats a river perspective for a start.... as a wavesailor with one freeride board for desperate times, I feel the comfort and still feeling a bit "freeride-freemove nice handling" is better than a race weapon
Otherwise it is too hard to sail (unless really flat water) and it feels foreign when coming off wave gear.

If you are going to use it almost as much as the wave gear then fine, but if it is a now and then deperate for a sail kinda setup, AND open ocean, I'd go forgiving over 1kn better planing threshold

Kalerider
WA, 15 posts
2 May 2018 5:57PM
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Post script to my search for a light wind board:

I did end up getting a JP Magic Ride 111L - which some had recommended but others had not due to the width I believe (although I only realised this after the fact!)

Anyway I took it out for a spin at Dutch Inn today. Probably wasn't the best day as it was actually quite windy and probably would have been better suited to my 89L quatro. I was also somewhat overpowered with a 5.4.

On the pro side - Definitely was up and planing in a hurry - was nice to be the one passing other guys rather than vice versa! I thought it actually handled the chop/swell ok as well.

On the con side - I noticed that when jumping (there were some waves and I got a few jumps inadvertently more than any thing) it felt like the width of the board would catch the wind more compared to my Quatro. In comparison jumping on the Quatro is easy. Also gybing I found difficult - much less responsive on the turn than my 89L quatro/tetra. some of that may be user capacity - I'm just getting back into the sport and my gybing is still inconsistent and also adjusting to the different board compared to what I'm used to.

I think it definitely would be what I was looking for in light wind conditions. felt a lot more floaty. but it has its limitations in what I sailed in today. I think I might take it down to the river a few times for some gybing practice. I expect it would go well there. it may end up being more a river board and suited to that possibly.

anyway thanks for all your input!

Pointman
WA, 435 posts
2 May 2018 11:29PM
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Wider freeride boards require a different gybing technique to narrower wave boards. You're probably used to gybing off the tail on the wave board (I.e. more back foot pressure than front). With a wider board you need to get your weight further forward and really drive the board through the turn and fully engage the leeward rail. If you just stomp on the tail she will stall and you'll lose all your momentum. Look up some instructional videos on YouTube, there are a few to choose from.

Kalerider
WA, 15 posts
3 May 2018 2:28PM
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Yes I think I was realising that by the end of my sail!
cheers



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Forums > Windsurfing   Western Australia


"Board for lighter winds" started by Kalerider