I'm new to parawinging and currently learning on my Sunova Aviator Downwind board 7'2x20"x115l. I weigh 75-77kg dry weight. While I am looking to downsize to a mid length , I love the fact that the DW board is very easy and efficient at prone paddling back to shore. I know I can be 1km out and get back without any big problems. I compare this to my regular 5'0 x70l wingfoil board which is pretty inefficient and takes a lot more effort to paddle.

I live in a spot where there are a lot of islands and other disturbances meaning that close to shore the wind often doesn't fill in or is in a wind shadow.
so question is, is there a mid-length magic size /length/volume where prone paddle efficiency is high, while remaining relatively compact?

I am looking at a couple of midlength models around 85l range such as the Takoon Glide mid-length (6'0x22"x85l) or the Sunova Carver ( 5'10 x20"x85.3l) or the KT Super K.
thanks for any tips!

I always felt that 5'10" Carver paddled great. Now, it's nothing in comparison to the 8'x21"112l barracuda I had, but I was never afraid on that model of Carver.

BWalnut said..
I always felt that 5'10" Carver paddled great. Now, it's nothing in comparison to the 8'x21"112l barracuda I had, but I was never afraid on that model of Carver.

Another vote for Carver. I'm 90kg and have the 6.2 and it's perfect for PW... including self rescue!

I think that all these wing boards and mid lengths in the smaller volumes are too short for their volumes to be ideal for the parawing at the bottom end.
I agree that 10 litres above you weight is minimum and I think length is just as important. We really need to be looking at 6 to 6.5 feet long as shorter seems to be very limiting on the bottom end.
At 65kg it's amazing how much harder the Armstrong 65 litre ML is than the 75 litre ML at 6'1" versus 5'9". Every inch shorter radically removes the ability to use the dw bumps to get up.

AnyBoard said..
I think that all these wing boards and mid lengths in the smaller volumes are too short for their volumes to be ideal for the parawing at the bottom end.
I agree that 10 litres above you weight is minimum and I think length is just as important. We really need to be looking at 6 to 6.5 feet long as shorter seems to be very limiting on the bottom end.
At 65kg it's amazing how much harder the Armstrong 65 litre ML is than the 75 litre ML at 6'1" versus 5'9". Every inch shorter radically removes the ability to use the dw bumps to get up.

Do you mean for beginner parawing users? I did one session on a 7' x 100L downwind board and have been using an Armstrong ML 65 ever since. I'm about 70 kg and 27 sessions into pw and I think this board is fantastic. I'm not interested in going bigger. I winged on a friend's ML 75 once and it was too big for my taste.

It of course will depend on all the other variables too. Wind speeds, sail design, foil size, riding objectives. So for some, +10 might feel like a minimum. For others, -20 might be dreamy.

I'll say that -10l with a BRM Ka'a feels a lot more confidence inspiring than -10l with the Ozone Rockets for takeoff. But in flight doing downwind upwinds.... I'd rather be on the Rockets. Suddenly +5 feels like a dream and as though it gives me smaller foil choices.

Aviator 6'6"x18"x90l BAR*GF: 4.53 (my +5 board)
Custom Carver 5'11"x20"x77l BAR*GF: 3.18 (my -10 board)

In reference to the original topic about paddling home. I've started using the Aviator, for the last few sessions, and OMG! The paddling on that board is intoxicating. I definitely feel empowered to make some bad decisions if I know I'm paddling that board home haha!

radair said..

AnyBoard said..
I think that all these wing boards and mid lengths in the smaller volumes are too short for their volumes to be ideal for the parawing at the bottom end.
I agree that 10 litres above you weight is minimum and I think length is just as important. We really need to be looking at 6 to 6.5 feet long as shorter seems to be very limiting on the bottom end.
At 65kg it's amazing how much harder the Armstrong 65 litre ML is than the 75 litre ML at 6'1" versus 5'9". Every inch shorter radically removes the ability to use the dw bumps to get up.

Do you mean for beginner parawing users? I did one session on a 7' x 100L downwind board and have been using an Armstrong ML 65 ever since. I'm about 70 kg and 27 sessions into pw and I think this board is fantastic. I'm not interested in going bigger. I winged on a friend's ML 75 once and it was too big for my taste.

I guess it depends on your local conditions and what you are trying to achieve. I have 30 odd sessions on 2.4 to 3.6m pwings and I am using to ride ocean bumps. As it is off season here the wind might be 15 to 20 knots for an hour or maybe two and then drop to like 10 to 12 knots gradually. Now when the wind is the right strength for your pwing then 65 easy of course. Wind drops 13 to 15 and still ok for 3m but you're working with the bumps and the 65 makes that hard. 11 to 13 knots and I can use the bumps and get up consistently if I need to get home on the 75 but not happening on the 65. Your weight and under in volume really removes bump assistance on the bottom end of the pwing range dramatically in my opinion. Maybe it's not important at some locations but I will be covering some decent distance of coast where wind can definitely vary enough.

The other interesting thing for me is that in ocean bumps you still really need some high aspect foil to make it all work and the feel of the foil on only a 6'1" board after riding 8 to 9' dw boards is incredible. 65l 5'9 sure it's smaller but does it match the high aspect foil you need to dw as well as the 75l well I am not sure it's any better as the foil becomes the thing that is restricting your performance. It always feels kooky to me when I ride my prone with a dw foil.

maybe a 65 with some length like 6'3 might make heaps of sense but I don't know.