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Alpha 160F for beginners
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bred2shred



Joined: 02 May 2000
Posts: 989
Location: Jersey Shore

PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just to throw in two more cents, I think it really all depends on who you're trying to teach. People have learned to sail on these types of boards, in fact, people have even learned on much worse. But there is a reason that the industry moved to big wide floaty tanks with little light weight sails....the vast majority of people can't or won't expend the time and energy that it takes to learn on that old gear. A really dedicated person who REALLY wants to learn to windsurf will learn on just about any gear you throw at them. They're willing to put in the time because they see the potential. So if your friends are fairly young, athletic types with watersports backgrounds, this gear could be ok (at best).

But for the average person who's just hanging out on the weekend and wants to be on the water, they'll try it, fall in five times, get tired lugging the sail out of the water, and be back on the beach. Frankly, they'd be better off on a sunfish or jetski (ugh..I feel sick just mentioning that).

It's kind of like if you played guitar and you wanted your friends to jam with you even though they never touched a musical instrument in their life. It's not gonna sound good, and you'd be better off just loaning them an MP3 player.

As for your mast question..what the hell give it a shot. And while you're at it, maybe throw a pair of wooden booms on the rig to top it off...if they learn to sail on that rig, you'll know they're hard core. I would hope that at the very least, if they do get frustrated, you let them know that there is A LOT better equipment available for them to learn on if they're truely interested.

sm
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Khardin



Joined: 02 Oct 2007
Posts: 51
Location: Cleveland Ohio

PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Where can I get my hands on a wood boom?

I think a fine mahogany would do just fine.
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well Khardin,

Are you fishing in the late 70s, or maybe very early 80's?

Overall, I'd be interested in hearing whether your potential windsurfing beginners make the grade, and ultimately invest in their own equipment. Frankly, that's really where the rubber meets the road.

I have to say that trying to entertain folks and make them happy is an entirely different matter.
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westender



Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Posts: 1288
Location: Portland / Gorge

PostPosted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

With the centerboard down I thought it was not tippy.
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NOVAAN



Joined: 28 Sep 1994
Posts: 1544

PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The board is fine but go with a smaller sail. Yes a new 1200 buck kit would be better but you can learn alot on what you have.
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NOVAAN



Joined: 28 Sep 1994
Posts: 1544

PostPosted: Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The board is fine but go with a smaller sail. Yes a new 1200 buck kit would be better but you can learn alot on what you have.
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haterrater



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 292

PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 8:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Khardin,

a 480 aluminum mast will not work.
Period.
aluminum masts (other than itty bitty ones for kids' rigs) will not work.
period.
Throw all that junk away, don't pay any money for any of that crap, and - for the sake of the sport I love - don't teach people on that junk.

It's the equivalent of playing baseball barehanded; or attempting to play american football with boots that have spikes nailed into them and leather caps as helmets. It's the same as getting someone an original macintosh computer and telling them to practice on that in order to develop the skills needed to use a real (modern) computer. Or getting someone a model T ford as their first car. Or telling someone to hike mt. everest in wool sweaters with a seal-skin coat. Aluminum masts are not okay.
period.

If you want to use that wretched board to teach your friends (who will ultimately hate you for it) then fine. But DO NOT put them out there and let them use an aluminum mast. Again, the only thing aluminum masts are good for is flag poles and lightning rods.
They are not suitable for windsurfing - not for beginners, not for intermediates, and not for advanced riders, either. If you can't use it as some kind of lawn ornament, throw that junk away.

I can't believe I even have to say something like this.
THE YEAR IS 2009. That's right, we're almost ten years into the "new millennium." Progress has been made in the sport of windsurfing.
And your friends will hate you if you do what you're planning to do. And they will never try windsurfing again.

you don't have to like it. But please take the time to grasp what I've said.
-the haterrater
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haterrater



Joined: 03 Mar 2009
Posts: 292

PostPosted: Fri May 01, 2009 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TO EVERYONE ELSE encouraging this poster:

Stop it.
please.

Just because we learned on crap gear (and it took us forever, didn't it) and stuck with the sport doesn't mean we should allow others to suffer the same way we did now that beginner gear actually works.

Who am I dealing with, here? You all have computers and know how to use them, yet you would encourage someone who obviously doesn't know what he's doing to send out his "friends" on a 160L oldschool board with an aluminum mast?
Where's the disconnect?
What are you people thinking?

I've said it before and I'll say it again - if you really are homeless, destitute, or if all your possessions are being taken away from you due to bad debt: then by all means sail what you've got; beg borrow and steal to get any equipment you can; and sail your old junk into the ground until you can't sail it anymore.
But if you're on this friggin forum, you've got a job. You've got a computer, for crying out loud. And the internet. And probably high-speed connections.
And you're going to go out there and believe that it's okay to sail dacron sails (superfreaks aside) and aluminum masts and crappy "transistion boards"?

And you're going to let some guy try and teach his friends with that garbage?

Each and every one of you who have encouraged this idiocy should be ashamed of yourselves.

It makes me sick. It makes me sick, it disappoints me, and it makes me sad.
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rsanrafael



Joined: 27 Feb 2009
Posts: 68

PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2009 7:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

haterrater wrote:
a 480 aluminum mast will not work.
Throw all that junk away

Please, please do not throw that mast away. I wish I had all my old ones. Nobody has ever made a better flagpole than the one piece aluminum mast. Where are we supposed to put all those Naish, Ezzy, NP, Sailworks, etc. flags? Shame on you haterrater!

ps: At least get a couple bucks at the recycling center. Maybe they'll make that sucker into something useful, like beer cans.
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westender



Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Posts: 1288
Location: Portland / Gorge

PostPosted: Sat May 02, 2009 10:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We keep talking about having a Nostalgia day. Bring out your oldest gear and go nuts. It would be a barrel of laughs. My old Speed Slalom 7 North on the 2 piece aluminum with tip extenstion.
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