How to reduce the number of boards in quiver

[uwindsurf]

[isobars]

[stringp]

Having to "work" for a living at the camas mill I run up to Stevenson in the PM a lot. There I could be on 6.2 to 7.5. I don't see many 200lb people on 80l boards. If you take the boards that work great at Stevie anywhere else you are going to get beat to death. The Starboard Carve 122 that's great for 20 at Stevenson does not work in 20 at Swell or Rowena. I've seen guys at Rowena rig what they want to sail regardless of the current wind and wait all day for the wind to match their rig. I would prefer to rig for the conditions. And yes, I do kite. SO thinks kites are the work of the devil.

[nada]

I sailed with one board (80-ish onshore wave shape) and 4 sails (3.7-5.2) the first three years after I moved here in the 90s. I loved the simplicity, but it sucked at either end of the spectrum as I was either over- or under-gunned. If it wasn't some version of 4.2/4.7 I was either ankle deep praying for a puff or banjo-eyed trying to keep the board on the water in 40+.

Given the wide range of conditions we sail in - and let's not even get into how many days we see with 20 knot deltas between lulls and gusts - I think you need more than one board to maximize time on the water.

These days I go with a two-board quiver: 90 and 77 liters. At 185 lbs., this comfortably takes me through the white knuckle days when the river turns into that special, frothing version of Hell we all adore or cruising around looking to pick off the swells on "marginal" days. Depending on your weight, this setup (+/- a few liters either way) seems to be what the majority of folks who sail a lot tend to use and I'd say it covers 90+% of the sailable days we get.

In a perfect world where we all drove Sprinter vans and/or depending on where and how much you sail, I'd imagine you could throw in a floater (105ish) stick for the coast and a glass board for the nukers. I'm always surprised at how many of the "old" guys rack their latest multifin and pull a musty Cascade/OO/North Pacific from the depths of the van when it gets big.

Also a fan of multiple fins. You can over think this shit sometime, but a quick fin change and an outhaul tweak is much faster than re-rigging. I have 3 skegs for my 90 and it gives it a massive range.

I'm not sure if i'm a wind snob, but if its less than 20 I have a bike, a SUP, a lawn to mow, and a beer to drink.

[westender]

So, if it's 5.0, you need a different board for Rowena, Swell and Stevenson??

Some people drag a trailer around with all their stuff. Adds to their popularity.

[surfersteve]

I agree with youwindsurf. Being dialed makes my day. Lots of guys I sail with struggle to make a rig work because they cannot be bothered to come in and change something out for 10 mins. Board preference to me has a lot do to with site location. 20 at Stevenson means flatwater cruising. 20 at Swell/Hatch must give you lots of 4-5 foot swell. Pick your most used sites and use boards that work well there. Nothing beats the right stick under your feet for the conditions. I will take extra volume in a wavy board in wavy conditions every time over a smaller piece of crap not suited just because it is cheap or I am afraid of some bouncing.

[ImmigrantJesus]

Biff love the comment "There are HUNDREDS of lone wolves in the Gorge who would DIE for a windsurfbabe in the passenger seat." Or even as the driver! - so true - just remember if you do have a girlfriend in the Gorge... "it is just your turn..."
GuyT - I have heard more and more comments on the Fanatic Freewave 75 - all positive - I am 5'10" and 170+ do you think that would still be a good all around Gorge board - my sails range from 5.0 to 3.2. Also, are you on the 2013 or 2014?

[johnl]

I thought I was doing good getting down to 4 boards My "meat and potatoes" are my 80l Realwind Fish and my 99l Fanatic Skate. These 2 get me through about 90% of my sailing. Throw in a 115l Naish Freestyle for those low wind days (5.7 or 6.2 for me) and then a 76l for the nuking days (which I am still trying to pick the best for me). I just don't like the glass boards. My problem is finding the perfect nuke board. I refuse to pay full cost for a board I use a couple of times a year. In fact I have been wondering if the Realwind would work well with a 3.2. If so, maybe I can eliminate the nuke board

[dhanson928]

The water doesn't care whether you are on the latest greatest fad-board. Windsurfers care, because they "think" they're sailing better if they get a new board. If you observe the action and equipment you'll probably see many of the good sailors are NOT on the 'latest, greatest' equipment, and the water doesn't seem to hold that against them....Look out at a bunch of sailors, on any day and tell me..."Hey, THAT guy is sailing a new modern upgraded improved style board. Lookit how much better his stuff works"

I, too, am a swap-meet board junky. Last week I went and I didn't buy a $75 board...for once. I made an offer but the guy turned me down...Hope he got his $150 asking price, but I doubt it..

For some years I was a wind snob or what I call a 'selective sailor' and I only carried one board and I only sailed when it was over 20...Swapped down to a real small fin on windy days and a big fin on easterlies or 4.7 days....but I swam sometimes and I drove for nothing some times...
Now I carry a 'slogger' board along for marginal days...and I have a couple of those, one I love to turn and swell-ride on and one that is light to carry down to Dougs, etc.

Depending on the launch it can be much easier to swap boards as conditions change than it is to re-rig sails...Couple of days ago at Roosevelt I sailed my 4.2 for most of the day and swapped onto 3 different boards..Started early, sailing with a few pumps on my big floaty RRD Wave One (revised with three fins) when most people were on big 5 meter sails......It's so easy to walk across the park there and pull another board as the wind built...more time on the water, less time rigging....but in the end, I had to rig down anyway..Others went through 4 sail sizes that day..

In my opinion the newest production boards are not worth the big price tag. I've cut into a few doing repairs and the construction is not impressive....rather it's optimized to minimize cost and labor...they spend most of their budget on advertising to convince us to buy them, I think. And we bite...a lot of us, anyway. Me, I'll stick with the $50 swap meet boards and make alterations to suit my preferences...The water doesn't seem to give a shit

[dhanson928]

I will say that real progress has been made over the years on our sails. I stopped sailing for a bunch of years and came back recently...upgraded my '92 Northwaves to 2002s..in the "modern" style...at least modern to me. The wind range improved a lot. I also recently bought a swap meet boom that had one of those 'on the fly' outhaul adjustment rigs on it...Used with my Northwave Surflites, I can easily adjust the sails as the wind changes without going to shore to downhaul or re-rig to another size...

I have yet to try some of the new fatty/squatty sails that I suppose match the short fat current trend of board better...Which came first? The fat boards or the low aspect sails? Wait..I don't care actually, my stone-age stuff works fine.