how to with wide board

fredfelter · Joined: 06 Jan 2001 Posts: 10

I have been windsurfing many years at the Gorge using a small wave board and small sail but now that I have moved I have to make do with a reservoir that has 10 - 15 knot winds instead of 20+. I bought a wide style board with long blade fin and an 8.5 M sail. Im having a lot of trouble using the rig:
1. There seems to be a lot of drag, I assume from the fin.
2. The rigs doesnt seem to carve turns like a board with a swept back fin. Im having to push the nose into the turns with my front foot and with the mast forward.
3. I cant rake back the sail-mast without the board turning up into the wind such that I cant get back into the footstraps.

I realize there is a learning curve to all new equipment but this is so strange that I cant imagine ever being able to be harnessed in making turns and jibes. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Moving to a light-wind area.
;-(

Mike \m/

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550

Or trying to drive an RV like a Corvette.

Coachg

AAAknot30 · Joined: 03 May 2004 Posts: 26

How big is your fin? Sounds like it is too big from what youve explained.

duracell · Joined: 06 Oct 2015 Posts: 109

Pity you didnt state what type of board you have: my experience comes from an 88cm wide board and a 9.5 rig, I weigh ~ 80Kg.

1) drag can come from fin, but doesnt have to. board has to be level side to side and back to front. You ride so to say on the fin pressing against it with the back foot keeping the board level at the same time. (speeds possible with got kit in those winds: up to 30 knots, so youre not necessarily going to ride slower than before!)
2) Im not quite sure what you mean by rig doesnt carve turns.
- board should: more pressure, wider arc learning curve here is to find out where (how far forward) to pressure the board and still stay on a plane. Mikes gybing tips actually do apply partially to this type of rig as well. You just have to be much more careful balancing the board because that is the single most important factor to stay in a plane. With small sails, small boards == strong winds == you can be a bit sloppy because you usually are slower than the wind. Here you will always be MUCH faster, so you cant just hang out your sail to catch an extra shove to stay on a plane...
3) you shouldnt consciously rake back the sail. It should happen automatically. Sounds like your MF is too far back OR you are trying too hard to rake the sail and are thus not concentratring on riding the board.

General: specs of your board, your weight?

I hope a usefull link: http://www.bluefinz.com/technique/formula/formula.asp

FYI 10 kts of wind at 80Kg with a 9.5 sail and a Starboard FType 138 and Im planing through gybes.

Learn to ride downwind and experience speed!

Jrobb · Joined: 20 Aug 2005 Posts: 217

Ill just reply to the 3# problem...re getting into the straps. I sailed a Naish Icon this weekend and till this point my widest board was 62cm but was rather long (298cm) . With the Icon I could differentiate between three separate zones/speeds of sailing that occured in the process of successfully getting into the straps.

1) slogging, trying to plane. You have to inch back further and further as the board accelerates. Back foot along center line and front foot just windward of centerline (ball of foot on center)

2)Front foot in strap but back foot still along centerline. Just prior to popping up on plane your feet should be back foot on centerline and even with or just infront of a line drawn from the front of each footstrap across the board. And front foot just in front of front strap. Then slip in front foot and keep pressure on back foot to keep the board from trying to turn into the wind(point up). Keep here till up on plane fully and slide back foot off centerline to windward so the outside of your instep is resting on the front screw of back strap. Whe ready here just weight harness more and slip rear foot in back strap, point toes (step on gas) an dyou should accelerate quite nicely.

3) Both feet in and smile on face!

It took me 30 min to work this out on top of dealing with a non existent left big toe. I had hurt it a week prior and it was still killing me but I needed to sail. After I stoped stumbling around the deck, this whole transition started going like Id been doing this for months.

Before discovering this, I always felt the board was trying to point up and the fin appeared to not be there, letting the tail just slide out from under me. Just remember to ease back step by step. This transition can be done in 10 seconds or 3seconds depending on how comfortable you are with it.

All my boards are 56cm or smaller in width and this seems to be a non issue with them but is more pronounced in the short wide models I think because of their lack of a long waterline.

J

wiamea · Joined: 03 Jan 2004 Posts: 108

mike & coach...good answers!!!....lol

fredfelter · Joined: 06 Jan 2001 Posts: 10

duracell;
Thanks for the only and extremely useful response. My board is a Thommen 262 X 85cm X 138 liters with a CR12 X 61cm fin.
If, as described, it is important to maintain a stance near the centerline to keep the board flat, when does one get into the footstraps which are placed at the far edges of the board and would obviously tend to drive the windward rail down and the board less than flat on the water?
Thanks.

fredfelter · Joined: 06 Jan 2001 Posts: 10

Oh yes; I weigh 75kg.

fredfelter · Joined: 06 Jan 2001 Posts: 10

Wow; I was wrong in that Jrobbs response is also a very helpful one. Thanks.