A Better Way To Jibe

spennie · Joined: 13 Oct 1995 Posts: 975 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

Mike:
Excellent post thank you for that! Watch for me in you neck of the woods at Windfest, I'll buy you a beer!

swchandler:
No problems with delamination so far, although I ride only production boards. I would venture to say that your Labs are built to be incredibly light, trading a little durability for it. Another guess would be that the pressure from jibing, ditributed over your whole foot, probably wouldn't cause a high-quality board like one of Mike's to de-lam. There's bound to be reinforcement around the mast step.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550

swchandler · Joined: 08 Nov 1993 Posts: 10588

I will say this about Zajicek's boards, they're built incredibly well, far better than production boards. And on top of that, they're significantly lighter and stiffer overall, yet they retain a top flight rockerline to make things really work. I think that few would argue otherwise.

The problem that I've experienced is due to the density of the EPS foam. Mike and I talked a bit about this issue for some time, and he's said that the actual density of the EPS foam varies significantly between different manufacturing lots. While the lightest EPS yields a very light board, it can also result in less stout durability over the long haul. We're not talking about Mike minimizing construction strength for weight.

In a less dense, lighter weight product, what can ultimately happen is a delamination at the laminated juncture of the the foam and added fiberglass/divinycel layers. This occurs because of the applied stress in a specific area, like just in front of the rear straps. It's all about fatigue over time. However, I should say that some ML boards I've owned have never exhibited any weakness at all, even after over nearly 12 years of hard use. The facts support a more mixed durability factor that seems to be traceable to the character of the actual EPS foam that's at the core of the board.

mogunn · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 1307 Location: SF Bay

mrgybe · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 5180

I have jibed with both feet out of the straps for years on my old Screamer. Primary reason for me is the low volume in the tail of the Screamer relative to my 200lbs..........I can plane through jibes much easier with my weight more centered on the board. On my newer boards with fatter tails I keep the front foot in the strap..........but sometimes, even on those boards, in awkward chop I will take the FF out to keep the board from bouncing around too much through the jibe. I have never had any problem with my front foot being knocked of the board. My only occasional problem is getting too close to the mast as the sail rotates..........otherwise it works great.

mpighini · Joined: 14 Jul 2000 Posts: 9 Location: Laguna Niguel

Great job spennie, you are getting everyone to think outside the strap Laughing

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

Them Kiters are all going Strapless too you know? Question

I think He's a Kiter Troll trying to start something.

I'm all for standing wherever works on a board even if there aren't any foot straps handy.

Where I been sailing,, if you didn't have some feet in the straps you'd get your ass kicked. Too many times I only have one foot on the board in the middle of a jibe anyway?? Shocked

Wind-NC.com · Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 8:47 am Post subject:

Well, yesterday was blowing 4.7, so I gave it a few attempts. I mostly experienced what mrgybe just reported: Being too close to the mast to control the rig. I set up the video camera to record the crashes- check it out here:

http://vimeo.com/8031109