The Trouble with Longboards.

SeaDawg · Joined: 12 Sep 2002 Posts: 384

Talk to Charlie at Ride Hatteras. He has a tandem in his shop now, i'll bet he's ridden it solo.....

Wildblue_ · Joined: 12 May 2010 Posts: 6

Dead runs, nose torpedoing, getting stuck in troughs. The joys of longboard touring. Smile

That expedition longboard looks great.

This may be sacrilege, but for long distances i'm more inclined towards the new sailing/paddling kayaks.

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

Thanks for the chuckle Wildblue, bu there will be good days to go with the bad.

Cruising is so unpredictable, unlike groove riding. You can round a headland and suddenly find yourself in seventh heaven, just like that, or you can be tired, hungry, and right p****d off.

Speed is irrelevant as long as you can still beat upwind, so using a smaller sail makes sense. Nose diving isn't on the agenda! Very Happy

I agree about expedition paddling, but I did my back in with years of heaving a heavily loaded kayak against winds and seas. Then switched to a Dart 15 catamaran but found it too restrictive. (Can only land on beaches when loaded, and sometimes there wern't any!) Hence the killing of two birds with one stone. (I love windsurfing, and it doesn't aggravate the back problem.)

Thanks for the link SeaDawg, but it's a done deal now, so I'll find out soon enough how able the board really is. I'ts nice to feel charged up again with a different direction to take the windsurfing. Surfing and blasting is fine, but anybody can become a bit stale, after too many years at it. Rolling Eyes

Wildblue_ · Joined: 12 May 2010 Posts: 6

Don't get me wrong, I longboard. Longboards are great in many many situations and the only way to really race against boats in all conditions.

And taking ladies for cruises. Cool

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

What! With all the luggage they would need!!!!! Very Happy

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

Specs;
Volume 310 litres
Length; 380 cm
Width; 65 cm
Weight; 13 Kg
Fin size and box; 40 cm Tuttle box
Mast track; Adjustable
Sail size; 6.5 to 9.5

with all that nose, perhaps the Elite might work with some after market inserts for tie downs?

Methinks an 11 isn't out of the question either. I sailed the Warp X 380 with a 9.5 and felt it could handle more.

http://www.lbwindsurfing.com/raceboard/kona-380-elite/

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

A fast lightish board would be nice, but in multi day cruising/camping I think you have to choose between performance, and the likelyhood of making it without equipment failure.

I envisage keeping the speed sub planing, especially in rocky situations (tread slowly and carefully) while carrying minimal spares.

Split kayak paddles are essential, but a spare mastfoot/U.J. and smaller fin will have to do.

A grunty 7.5 sail for lightwind days, and a twist leech 5.5 for the stronger blows (on same mast) should be O.K. Planing on open stretches will be a bonus.

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

I think your choice of the Mahalo is optimal. Sails, I'd look for something like the Aerotech Zenith. Very little luff curve, lots of seam shaping. Simple 5-10 cm down haul adjustments can make the sail spill or pull like crazy. When we first validated the sail, a few years ago, it had too much twist until we backed off the d/h bunches. Designed to be most suitable for long boards, BTW.

GURGLETROUSERS · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Posts: 2643

Thanks for the advice Jingebritsen. Several sail makers are now producing long board specific sails nowadays, so there must be a revival under way. I will certainly get one soon.

Collected the Mahalo yesterday, and tried it out today. It was a light iffy breeze with smallish swelly chop. Sail was North Prisma 7.5 twin cam.

It's definitely more stable in those conditions than the Kona 1, and it glides quite nicely. It averaged 4.4 m.p.h. out (2 miles) and 5.6m.p.h. back in which was surprising in such a light breeze. It glides like a train with such a weight, and even cuts up wind without stalling when forced. (Matches my long boards of old in that respect - so it should with a huge dagger and 54 fin.)

Incidentally it cost 40% less than a tiny wave board, despite having four times the volume and amount of material, not to mention all those extra fittings! I wonder why that might be? Very Happy

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Stiffness? Overall durability and heel/jump protection? Shape criticality? Box integrity? Footstrap inserts?

Seeing the SUP in Costco reminded me of their WS board in the mid-80s, which quickly sank if exposed to a harsh environment such as ... water. Seems waterproofness was not high on their priority list.

OK, OK .... I never saw one actually sink when not carrying a rider, but they sure got hard to lift after a while.

Mike \m/