First day out on my 'new' old board!

[kzdupre]

One word: OUCH! Truth be told, this was my first day out ever. Got a $50 Tiga "funboard" board and rig for $50 and away we go! Couldn't manage to lash the boom to the mast very well but I understand it's such an antiquated system that no one knows quite how to do it anymore, not even 1 video on Youtube! I managed to stand regular footed ok and even, finally, managed to sail a good thousand feet! Pretty happy with myself actually. However, I found myself on the other side of the marina with wind blowing at me from the direction I'd just come from but couldn't get the board to keep facing the direction I wanted to go (across wind)- all this goofy-footed now, of course! Every time i'd get the sail up the board would start rotating again... Grrr. Kept getting up, up-hauling, rotating, falling, (repeat, repeat, repeat) for about an hour till the sun started to go and eventually layed the sail across the tail of the board and did the paddle of shame back to my side of the marina again. So exhausted but tomorrow's a new day and there's a lake up North to be explored on a beautiful Friday! Not to mention some boom rigging to be explored...
So how'd I do? Cheers!

[windward1]

You did great.

Get that boom tight by tying it tight while the boom lays along the mast. When you pull it down to attach the clew it will become tight.

To go downwind, tilt the mast forward. To go upwind tilt it back. A little changes your direction a little. A lot changes your direction a lot.

Welcome to windsurfing!

[kzdupre]

Oh, you Old Salties just make it sound sooooo easy! Nah, but thanks for your words of encouragement and I found some detailed instructions on old-style boom to mast rigging. Hope it doesn't seem to much but I went ahead and posted them a second ago. So totally stoked on windsurfing, I feel like I'm not only finally learning to sail but I get to do it on my freakin' surfboard! This sport ROCKS!

[Windnc]

If I recall way back when I had my standard windsurfer with the tie-on boom, we used the "Prussic Knot". Google it and you will see photos and descriptions of how to tie it. It is very easy to tie and when there is no pressure on it you can slide it up and down the mast easily but when you affix the boom and then swing the boom back into position, the knot tightens up against the mast and will not slip. Just be careful you don't tie the boom on too tight before swinging it back into position as the line tension in the knot could get too tight and potentially damage the mast.

[rich1]

kzdupre,

Welcome to windsurfing! If it helps at all, every single one of us has gone through what you went through on our first days too.

I absolutely love to see a newbie floundering around on old gear while the rest of us are ripping! Not for some perverse Schadenfreude reason, but because a year later they're ripping with the rest of us, and that's just cool.

I always introduce myself, and offer some hopefully helpful piece of advice to make their next session a bit better.

Have fun!

Chris

[d0uglass]

Awesome post, kz! With "sailing a surfboard" you have definitely discovered a wonderful sport that very few people get to experience.

It often seems easier to go out than to come back, because you tend to go wherever the wind takes you on the way out- usually downwind. Then on the way back you have to focus on getting back to the specific point you started from, which is usually way upwind. Beginners often try to make it back it one shot, not realizing that the direct path back from where they ended up is now at an impossibly steep upwind angle. So what you need to do is zig zag and tack multiple times to make it back where you started. And also try to sail upwind as much as possible on the way OUT so you don't have to do all the upwind on the way back.

When I'm teaching beginners I have them make very short runs, like just 100 feet between turning around. That way you get more practice making turns and sailing in both directions and you spend less time having to walk back from way far away.

Keep at it!

PS- I wrote a blog post of advice for getting into windsurfing cheaply, like you're doing. It covers everything from picking old gear to strapping the board to your roof, if you're interested. http://jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/search?q=windsurfing+for+poor+people

[kzdupre]

Hey, you're the 'James' from that blog- that was THE BLOG that inspired me to just get on whatever board I could find and go! Wow, thanks, man! Everything else was talking about thousands of dollars of equipment and hundreds of dollars of lessons then your blog reminded me of how I taught myself to surf as a kid: bought a crappy board for $20 and just worked my arse off (all in good fun, of course)! Really so grateful you took the time to write that- you can now consider it having made a real impact on the windsurfing world. Good one, mate!

[kzdupre]

[swchandler]

In contrast to windward1's advice, I would tie on the boom so that I could bring the boom up from the bottom of the sail rather then from the top. Both ways will work, but I found it easier and more convenient. Another thing that's advisable is to use a metal (aluminum) shim to help protect the mast from being damaged when you bring the boom into position. With the protection the shim provides, you'll be able to get a very solid connection with no damage to the mast with virtually no wobble. I still have a number of these metal shims. Where do you live?

[kzdupre]

How interesting! I've been at the car practicing just then and found I have to tie a hell of hard square knot after passing the ends of the prussic through the boom head just to stop it from wanting to 'give' as I'm bringing the boom up- yeah, I ended swinging it up to position too! But maybe the shim would work well in conjuction. I'm in California, North LA, in the Valley. If you had a spare shim I'd be very grateful!