Gear selection help wanted

[dllee]

Ride277 is actually 99 liters. I had one those years, as did most shop employees who sold F2's.
My bud still rides one today. He's about 180 lbs., easily floats it out at Berkeley, uses a 5.7 in around 17-25 mph winds. The wide tail planes up as early as any modern freeride, while the length makes it stable for uphauling. Probably destined to be one of the "classic" boards in a few years, with the nose chopped off, it's valid today for go fast, great jibes, big jumps. And as fast as ANY freeride today. Sail sizing from 4.7 thru 7 meters.

[RocRobster]

Nope.
No nose chop and clearly has 277cm and 103l on the tail.
Yellow as a banana and as narrow as one too. A good foot longer than today's 103l boards which is why it is more difficult to uphaul I imagine.

[dllee]

C'mon man, a longer board is EASIER to uphaul. The modern 232 length boards tend to sink the nose when you stand on them.
NOBODY tips sideways, so the "narrowness" is not a consideration. Most modern 100 liter boards are only 64 cm wide, if that, while your board is a 57, plenty wide. That's about the difference of an inch and a half in width.
Buy the new board if you have to, but it's your mind that makes your windsurfing harder than it is. Most guys who used that board consider it a lightwind big board, and most have smaller boards for higher winds.
Might I recommend closer to 130 liters for pure safety.

[gregnw44]

LOL, multiple things going on here
Like I said before (and zirtaeb confirms) it's not harder to uphaul than a shorter 103 L bord.
And yes you're correct, it's printed right on it "103 L"... and one of my good 'ole sailing buddies had one for years also. We always compared things cause I sailed an Electric Rock 102 L at the same time he was on the Ride 277.
And I do agree with a bunch of other stuff said, as well.

Regarding your uphauling... don't worry about it. But it's the reason I suggested the 115 L board. (I weigh 200 and can almost always uphaul a 125 L board. I don't think I've ever been able to uphaul a 115 L board.)
Anyway, you said you used to have no problem uphauling a 110 L Hard Rock (I've sailed that board before).
Here are some things to keep in mind, when uphauling boards that are "right on the edge" of do-able or not do-able.
*Board volumes from brand to brand are probably not exactly consistent. One brand's 110 could be 114. And another brand's 103 could be 99. Or it could go the other way: a listed 110 might really be 107. While another's 103 could also be 106. So, vol is very important spec in windsurfing, but when you're comparing a 2 or 3% difference, I wouldn't put too much confidence in it.
*Also important, when right on the edge of uphauling a shortboard, is sailor weight. Suppose you still had the same Hard Rock, which you could barely "most of the time" uphaul, year's ago. But if you used to weigh 166 and now you're 173... that could make it WAY harder.
*Water texture and current make a big diff. Trying it in the river with chop would be way harder than in a lake with less chop.
*Foot placement is critical, and on each board it's going to be different. Where your feet go on a Ride 277 is very different than on a Hard Rock. If you put your in the perfect place, and there's enough buonyacy for your weight, and the water's not too choppy, and you haven't gained weight... than with practice, you'll be able to do it.
AND, every 10 L more, that a board has, will make it more do-able.
Greg

[gregnw44]

Here's a nice chat about the board you're thinking of, from right here, 4 1/2 years ago. It sounds great !!

With those 3 boards, you'd be very comfortable with the 160L in 3 to 18 mph winds. And a 115 L board in 10 to 22 mph winds. And the 103 L board in 17 to 27 mph winds. I mean.. I'm just guessing here, everybody's different. Just trying to guess at how a quiver like that, would work for a 175 # guy. Yes, there's a lot of over lap... but it's quite deluxe to have an over lap like that in the gusty Gorge. And at your current experience and for what your goals are... that board quiver would be very nice. You could always pick the right board, yet still have the right range for the gusts and lulls.

http://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13709

[dllee]

Most knowledgeable guys knew the E Rock was closer to 108 liters. Notice how much thicker and wider it was compared to the Ride277. The Ride282 was 115 liters, dwarfed the 277.
HardRock was around 115, but too old for me to really know. Astro was 125.

[RocRobster]

Yes I added 10 lbs in the last 15 years and 7 liters less on board volume...
I took 3 day weekends for July and August (thurs - Sat) and am dragging my kid with me until he can get on a plane (he isn't arguing much except when the water was warmer than the air). Once he gets bitten (God willing) in the next few weeks then get him waterstarting and the 115 will be necessary. (maybe I am just justifying...)
If I can get away with it, I'll be going up weekdays after work (out at 2:30pm and to Stevenson by 3:30 should get me 2 hours of sail time before it dies down). All I do not want to drive up and sit when I could be sailing. If the 115 lets me sail then there is no more need to justify it....

Isn't Blackberry beach directly across from Bob's? and if I do attempt east wind sailing and end up at the Cascade Locks beach... will someone really give me a ride back or should I really count on walking?

[coboardhead]

I'm with gregnw44and johnl. Those boards sound like great deals. And, there is nothing like a new toy...

I am a few pounds lighter (165) and I log a lot of light wind days (6.2 to 7.4) on my 114l board. No problem uphauling the smaller sail. Bigger sails are harder of course.

Not to dismiss the advice of the expert old gear guys...I am sure they would blow my doors off...but, I find the newer boards will carry a wider range of sail sizes and wind range within the "comfort" zone than the older boards.

That said, I don't really know how a new board performs with an older design sail. The reverse can be problematic. I bought a new quiver and one of my old Seatrends could not be tuned to work.

You might need to convince your wife she would look great with short hair and jeans. This could get pricey!

[westender]

For a guy your size, I think Rowena would be a better place to sail. Mosier is pretty good too.

[gregnw44]

"Most knowledgeable guys knew the E Rock was closer to 108 liters."
Well zirtaeb, you certainly could be correct. Like I said before, some of these specs are not an exact science. Unless we did Ken Winner's swimming pool test, we can just go by what the companies tell us. And according to Bic... all of the model years for the E Rock's were 102L. It was in all their literature, year after year. I worked with them back then, still have my '94 E Rock (I think the first year for that board was '89/'90 ?)
F2 came out with the Ride models around '93 (I think) so it had a newer shape than the E Rock. The beginning of "no nose" and the flipped up nose. A 277 was about 4-5" longer than the E Rock, but there wasn't much vol in that nose, their volumes were very similar.

And RocRobster - See, there ya go
If you were "barely most of the time able" to uphaul a Hard Rock 15 years ago. But now you add 10# of body mass and subtract 7L of board vol... yeah, probably going to be about impossible for you and me. A pro could do it, but I couldn't.
Yeah, the more you talk about your plans... the more something around 115 to 120 L would be very useful and practical for you.

And isobars or other's could give you great and specific info on Stevenson's surrounding's.