Exocet Wind SUP Saves the Day

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

gk3540

there's another side to this story. too complicated and unfortunate to share online, publicly.

I read about boardsurfr 's unfortunate experience with his 10' windsup (on his excellent blog) and happen to be very interested in the BIC ace tec wind that he's referring to. But regarding his Exocet windsup, it sounds to me more like a perception, and how he pursued his warranty. I think this 11'8 is awesome. I prefer it to shortboards because it has far more range and versatility.

suffice it to say the circumstances with that case had not allowed the normal warranty procedures to unfold.

meanwhile, i'm glad there are so many that enjoy this board. it's been a blessing to me. i'm very busy with my beach and souvenir distribution business, and cannot always break free when conditions are short board specific.

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

gk3540 , pm'ed you but this is a worthy public discussion. what to do about onshore ugly:

power is the key. at 25 knots, there's plenty of juice on tap. how to use it best? i use an onshore board or a cross over free ride. i don't like the term FSW, it is an oxymoron to me. cross 114, stock fin, maybe a few cm smaller. rig "big." about a 5.2 to 5.8 sail, lotsa down haul, and just enough out haul to keep the clew from flopping up and down.

technique, run vs square up. avoid jumps whenever you are smack in the middle of the impact zone. once you weave your way past the middle break, if you choose to jump, do so off the wind, don't pinch into ramps that are closing out toward you.

avoid stalling, and losing your plane. gotta keep the momentum alive to survive. once outside the impact zone, use the extra power to grind upwind. then go get some rides. you may have to choose to only use the furthest outside sections to ride. that way you don't have to run, unhooked, in the middle break as long? and, too many cut backs on a back side ride tends to make you lose too much ground anyway.

BTW, another great board is the fanatic FW 115, will do what a cross 114 or a x-wave 111 will do equally.

boardsurfr · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 1266

windrockwater · Joined: 03 Aug 2010 Posts: 66

I am not trying to flame the fires about your unfortunate situation. But it seems to me that a board this long and huge would be susceptible to damage if it were to get rolled in the shallows and waves. Is that kind of damage 'supposed" to be covered under warranty? Maybe it should be covered for a limited time like 1 year? When should damage sustained in normal use NOT be covered?

I have never really replaced anything windsurf-related under warranty so I am just curious as to what to expect and what 'should' be covered. I am not taking sides, just trying to understand...

Arranging delivery of this big board was a pain. I would not be happy to have to try and box it back up (boxes are long gone) and send it back to anyone for repairs.

By the way, my 7 year old went windsurfing for the first time yesterday using a 1.0 sail and the windsup. It was perfect for him! Then my wife SUP'd for a while and all were happy.

boardsurfr · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 1266

The WindSUP is marketed for wave sailing, including beginner wave sailing. So it would be reasonable to expect that is does not break in typical use. The feedback I got directly from the dealer and indirectly from Exocet was that any damage that occurred in waves is not covered by warranty. One board repair guy advised me to lie and say the damage happened in flat water, which I did not do.

Part of the problem is construction/design. My board was an AST board. Here's what Pete, who has experience in board repair, wrote in a comment on my blog:

gk3540 · Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Posts: 45

Boardsurfr, did you get the BIC ace tec wind? Curious about this board....

boardsurfr · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 1266

Yes, I did. It has a very nice glide when light wind sailing, similar to a traditional long board. It does plane in flat water, although the US fin box will limit fin size. It picks up waves quite well, although I have only sailed it in non-breaking waves. So far, I'm very happy with the BIC.

gk3540 · Joined: 19 Apr 2003 Posts: 45

Thanks. It's on my wish list.

ittiandro · Joined: 22 Nov 2009 Posts: 294

beaglebuddy · Joined: 10 Feb 2012 Posts: 1120

Well here we go again with the cracking in half 11'8". Mine broke in half, but I did get Exocet to refund my money but not until I applied a bit of pressure.
This seemed to be a problem around 2012, I haven't heard of many if any at all problems since.
I had mine put back together but then it broke in half again apparently due to an inadequate repair job, first they put a belly band around it then the second time a different person put a diamond shaped repair patch which has worked well so far.
I love this board, I feel it is about the most versatile board out there, the footstraps and flat tail make all the difference. Paddling it in the waves, not so good but it's a much better flat water paddler than a typical surfing type sup.
I don't use the daggerboard mainly because I kept stubbing my toes on it, I sink the windward rail to go upwind which seems to work well.