Board and sails - which should I buy new

jgerke · Joined: 22 Jun 2015 Posts: 5

I am in the process of buying gear. Most of my gear will probably be used however I'm thinking of getting either my board or sails brand new. Should I put more money into my sails or board? I won't be able to afford both brand new.

bred2shred · Joined: 02 May 2000 Posts: 989 Location: Jersey Shore

I would probably suggest you go for the brand new sails and mast(s).

It's very important that a sail and mast be purchased that work together correctly. If you don't have the right mast for your sail, the sail won't work well no matter what you do. Also, it can be difficult to really tell how badly a used sail is worn. Things like UV damage or worn stitching can severely lessen a sail's life span, and this can be difficult to spot on a used sail, especially if you plan to buy online. If you buy your sail and mast new, you know they will work right together and that they're good to go right from the start.

A used board that looks good (no visible damage or repairs) is most likely good to go. Even if the board does have some minor repairs, if they were done properly, there's probably nothing to worry about. The only real hidden danger on a board would be soft spots under the foot straps. These can be concealed by the deck pads. However, unless you plan to buy a freestyle, wave, or smaller bump and jump board, the likelihood of there being heel damage is pretty low. That typically only occurs on boards that are jumped a lot. Try to find out how the seller used the board before you buy it.

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coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550

Order of importance. Mast/Sail/Boom/Board.

Get a good mast first. You can always match sails to your mast later & that includes used or closeout sails. As stated earlier your mast & sail need to work together but if you already have the mast you can rig the sail before you buy.

Get a good boom for the sail range you plan to use. Aluminum booms have come a long way but will fatigue rather quickly compared to carbon. Depending on how you sail, where you sail, how heavy you are & how well you take care of your gear a carbon boom can far outlast aluminum.

Boards are the last thing you should get. You want to get used boards until you are good enough to know what you like & prevent crashing as often.

Coachg

U2U2U2 · Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2015 12:38 pm Post subject:

Interesting ?
This can be discussed in either direction with short points for both.

I would look to see which ,sail and components , OR board might be available to suit your wants and needs, suitability and at what price.

Will or do you plan to replace within x # of years, to upgrade or smaller/larger.

A carbon boom would be nice, but very pricy, same in some extent with a hi carbon content mast, neither of which you need. A alloy boom will last for years, it will not be as stiff as carbon, nor most likely as light weight.

Size and what type of equipment is a huge factor here

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

I agree, but I'd take it a step further. If you live in or travel to an area with a good selection of used gear (or just trust Windance, as I do*). I can think of no reason other than mast-sail compatibility to buy new gear, especially when learning. Your brand and model preferences will evolve very rapidly, and you will chew up your first board anyway with crashes. New gear might lose as much as half its value just by that same Fall even if still on the store shelf, let alone actually sold and used. Why pay for that?

* I trust them most specifically to fairly grade their used gear. They'll even run a live video cam over the gear you're interested in while you watch and talk with them online. The one detail I might not count on 100% at any purveyor of so many brands of sails is mast-sail compatibility; there are too many nuances in that arena for anyone but a sharp few-brands dealership or sole-brand sail loft to nail confidently. OTOH, those nuances may not matter to novices or even many advanced sailors just because they ARE nuances. But since good masts can outlast a sail by a decade, I suggest buying non-specialized, non-sail-branded masts ... just so you aren't tied to that sail brand by the comparable cost of changing masts if you ever change sail brands. (Don't let anyone tell you any one brand of sail is clearly superior to the competition. If it were true, we'd all be on that brand. I've tested hundreds of sails and talk to guys that still try different sails often, and I have some favorites, but that also changes year to year and among models under one marque.)

Sailboarder · Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 656

I buy most of my equipment used. However booms, mast bases and extensions were bought new. I wanted those to be consistent to speed up setup and service, and I was never able to get exactly what I needed on the local used market.

NOVAAN · Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1548

Great question. Your sail is your motor. Your mast is the transmission. The boom the steering wheel. Harness and lines your seat belt. All these things work together to allow you to control the power of the wind. Your fin is your tires. Without a good fin its difficult to control the power.
To me its by far sail and mast. Followed by the fin.
Pick a good sail line and stay in that line. Get the proper "transmission" for your sails. Talk to the sail designer to get the proper sail sizes. Follow his guidelines for rigging and tuning. Have the right fin for your sails. If you can't control the power it doesn't matter much what board your on. Once you fine tune your rig, this sport becomes much less demanding. Now you can pick a board for the water and wind conditions.
Windsurfing is my passion. Has been for a very long time. At this point I get new sails every year and masts every two. Nothing like having a brand new sail. Just sayin...

techno900 · Joined: 28 Mar 2001 Posts: 4161

Difficult to answer your question without knowing your skill level/knowledge, where you sail, the time you have to commit to the sport and your desire. We need to know if you are a beginner, novice, intermediate, etc,. If you are a beginner or novice, anything new you buy now may not be that appropriate a year from now. Learning means a small sail (size depends on your weight/height) If you buy a high carbon mast, carbon boom and new sail - say 5.0 meter in size, you may grow out if pretty quick and want something larger, say a 6.5 sail, then maybe a 7.5 sail and then as you progress, you may get back to the 5.0 in very windy conditions. This also means that as you go bigger, you will need a longer mast and a longer boom.

Same with boards. The perfect learning board will not be desirable a year from now.

So, if you get my point, we need more information.

rigitrite · Joined: 19 Sep 2007 Posts: 520 Location: Kansas City

It's completely worth it to scope gear out from Windance, buy it, and then make a pilgrimage to the Gorge to pick it up (save shipping) and sail it there. The Gorge is.....well....it's amazing. Some of the most epic sailing you can imagine.

jgerke · Joined: 22 Jun 2015 Posts: 5

techno900, I started windurfing a few years ago and got the point that I could water start and use the harness. I was working on getting in the foot straps when I stopped. Now I want to pick it back up again. I am from Utah so light wind gear is what I would use most the time. I'm having a real hard time finding a decent used board around 140L.