Which 150L board for a heavyweight?

[gobigkahuna]

[jingebritsen]

it won't be the fastest, nor the slowest. rides smooth in chop. stock fin is very excellent for blasting, not for waves.

i remember sailing a 4.7, well powered, on it with a 32 cm fin, just to see what it would do. lotsa fun for one board. gotta sew up up or tape up the dagger gasket. AND you may want to fill the gasket with a section of pool noodle type foam to make that section of board more rigid....

[gobigkahuna]

[GURGLETROUSERS]

I protest at this concerted movement to ridicule daggerboards. (Centreboards.) There is a world of difference between having no difficulty staying upwind, and quickly and efficiently beating upwind with centreboard down when unable to get planing.

Of course the majority of boards don't need centreboards because the majority of windsurfers use them for planing, surf, B and J, mowing the lawn. And the mantra nowadays is, don't try and windsurf in light offshore wind conditions.

Well those of us who have to use coasts with predominantly offshore winds would do precious little windsurfing if we listened to such nonsense. Efficiently being able to beat upwind in sub planing (half of the time) breezes is precisely why longboards have centreboards.In such conditions there are many times when a kicked down centreboard can get you speedily to a particular spot when off the plane, ready to play about in the surf. And what the hell difference does it make after you've kicked it back up? A liitle extra weight? Big deal!

But apart from the modern 'don't go out in iffy offshore winds' mantra, most now don't even go out at all unless the wind is guaranteed planing strength.

Impossible to have fun on a windsurf board in light offshore winds? Really?????

[jingebritsen]

gurgle, sailed cross offshore yesterday. that's when wave sailing is best.

in the past, i have sailed up to 60 degrees offshore very successfully with 11,5 board. again, wind and waves' forces combine for lotsa horsepower on wave ride.

BTW, typically the best riding and photography is when wind is somewhat cross offshore.

[GURGLETROUSERS]

I fully agree John, and cross off is one of our favourite surf conditions, But I was really trying to make a different point.

In the course of many cruises, especially around islands with headlands and tide races, and variable winds off the mountains, I've often come across 'magical' (to me) unexpected places in which to play for a while. Even a simple thing like a narrowish channel through which a tide race is flowing can produce half an hours fighting struggle just to beat up against it just for the hell of it. (One fluffed tack, and you sweep back 10 minutes worth of hard won progress.)

All I'm saying is that in circling unknown areas windsurfing can be full of pleasant surprises, and an efficient longboard and centreboard is key to relatively easily getting through the 'blocking light headwind stretches to reach that Pandoras Box of new delights.

Anyone who thinks their superior skill in beating upwind in those sub planing areas with no need for a centreboard really ought to join the racing circuit and show all those dedicated Phantom users how it should be done! (I rather think they would wish they hadn't bothered!! )

[gobigkahuna]

@Gurge - Point well taken. For 99% of my sailing I only need to get upwind enough to return to where I launched from. Or, worst case scenario, make it upwind enough to fight some current and return to where I started from. For my kind of sailing the centerboard is more of an inconvenience than an aid.

[cgoudie1]

All this centerboard talk is giving me a rash.

-Craig

[GURGLETROUSERS]

One sincerely apologises for unwittingly causing such extreme distress in a fellow windsurfer. May I humbly suggest that a decent dollop of genuine briny (as distinct that watery river stuff) up your hooter, may perhaps go a little way to alleviating your rare condition, which would seem to be some kind of aversion to a blade of moulded plastic. (Wonder what past trauma gave rise to such an odd affliction.)

But you'll be cheered to know that I once laboured in shaping a very nice wooden blade for an old and cherished longboard, which snapped when well out
to sea, thus forcing me to join your ranks of real windsurfers, by beating back in without assistance.

So you see, one of us can be quite normal, at times!

Yours faithfully etc.

[jingebritsen]

highlarious!

all in good fun.

that's what WTF really means, right? WHERE'S THE FUN.