Hifly Nova 365

rgomez · Joined: 13 Dec 2012 Posts: 112

I managed to find an old Hifly Nova 365 in pretty good condition with all spares for about a 100 USD and was wondering what the board performance is like.

I would have preferred a mistral screamer or some better known boards but being based in India it's nearly impossible to find any equipment and importing boards is too expensive especially like this 14ft monster.

The problem is I don't know what to expect from this board..BTW I'm an intermediate windsurfer been at it for about four years now sailing in only a flatwater bay. I'm hoping to use this boards in light winds with my 7.5 np street race.

Any advice?

adywind · Joined: 08 Jan 2012 Posts: 665

Hi rgomez
You can't expect much "performance" from it and you can develop lower back problems from handling it off the water on top of that but hey-it beats no board/no sailing right!
Btw you were blasting nicely in that video that you posted back then-good stance and all. What kind of board are you on in it?

cgoudie1 · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:55 pm Post subject:

My advice would be take that bad boy for a ride, and tell us how it works.
Some of those old HiFlys got very slick, and decking material doesn't stick
very well to polyethylene. Find a wood rasp and go easy on the deck
to scuff it up some. You might consider moving the straps forward to get better light wind use out of the thing
-Craig

MalibuGuru · Joined: 11 Nov 1993 Posts: 9300

Actually some flat clear coat with sugar sprinkled all over it would give you good grip. Those old boards were fun, not high performance.

A little Clorox and Ajax would get that board looking like new. If it is really tough, use a very light wet and dry sandpaper, and that thing's going to look new.

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

straps forward would make this board wallow. keep them where they are

boardsurfr · Joined: 23 Aug 2001 Posts: 1266

In light wind, you should be able to have a lot of fun on the board. Since it's narrow and long, it will have a nice glide. You may have to take a few steps back when turning it Smile

.

A problem with ancient boards can be that modern sails don't work, since they have much shorter booms than sails from the 80s. But the Hifly has a long mast track, so you'll be fine. Get it and have fun!

spennie · Joined: 13 Oct 1995 Posts: 975 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

Find someone else with a poly board and you can play "Knock the Other Guy Down", like jousting. Only two rules are no damage to the sail, and no ramming of the feet. I used to spend hours doing this with Casey Hauser before he was a big PWA star. We sailed at Lake Isabella, where you often have very light morning winds before it ramps up in the afternoon. Low-speed course racing is also great fun, and you can combine the two.