Help me(a newbie)

ididntdonothing · Joined: 22 Jul 2002 Posts: 4

I was sailing on a newbie(big board) and I just got a smaller one wich can support my weight on the water but barely and i mostly try to water start on it.. Anyways I was sailing a 5.0 and the wind wasnt exteremely strong but i guess decent and I have this huge rudder that I put on my board and once i started going fast the front of my board just started going craze, like out of the water and turning left and right and out of control....Could this be due to a rudder that is too big or what? If you want to know the board is an ASD around 120 liters i think and i weigh 160 pounds...
Thanks for any help,
Andrew

spyder · Joined: 24 Sep 1996 Posts: 2790 Location: oahu

i think i need more details to help out here, by rudder do you actually mean fin? or do you mean centerboard?

sounds like you are fin walking, but im really not sure from your description.

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3553

I agree with Spyder, sounds like you are fin walking. If the board is around 120 liters, it should not have a centerboard, so your rudder must be the fin. How lonng is the fin? It might be too big for your board and/or conditions.

ididntdonothing · Joined: 22 Jul 2002 Posts: 4

Sorry I was not specific enough,
The fin I was using was a straight fin that sticked out of my board 14.5 inches.
The board has no centerboard and has foot straps way in the back and with the fin I was using when i got into the back strap the front of the board picked up and went from side to side, I dont know if its a defect in the board or I was doing something wrong or if the fin was to big..
Thanks again,
Andrew

spyder · Joined: 24 Sep 1996 Posts: 2790 Location: oahu

i think i understand now. you are trying to get on a board thats too small for you at this time.

i dont want to discourage you from it, but what was the big board you refer to? and btw, can you mention your weight?

you can keep trying this small board, but it will be frustrating.

from your information it sounds like you mightve been totally sheeted out, going downwind, with the tail sinking, and nose sticking out. in that case, the board would be out of control, and nothing would feel right. as for the 14.5 fin with a 5.0, well, it would work ok depending on the conditions. sounds like some other things are wrong here.

I dont know your weight, or the wind speeds you were in (but its sounded like medium winds from your description). These 2 factors would make a big difference in what i would say.

ididntdonothing · Joined: 22 Jul 2002 Posts: 4

the board i have that i refer to the small one is not tiny, its 120 liters, and i wasnt fully sheeted out going totally down wind.. The wind was around 15-20mph..
Thanks,
Andrew

spyder · Joined: 24 Sep 1996 Posts: 2790 Location: oahu

since i wasnt there, its a bit of guessing game, now you provide more details..

120 ltrs is still pretty sinky for a beginner/intermediate sailor at 160 lbs.

Also 15-20mph is quite a wide range, so on a 5.0, 160lbs, and 120 ltrs, 15mph is pretty underpowered. 20 mph is probably more like it.

my guess is the wind was either stronger than you thought, and you were fin walking, or you were fairly sheeted out and headed in a downwind direction (maybe not dead downwind).

also, your sail may have been rigged really flat with little downhaul, which made it tough to control and very powered.

if you got in a planing state then the volume of the board and the large fin may have caused it to be difficult to control, and bouncy.

are you able to get in the footstraps and harness ? keeping weight on the back foot (over the fin), and feet in both straps (sheeted in) will help with control of the board.

ididntdonothing · Joined: 22 Jul 2002 Posts: 4

Thanks for all the help so far guys,
Im still open to any new ideas
Andrew

Windlover · Joined: 06 Oct 2015 Posts: 623

As the others mentioned, its a guessing game without more specifics. If your sail was rigged properly, there may have been too much wind and the fin may be a bit big, causing the board to fin walk.

It basically sounds like you just need more TOW (time on water) with the new board. Going from a large board/sail to a smaller rig can be difficult due to all the new things you have to learn. If there are other shortboard sailors where you sail, start asking advice. Also watch them closely when they are doing waterstarts, general riding, jibes, etc. You can learn a lot from them.

Also try to pinpoint the areas you are having trouble and post ?s here. We can all help if you keep it specific. Also, go back through the How Tos here and read similar ?s. Lots of great info already posted. Good luck.