| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
|
 Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 11:27 am Post subject: |
 |
|
| westender wrote: | | if you have special boards for different spots get rid of them. A good Gorge board should work anywhere in the Gorge. |
Current, chop, swell, wind lines and shadows, walk of shame conditions, fatigue level, time of day, and wind quality all affect my board choice. Necessary? Seldom. Convenient and rewarding? You betcha. Confusing? Hell, yes. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
|
| Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 2:32 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| westender wrote: | Too many people think there's a magic board or piece of gear that will make them a better sailor. Let me know when you find it. I want one too.
I think the new style boards may work better for people with less experience or skill .... |
or objectives. That's been my impression.
I have very definitely encountered two boards which significantly advanced my abilities in my first session on them, according to both myself and observers. The first was a particular board among several similar wannabes: the GA Bonzer I tested head to head with half a dozen multifinned boards > 20 years ago. It provided a dramatic and immediate improvement in my skills and over its multifinned contenders in high speed control in any Gorge terrain.
Next was the new old school thruster board I sailed last week. It picked up where my Bonzers left off in sliding effortlessly between right and left transitions, throwing up continuous sheets of water if sufficiently powered. How it compares in that regard to other modern thruster boards I don't know *, but its claim to fame is its return to old school widths like my '08 Naish Pro Wave.
* Is it the tiny main fin, allowing breakaway but constrained from spinout by the thrusters? Is it the endless rocker + full length vee + hefty tail kick? The narrower yesteryear width? The even narrower winged pintail?
Yes.
Holy cow does it dance across the water, especially in rapidly linked 90- to 180-degree slashes during broad to downwind reaches. I'm looking forward to next spring's 5-kt runoff currents so I can just slash downwind for hours on end without ever having to pinch upwind. It might make a whole session feel like the downhill side of any major roller coaster, only with much faster, quicker, more frequent, tighter turns.
Or was I just in the groove, only to be let down next time I get a ride on it? With the Bonzers, HELL, no. With this new old school wave board, I'll find out next windy day. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 4:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
A WSJ ad has an opinion on this thread:
"Whoever said less is more hasn't tried more."  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
brettn
Joined: 22 Nov 2000
Posts: 114
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 5:14 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Everyone is solving the problem the OP asked to have solved, but really he should be figuring out how to haul more boards than trying to get by with less of them.
Given his original post, I'm thinking he drives quite a ways to windsurf, only gets to on special occasions, and doesn't want to get skunked. Coming down from Bellingham, I myself have yet to figure out how to windsurf with less than 4 boards. I could pare it down to 2, but I'd forever be getting screwed. I may come down there knowing what I'm going to need for the first day of a great forecast, but who knows what the wind will be doing by day 3 and 4 of a 4-day trip. I'll need everything from my freestyle 109 down to an 81-liter full wave. The OP should be reading the "Ideal Windsurfing Vehicle" posts, of which there are plenty, and working out a way to bring it all. The Tabou 3S is really deluxe, but it is still going to take at least 3 of them to sail 15 to 50. There is no two-board combo for us who have to make a multi-hour trip. Give in and buy a 5th-wheel toy hauler! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 6:16 pm Post subject: |
|
|
EXCELLENT points.
A bud left his brand new and ONLY highwind board home, taking only his light wind gear so he could carpool with two other guys to the lake 190 miles away for a day forecast to blow 15-20 mph. It blew 30+ the whole day, and he didn't get to sail at all on what was one of our best days in a long time.
His BRAND NEW board ... to save maybe $5 in gas.
Rule #2: Take all yer $#!+.
I get enough wind for my 3.2 probably 3-5 sessions per year. I have ZERO reservations about owning and carrying it (and its dedicated mast, boom, extension, and, arguably, board), because the bigger the wind, the bigger the swell. The only reason I no longer own a 2.8 is that if I need it, the swell is so big it blocks the wind. But do I still own a board suitable for those days? Hell, yes, because it also works with a 4.2 if the wind is steady enough.
Having the right tool for the job is a fantastic experience. Making do is for our JOBS, not for the IMPORTANT parts of our lives. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
starfish
Joined: 14 Apr 1996
Posts: 202
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:41 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Hell I actually agree with isobars. Dam! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
knifeonwater
Joined: 25 May 2000
Posts: 51
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 10:30 pm Post subject: |
|
|
But you should also own a board that you can sail back to your launch site.
Or have isobars waiting to pick you up down wind. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
westender
Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Posts: 1288
Location: Portland / Gorge
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
If I was driving hundreds of miles, I'd have all my stuff too.
Sounds like the OP has a board for every day of the week. So, that's the answer. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
starfish
Joined: 14 Apr 1996
Posts: 202
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 9:18 am Post subject: |
|
|
I like walking back up wind to my car. Its a form of cross training. Kind of like swimming after your gear on a big day. :  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 3:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| knifeonwater wrote: | | Or have isobars waiting to pick you up down wind. |
You don't need no steenkin' Isobars. One bud launches, turns east, sails 10-15 miles downwind, goes ashore, beaches his gear, walks to the highway, raises his thumb, and hitches a ride back to his van. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum
|
|
|
Search
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Register
