Naish Titan 273

Klein · Joined: 05 Apr 2001 Posts: 4

I have a techno 283 and want to upgrade to a bit floatier board for light wind days on something that will comfortably handle a 10.0(which is too big for the techno). I cant stand the feel of a formula board and I am considering the Naish Titan 273 (Descriptions say it does not sail like a closet door which appeals to me). Has anyone ever sailed this board? Any recommendations, comments or opinions?

saltweb · Joined: 12 Jun 2000 Posts: 316

Thats a great idea. I have a small Titan (110L) and I love it. Its short but wide enough to support a 7.5 to 8.0, and I like it so much that Ive been coveting a bigger one. Having a Formula board, I was thinking about the 269 as a medium wind blasting board for a big person (250lb). Im sure the 269 would work for a sail range of about 6.0 to 9.0 or 9.5 meters, based on the width, the way the 110L Titan behaves, and the fact that all Naish boards are excellent. Its designed to be exactly what you are looking for - able to handle big sails and light winds, but doesnt handle like sailing a sheet of plywood. Well, Formula boards arent really THAT bad.

Anyway, the Titan that I have is full Dyneema (sp?) sandwich construction, and is super light and stiff. The wide shape supports big fins, but the bottom shape really smooths out rough water. Its really really fast at full power, but not ever out of control.

Im curious to see if anyone responds who has sailed either the 269 or 273. I bet both rock.

Klein · Joined: 05 Apr 2001 Posts: 4

Peter: Thanks for your opinion, some people are telling me to look at the carve 145 or the upcoming Techno 2, but I think those boards would be slightly too small for a 10.0 plus size sail, and I weigh 170. Thanks again.

saltweb · Joined: 12 Jun 2000 Posts: 316

Hey,

I think alot of bearing those monster sizes comes down to board width and the boards ability to handle a certain fin range. With a board thats up to around 70 to 75 cm in width, you should be able to use a fin thats somewhere around 55 to 60 cm in length. But that only gets you up to about 9.0 to 9.5 in sail size. In order to bump up your monster size above 10.0, I think you need more like a 65 to 70 cm fin, and probably therefore a wider (Formula) board.

What is the width on that big Titan? Whatever it is, if Naish is putting it forward as having a sail range of X.X to Y.Y, then they are probably not exagerating. Ive had 3 Naish custom boards now, and they recommended sail sizes were all pretty much right on. Of course, as a big guy, Im taking the same size sail into much windier conditions, but thats another story.

There was this French sailor who recently moved away from my area, who was about your wieght, and I know that he used a Fanatic Falcon 75 (AVS - I think) with a huge fin a sail that was around 9.5 to 10.0 meters. He used to plane up almost as early as I did (250 lbs.) on my Formula and 10.4 sail. I could coast through lulls better and stuff, even at my size, but there wasnt a huge difference in the overall wind ranges of our boards, given our relative sizes.

Too bad Naish boards arent common enough to get alot of feedback on them. Im going to have to buy one to find out what its like.

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3553

Peter,

My AHD Freediamond is 77cm wide and handles sails from 6.5 to 10.5 easily. 55cm is the biggest the standard Tuttle box can hold, and I have never had spin out problems using my 55cm Curtis Race fin with my 10.5 Naish Stealth. The AHD is not a formula, but more of a freeride board. It turns on a dime and planes up very early. I weigh 170 and can plane at MPH with the AHD.

saltweb · Joined: 12 Jun 2000 Posts: 316

Hi Coach!

Good call! Maybe my 10.4 WOULD work with my 54 fin, except I wouldnt think to rig that sail on the board with the finbox that fits the 54. That board is only about 67 or 68 cm wide (Mistral Vision V150) and it seems like the 9.1 (or maybe 9.5) has it maxed out. I should try that 10.4 on it, though, maybe it would go like a rocket.

I would love to upgrade the Vision, and wider board would be tempting, but since I have the Formula, Id be more likely to trade it down in size to something like the mid-sized Naish Titan, JP Freeride 130 or 145, or something like that.

Anyway, happy sailing! You west coast guys at least have the weather to go out. After a few months, the mercury finally went above 40 today and it was breezy, so Im getting restless.

Later.

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3553

Hi Peter,
Youre correct on the Vision sail size. My AHD is 77cm wide, so it can handle a 10.5 sail, but with only a stadard Tuttle box, it is limited on fin size to 55cm. Any fins larger than 55cm have to go in a deep Tuttle box. At your size, a 55cm fin is for smaller sails. At my weight, a 7 meter sail on my AHD means I go down to a 45cm fin and 51cm with my 8.5 sail. Thats what is great about my AHD, it is between a formula and typical freeride.

Coach G.

saltweb · Joined: 12 Jun 2000 Posts: 316

Hey Coach,

Its a blizzard out right now. When is winter going to end? Actually, Im into skiing too, so its no big thing, I just want to sail.

I bet your Free Diamond is nice, AHDs seem really well built. You know, we differ on the fins for the big sails, but I generally use the same size fins as you do for ~7.0-7.5 (~44 to 4 Cool

, but my 9.1 works with the 54 and for the 10.4 I have the 70 cm vertical glider wing. Im curious to see how the 10.4 would work with a smaller fin - I have used the 9.1 with the 48 as an alternate when fully powered.

I got the 70 cm Deboichet fin (deep tuttle) from Rob Mulder when I got a Roberts Formula R from him last year. He seemed to think big about the fin to board combination as being key - I mean that he would use that fin on the board no matter what sail size hes using, to a degree. Maybe thats just a formula thing. I use a wide range of fins on my Vision, even more of a range on my Titan, but the 70 cm foil on the Roberts does seem to work on both the 9.1 and th 10.4 - maybe I need to find a friends 60 or 65 that I can try with the formula board. What do you think?

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3553

Hi Peter,

The Formula is a whole different animal. I dont know if you can go down much in fin size on those boards. I would guess that a 60 or 65 cm fin would let you sail your Roberts board in rougher conditions. As a general rule, I change fins before I change sails. The last time I sailed, about 3 weeks ago, I started with a 7.0 and 46cm fin and couldnt get going in very gusty conditions. I put on the 55cm fin with the 7.0 and had a great day. If I were you, I would give that smaller fin a try in rougher conditions. It might extend your sails range.

Coach G

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3553

Hi Peter,

The Formula is a whole different animal. I dont know if you can go down much in fin size on those boards. I would guess that a 60 or 65 cm fin would let you sail your Roberts board in rougher conditions. As a general rule, I change fins before I change sails. The last time I sailed, about 3 weeks ago, I started with a 7.0 and 46cm fin and couldnt get going in very gusty conditions. I put on the 55cm fin with the 7.0 and had a great day. If I were you, I would give that smaller fin a try in rougher conditions. It might extend your sails range.

Coach G