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Tell me about the new longboard craze
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Arthur_TX



Joined: 03 Sep 2013
Posts: 10

PostPosted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 3:37 pm    Post subject: Tell me about the new longboard craze Reply with quote

I quit windsurfing 6+ years ago, and have recently renewed my interest. I was vaguely aware of the whole SUP thing. But I wasn't aware that some SUP boards were actually dual use longboards. And now to come find out that there is a longboard resurgence in windsurfing.

I started out on an original mistral superlight which I still own. I hear the names of these longboards (Kone one, etc) and I am wondering how they differ from my superlight. Are these boards different than the longboards of yesteryear? Why the resurgence in longboards? Is it just that people forgot it's fun to cruise around in light winds?
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spennie



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

PostPosted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 4:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Arthur_TX: I use my Kona One as an SUP, small wave wavesailing board, light wind "toodle" board, and full-on planing windsurfer (30.5mph!). Your superlight may be usable the same ways, not sure since I haven't used one.

I mainly shortboard in higher winds, but the Kona has opened up a whole new world for me! If that TX stands for Texas, you might be able to go out & catch supertanker wakes!

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jpf18



Joined: 13 Aug 2000
Posts: 347
Location: San Francisco

PostPosted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 5:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had a Superlight II wayback. Still own a Kona One.
The Kona One is considerably smaller than the Superlight II, although the long waterline, thick rails and volume still make it a traditional longboard, no compromise there.
The interesting part with the Kona is the stepped tail that planes up like a large freeride board when the wind picks up. The straps are in the "correct" locations so it can be sailed like a freeride board. It's suitable for flat water only, but great for offshore-ish conditions or sheltered environments.
I've seen a guy use a Kona One as a SUP once, but to me it looked like a specialized SUP with (much) thinner rails is the way to go for SUPing. It's much more efficient to apply rail pressure to turn the ship around using a powered sail than paddling. That was in the waves, so flat water exploration might still be doable. In any case, you'll probably need a longer paddle for your size to make up for the hiked-up position compared to a regular SUP. As for the Superlight... I wouldn't consider this SUPable really, although you can certainly push it around your local lake.
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Sailboarder



Joined: 10 Apr 2011
Posts: 656

PostPosted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I own a Kona One too and I love it. I learned to plane on the straps with it and it's much easier for that than a raceboard, because of the step tail. No need to change the mast position also.

There is a Kona racing class that is expanding too. Fun and friendly. Sail sizes are decided on rider weight: this makes every one competitive.

I don't think there was a big revolution with longboards but an evolution. However, the SUPs are making people figure they can actually put something on the top of their car, and they don't look outdated anymore. Longboards were and are still a good solution in lower or inconsistent wind. Common sense is taking over!
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wynsurfer



Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 940

PostPosted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As I recall the origional Mistral Superlight did not have foot straps or a sliding mast track, and was something like 12' 6' long x 26" wide, so newer boards have these improvements. What I like personally are the newer windsurfable paddle boards for light wind. They are much wider, at 30"-34" and many have a surf rockerline which makes the board easy to catch small waves, and also turn much better. The old boards are like a supertanker by comparison. With the increased width these boards are much more stable and easier to sail
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Darbonne



Joined: 27 Jan 2012
Posts: 252
Location: Farmerville, Louisiana

PostPosted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 6:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kona! Kona! Kona! Hey what can I say, I love my Kona. I'm in my second season of windsurfing and I'm an old fart. The Kona is perfect for what I want out of windsurfing. Easy to sail, planes out, sails upwind. It's an old tired lake sailors dream. I must confess that I am thinking of purchasing my first shortboard.
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outhaul



Joined: 27 Sep 2011
Posts: 254

PostPosted: Fri Sep 06, 2013 8:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In absolute terms in non-planing conditions you'll be hard-pressed to find a better performing board than your Superlight. However, some of the new windsup boards like the Exocet 11'8 will offer superior planning performance and very comfortable (stable) SUP and light wind windsurfing. While it's possible to SUP almost any board, the 11'8 will be far better than your Superlight. The 11'8 with it's retractable dagger board, cruises very nicely too just not quite as fast as the Superlight. While giving up a bit of displacement performance you gain ease of use and stability in the SUP and windsurf modes. The Kona One is not a great SUP or as stable as the 11'8 but is an excellent all-around windsurfing board. It's a game of give and take.
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jingebritsen



Joined: 21 Aug 2002
Posts: 3371

PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 4:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i've sailed lots of long boards, in the 80's and 90's and in the past 6 years. kona one is the jack of all trades and the master of fun. does wave ride okay too.

kona 11'5 was terrific, became the curve 11'5" when a guy from sweden loved the kona one so much he bought the brand from exocet.

windSUP 11'8" wave sails great or one can put a large fin and sail to blast around. windSUP 10'0" does the same, but needs a bit more wind.

windSUP 10'2" just retrieved an approval board friday, and will try to sail it in the next week or so to find out what it will do.

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jamieinnyc



Joined: 26 Apr 2010
Posts: 108

PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 8:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would simply add to all the other info that the original Superlight is nothing like a modern longboard. It must have very light wind to perform as intended - sub-planing wind. It has a rounded-bottom displacement hull, not a planing one. It will plane, but it is by far the slowest plane you will ever experience (trust me, I have pushed it as fast as it will go, and that's not very fast). All dedicated contemporary longboards that I know of have planing hulls (or hybrid displacement/planing), and are intended to perform in all winds - light to strong. They all will be much more comfortable to sail in higher winds. Some high-performance older longboards (Equipe, Mega Cat) will still do very well as all-around boards, but sail very differently than contemporary boards, and are more technical.

If you want a modern one-board solution it is the Kona One or the Star-Board Phantom 320 (though it looks like that board may not make it into 2014). Or the Exocet WindSUPs if you want to take the board into real waves. Or the Star-Board 12'6" Freeride for 2014 if you want a performance cross-over for light to medium wind and flat water paddling (or small waves).

And yes, longboards are back because in the presence of SUPs they no longer look so big, and yes, because they are fun, and with few compromises make windsurfing possible in any conditions.
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PeconicPuffin



Joined: 07 Jun 2004
Posts: 1830

PostPosted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 9:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

outhaul wrote:
In absolute terms in non-planing conditions you'll be hard-pressed to find a better performing board than your Superlight.

Absolutely. Which is why you'll see people looking for part for them still (me I long ago replaced the finbox and mast track on my Superlight...a board that is now 30 years old!

Also see Jamieinnyc's notes about the Superlight planing.

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http://www.peconicpuffin.com
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