What B&J board

[Windnc]

Another Tabou Recommendation. Check out the Tabou Pocket Waves.
I own a 2013 Tabou Pocket Wave 93 and for my 200 lbs this board rocks!

It not only performs well in east coast ocean/ waves but surprisingly turned out to be a super B&J board too. For B&J I just take out the two side thruster fins and use a single fin only. The board is fast to plane, turns on a dime, is very fast for a "wave board" design and loves to jump.

It has a wide range of wind - sail size use too as I can ride mine from 6.2 down to 4.5. The smaller versions can easily take you down into the 3meter sail range.

There was a great article on the last page of WindSport Magazine in one of the 2014 issues about the Pocket Wave 75. I think it was by Mitch Gingrich and he talked about his 10 year search for his new perfect board until he finally found it in the Pocket Wave 75.

I think the PW would also be a perfect Lake Michigan board riding with either a single fin for B&J or in tri-fin mode when the lake waves build up.

Good luck and good winds,

Chuck
North Carolina

[adywind]

Thanks for the recommendations guys, I'm keeping all my options open!
I'm just starting my b&j/wave category exploration and I'd prefer to be rather courteous at this point. From my flat water journey until now I've learned that what other people like doesn't necessarily reflect my own feelings and needs and going for new right away may prove costly. I have to find the answers to some questions on my own first by trying different boards whether by buying as cheap as possible and replacing after a year and/or borrowing other people's boards. A windsurfing vacation to a place with lots of new and diverse rental gear would be a great experience too, but so far I haven't been able to afford one Anyway my Lake Michigan playground is somewhat unique and from newcomers I learn that it's not exactly like any common sea/ocean coast conditions but rather more difficult. My feeling at this moment is that I may need 2 boards or one with good allround qualities of b&j and wave like a thruster that converts to a single also-be it a FSW or dedicated wave board-Chuck from WindNC is reading my mind obviously
As you can see I have a lot of home work ahead of me and I'm looking forward to the new season and trying new stuff

[boardsurfr]

You got the right idea about testing a board before buying. Some boards are liked by almost everyone, but it's still an "almost".

You may want to think about a trip to Cape Hatteras in the spring. It's a long drive, but doable. Staying down there can be dirt cheap if you find other windsurfers with a free room in their house. Typical costs for a room per week are $150-$250. You could try the Tabou boards by renting from Wind-NC for a day, and other brands from Ocean Air. The stores will often credit your rental fee towards a purchase. April is a great time to go; May starts getting more expensive, especially towards the end.

[adywind]

Hey Chuck I discovered you had the same dilemma back in 2012-thruster FSW or thruster wave. Obviously you chose the wave and purchased the Pocket Wave and it seems you are very happy with it. Now is my turn he
I'm leaning towards the FSW though -the conditions I'm dealing here with can't compare with yours at Hatteras. It's less wave and more b&j for me. 90+ thruster FSW is what I'll be looking in the near future most likely and I have a good Freewave fin in power box aswell for the single fin mode.

[Windnc]

Andywind,

Check your Iwindsurf PM for a message from me.

Thanks

Chuck

[adywind]

Alright I've got a bit carried away with this multi fin-wave day dreaming ,but I'm now back on planet Earth So after all this mental roller coaster I'm right where I started from- the Starboard Kode. The only aspect that changed is the volume wich at 86 was more or less unrealistic . I came up with that volume not so much because I was expecting a whole lot of 5.2 and less days, but because my other board -the AtomIQ 110 -surprisingly turned out to be very good with a 5.8 and I envisioned a board for the smaller sizes. Yes and no-I realized that just good is not enough and there are many things that I can do better with a smaller board in the 5.8 wind frame in which the 94 fits best.
Now why the Kode off all the great boards out there? The single-word answer is COMFORT. Comfort is what Ive got from the AtomIQ and what I'm looking to get from my smaller board too. The lack of it is what made me want to sell my older boards - not that they were bad it's just something always bothered me in one way or the other when riding them.
Why am I so confident the Kode has it? It's because in every revue and test about the FSW Kodes 2012 and later that I read the word "comfort" was popping up time and again. This and the very similar overal look, volume distribution, construction, pads...you name it ...makes me believe that it has this similar unobstructive feel to it that makes you forget what's under your feet and concentrate on the things that you do. I may be wrong -I need to get it first and find out for myself but I'm pretty sure at this point that the Kode 94 carbon/wood is the ONE.
Thanks for reading my "essay"

[Wind-NC.com]

Hi Adywind,

I second Boardsrfr's advice- come to Hatteras!! This is a relatively inexpensive place to get a windsurfing vacation in, and there's the added bonus of having 5+ fully stocked windsurf shops within a 20 minute radius. Most every shop demos equipment. For 2015, we'll have lots of Tabous, Starboards, RRDs, Goyas, and JPs available for sale, and a very healthy demo fleet, too.

The Kodes are definitely comfortable sailers, as are the RRDs and Tabous. You may consider a different construction, such as Starboard's Technora or Tabou's CED, if you really value comfort over everything else. They have just a bit more flex built in as opposed to the stiffer ride of the carbon boards. And they're cheaper! (sounds like you're on a budget?)

Hope to see you this Spring!