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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935
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 Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 2:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Brian.bigfella@gmail.com wrote: | One of the reasons I'm losing weight is because up to about 25 knots windsurfing is pretty uncomfortable
I would encourage heavyweights to sail, provided they know to shrug off most people's advice |
It took WSing to motivate me to do something I'd never done before I was 60: work out. Holy crap, what a difference it makes ... not just in athletic ability but also in everyday living, and not just for athletes but also for homebodies.
A rock-solid 240-pound Marine told me years ago that his weight confined his WSing to speedsailing. Too bad he didn't shrug off that advice, as there are some guys his size who excel at anything from B&J to wild aerial antics and gyrations.
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Brian.bigfella@gmail.com
Joined: 11 Jun 2012
Posts: 127
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| Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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| isobars wrote: | | Brian.bigfella@gmail.com wrote: | One of the reasons I'm losing weight is because up to about 25 knots windsurfing is pretty uncomfortable
I would encourage heavyweights to sail, provided they know to shrug off most people's advice |
It took WSing to motivate me to do something I'd never done before I was 60: work out. Holy crap, what a difference it makes ... not just in athletic ability but also in everyday living, and not just for athletes but also for homebodies.
A rock-solid 240-pound Marine told me years ago that his weight confined his WSing to speedsailing. Too bad he didn't shrug off that advice, as there are some guys his size who excel at anything from B&J to wild aerial antics and gyrations. |
I know big guys like that, who give up on high wind sailing. It took me awhile to take to it, but once I figured it out it's so much better than struggling and straining to keep going, or to "speed sail", which means rigging so big all the time you're about to get catapulted.
In high winds I just keep going. Sheet out, keep going. Jibe, keep going. It makes sense. If the wind is 15 and I'm on a board I need to get up to 15mph to plane I have to get going 100% of the wind speed before I can plane. If the wind is blowing 35 and I'm on a board I need to keep at 20mph to plane I can get away with going 57% of the wind speed. The margin for error is so nice. Plus, little gear with no cams is just more fun.
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dllee
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5329
Location: East Bay
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| Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:01 pm Post subject: |
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Are you saying you think you can windsurf with ONE board? The same one for 15 as for 35?
Notice for you.
You need several different boards to cover the wind ranges of 15 planing to 35 in control. Possibly as many as 4.
At 150 lbs., no 15 mph board comes close to working when the winds are blowing 35, and conversely, no board that works well in 25 mph winds can possibly work well in 15, OR 35.
Do I know whence I speakest? My former sailing bud was 275 lbs., and was faster than Laird, RoddyLewis, and FredHaywood in the Ponds speed trials in the late '80's.
My buds, the guys I trained with and sailed with were FerrisHamilton, at 235lbs., DaveLeurhs, at 245lbs., and of course, Fat Dave, who shared a room at my house back in the '80's.
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Brian.bigfella@gmail.com
Joined: 11 Jun 2012
Posts: 127
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| Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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| zirtaeb wrote: | Are you saying you think you can windsurf with ONE board? The same one for 15 as for 35?
Notice for you.
You need several different boards to cover the wind ranges of 15 planing to 35 in control. Possibly as many as 4.
At 150 lbs., no 15 mph board comes close to working when the winds are blowing 35, and conversely, no board that works well in 25 mph winds can possibly work well in 15, OR 35.
Do I know whence I speakest? My former sailing bud was 275 lbs., and was faster than Laird, RoddyLewis, and FredHaywood in the Ponds speed trials in the late '80's.
My buds, the guys I trained with and sailed with were FerrisHamilton, at 235lbs., DaveLeurhs, at 245lbs., and of course, Fat Dave, who shared a room at my house back in the '80's. |
No, sorry if I wasn't clear. I was trying to say my huge board gets going at about 15mph of board speed (according to GPS) and my 130L board gets going at about 20mph of board speed.
I have had my SLW with a 56cm fin up to about 28 knots, which resulted in a spectacular crash. But mostly it's comfortable to around 23kts/26mph, even on dead flat water.
Last summer I was holding down my 151 Carve in 30+, but I was chugging along at 19-20kts with a small sail.
My current board quiver is my 165 SLW, 140L RRD Firemove and a Real Wind XL, 130L. Yes, in the Gorge even at 300# I can get blown off the water with a 130, and I'm considering getting an OO in the 110-115L range, but I'm also going to wait to see if I can knock off a few more pounds and go even narrower and less voluminous.
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dllee
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5329
Location: East Bay
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| Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:57 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, my old buddy, at 275 lbs., and we need thick wetsuits here in San Francisco area, used my 8'3" x 21" Haut wave custom one day, when the winds steadied out at 30mph, gusts to 40, some holes around 22 or so. That would translate to around 70 liters. I actually have pictures of him using that board with my 3.8 Hood sail, making most of his jibes and actually trying to jump.
I had just come in, starting to get overpowered, and he just jumped on and had little trouble. His main board was the 133 liter Seatrend 9'5", and he also used a custom Prodanovich 9' x 25" wave board for surf sailing.
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cgoudie1
Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2599
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove
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| Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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Brian,
I can't comment on the physics, other than to say all other things
identical you'll plane earlier if you're lighter, and you'll see that most pronounced in lighter winds.
The thread title is wonderfully poetic.
I used to sail with a bigger guy, who said people who aren't heavy, just
don't understand, even if they sail with heavier people. He also used
to tell me big guys break stuff.
-Craig
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dllee
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5329
Location: East Bay
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| Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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Tons of big guys were considered my friends.
From Dave, at 275, to the guys mentioned, to Boggy at 235 lbs. Greg at 220, Yogi at 195 (who used the same boards and sails I did), Team Buddha Bro's Al and Roy at 245 and 235 lbs., and a host more I don't recall this instant.
Easy for me to understand problems of big guys, I worked at windsurf shops from 1983 thru 2003, think I have encountered a few?
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jingebritsen
Joined: 21 Aug 2002
Posts: 3371
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| Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 5:55 am Post subject: |
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i am 210 lbs. been as high as 220 and as low as 175.
the only time being heavier helps is when the wind is hammering.
i live in a light wind spot, yet sail waves lots. i DO NOT follow the industry dogma's of multi fins, slogging around with tiny adz crap. a planing long board and 7.5 sail is my typical kit
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adywind
Joined: 08 Jan 2012
Posts: 665
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| Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 10:51 am Post subject: |
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Small boards could be good motivators to loose weight...or at least to controll it 
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