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New to the sport, Mistral One Design for beginners?
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PerchLaker



Joined: 11 Jun 2013
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 10:22 am    Post subject: New to the sport, Mistral One Design for beginners? Reply with quote

Hello! New to the sport and wondering if a Mistral One Design is an acceptable board for a beginner. I have had one lesson, did pretty good, only fell off 3 or 4 times in two hours. Was able to tack and jibe. I am 215#. Most of my boarding will be on inland lakes in Michigan for starters, but lakes Erie and Michigan are less than 2 hours from my home. Would this board work as a SUP as well? I found one in great shape with 3 sails for a very nice price. Please grace me with your wisdom, old salts. Very Happy
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PerchLaker



Joined: 11 Jun 2013
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is a Mistral One Design Race from 1994.
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w8n4wind



Joined: 12 Nov 2008
Posts: 278
Location: canada

PostPosted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i think its a good board, especially for smaller lakes where the wind can be holey and shifty. and as you can already tack and jibe it you should be fine.
and, when the wind does pick up you can still sail a board like that in fairly strong winds.
as for using it as a sup.. yes, its possible..but as its fairly narrow, and thick its kinda like riding a log. its fine on smooth glassy water though.
not really a board to use in waves though.

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nw30



Joined: 21 Dec 2008
Posts: 6485
Location: The eye of the universe, Cen. Cal. coast

PostPosted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good for learning, but once you get the basics down your progression may slow down if you stick with that board too long.
And no, it's too narrow to use as a SUP board, it will be too unstable.
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d0uglass



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Bonita Springs, Florida

PostPosted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 2:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It will be tippy, especially at 215#, but it will do the trick for lake sailing because it's fast in light winds. Kind of like balancing on a log, like w8n4wind said.
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PerchLaker



Joined: 11 Jun 2013
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Appreciate the input! Due to better searching I have found a few other boards in my price range including: a Mistral Comp SST, a Mistral Escape, and an F2. Any additional input is greatly appreciated. Or if you have a rig that would work for me, I am in Southern Michigan. Smile
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adywind



Joined: 08 Jan 2012
Posts: 665

PostPosted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 9:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I hear your pain! There is a renewed interest in the sport-a resurrection of a sort-and used modern beginners boards are hard to find. The price of the new stuff is going up as well Sad. Don't give up, keep checking Craig's list, something will come up sooner or later.
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

PerchLaker,

If you sailed your first time for 2 hours and only fell in a handful of times on a narrow old time longboard, and in addition, learned to tack and jibe, it seems to me you're a natural. The first time I sailed, I probably fell in 50 times teaching myself.

Regarding the Mistral One Design, seems like a good choice to learn the sport, especially at your weight. However, so that we can better understand things, tell us a bit more about the mast, boom, and the different sails. What are the sail sizes, and how old are they? Also, maybe you can fill us in on the price. You don't want to spend too much, especially on older equipment.

Lastly, if you advance quickly in the sport, you'll soon be picking up a more advanced board better suited to windier planing conditions. It might be a good idea to pace your budget to give you some room to move in the months ahead.
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SeaDawg



Joined: 12 Sep 2002
Posts: 384

PostPosted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 6:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

FWIW, I've been ws for over 35yrs. I was very pleased to get my hands on a 2000 era Equipe. I grew up on Lake Erie, these old longboards are great to have. Get a hold of a 100-125lter freeride board and the 2 boards will cover about 90% of what you will want to sail.

The rig should be from within the last 10yrs. I'm an Ezzy fan and have 8.5,7.2,6.5, Infinity's plus Wave SE 5.2 and a 6.3.

I could manage nicely with just having the 8.5 and the 6.3 these 2 sails lrt me handle winds from 5--25 knts.

For higher winds I have smaller boards and sails.

Yes the Equipe is tippy it is a blast to sail.

Hope this helps some, lots of good advice on this forum.
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PerchLaker



Joined: 11 Jun 2013
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The board is a Mistral Design One Race.The sail sizes are 6.6, 5.9, and 5.2. Has an adjustable boom, base and mast extension and extra foot straps. Was able to blow up the pics and the board looks spotless. The seller says it is from the 1994 Olympics. Didn't understand if it was supposedly used in the Olympics, or just that it was that particular model. Doesn't look like they used it much at all. The Olympic race designation has me slightly concerned that it is going to require more technical skill than I can muster as a beginner. The asking price is 350. This is not the board I took my lesson on though. For the first half of the lesson I was on a Mistral that was extra wide and stable, then for the second half he had me on a smaller, less stable board. There was a lot to take in and I don't remember the models of those boards. (The fact that the air temp was 58 that day may have helped keep me on the board...)
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