body weight and planing

Sailboarder · Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 656

wsurfn,

Your 70 kg friends are sailing with the equivalent of a 140l board for you. Their board float them with a lot of margin while yours doesn't.

Maybe you are right that there is no solution in the end, but getting larger gear sure helps.

wsurfn1426 · Joined: 20 Mar 2004 Posts: 223

Sailboarder:

Yes, if my only goal was to plane. My personal (probably not surfalex) goal is freestyle. My first custom freestyle board (2008) was 140liters (Quatro) and I sailed it with a 6.9m2 Gaastra Echo. It may plane a tiny bit earlier than my current 2013 (Aeberli) custom 124liter/6.3 Severne S1 set up, but it has much less pop and much more mass. The planing difference is very small. The trick difference is large.

I recently purchased a freeride sail (7.5 Severne NCX) and a MFC 40cm Liquid Pro to use with my older 140 liter board. Yes, my planing threshold lowered, but it cannot compare to my friends on their freestyle kit. Once on a plane, it definitely is easier to maintain it.

It is simple physics. If planing was my only goal, then a massive formula type set up it the ticket. I flirted with this in the 2000s, and it is not for me. It becomes more sailing than windsurfing for my taste.

Although I never loved basketball, my height was an advantage. If I loved PWA slalom, it may serve me well. I like maneuver oriented windsurfing (Freestyle and wave), and thus I just have to make the most of what I have. It is toughest in marginal 17-18mph when others get going. I just concentrate on LWF and hope for that occasional 20mph gust.

keycocker · Joined: 10 Jul 2005 Posts: 3598

The board discussion here is all about displacement.
That is mostly useful for slogging. The width of the board and sharpness of the rails are the important factors for planing.
A narrow wave or FS board with soft rails will plane a lot later than a wide board with sharp rails that is 10 liters smaller.
The fact that you and your buddy are both on the same displacement doesn't mean you will plane in the same range.

Sailboarder · Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 656

gvogelsang · Joined: 09 Nov 1988 Posts: 435

This may be instructive.

I weigh 215, I'm 61 and pretty out of shape, but working on it (bike, etc.).

I have one of the first Starboard Formula boards. It is 84 cm wide - not anywhere near what modern Formula board are. It gets me up and planing in fairly marginal winds with an old Pryde V8 8.5, or even an Ezzy Zephyr 7.5 in just a little more wind.

Once up and going, it sure is fun to go a lot faster than the wind.

If I had to replace the old Formula, I would be looking at something like a JP Super Lightwind, or maybe even a larger Freemove. I actually have a Firemove V2 122 as my "smaller" board.

kevinkan · Joined: 07 Jun 2001 Posts: 1661 Location: San Francisco

totally unscientific observations here, but my weight has fluctuated/increased over my windsurfing life (about 15 years). I consider myself to be pretty efficient wrto getting planing, staying planing, and generating speed. FYI I'm about 6'1".

Ten years ago I weighed around 155lbs. The leverage that came from my 6'1" frame combined w/ my light weight made me plane very early. I could ride small gear and wave boards whenever I wanted.

I'd say once I started getting closer to the 175lb level, I definitely lost some power on the low end of the wind spectrum and had to supplement that with power from the board and/or the sail. At this weight I'm still pretty efficient, but I have to work a little bit harder to get going.

At 185lbs, I'm really maxing out the end of the range listed above. I hurt my knee, gained some pounds, and at 195 I was sinking my boards like crazy and found myself less powered using the normal gear. I'm back down to about 185 now, and I can feel the big difference 10lbs can make.

I've always liked to ride smaller boards and sails, so I like to milk as much power and speed as I can from my equipment. Like wsurfn1426, I'm into freestyle, so I like to be able to generate as much speed as I can from the least amount of sail power which is a big difference from just wanting to get planing and or wanting to be the fastest guy on the water which would require different gear.

I guess I see a weight thresholds of about 155 and 185lbs, at least for the winds out here in SF Bay. Might be different for different wind conditions elsewhere.

manuel · Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Posts: 1158

From a scientific point of view, it's best to match wind strength with sail size for a specific application (wave riding, freeride, jumps, speed, etc.).

Technique helps increase sail range use tremendously while beginners will have the most fun within a narrow wind range for a given sail.

For wave riding without worrying about jumps, the smallest surface is needed. For freeriding or jumps a slightly bigger sail makes more sense. Then finally for speed, the biggest size without being overpowered is ideal.

In the end, for one given wind speed, multiple setups are possible depending on use, technique and personal préférences.

Board size is more related to comfort and type of use. It should match sail size but isn't really directed to wind speed, more to sail size.

7176 · Joined: 23 Apr 1987 Posts: 122

Surfalex,
To add to the excellent responses; Im 6'4" weigh 215 and this is what im working on to address the same challenge

Off plane Im sailing upwind looking for the next puff/ gust
Once seen Im moving front hand back next to harness strap, and start pointing my board off wind. Type of board will dictate how much so.
Im hanging down off my boom
My back is is to the wind, Im completely facing my sail squarely

I will pump no more that three times, pushing violently front hand out.
I try make my footsteps as light as a ballerina, keeping the board flat.

If unsuccessful, Im heading up upwind looking for the next puff
Hope this helps and good luck