kona boards

heather.minielly · Joined: 08 Mar 2015 Posts: 1

Hi, I'm considering buying a Kona board because I sail a lot on inland lakes that are gusty. I have a couple of questions.

I see the Kona one advertised everywhere. I've also read about another line Kona 9'5" - 11.5. I know the Kona one has a dagger board and it looks like these don't. Does anyone know how well these perform in light winds and sailing upwind?

Would they be easy for a beginner? MY daughter is 16 and wants to learn.

Do you need to rig with Kona sails? My sails are from hotsails.maui.

Thanks!

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550

Darbonne · Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 11:42 am Post subject:

I think Kona was originally made by Exocet. The Kona brand was purchased by Joachim Larsson and you can see the current line here www.konaone.com There are still some older Exocet Kona boards around. I think they made a 9.5, some of the folks on here will know. The current line contains some wind SUP boards that are smaller than the Kona One. The Kona One would be a great beginner board. The retractable center board is a great feature for light wind sailing and learning to sail upwind. The Kona One will also plane out when you are ready. I also sail on a lake with very trashy wind. The Kona sails are very good in light wind however, depending on the size and type of your Maui sails they should work also. Smaller sail sizes are better for beginners. Make sure you learn to rig your sail correctly. Hope this helps.

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

kona 9'5" 10'5" and 11'5" boards were made to go in the surf.

for anyone with experience that wants to max surf time with sails these boards rock. they do pretty well as free riders too.

kona one is best for beginners to experts in all other aspects of windsurfing.

Sailboarder · Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 656

The Kona One is great to teach beginners, and goes upwind well.

I introduced many people and their favorite board was always the Kona. (apart from heavier sailors in choppy water that might prefer a Start for their 1st try because of more stability). The Kona One is rewarding for beginners because it glides decently in low wind, and later because it's also easy to use on plane.

Any sail will fit well on the Kona One. For very small kid sails, (2.0), you need to replace the fin with a small one, maybe 25 cm or less, otherwise the kid won't be able to tack the board.

For a proper sail size, you could look for James Douglass sail calculator on the web. He has good recommendations based on weight.

Your sails might not be great for a beginner however. A wave sail in 4.0 depowers completely and stays flat in low wind. It's very hard to read the wind with that, and it's not efficient at all. I bought an inexpensive Aerotech WindSUP for my wife and she likes it. It's light and fills well with wind. Once initiated, you daughter might like your current sails, or you might want to buy the weight specific Kona sail for her. This would be a great general purpose sail for her.

d0uglass · Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 9:21 pm Post subject:

Hi Heather,

The Kona ONE is definitely the best for light winds, going upwind, and teaching beginners. The daggerboard is very helpful for all those things.

The other kona boards are for more advanced sailors riding waves in the ocean.

-James

Windnc · Joined: 22 Apr 2005 Posts: 85

An additional plus to the Kona One is that it can also be paddled as an SUP! Although I use mine primarily for windsurfing I have done a lot of paddling on it too on both flat water and the ocean. When first trying it as an SUP it may feel a little less stable initially compared to most dedicated SUP boards. In my opinion this is due to its thicker hull shape which has you standing up higher off the water. This in turn results in a higher center of gravity decreasing initial stabiliy a little. However, with a little practice you soon get used to it and will find the Kona One will provide ample stablity and is fun to use for paddling when the wind has forsaken you.

Combined with the all around sailing versaitility, the fact that you can teach people to sail on it, you can use it with small sails in high winds and huge sails in low winds, you can sail it on the ocean and on lighter wind days through the surf catching and riding waves back in, plus use it for SUP paddling; this is one super versatile board!

Good winds,

Chuck

scargo · Joined: 19 May 2007 Posts: 394

I've paddled my K1 a lot as an SUP, too. I think I've made this comment before, but in SUP mode I like to deploy the centerboard just slightly, i.e., so that the tip extends only about two inches from the hull, and that way it serves as a nice long skeg that helps it track. In that mode, it paddles much faster than a surf-style SUP, feels closer to a displacement board.