85 litre board for the gorge

[NOVAAN]

The tick pads a cool as long as they don't bite.. and its 86 liters. Should have had my coffee before I started typing

[dllee]

If you want to go back and forth, straight line, a few jumps, and turns at the end of the windy area, FSW is great for the Columbia River.
If you want to slash and carve the waves, jump high enough to scare yourself, but not as high as Dale Cook, and make your turns on ONE swell, planing away on that swell, then get a wave board.
Both work just fine, how do you want to sail?
85 liter is pretty moderately big for the River, so you can go either way, have a slalom board for morning Easterlies, and Event Site, and 85 liter for your big board at Swell/Hatch and Dougs, and have a smaller pure wave board for the real big days, 4.5 and smaller sail sizing.

[philodog]

Gotta beg to differ. In 85 liter conditions (not very windy) a FSW will plane up faster than a wave board and be less inclined to come off a plane as fast hence easier to get on a swell and easier to stay on a swell. Swell riding is much more about rig handling than board handling . Any modern FSW board is going to be as turny as 95% of the riders around here need. As for jumping, everythng else being equal, it`s all about speed. And there is no doubt a FSW is faster than a wave board.

[philodog]

As for that other 5% of riders, those are the ones at Kodak Point with lots of stickers on their sails. And dollars to donuts in 85 liter wind they are on freestyle boards which carve like barges, not wave boards. Their skills ( and the fact that freestyle boards plane effortlessly) just make their swell riding look effortless.

[dllee]

On the river, upwind is not needed, as it's always ebb tide.
A wave board needs a bit bigger sail to power up the same, and top speed is dependent on sailor skill, when compared to a FSW board.
I have a JPFSW, and have ridden FanaticFSW's a lot, and I can get my wave boards up to about the same speed when broad and beam reaching. Close reach and upwind favors FSW, but why do you need THAT on the Columbia?
Of course, I'm not stupid enough to try to make a multi fin wave board go fast, I ride singles fins.

[philodog]

Totally agree on the upwind thing. Don`t you just love the 24 hour ebb?!
And agree on the multifin thing.
But as you say, the wave board needs more power to get on a plane than a FSW. And I find they feel boggy unless they are fully powered. The FSWs coast thru lulls easier. To clarify, I am comparing a FSW and a wave board from the same manufacturer. We could argue forever comparing different brands and styles.
To answer the OP`s question I feel that overall he would get more happiness in 85 liter wind conditions on a single fin FSW.

[dllee]

When you compare a FSW JP to a Real World JP, you'll find early planing is almost the same, as RW JP's have slightly wider tails for size, and yes, a touch more rocker, but nothing like JP Waves.
You're looking at things from an underpowered point of view. Powered and overpowered, speed is very similar, as is early planing, while FSW has higher top speed averages due to flatter rocker thru the front strap area under the board.
Do you need top speed at the Gorge in 4.5-5.5 conditions?

[kmf]

If you are going to use an 85 litre board in the gorge, it is because you are going to sail underpowered. Thus a FSW is a good choice as it planes earlier than a rockered out wave board. The OP already has a small wave board.....

Everyone i sail with at Swell City has a small wave board for when the wind is blowing....4.7 down....and an 85-90 ltr FSWish board for lighter wind. Maybe it's different in San Francisco....but that is what I see being used around here.

KMF

[willysurf]

It seems to me like most people are missing the point of FSW boards. It has to do with the horrible consistency of Gorge wind- i.e. f'ing holes. The fact of the matter is that for the central Gorge (Viento to Dougs) the quality/consistency of the wind has been getting worse every year. I have several sub 80l wave boards that have not touched the water in years. FSW boards let you plane through holes where wave boards do not. In fact, I seem to spend more time these days on my 90/100l freestyle boards in 4.7+ conditions because the wind quality is such utter crap. Yes, they can be a barge at times and when the wind does get decent I wish I was on a smaller FSW but I stay out on my FS board because I know I won't be frustrated in the f'ing holes/lulls. Meanwhile, my friends are in the water cursing on their wave or FSW boards.

And, for those that say "just rig a bigger sail," that is BS as the holes/lulls these days are just too big for a bigger sail to keep you planing. Volume and flat rocker are where it's at for Gorge sailing today and likely for the few years this planet has left. Sorry but it's true.

[dllee]

With all the board manufacturer's selling 90-110 liter wave boards nowadaze, is it imperative that YOU can only ride 75 liter wave boards?
Maybe just getting a wave board that actually floats you in the lulls.
Maybe, as you get older, fatter, and less skilled, you need more liter's of float?
The Gorge was NEVER steady solid winds, always nuke and puke, but you were younger, stronger, lighter, and quicker back then than you are now.