what is Kona one top speed??? I ve got 40mph

[leosantanalg@gmail.com]

I ll have the video soon for the 31mph ride. I might be able to gain a bit more speed with a south wind when water is really flat. I want to do that with the GW-52 GPS though. See how fast I can push that Kona one.

[GURGLETROUSERS]

As a non-expert in speed sailing theory, my best speed on the Kona (ten second 27.6 m.p.h. average, but with board still accelerating till I bottled out) was set with an overpowered burst with a 6.0 sail and the smaller 40 fin, in a rough bouncy sea with the board about to take control. (Hence the bottling out.)

I'm pretty certain that had the water been less exposed (a speed ditch) the board would easily have topped 30, and perhaps on up to the mid 30's. I get the impression that overpowering wind conditions with a 6.0 metre sail and even smaller fin would give the optimum speed potential of the board, at least for my weight and size. (10st 7 lbs and 6'3") I've tried with a 5.5 sail in windier conditions but it just didn't feel right.

What size sail and fin do those who do set Kona high speeds use? What ARE the theoretical optimum sizes of sail and fin for that siz, shape, and weight of board?

[gvogelsang]

[techno900]

To get over 30 mph, venue is key. Enough wind (+ or - 20 knots) to push a board that fast makes too much chop for 30 mph+ speeds, so a protected area of flat water plays a key roll in going fast. There are pro's that can probably hit 30 in bigger chop/waves, but it takes great skill to keep a board at speed over 2'+ chop/waves.

Another factor if trying to go fast in open water is the water depth and fetch. Shallow water makes for short/mixed chop, while deep water makes for longer wave periods, bigger swells and smoother water between the waves. This means that open water ocean sailors probably can go faster in a given wind speed than open water lake or bay sailors. Many variables here, but just an observation.

A BIG guy can go faster too. While I may be able to hold a 5.0 sail in 25 knots of wind at 167 lbs, a 200 lb sailor could likely hold a 6.0 or 6.5 sail in the same conditions, and likely would go faster, assuming skill levels are similar.

[GURGLETROUSERS]

Yes, that's correct, 147 lbs. I have a similar height and percentage of body fat to muscle as Chris Froome, the three times Tour de France winner. Though my muscles are not necessarily the same as his muscles, which can produce stupidly continuous power outputs for hours on end! (however, all that road bike mountain pass storming pays off, even for us oldies. Full of beans, and can't sit still for a minute.)

But what I'm really wondering is, would a 6 metre sail used in overpowering winds for its size be faster (less drag and more efficient) than say a 9 metre sail used in overpowering winds for its size? Which, potentially, would give the fastest possible speed for a Kona if both had heavy powerful expert speed riders?

Would there be an optimum combination for a true maximum?

[gvogelsang]

There is certainly a power/efficiency trade-off going on for attaining speed.

I would think that with a board as long and heavy as a Kona, the pendulum would be a bit more for the power side side of the power/efficiency trade-off. At 147 lbs, it would seem to me that your strengths would be better served on the speed needle/smaller sail side of the continuum.

Hey, but what do I know?

[Sailboarder]

[konajoe]

[GURGLETROUSERS]

Thanks both Kona Joe and Sailboarder. That mirrors my findings.

And it's damned right about 6 metre overpowered speeds on the Kona being scary, if the water isn't flat. It always amuses me to hear shortboarders slagging off longboards as the easy option. for those they imagine are not up to using 'sinkers'. Well, anyone who uses both in high winds knows full well that the short board is the easy option, and less fraught with difficulties.

As you say Kona Joe, it takes skill to hurtle a longboard in high winds and non too smooth seas. We used to race them in close proximity in such conditions, sometimes, and didn't we know what effort clearly was!!!

[cgoudie1]

Greetings GT,

There has to be an optimum, and big sails have big drag! You don't see speed sailors running 9M sails to go faster, because they can't overcome physics no matter how huge and powerful they are, but you do see weight
jackets in an attempt to stack the odds in their favor, and real speed
sailors are typically upwards of 14 or 15 Stone. With our Atmospheric
density, our liquid cohesion, and our board and sail surface friction on this
planet, that optimum sail size to drag ratio is somewhere between 5 and
6M sails. With your sailing experience, I'm sure you already knew that.

I find it hard to imagine our physics will support 40MPH on a Kona under any circumstances, but I'd certainly enjoy the video to prove me wrong.

-Craig