Which 150L board for a heavyweight?

[isobars]

[swchandler]

"I've noticed some fin manufacturers recommend slightly shorter fins, like Tectonics, Black Project and Maui Ultra Fins. I think it's very important to use the proper size, and a percentage of people will say a heavier person should use an even bigger fin."


I believe that you're right about using the right sized fins when matching different sails and boards, and I agree that heavier folks benefit going a bit larger than the norm. Also, there is an important balance that must be achieved between sail and fin size to realize the power and directional abilities possible in sailing. This becomes increasingly clear trying to gain the most out of very light wind conditions. Often folks buy bigger sails to lower their planing threshold, but neglect to buy a bigger fin to leverage and enhance a bigger sail's full potential.

In the big picture though, it's important to remember that sails and fins both have a range of performance. Sails arguably have a lot more adjustability through tuning, whereas fins don't, as they rely more on design, structural and performance characteristics that are built in. If you want to maximize your speed and control in windy conditions, it's best to go with a bit smaller fin size. Yet, if you want to maximize performance in light wind and holely conditions, it's best to go with a bit larger fin size. These different fin scenarios can apply to using a given sail size. Overall, the same can be said by changing out your board size and sticking with the same sail during a changing day.

[gobigkahuna]

As I shop for the "perfect" board, fin and sail I can't help but to reflect on how things "used to be" in the early days. When I first got the windsurfing bug (mid 1970's) I had George Downing (the famous Hawaiian surfer) shape me a 9'6" board (similar to a slalom shape) and had two (a 7.0 and 6.0 m) dacron sails by Lidgard. Other than trying some of the newest fins of the time (remember the "foot" fin?) this combination served me in everything from almost no wind to blasting 30+ mph. How on earth did we survive those days?

[cgoudie1]

I don't know about you Mr Kahuna, but I took a serious beating in those days (the kind which I would no longer survive). So t'was luck and youth.

-Craig

[gobigkahuna]

[cgoudie1]

Not sure about that, but the sails these days with a wind range of more than 2MPH, and boards with planing hulls that you don't have to sling the
centerboard over your arm, have definitely improved my high wind (and
wave sailing ability). I've been on the downward swing for many years, but
I can still get out when the wind is strong and the swells are large (mostly
because of the magnitudes better gear). I have
to admit, I've given up on big waves though.

Still having fun, despite my decrepitude.

;*)

-Craig

[GURGLETROUSERS]

Yes Craig, but there was a point in the late 80's and early 90's when 'good' boards had become available which 'beat us up' no more than many modern boards do. (Or certainly can do.)

My custom wave board (1989) majored on control rather than out and out performance (my choice), and my early original Mistral Screamer (still in occasional use today, 27 years later) was, and is, quite 'up there' in ease of control. and in some respects performance, compared to my more modern Mistral Syncro of the same volume.

You can say the same for some of the better old sails. I'm currently reusing on a skinny mast, my old North Zeta 4.2, and it's a match for my more recent Pryde Combat 4.2. I also fished out of retirement up in the attic, an 'old' Loft 4.7 (skinny mast again) which is my current favourite on the Exocet Cross 94.

I find, despite all the claims of superiority of gear today, that when the going gusty and non too friendly, we all suffer much the same handicap. (But then, I'm just a non believer in miracles!! )

[akrausz]

Mr Trousers, I truly am happy for you for having such great success with your 4.2 sail from your attic.

I use a 150-liter freeride board in a variety of conditions, such as what one finds in the open ocean. In the late 90's, I rarely had a good session with that size board, unless the water was flat. I also use a 7.5 wave sail and a 9.0 camless freerace sail. Again, in that category, I easily find that equipment made in the last 15 years gives me a noticeable edge. I plane sooner, I make more gybes, I rerig less, and I just have more fun. In fact, the equipment changes helped renew my interest in windsurfing after leaving the sport in the late '90's. Anybody else sailing a 150-liter freeride board with a 9.0 in 2-3 foot or more chop and swell? Notice any improvements since the 90's?

[GURGLETROUSERS]

Thank you Mr Cross (I mean Krausz.) Perhaps weight makes a difference? (I am tall but light -all the cycling!)

I am reusing my mid 90's North Zeta 4.2 wave sail (Dave Ezzy design) rigged on a modern RDM mast, turn about (winds obliging) with my 2012 Pryde Combat 4.2 on the recommended Pryde 380 SDM mast.

I find that the Zeta 4.2 has a more stable and controllable high wind top end than the later Combat, at the expense of a rather gutless bottom end, as the wind eases.

The Zeta proved the stable in higher wind point last winter when sailing alongside a friend (both on wave boards) who was using a new 4.2 Combat. I suppose it all depends on what we expect from sails, but I don't think any sail yet made has ALL of the virtues, rolled into one! We pays our money and takes our choice!

[cgoudie1]

No argument there GT, there was kind of a magic moment around 1990
(just before the "no-nose" debacle) when the gear seemed to leap to a
new level. Since then it's been more incremental in improvement, and I
still have some dandy boards that are more than 15 years old.

My point to Mr Kahuna, was that it was somewhat of a miracle that any of
us survived those 1st years of the late 70s and early 80s. What passed
for extreme conditions in those days are pretty comfortable these days
and not just because we are more proficient.

-Craig