HARNESS LINE LENGTH and SEAT Harnesses

adywind · Joined: 08 Jan 2012 Posts: 665

I don't know what issues do you have with waist harnesses, but Im guessing its the riding up. Regardless I really, really recommend you giving them another chance. Try to ignore the riding up, persevere and after a while youll be glad you did. Your equipment doesn't qualify much for a seat harness, especially the Freewave board. I used to have a seat harness, even convinced myself that it's better for my bigger sails,but now it gathers dust somewhere in my garage. It restricts your movements and it doesn't promote an active riding style, which in turn will slow your progress considerably.
PS: we windsurfers tend to ignore the coolness factor that draws the younger generations to kiting almost exclusively and harness type plays a big role in that too IMO. Here's a funny example:
Goofy looking me in a Diaper ...I mean seat harness/top picture/ and cool looking me in a quality ION waist harness/ bottom/

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

Seat 80%, waist 20%.
Same 24" lines, but I have short arms for someone 5'10".
Even in pure surf, I've used both, around 60/40 waist, but haven't really needed one or the other, as long as I have a harness on.
At 67, prefer seat for flat water cruising and jumping.

adywind · Joined: 08 Jan 2012 Posts: 665

Ha! Just discovered a fact in the "goofy " picture above that I've overlooked before wich plays nicely in a waist vs seat harness debate. In that shot I am captured having trouble unhooking /because of the low seat harness hook / just before a gybing attempt. This is from 2 or 3 years ago and my inexperience then surely also has a share in the crash that followed. But the point is that an easier to unhook waist harness wouldn't have made me lift my torso to the extent of disturbing the board in this brutal manner. And now I'm posting a picture capturing almost the same moment/present days/ with a smooth and easy unhooking action followed by a smooth carve from an undesturbed board. You can bet everything went fine here.

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550

Vanity has no place in windsurfing, or in any other sport for that matter. Or maybe it is just the coach in me but if your main concern is how you look & not how you perform then you progress will be much slower and you will not be long for this sport.

A main component of seat vs. waist harness is body type; another would be ease of use but in no way does a seat harness slow down you progress. As for active sailing style, that is up to the type of sailing you do, not the harness you wear.

The number one concern with your harness should be comfort, period. Everything else is an afterthought. It is also the reason you need to buy a harness from your local shop where you can try it on.

Coachg

westender · Joined: 02 Aug 2007 Posts: 1288 Location: Portland / Gorge

I don't know what my line length is, how would it do anybody else any good to know. Figure out what works for you.

mamero · Joined: 25 Aug 2013 Posts: 380 Location: Vancouver, Canada

joethewindsufa · Joined: 10 Oct 2010 Posts: 1190 Location: Montréal

adywind · Joined: 08 Jan 2012 Posts: 665

I keep forgetting the average age of this forums members. Hopefully there are some younger folks in the silent majority who can take advantage of my preachings. Regardless it's still fun for me and a way to cope with the winter withdrawal blues of my windsurfing addiction.
Like it or not.

coachg · Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 3550

Interesting comment. I would have never associated vanity with age. What bad experience have you had to bring such a low moral opinion with our youth? I coach high school football, teach at the state college & ABK so I work with hundreds of younger people and in my experience vane people in that age group are the silent minority, not majority.

Coachg