Best board of all-time?

[kevinkan]

I offered up the Mistral Naish Freeride 8'7" (yellow flames) for the mag... here's another:

2004 JP Freestyle 101: this board totally redefined freestyle in light-medium winds for me. Once a high-wind snob, I suddenly found myself hoping and craving for the Berkeley sensor to reach 16 and stay there! The JP Freestyle 101 and an Expression 5.7 was heaven: early planing, tons of glide, easy slide and pop, and was still fun for BAF and carving jibes. I held onto this board for a long time to use as a light wind board for Ocean Beach... had my best OB sesh on a 5.2 on south winds. I had the pro edition, and I finally sold it to a buddy, and he still uses it today as his main board at Berkeley.

This board was also pictured in Windsurfing Magazine when I lent it to Ty Poor for a photo shoot at 3rd: he's in the air mid-shaka.

One of my favorite boards of all time.

[swchandler]

haterrater,

I just had to comment on your post, maybe just to give a different perspective on things. Personally, I believe that the idea that "the soul of windsurfing is the wave riding thing" really put the stake in windsurfing where I live. I have to emphasize that I have nothing against wave sailing. Still though, the clear majority of the wave dedicated windsurfers I sailed with for many years are now kiters.

Don't get me wrong about the importance of wave sailing in our sport, but that luxury isn't always available, right or desirable for all. Having been a dedicated surfer over 23 years before starting windsurfing in the mid-80s, I started windsurfing looking for a bigger, more varied picture. For me windsurfing continues to deliver on many fronts, and that covers a number of different board types.

Windsurfing has to be viewed as a great activity overall, regardless of varying focuses and sailing interests.

Regarding the old versus the new, I still play both sides of the fence. Each has its appeal, strengths and novelty. I guess that's why I buy custom, as I can get the best of all worlds. Also, I like the idea of keeping things local.

[SeaDawg]

PDK. My GT85 is the White one. It may just be the easyiest board I've ever sailed. It is a blast on the Sound in the OBX and I've sailed it on the Rappaahanock with good pointer fins and it finds a whole other level.

Now, for slamming Pro-Tech, I just don't buy into the harsh sailing criticisim.

[DanWeiss]

A few come to mind in no particular order other than chronologically:

Original Windsurfer
-'nuff said.

1984 F2 Sunset Slalom
-a very easy, rangy and fast production slalom board with a huge following. Craig Maisonville design.

1986 Mistral Hookipa
-a cutting edge onshore wave shape with removable thrusters and sliding mast track. Rick Naish/Harold Iggy design.

1991/2 Mistral Equipe XR, Seatrend 9'0"
- Mistral: people love the IMCO version, but the XR was the best raceboard out there, 24 lb soaking wet. Rick Naish/Harold Iggy design.
-Seatrend: World Cup-level performance in a fairly priced production board. Randy French design.

1992 F2 270 (Dunkie's shape)
-scary fast and almost scary to jibe. Took serious laydown jibe to exit with speed. Done properly it felt like being shot out of a cannon. Terrific acceleration wins races.

1995 Seatrend 8'10" Race, Seatrend 8'6" ATV
-8'10" Race: Stupid fast upwind. Made riding the fin almost easy. Very aggressive foam flow for the day and helped set the standard for wide point back -no nose course/slalom production boards. Oh yes, 13 lbs.
-8'6" ATV: One of the first and the best do-it-all 85 liter boards. Could go down the line or 35 knots depending on the fin and rig.

2003 AHD 98 NT
-one of the only hollow production boards ever produced. Antoine Albeau won the FW world Championships two years in a row using the same shape That is unheard of. And, 6 years later, my 98NT is rock solid with no perceptible change in rocker.

So, these, and what everybody else said.

-Dan

[jingebritsen]

By now lots of folks know my favorite: the Kona 11'5 Pro edition. Why? how many mainlanders can say they've sailed 5-10 mph side onshore winds in waves that are near mast high? How many wave sailors would not have gone kite had larger/longer boards been used in the waves all along? Hard to know.

Two days in a row Sept 2 and 3 2008, the hurricane swells delivered some seriously wonderful surf for my regular Kona 11'5. A kiter tried to make a go of it the second day and got ate. Most all sailors (WS and kite) that came and watched me do very long frontsides and backsides watched and left. Some surfers came out, but did not stick around for long. It was pouring in, with fairly nice intervals, but no series of sets and lulls. Had the line up to myself.

Any side off to side on day with an array of beach angles allows me to wave sail up to hundreds of days a year in shiddy old FL conditions. Tried to extend my wave sailing b4 the Konas with wide free rides, but the Konas allow tons more sessions and better performance on the waves.

Whether the swell is 1 foot or 20, the Konas deliver wave riding in truly light wind conditions that most around the world would consider, "no wind." Actually had a surfing budd come up to me after a long glassy sesh, and use those very words.

Agreed with hater, BAFfing on railroad ties, and wavesailing on 65 liter potato chips are what killed the sport. Had WS stayed more grounded in reality, methinks we would not have lost as many to the "spouse and kids syndrome." Ultimately, the sport is a great work out that's lots more fun than work. "If it ain't blowin' enough for my 4.2 and 65 liter, I ain't going," turns into quitting, esp on the east coast US.

BAFfing on impossible equipment turned bunches off at my local launches: go straight fall in, repeat, turns into a lack of interest. Saw it way too often.

If you get offered a demo in the surf with a Kona, do it. You won't regret.

[haterrater]

Swchanler,
point taken.
sometimes I just have to offend people at the expense of deeper reflection and pitch out sweeping generalizations that miss the deeper level.
I don't think that wave boards or wave-sailing is a realistic goal for probably 90% of north american windsurfers.
I do think that those 90% of windsurfers who'll never hit the waves still need to feel connected to the water in the same way that I feel when I'm surfing instead of punishing themselves trying to ride boards that are so grueling on the knees and nearly impossible to turn. There's finally a new freeride generation that combines the advantages of the widestyle board with the soul of some of the earlier shapes. Deep double concaves and spiraling vees combined with slalom rockers and progressively sharp rails (who knows what it'll be next?)....
And protech was wonderful, in a way. I mean, come on -- they brought custom shapes to a production market that were fast as the devil. Protech also refined/introduced the tail cutaway, utilized the maui-project-style tail (whatever that silly thing was called), and really made a light, well built product. Most of the protech boards still floating around, though, are the 110L slalom boards that have never been put through a turn in their life......
more on all this later; life is calling.
- the haterrater

[paulf.]

clam sandwich 8'9; fast,turny fun, dependable over/under on5.8.
new favorite might be the starboard 12'6 sup. best day in the last year was 6.3 in one foot waves and 12mph with this board.
p.

[andymc4610]

-the classic 8'-6" hi-tech glass wave boards from 1988-96. had a couple....

-Cascade glass boards 8'-2" and 8'-6"

RRD wave cult 255

-dill?......

[kmf]

High wind gorge board...Open Ocean 8,2" maybe 82 L....I will sail it today.

Medium wind gorge board, Minstral Custom 268. A great '95 or '96 slalom board, with all of the speed you need.

KMF

[swchandler]

Like kmf, if I was to pick my favorite high wind board, it would be the Open Ocean 8'2" Tri-fin. Got my first one in 1996, my second in 2002, and my latest one last year. Basically the shape of all of them is identical, except the nose has been rounded over time to appear more modern.

I also have a 2002 OO 7'10" Tri-fin, at probably 65 liters, that is arguably even better, but it has to be solid 4.2 conditions to be able to really take advantage of its attributes. However, when the conditions are right, its an awesome stick.