Hello! I'm choosing new equipments to buy and I'm wondering if a 105L freewave board with a 4.7 sail would handle gusts of 30-32 knots. in the ocean.
I know that 105L is quite big, but I am looking for a board that I could also use at 14-15 knots.
Is 105L too much for 30-32knots?
I am 70kg.
Thank you

You could use a 105 but that isn't really in its range. A 85 would be a better option with that size sail and in that wind with your weight. That's why our garages are full of boards.

Im 70kg and my 94L freewave is too big for 30+ but I use it anyway, Im also down to a 4.0 Severne Blade by then. My 4.7 gets lots of use, my 4.0, nearly none. Im pretty soft and dont like sailing overpowered.
Ive got a 111L magic ride that I love for 17-22 with a 7.0 NCX, but I dont rig it under that. 14-15 is foiling weather. (garages are full of boards)

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Sparky said..
You could use a 105 but that isn't really in its range. A 85 would be a better option with that size sail and in that wind with your weight. That's why our garages are full of boards.

yep with sparky on this one .
I can use my 105 in 30 knots ,but i am 97 kgs .and then at 15 knot i struggle on my 105 ,
its doable but it will be hairy .at 70 kgs .

where did you say it was blowing 30 knots again .

I'm with Tardy. Where are you sailing? A WA Seabreeze gusting to 30-32 would probably mean a solid 25-27 knots.
A 105 litre board is not going to be fun in those conditions.

I use a 65cm wide 100 litre Tabou Speedster in winds of 30 knots and it's fine.

Key however is to use the smallest fin the board will take.

I use a G10 31 Volt with my 4.4 Koncept in 22-30 knots and it works well for my 70kg. I tried a 30 cm but the board went sideways.

I use the same 31 Volt / 100 litre combo with my 6.2 R7 - I start backing off / sheeting out when the wind approaches 25 knots - so sail size is important too.

A flat rocker and hard railed 105 will be a lot more difficult to control in high winds than a more forgiving free ride or free race board. Your 105 free wave board should be ok,but you'll need a good few years of experience.

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mssp said..
Hello! I'm choosing new equipments to buy and I'm wondering if a 105L freewave board with a 4.7 sail would handle gusts of 30-32 knots. in the ocean.
I know that 105L is quite big, but I am looking for a board that I could also use at 14-15 knots.
Is 105L too much for 30-32knots?
I am 70kg.
Thank you

Yes, 105L is too much for 30-32knots.

I think you'll struggle to find a board that will handle 14-15kts all the way up to high 20's, gusting over 30 in open water i.e. choppy. I weigh about 72kg, and would be on a 4.2 sail and around 80 l board for high 20's gusting to over 30.

Life is too short to only have one board. Grab an 80-85 liter to compliment the 105.

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petermac33 said..
I use a 65cm wide 100 litre Tabou Speedster in winds of 30 knots and it's fine.

Key however is to use the smallest fin the board will take.

I use a G10 31 Volt with my 4.4 Koncept in 22-30 knots and it works well for my 70kg. I tried a 30 cm but the board went sideways.

I use the same 31 Volt / 100 litre combo with my 6.2 R7 - I start backing off / sheeting out when the wind approaches 25 knots - so sail size is important too.

A flat rocker and hard railed 105 will be a lot more difficult to control in high winds than a more forgiving free ride or free race board. Your 105 free wave board should be ok,but you'll need a good few years of experience.

In the ocean?

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petermac33 said..

westozwind said..

petermac33 said..
I use a 65cm wide 100 litre Tabou Speedster in winds of 30 knots and it's fine.

Key however is to use the smallest fin the board will take.

I use a G10 31 Volt with my 4.4 Koncept in 22-30 knots and it works well for my 70kg. I tried a 30 cm but the board went sideways.

I use the same 31 Volt / 100 litre combo with my 6.2 R7 - I start backing off / sheeting out when the wind approaches 25 knots - so sail size is important too.

A flat rocker and hard railed 105 will be a lot more difficult to control in high winds than a more forgiving free ride or free race board. Your 105 free wave board should be ok,but you'll need a good few years of experience.

In the ocean?

Whats the Ocean? Besides something which is big and flat

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westozwind said.. In the ocean?

Agreed - totally different. Pete, try that at Leighton on a small 1.5 m swell and let us know.

I also agree its way too big, at 100kg I'd struggle with a 105L FSW in the ocean in more than 30kn.

70 - wow. Now way mate.

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petermac33 said..
I use a 65cm wide 100 litre Tabou Speedster in winds of 30 knots and it's fine.

Key however is to use the smallest fin the board will take.

I use a G10 31 Volt with my 4.4 Koncept in 22-30 knots and it works well for my 70kg. I tried a 30 cm but the board went sideways.

I use the same 31 Volt / 100 litre combo with my 6.2 R7 - I start backing off / sheeting out when the wind approaches 25 knots - so sail size is important too.

A flat rocker and hard railed 105 will be a lot more difficult to control in high winds than a more forgiving free ride or free race board. Your 105 free wave board should be ok,but you'll need a good few years of experience.

I'm 77 kgs.
Yes, putting the smallest fin on the board will maximize it's sailing range and is another way to have less boards. I have a 38, 34 and 27cm fins for my 115L 66 wide Starship. What an amazing range each fin offers. If I'm over powered , I just go to a smaller fin. The 27cm fin on the 115L will get me out in the 19-24 knot range with a 5.2 sail. A wild ride, but extremely lively. Love it! I am a one board guy and sail it from 12-24ish knots. All of my sailing is on lakes and at the Columbia Gorge.

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Sparky said..
You could use a 105 but that isn't really in its range. A 85 would be a better option with that size sail and in that wind with your weight. That's why our garages are full of boards.

Agree, 85L would be better and should cover most of the range from 14-15 knots with a sail around 6.0m and possibly up to 30-32 knots with a 4.7m, if you're a very brave and competent sailor on a rough ocean and have a range of fins to cover the conditions.

I'm 75kg and my old 85L JP FSW using a 28cm freeride fin would be planing with a 6.0 in around 14-15. At the other end of the spectrum, 4.7 (or less?) with around a 20-23cm fin for high winds, though gotta say that an 85L board with 4.7 would be a handful for me in those conditions out on the ocean!

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Harrow said..
Life is too short to only have one board. Grab an 80-85 liter to compliment the 105.

Wh8t he sed

Thank you very much for the replies.
Is there much difference between 85 and 95L?
All suggestions were 85L, but do you think that 95L would be ok or still too much to handle?
thank you

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mssp said..
Thank you very much for the replies.
Is there much difference between 85 and 95L?
All suggestions were 85L, but do you think that 95L would be ok or still too much to handle?
thank you

What brand freewave board are you considering? Often the smaller boards in a brands 4-5 board fsw/freewave range are more high wind/rough water/manoeuver oriented so would likely be more capable in those conditions than the larger boards.

Also look at manufacturers recommended sail sizes for each board. 95L with 4.7 may be ok on flatter sheltered waters in strong winds but out on a bumpy ocean very likely a different story! 85L with 4.7 to me is a nicer match-up.

I'm near your weight.
I have a lot of boards.
my 105- 6.5-5.7
96-6.2-5.4
88-5.9-4.5*
* a Witchcraft Chakra , it really goes to 4.2.

With only 2boards a105 and 95 would be silly .
Under 88, I'm silly, 83, 82 80, they are different creatures however.

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mssp said..
Thank you very much for the replies.
Is there much difference between 85 and 95L?
All suggestions were 85L, but do you think that 95L would be ok or still too much to handle?
thank you

Are you worried about going small? Don't be. Once you get used to a smaller board you'll love it.

I'm about 67kg and only have two boards...a 105 and 78 (sold my 93, not different enough to bother keeping it). I use the 78 in anything over 18 knots, and save the 105 for patchy days. The 85 is a versatile size.

I weight about 66kgs and in 30kts I'd be wanting a sub 70ltre board especially in chop! too big a board and the wind will get under it and probably throw you and the kit..Not fun!

I'm 92kegs and my high wind boards are 78or 84litres. 4.5-6.7 on these 2. Mainly flat water with chop in areas.
Go to boards are 101,125 in normal conditions. 90litre is in the to be fixed pile.

How do you measure the 30kts wind strength? When I used to sail on Botany Bay, if the airport tower was measuring 20-30kts, I was a bit overpowered using 6m. On Jervis Bay last week, 2 local stations were reporting 17-26kts, the top of the chop was being blown away a bit, and I was spilling a lot of wind using 4.2m

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Mr Milk said..
How do you measure the 30kts wind strength? When I used to sail on Botany Bay, if the airport tower was measuring 20-30kts, I was a bit overpowered using 6m. On Jervis Bay last week, 2 local stations were reporting 17-26kts, the top of the chop was being blown away a bit, and I was spilling a lot of wind using 4.2m

Yeah, it was pretty strong down there last week. I went from 7m to 6m and even then it was too much hard work. I could have sailed a 5m no problem.

I think people often overestimate wind strength. I remember sailing a genuine 35 knots in WA, according to the BoM, and even in a sheltered flat water spot it was pretty intense and only back and forth from sandbar to sandbar. I think I was on a 4 point something sail which for me is pretty small.

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mssp said..
Thank you very much for the replies.
Is there much difference between 85 and 95L?
All suggestions were 85L, but do you think that 95L would be ok or still too much to handle?
thank you

Nothing wrong with being a minimalist trying to get one board that will cover 14-32 knots but you may also need to be a realist!

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Mr Milk said..
How do you measure the 30kts wind strength? When I used to sail on Botany Bay, if the airport tower was measuring 20-30kts, I was a bit overpowered using 6m. On Jervis Bay last week, 2 local stations were reporting 17-26kts, the top of the chop was being blown away a bit, and I was spilling a lot of wind using 4.2m

You can only go from the closest BOM site and learn how to calibrate it to where you sail. The BOM do their best with siting, height and all that but wind is impossible to measure for accurate comparisons place to place. The FSC fish rocks anemometer is interesting. It's been reading 20 knots and I can hardly get going on an 8.0 barely a kilometre closer to shore? But I'm sure if you stuck that anemometer in a wind tunnel it would read the same as all the others. (I've calibrated many an anemometer in a wind tunnel, outside in the big wide world they all have minds of their own)
www.seabreeze.com.au/weather/wind-forecast/perth

Perhaps look for approx 85 litre but anything FSW or freeride over 80 should be fine at your lighter weight. Older wave/FSW boards are longer & thinner and more banana rocker line & mostly single fin. Modern boards (generally) more squat - shorter but same width and not a needle type nose & more thruster set ups.
If you're in Sydney I'm sure windsurf n snow would lend you a board.

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mssp said..
Hello! I'm choosing new equipments to buy and I'm wondering if a 105L freewave board with a 4.7 sail would handle gusts of 30-32 knots. in the ocean.
I know that 105L is quite big, but I am looking for a board that I could also use at 14-15 knots.
Is 105L too much for 30-32knots?
I am 70kg.
Thank you

I might be a bit late on this one but I'm 70 kg, I have a 2014 rrd 108L fsw and a 2012 85L tabou da curve.
In winter storms 4ft chop etc my 108 absolutely loves it. 4.5 sail, the rrd 108 has super big spongy pads, it goes like a ferrari in the 30+ winds. It's way more comfortable and a lot faster than my 85. Also using a 38cm fin, loves it loves it loves it. I've used it at corros, you'll be faster than everyone else but also faster than the waves. I still use the 85 in strong winds, faster jybes, higher jumps but overall it doesn't feel better like everyone says it should, it's just way more manoeuvrable.
Then sometimes I jump on my girls 76..big air. That's just been my exp so far. Haven't really gotten into big waves yet, I just like blasting, bump and jump and freestyle.

One board solution for 14-32 knots+ open ocean is a big ask, but .... At your weight, Windtech 95 would do it all supremely well, vast sail range, get a few fins, lock out tail in light stuff then add flex for stronger winds - check out the reviews

Mate don't listen to the above, it's doable just like using one sail and board you learn how to use it and a big set of these goes along way as well

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choco said..
Mate don't listen to the above, it's doable just like using one sail and board you learn how to use it and a big set of these goes along way as well

Maybe that's why I don't cope well in really big wind and chop..

*Warning - Shameless plug*

I'll do you a favour.
You can have my 82L 2009 JP Real World Wave Pro edition and my 92L 2013 JP Single Thruster Pro for $500 for the both of them.
Problem solved