Hi!

I have improved enough on my beginner's Starboard Rio 180 lt to consider purchasing a more intermediate board next season. (On a 1-10 scale, I'd probably rate myself no more than 3). There are several brands I am considering, among which the Fanatic Shark , but my main concern, regardless of the brand, is the volume : 160 lts or 145 lts ? My natural next level would be A 160. It would be definitely lighter and more manoeuverable than my Rio and also more forgiving than a 145. On the other hand, I also hear that changing a 180 lts for a 160 would be like changing four quarters for.... a dollar. The felt difference would only be marginal. This is why I am strongly tempted to go for an even lighter, more manoeuverable 145, but then I am afraid it would be too much of a jump : a substantial amount of stability would be gone and the board may be more difficult to uphaul, because of the lesser floatation, even though I usually sail on a lake, in light winds and marginally ( very marginally!) choppy waters. Mostly flat waters.

What should I expect, for the better and for the worse from a 145 lts as compared to a 160 ?
I am also a bit confused about how, aside from the sailor's skills, the volume and the width of the board affect its planing capability. Intuitively, I would have thought that, for the same weight, a narrower board would plane earlier because it has less drag. But then, I have also read just the opposite : a wider board would plane earlier than a narrower board of the same volume, because a wider surface under the feet of the sailor would offer more resistance to sinking ..Than, to make things even more confusing, you hear that a board that planes earlier does not necessarily perform well when it comes to remain planing. Indeed, some plane earlier than others, but then they require more work to keep them planing... I am lost!

Can somebody shed some light on this?

Thank you

Francone

Montreal, Canada

How much do you weigh? Unless you weigh well over 100kg, I would think that 145L board would easily be stable enough.

what u also have to think about is sail sizes .... .. with the 2 board ur talking about u probably wouldnt be able to use a sail anny smaller than 7.5?? ruffly .. i weight 65kg and learn on a 100l board with 5m sails .. worked out fine ... so it might be a better idear to think backwards .. USEING THIS AS A EXAMPLE .... ( ill be sailing in 21knots ... so ill need a 6m sail ... and the right board to suit a 6m sail would be a 90-120l board ...... now those numbers used thier for the sake of it .. just go into your local windsurfing shop and ask for the profeshional advice .....liters of the board is only stability .. the amout of liters of the board plays a tiny part in the planeing speed of the board ... what ur lookin at is width at the tail /middle lengh ... also looking for a board with 2 back foot straps .. and with screw position inboard and out board for your front straps .. inboard for more controle and out board for move manouvebility .. also a fin size and design to suit your sail size and type of sailing ur going to be doing

Hi Francone,
Basically you are in the same boat I was in several years ago.I moved down from an Exocet Cruiser 205lt to a rrd 360 evolution 155lt quite quickly. I kept the rrd for nearly a year then moved down to a Futura 133 (Bloody fantastic board that I still use in sub 20 knot winds) but I found that at my low skill level things happened in a hell of a hurry.
I have a Futura 111 that is my board of choice now and a 94 isonic that i have yet to master. It is quite frustrating learning to ride smaller boards (especially as you get older) BUT....the rewards are fantastic.
180 to 145 is probably a good call as you should still be able to uphaul if reqd and you should get planing in the right conditions without to much trouble.
A narrower board will give you an easier ride as the wind speed increases thereby decreasing the fear level,a wide board in high winds can be downright frightening.
At a 3/10 dont go too small, just enough to take you out of your comfort zone and it will take you the next season to get back in, then do it all over again.
It's all about enjoying yourself.

do what i did just get a board thats grossly under you weight.
by doing this you will loose all your extra kilos swimming!!!!!!

I'm at your skill level ( and 100kg).

I bought Fanatic Shark 160L this year. It's a nice and forgiving board.
I can uphaul in marginal winds, waterstart in higher winds, gybe at slow speed, etc . Very useful intermediate learning tool.

However, It's not that easy to get it up and planing in marginal winds, and you need a sail 8m+ and these sails could be heavy to uphaul or waterstart.
At 18-20knts it will plane with a 6m sail. Once going, it goes great.

I'll keep it for a year then downsize to 125-130L.

Swoosh's advice is spot on. If you are over 100kg, go larger.
Maybe to add 50L to your weight?