someone asked me an interesting question: which board is the best all purpose board
under the following conditions - okay at schlogging, can handle 6.0, 7.x and 8.5
ideally able to do passive planing - pumping not required ...
.
my first answer would be a longboard or something close to that category like a K1/Kona 1
BIC 283/293 for some people ...
.
but what about shortboards ?
assuming average weight - something like a Tabou Rocket 125 or 135 ??
.
board cannot be too wide or will not schlogg well, nor go well in 6.0 conditions ...
am guessing 65-75 cm wide and longer than today's standards - 250+ cm
maybe more volume for flotation ??
.
to date have not found that all purpose shortboard, but that is just me ...
thoughts ??

JP show their SLW flying with 6.7sails.
Guys in WA have had their 130(?) boards at 40knts I think.
So less than 170l and less than 85 wide. Or +130l and +75cm width.
There are many boards to start looking at.

I would've thought a 70 wide board, something 107/115 size? It'd cover the size sails.

Depends on one's version of "all purpose".

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Stuthepirate said..
Depends on one's version of "all purpose".

Exactly.

Board manufacturers/designers have tried to do "one board does everything" before (eg starboard atom). Problem is we all come in different shapes and sizes, and want different performance aspects from a board.

I think the best you could do is pick whatever your mid range board is, and accept that you'll be lacking some ability to plane when it's light wind/being overlit when it's blowing.

"someone asked me an interesting question: which board is the best all purpose board
under the following conditions - okay at schlogging, can handle 6.0, 7.x and 8.5
ideally able to do passive planing - pumping not required ..."


I would not say that is "all purpose" - that is just freeride with an average wind range. A board with the right width and fin size for you. But not necessarily a versatile shape. Rocker, rails, etc.

To me, "all purpose" is ability to stick in a big fin and use a freeride sail, but then stick in a smaller FSW fin, smaller sail, and go ride waves (albeit not real down the line waveriding of course) and jump it - without it breaking in a season. Even better an ability to really loosen it up.

So a FSW that is 10L over your body weight, with a freeride fin, a smaller FSW fin, and a wave fin as a thruster. Covers about 7.5 no cam sail down to about 4.5m with wave sail as a thruster. Now there's a all-purpose board. One you can load the fin up with outboard straps and plane in 15-17kn..... go B&J in 20kn plus, and also ride proper waves OK with. And still schlog in 12kn.





.

Naish starship gets my vote. Magical board. Just read some of the review s on these boards lot of ticks!

^^^^
There is only one , the Magic chop hopping Epic Ship
oh how I miss Magic

The basic freeride offering in the most basic (least fragile) construction from all the manufacturers fits the bill I reckon, bigger litres equals wider and better in lighter wind. For me right now as an advanced learner getting towards intermediate level sailor, the 154 JP Magic Ride is ticking all the boxes and seems happy with sails from 5.5m to 9m with 49cm to 59cm slalom fins. But I know all the manufacturers have something similar

Yes I'm bias but this is truly an all purpose board. It's just as at home and comfortable on flatwater as it is in waves.

OES Outlaw 105, 15-30kts, 5.3 to 8.6m sails although 6-7m seems the best, PB centre fin with US side fins.
Flat, choppy and waves it all feels comfy.

some nice boards there
yes, perhaps it is a light to mid-range freeride board question
person who asked is a lightweight @ 130 lbs currently using a Fanatic Blast 115
he felt it did not schlog well and needed to head downwind to plane
the board is being used on an inland lake and should be able to handle chop hops
i would have thought the board and sails were an ideal combo for rider and lakes

^ 130lb? You sure it is a he?

60kg ish on a 115L? That should get up an boogie on days most people may not bother turning up.

If it won't plane as early as expected, move mast base back 1-2cm so water is not fighting the nose rocker, hop back a bit earlier and pump off the fin. (If there is enough wind to plane that is..... its not a miracle solution for 4kn winds, its just to help it pop up)

Longer the waterline the better for slogging.
At 60kg, a 64cm Wind Tech will give you the biggest comfortable wind range with a 3 fin/2 sail quiver. It therefore represents great value for money.

It's the longest high performance freeride board in its class at 257cm allowing for a gentler entry curve of continuous rocker profile than you will find in production anywhere else.

I can also vouch that these boards will outlast any production board you'll buy in Australia with particular reference to the rocker between the straps...the most critical section and the Achilles Heal of all boards.

Construction quality is second to none. I'm getting close to 2000 board repairs and not seen a better product from any manufacturer. Kinetic are the best, no question.

All tech theory and info is on the WT website

100% owned company too...what more could you want!?!

Fanatic Gecko. Get the version that suits your weight and you only need one board. I'm 72kgs and had the 105l. I sailed that from 8 knots up to 40 knots with sails from 7.8 to 4.0.

Agree with above, for me Starboard Atom size to suit your weight.

100ltr - 85kg works 6m to 8m the extra width = stability at low no wind,
Set up outboard straps and slalom fin for go fast , set straps inboard and a more swept back style fin for playing around in the surf

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Imax1 said..
^^^^
There is only one , the Magic chop hopping Epic Ship
oh how I miss Magic

Whatever happened to Magic Ride? Did he change his name to Manuel?

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Man0verBoard said..
Longer the waterline the better for slogging.
At 60kg, a 64cm Wind Tech will give you the biggest comfortable wind range with a 3 fin/2 sail quiver. It therefore represents great value for money.

It's the longest high performance freeride board in its class at 257cm allowing for a gentler entry curve of continuous rocker profile than you will find in production anywhere else.

I can also vouch that these boards will outlast any production board you'll buy in Australia with particular reference to the rocker between the straps...the most critical section and the Achilles Heal of all boards.

Construction quality is second to none. I'm getting close to 2000 board repairs and not seen a better product from any manufacturer. Kinetic are the best, no question.

All tech theory and info is on the WT website

100% owned company too...what more could you want!?!

And how well do these go? Anyone got one tried one seen one on the water? I have an old WT on the rack.

BSN101 here are some reviews from 'real' people.

Regarding the Gecko and the Atom, they are both 15cm or more shorter than the WT64 which translates as less glide through lulls. You can't fit a optimal rocker in a board so short, so their curve is shorter/steeper and also their rail curves are shorter relative to their width. Logic tells you these factors offer more resistance to the water they come into contact with.

The reviews make a lot of sense.

https://www.windtechwindsurf.com/reviews?sbm=%2BjFi%2FKldV3Q54AaFClREBe00YQvZwAHk%2B%2BBxlFgGCnxc4CyIVRVQ%2FCxGKcJJRpX5%2BYOR%2FDspiD4%3D&sbr=mkHTabUFeD%2B3FcDGJl8yqxCMhFl4GAjMrDHkxOGvx48FGVII%2FlRkX93EvxwgnKD%2FPhPdDxZxQtISNf0j4f1EUJY9hHolyvOh%2BFd1izuwooSPCtoZgf5zxOX5r%2F63lOI3&sbt=%2BjFi%2FKldV3STpiLz%2BSugkRS%2FKojnnQyNoTo7WPBPpWbxwyHZ%2BNkvZREoVMQ%2Bo64VgqbHwziZlrA%3D&utm_medium=Banner&utm_source=Seabreeze.com.au

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BSN101 said..

Man0verBoard said..
Longer the waterline the better for slogging.
At 60kg, a 64cm Wind Tech will give you the biggest comfortable wind range with a 3 fin/2 sail quiver. It therefore represents great value for money.

It's the longest high performance freeride board in its class at 257cm allowing for a gentler entry curve of continuous rocker profile than you will find in production anywhere else.

I can also vouch that these boards will outlast any production board you'll buy in Australia with particular reference to the rocker between the straps...the most critical section and the Achilles Heal of all boards.

Construction quality is second to none. I'm getting close to 2000 board repairs and not seen a better product from any manufacturer. Kinetic are the best, no question.

All tech theory and info is on the WT website

100% owned company too...what more could you want!?!

And how well do these go? Anyone got one tried one seen one on the water? I have an old WT on the rack.

Here's what they look like on the water in light winds..

Agree with MoB - ultra short is not the best fit for most people. The egg shaped freerides also don't handle overpowered anywhere near as well, the wide and thin trend seems limited to me.
reason I chose an X-cite ride not a Magic Ride.
Windtech bringing back skinny will be applauded (although I wonder if that 257 / 64 is a tiny bit long)

I have been riding a Windtech 72 for over 12 months now, amazing wind range, ideal if you only want one board.
As fast as any slalom board and as comfortable as any freeride board.

I the past few years I've bought and owned various boards searching for that elusive mix of speed, comfort and control. The Windtech's tick all the boxes.

Most of all I'm getting much more time on the water due to the range, comfort and less fatigue

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Mark _australia said..
Agree with MoB - ultra short is not the best fit for most people. The egg shaped freerides also don't handle overpowered anywhere near as well, the wide and thin trend seems limited to me.
reason I chose an X-cite ride not a Magic Ride.
Windtech bringing back skinny will be applauded (although I wonder if that 257 / 64 is a tiny bit long)

Agree, I've never really taken to the wide boards. It may just be that I don't have the skill to make the most of them. Anyhow, the skinnyness of my old Carbon Art SL is what I love in overpowered choppy conditions

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Outraged said..
I have been riding a Windtech 72 for over 12 months now, amazing wind range, ideal if you only want one board.
As fast as any slalom board and as comfortable as any freeride board.

I the past few years I've bought and owned various boards searching for that elusive mix of speed, comfort and control. The Windtech's tick all the boxes.

Most of all I'm getting much more time on the water due to the range, comfort and less fatigue

Outraged can you comment on the weight distribution on these? Guys above mention 'skinny' and I'm not sure if they're referring to plan(widthways) or profile(thickness)..

The 3D weight/volume distribution is super important for the majority of us that are not highly tuned and can instinctively trim with our body geometry.

As I understand the design concept, a good deal of this trimming is not only being continually micro-adjusted with the natural response of the carbon tail plate, but in the optimisation of weight distribution throughout the board.

Mark in response to your questioning the length.. what I've not mentioned is the overall flex of the board and in particular ahead of the mast track. One of the several benefits of that extra length is that the extra flex allowed assists in the 'damping' effect...absorbing and dispersing impact forces generated by hitting chop.

In essence, when the nose is activly flexing, the trim at the back of the board remains more stable. Ergo a smoother ride, less fatigue....and the beers taste soooooo much better after each session

No arguments to any of the above the WT sounds great, only question is , has nothing to do do with performance is that i think the extra length may = lost opportunity sales , soon as you go +250 you are making it much harder to fit into cars/vans , even bags.

Understand there is a trade off point between performance/convenience, but it's effectively + 260cm by the time you put it in a good bag ... so from a sales perspective I think many people would shy away because of that length, be crime to leave a fancy board like that on your roof all day, unless you get some sort of discount to purchase the Toyota Hi Ace for your windsurf/work car:) , Aside from that , let us all know when one make it to Qld so we can all have look :) the concept/design look great.

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JonesySail said..
No arguments to any of the above the WT sounds great, only question is , has nothing to do do with performance is that i think the extra length may = lost opportunity sales , soon as you go +250 you are making it much harder to fit into cars/vans , even bags.

Understand there is a trade off point between performance/convenience, but it's effectively + 260cm by the time you put it in a good bag ... so from a sales perspective I think many people would shy away because of that length, be crime to leave a fancy board like that on your roof all day, unless you get some sort of discount to purchase the Toyota Hi Ace for your windsurf/work car:) , Aside from that , let us all know when one make it to Qld so we can all have look :) the concept/design look

The vast majority of station wagons and 4x4's won't take a 2350 board in a bag without it encroaching beyond the front seats. Comes down to a 'can do' frame of mind in most cases. Even an iLoad won't handle 250 with the cargo barrier installed. Mistral 137 is 249cm and the guys with those and the iLoad manage by either loading on the diagonal or poking the nose through the front. The cargo length of those is 2350...not sure about LWB options on those.

LDV at $25k and the Renault Trafic at $32K are good options.
WT use an LDV to distribute their boards locally.

at lease one shipment has gone East so ask around :) ..actually email them via the website and they may be able to tee you up with one of their customers over your way

^^^ agreed ... and seems we all managed when slalom meant 260 - 275 cm only about 15yrs ago.
Back in 255cm waveboard days I fitted all my stuff in a 1993 Ford Laser so geez....

The "bags don't fit" argument seems a bit weak, when the big waveboards about 110 - 120L came out you could not get a bag yet we managed. I glued truck tarp inside to stop the quad fins wearing thru a 230x75 salom bag. It worked.

The bags then follow the designs not long thereafter.

But I did notice the brand new 260x65 bags at the Windforce closing sale a few mths ago didn't really move even at 75% off = maybe I should have stocked up

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BSN101 said..
JP show their SLW flying with 6.7sails.
Guys in WA have had their 130(?) boards at 40knts I think.
So less than 170l and less than 85 wide. Or +130l and +75cm width.
There are many boards to start looking at.

I didn't see any shot on the SLW vid that showed what we would call "light wind" in Sydney. I can recall one season when I did about 5 weekends with the Formula guys and I think they got sailing on four days out of the 10. Bear in mind they normally sail in more open water than is usual, and it seems that what JP and many others call "light wind" is actually "medium wind" or more.

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Mark _australia said..

To me, "all purpose" is ability to stick in a big fin and use a freeride sail, but then stick in a smaller FSW fin, smaller sail, and go ride waves (albeit not real down the line waveriding of course) and jump it - without it breaking in a season. Even better an ability to really loosen it up.






.

To me, that's a specialised waveboard!

Matt here from the Windtech team.

I just thought I would chime in here on board lengths. I was having a chat with Neil and we both felt that the board's function and the way we like to ride was the first consideration.

Our boards are very much all round "adventure" or "touring" boards. For sure you can blast back and forth but the comfort and ease on all tacks has meant that we find ourselves going up wind exploring the different water and wind conditions on offer.

And then easily fanging back downwind at any angle we like in virtually any chop ,often right in the top end of the sails wind range, without fear of catching a nose rail. The length of the board is very much a part of this functionality. As is the Active Trim Technology tail design.

Board length also plays into the smoothness of the rocker that Neil has achieved - it simply wouldn't be possible for us to fit the refined curve into a shorter board without "bumps" in both the visual rocker as well as the way the board rides over chop with such ease. This rocker is also responding incredibly well to pumping and general early planing - because there are no rockerline bumps to overcome- giving the board the planing power comparable to something 5 cm wider. The longer rockers are also playing well in gybes and particularly in exit speed.

The boards were never designed to fit into a car - unfortunately those considerations were secondary - and we may indeed lose some sales if that is important to particular customers. But we are all about the windsurfing experience as the primary objective.

We have found FO makes bags that are near perfect for our Magic Bullet 72 and 64.

We arent trying to make boards for everyone but we are confident we have come up with a really sweet all rounder that has a particularly extended range of control. we are completely happy to lend boards out for a demo ride for those that may be interested in what we are up to.

I fit an old 255 x 61 board into a Mitsubishi Mirage with about 20mm to spare. The Mirage is a tiny bit smaller than a Suzuki Swift.
I could fit and even longer one if I chose to move the front footstraps back, and longer again if I could slide the front passenger seat further forward or took it out alltogether.
I could only get about 20mm more width though because the gear shift gets in the way (no board bag).