Hello.
Not a windsurfer but have a question I put in the sailing forum might be better here.
I have a paddleboard and often go on cruises down river systems with tides and winds favourable so that I can reduce paddling as much as possible. I took a kids umbrella out one time in a strong southerly and surprisingly made some great downwind progress. quite slow obviously.
Anyway I wanted to replicate that with something a bit stronger but don't want to go all the way to a windsurfer sail because the windsurfer sails seem to go to fast and I don't want high impact falls. Is it possible to put a smaller windsurfing sail on it and that will
mean your going so slow when you fall off you won't slap her with speed? (Neck issues)

If not looking for something a little larger than an umbrella that can give a little more push than the umbrella and be easy to set up, take down in case an oyster bed appears out of nowhere.
There are holes for a windsurfer sail in the middle of the board and holes up front where a GoPro mount is that can have stuff tied to it.
Was thinking a making a triangle sail with a bedsheet or something like that. Most of the use for this will be downwind stuff. Go with the wind on your back mostly, down a river, and with the tide. Do you guys have any recommendations for how to set it up that will help get more push and or anything else that might be missing and or do you recommend a small windsurfing sail? I only want to go slow.
I often take this board in the ocean surfing but find this stuff fun too.
weird question. Thanks in advance for any responses

get an irig, it is an inflatable sail, the smallest you can find, something like this :

www.surffx.com.au/products/duotone-irig?currency=AUD&variant=32024723783820&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=acf90119cbb3&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=20522612095&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20512743726&gclid=Cj0KCQjwu7TCBhCYARIsAM_S3NgpZmYd3FJK6AHvdzh-FPoF4fNqdtPt3qRGyk5sF1gmtEfYYFkCwo0aArk0EALw_wcB

The Home of Parawing Foiling.
https:/parawingfoil.com
This might help you.

You could buy a cheap 4m wing, they are inflatable and easy to use. Or consider creating something like a Batman suit to wear: stretch your arms out and you have some sort of sail. Not sure though how safe this would be in case you fall in...

Just get a parawing, perfect for dragging you downwind if there is wind. You will need at least 10knots of wind to fly the parawing and it can be stuffed into a backpack if not needed. Look at brand like Gong or North, they make cheaper beginner parawings but work well.

You could try using a small windsurfing rig. It sounds like you want to get dragged in sheltered water, so it won't get you planing.
But unless your SUP has a connector for a mast it won't work.
A windwing is probably best. Learners start off with the wing on a SUP to get used to handling it before getting on a foil.

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WaterNomads said..
You could buy a cheap 4m wing, they are inflatable and easy to use. Or consider creating something like a Batman suit to wear: stretch your arms out and you have some sort of sail. Not sure though how safe this would be in case you fall in...

I don't know why I'm surprised that somebody allready said it, as it seems obvious to me, wingsuit for sure. And if you ride off a waterfall, all good, fly! I'm sure the neck will be fine as long as you don't ride off waterfalls

Trouble with a windsurfing sail, they are best going across the wind. Down wind is much harder, awkward in fact.
I think a small wing would be better. If you want to use a mast, and DIY, go for a small spinnaker.

As for speed, you are limited by windspeed if you're going directly downwind, no matter how big your sail, you'll only get to something less than windspeed, depending on hull drag.

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Mr Milk said..
You could try using a small windsurfing rig. It sounds like you want to get dragged in sheltered water, so it won't get you planing.
But unless your SUP has a connector for a mast it won't work.
A windwing is probably best. Learners start off with the wing on a SUP to get used to handling it before getting on a foil.

The sup has a connector for a mast. I'm not foiling just the sup. So in a river system a windsurfing rig would pull me along but slowly? That's the desired outcome

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decrepit said..
Trouble with a windsurfing sail, they are best going across the wind. Down wind is much harder, awkward in fact.
I think a small wing would be better. If you want to use a mast, and DIY, go for a small spinnaker.

As for speed, you are limited by windspeed if you're going directly downwind, no matter how big your sail, you'll only get to something less than windspeed, depending on hull drag.

Thanks. This could be the go

Congratulations, now you will be motivated to earn windsurfing....

Say goodbye to your family, friends and free time.

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jdfoils said..
Congratulations, now you will be motivated to earn windsurfing....

Say goodbye to your family, friends and free time.

Isn't this how Taty/Tonky Frans started?

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MobZ said..

WaterNomads said..
You could buy a cheap 4m wing, they are inflatable and easy to use. Or consider creating something like a Batman suit to wear: stretch your arms out and you have some sort of sail. Not sure though how safe this would be in case you fall in...

I don't know why I'm surprised that somebody allready said it, as it seems obvious to me, wingsuit for sure. And if you ride off a waterfall, all good, fly! I'm sure the neck will be fine as long as you don't ride off waterfalls

I dont know if you are joking or being serious.

Do not use a wingsuit (or any type of body suit to catch the wind) - if you fall into the water, the next 10 seconds will have your life pass before your eyes.

www.uspa.org/about-uspa/uspa-news/tales-from-the-bonfire-a-wet-wingsuit-landing

Presumably you'll want to get back to where you started from at some point, so you'll be wanting to unrig whatever you used to get yourself downwind unless you want to paddle really hard. That's going to be easiest to carry if it breaks down small, so parawing or trainer kite would be best.

I don't know why you are so afraid with speed but don't use a diy system if you don't want to fall for nothing with no control. Instead use a valid system.

I think if you can handle a sup in surf , you should be able to handle windsurfing. +1 for the I rig or a small windsurf rig. You won't look back.

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Mr Milk said..
Presumably you'll want to get back to where you started from at some point, so you'll be wanting to unrig whatever you used to get yourself downwind unless you want to paddle really hard. That's going to be easiest to carry if it breaks down small, so parawing or trainer kite would be best.

Nah. Have a mate to pick us up and this may or may not involve a pub or 6

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gibbo000001 said..

Mr Milk said..
Presumably you'll want to get back to where you started from at some point, so you'll be wanting to unrig whatever you used to get yourself downwind unless you want to paddle really hard. That's going to be easiest to carry if it breaks down small, so parawing or trainer kite would be best.

Nah. Have a mate to pick us up and this may or may not involve a pub or 6

Pub six fixes everything.

Matthew has a point, wingsuit and water is danger danger. Especially after pub 6.

Sea kayaks use a small sail for downwind.

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gibbo000001 said..

The sup has a connector for a mast. I'm not foiling just the sup. So in a river system a windsurfing rig would pull me along but slowly? That's the desired outcome

what river system are you looking at windsurfing / SUPing in?

Sea kayaks use a small kind of cone shaped sail. Very stable, downwind only and pack up easy. I don't believe they are expensive.