It has been over 20 years since I last Windsurfed, and now have teenage children and want to return to the sport (Cheaper than waterskiing).
My board was an original "Windsurfer" brand, so very boyant and stable.
With all the boards now available, what size (in litres) should I be looking at to have a nice stable board to begin with?

Now living on the Gold Coast, I look forward to getting back up (and no doubt falling down again).....

Thanks in anticipation. PS Great site......

Take a look at the Starboard range....you probably don,t need the one for absolute beginners called Start but there is one a bit smaller called I think GO

Good luck

Maybe you should try to pick up one of those older style boards until you get a feel for were the sport is. I picked up a beginner board at an auction for $50.

Having said that, I have heard lots of people rave about the Starboard beginner boards. Lots more stable than the old Windsurfer brand and with nice features like light weight, padded deck etc.

What's your budget and what type of windsurfing do you want to do

I can highly recommend the Starboard Start, Rio, Go and Kombat Tuffskin, in that order of stability and beginner friendliness for adults. For Kids preteen with less emphasis on adults learning it would be Kombat Tuffskin first, especially if the adults were skilled enough to use the board in stronger winds.
Of at least equal importance is the modern learners rig. It makes a huge difference for kids (and adults) learning.
Starboards kids rigs are great and reasonably priced but I have seen some others that are also good.
Pictures below of me teaching my mates daughters to sail on GO 170 (with side fins) and 2.5m kids rig. They were sailing back and forth almost immediately.
Claire up and going within 60 seconds

Jessie 60 seconds into first lesson

Nessie's first time

Nessie a few minutes later one handed

Jessie 20 min later powering on the Tandem

Seeing a begginner having fun is quite rewarding


My daughter during her first try at windsurfing at 9 or 10yo a few years ago with 2.5m kids sail and Starboard Kiddy board

Speaking of Kids Rigs - my kids are 7 and 9 and weigh 23, 32 kg respectively and both want to get into WS. I'll put them into some proper lessons first up but also want to find a rig that will suit them for using other times on a large board and also can progress a little on. Is the 2.5m *board most suitable or something else - can anyone suggest the right size(s) and where I can buy from in Perth or online.

Cheers

Tony

You've unintentionally given ammunition to the Tea Baggers (making windsurfing look easy).
Lose 5 knots.

We have lots of kids (12 this weekend, 16 last regatta; groups in Victoria, Hobart (I think), Wollongong, Sydney, Newcastle/Lake Mac, etc) having loads of fun on Junior Ones which are Windsurfer One Designs (or similar boards ie TC Runner) with 2 to 4.5m sails.

Kids like messing about in light winds, and a longboard does that better in many ways than a widestyle board which has much higher resistance at the speeds a kid's rig normally drives it. The longboard is also much better at keeping upwind. Performance-wise, the Windsurfer with 4.5m kid's sail is roughly as fast in normal east coast Oz winds as the Bic Techno international kid's board with a 6.8 or 7.8.

They are slightly tippier but sideways stability is not a huge issue with kids who are light and low.

The Windsurfer is much stronger and cheaper than any other kid's board. Basically, kids will get up and going almost immediately if they are on a small (3m or less) rig......I recall seeing one kid (a Sabot dinghy sailor) just hop on for the first time, pull the sail up, sail out, tack, come back in, gybe, sail out, etc.

The rig does make a HUGE difference like everyone else has said. Starboard's seems very good. Gaastra does a nice one. Hi Fly does a cheaper one in monofilm that is very light but rather gutless.

Most of our older kids use Barracouta 4.5s which are cheap ($260) super tough, have lots of power, but can also be used on shortboards in big winds. We've put kids who were struggling badly on old-style pinheads or wave sails onto the Barracoutas and they've instantly been planing around and kept doing it until we went out and dragged them back in.

What do the kids think? There's been flooding rain and about 5 knots max wind today. They were out there until we dragged them all back in because of the lightning. When it's too windy for most of the grown ups to go out, the Junior Ones are out there zapping.

PS Hardie's point is good. If you are living somewhere windy and choppy and want to zap around on windy days, a Go etc may be great. If you live somewhere with typical wind and want to be able to sail every day, a longboard is (IMHO) the way to go.

Sailquik, what's with the side fins? I've seen the holes for them but never really thought they'd be worthwhile.
What's their use? More stability?
And the board in the last photo, don't you find the volume a bit small for beginners?

Sorry to distract from the original topic, maybe mcadieag you could tell us you previous experience (i.e. waterstarting, gybing etc) and weight?

Thanks for all the replies. Further searching has also given me some additional info, so feel happy to look at 2nd hand boards now.

My history, for Bladez, is I did progress to a "sinker" as we called them way back then, and generally sailing was on flat water, with a little dabble in small waves at Point Danger at Torquay in Vic. Could manage water starts, gybing and small jumps.

I gave up windsurfing when one fateful RDO (when we had them) in Victoria I was sailing off Mordialloc (Vic) in stiff off shore breeze. Something broke, rig, board and I went separate ways. Eventually I climbed onto board, but couldn't see the sail etc. Being about 2 km from the beach, I started paddling back. Despite 3mm full length wet suit, I was very cold. After two hours, I managed to get further out,but a cat sailed past and I waved them down. Rescued... Three days off work with exposure, I sold board and haven't been back on the horse...yet.

I've put on a bit since those days, now comming in at 95kg. I have a lake close by home, and will look to get out on the broadwater. Mostly I'm looking for some family fun with the kids. Budget is very limited, but will continue looking at auctions, garage sales etc.

Cheers all, and hope to see you on the water one day.

Select to expand quote

Bladez said...

Sailquik, what's with the side fins? I've seen the holes for them but never really thought they'd be worthwhile.
What's their use? More stability?
And the board in the last photo, don't you find the volume a bit small for beginners?

Sorry to distract from the original topic, maybe mcadieag you could tell us you previous experience (i.e. waterstarting, gybing etc) and weight?

Hi Bladez, The side fins on the Go are just there for lateral resistance at slow sub planning speeds and work quite well. In the other Starboard models that cater for learning there is either a retractable centerboard or a removable center fin in the bottom of the board which is probably the better design technically, but the side fins work well for their intended light wind use on the Go. Just don't try to use them in stronger winds in planning conditions. This not at all recommended and may damage the board!! and it's also not a good idea to allow the kids to jump all over the deck if the board is high and dry sitting on the fins.

Yes, the older Starboard Kiddy was a bit thinner than its later replacements but the smaller kids found it very easy to maneuver and balance. My daughter out grew it at the end of that year and moved on to the Go 170.

And one last point Mcadieag: We have tended to emphasize the smaller kids sails in our recommendations but of equal importance are the matching small and lightweight masts and Booms. Avoid adult sized (and weight) masts and boom for kids if at all possible. You will probably find there is a word of mouth market moving around kids rigs from family to family as kids grow and progress. Ask around your local beach and shop and you may come up with some affordable gold. Good luck and welcome back!

Hi Mcadieag,

I am i exactly the same situation as you only 1 month advanced. (40+ 2 kids)

The Broadwater is the mainplace I sail as whilst I live in Bris my parents live on the Goldy

I bought a Kona longboard

http://www.kona-windsurfing.com/index_en.asp

so I could sail in light wind conditions while learning and plan to progress to a shorter board later on. I have been really amazed at my progress and after 1 month I am planing and using a harmess and having alot of fun. My kids find it really stable as well for learning.

If you want to try my board before you buy send me a private message as I am on the Goldy most weekends. For Longboards look at www.lbws.com.au/lb07/

Also check out www.windwanderers.com/ These guys are really helpful and would and have given me alot of pointers at the meets (I have been two and now plan to join). They will also have a short fat wide board for you to try.

Keep going with it because it is alot of fun.

Cheers

PS if you are still looking for a shorter wide beginners board there is a 2002 Bic Nova one for sale on this forum under Qld adds $500.

www.seabreeze.com.au/members/classifieds/Results.aspx?search=EjQ0DoWvNYhh8sDLaLN5Ug%3d%3d