Hello,

I'm a progressing 100kg beginner looking for feedback on this long-available board.
I can beach start and plane comfortably in the harness but don't use footstraps on my windsup.
Would this be a good first shortboard? 264cm x 75cm.

Go for it :)
I weigh 113kg and just got an old 2003 152 for gusty days(ie winter :)

A bit longer profile than newer boards but should be fun.
If it uses trim box fins they might be harder to come by but I have a 30cm weedy up for sale :)

I've read the longer length is actually a good thing for someone like me. I'm more concerned about the narrowish , for me, 75cm width.

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gorgemay said..

Hello,

I'm a progressing 100kg beginner looking for feedback on this long-available board.
I can beach start and plane comfortably in the harness but don't use footstraps on my windsup.
Would this be a good first shortboard? 264cm x 75cm.

Go for it , great board to progress on, sometimes wish I hadn't sold mine.

That board should be sufficiently bouyant and wide for your weight and skill level.

Width really helps when you are trying to uphaul sail, especially in swell and it also makes staying upright easier when tacking and jibing. When I was progressing at 90'ish Kg's I went from a 145 lt board to a 125lt 69cm wide board and I could uphaul fine in flat water but struggled a bit in swell. In light winds I use a 165lt 92cm wide Super lightwind that even my mum couldn't fall off from.

You may want to become a proficient water starter first if you plan on going in the ocean with it ;)

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gregob said..

You may want to become a proficient water starter first if you plan on going in the ocean with it ;)

What style board works best for learning water starts? Wide? Does it matter?

I would think the board you're planning to get would be perfect, the width shouldn't matter as long as its floaty enough. If you can find someone to show you it helps. You can already do beach starts, so just get progressively deeper with those, so that you get more reliant on the sail and less reliant on your feet. The last element is learning to fly the sail. Dedicate a day or two with a good solid cross shore breeze and a nice sandy beach to learning it and you'll never look back.

What style board works best for learning water starts? Wide? Does it matter?

Doesn't matter...I find that it's nicer when the board can sink a little bit as you're coming up but that won't happen till your on smaller boards...just start doing your "beach starts" in waist high then chest/shoulder high water and you'll be able to water start in no time...the wind needs to be strong enough as well...then you just need to learn how to get the sail out of the water if the waters too deep to stand(there are other threads on water starting on here)...where are you sailing, ocean or flat water? Might be easier to learn to water start on your windsup so you can still uphaul easily...

^ what he said :)

Is it ok to use a sail smaller than what is needed to plane? If an 8m gets me planing on a given day would 6.5 be good for water start practice?

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gorgemay said..
Is it ok to use a sail smaller than what is needed to plane? If an 8m gets me planing on a given day would 6.5 be good for water start practice?

It would be for the aspect of learning to fly the sail from the water and steering to get into the right position as the 6.5 would be much easier to lift and fly. But, as to getting up out of the water it would depend on wind strength. I find that when I am struggling to plane with a particular sized sail I also struggle to water start. Some people are very good at water starting in lighter wind; I'm not :)

Wearing flotation vest is a very good idea as well.

The type of sail also makes a difference. Cambered sails are much harder to water start because of the large luff pocket and the profile of the sail. Learn to WS with a rotational sail.

Getting back to the board question, would a Fanatic Shark 165, 255 x83cm or Gecko 156L, 252x85cm for example be a more user friendly first shortboard vs the Bic 148, 264x75cm?

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gorgemay said..
Getting back to the board question, would a Fanatic Shark 165, 255 x83cm or Gecko 156L, 252x85cm for example be a more user friendly first shortboard vs the Bic 148, 264x75cm?

Friendlier = Buoyancy + Width+ weight

More buoyant and wider equals friendlier. I added weight because generally it's an indication of build robustness. Looking at the general stats on the fanatic boards they are a lighter build so they maybe a tad more susceptible to mast catapult damage. Everyone catapults (trebuchet's) from time to time; you catapult more when you are learning.

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gregob said..
Friendlier = Buoyancy + Width+ weight

More buoyant and wider equals friendlier. I added weight because generally it's an indication of build robustness. Looking at the general stats on the fanatic boards they are a lighter build so they maybe a tad more susceptible to mast catapult damage. Everyone catapults (trebuchet's) from time to time; you catapult more when you are learning.

I've seen quite a few reports of Geckos being really fragile - easy to damage the nose, delamination, even the footstraps coming off (!). FWIW, I saw a lot of them in Vass in 2013 and they looked fine. In fact my first ever long planing run was on a Gecko.

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MrCranky said..

gregob said..
Friendlier = Buoyancy + Width+ weight

More buoyant and wider equals friendlier. I added weight because generally it's an indication of build robustness. Looking at the general stats on the fanatic boards they are a lighter build so they maybe a tad more susceptible to mast catapult damage. Everyone catapults (trebuchet's) from time to time; you catapult more when you are learning.

I've seen quite a few reports of Geckos being really fragile - easy to damage the nose, delamination, even the footstraps coming off (!). FWIW, I saw a lot of them in Vass in 2013 and they looked fine. In fact my first ever long planing run was on a Gecko.

I've got a gecko -- I like it for sailing, but I do think that this is right, its fragile and not well reinforced in the nose area (I have dinged it there and repaired it). I reckon the bic is probably going to be more robust. Even so, a bit of nose protection is always good, home made is fine if you're not worried about aesthetics -- plenty of ideas on how to in these pages. Regarding the original question about width, etc., I reckon the bic is fine 75cm is massively wide compared to what we used to learn on, if you've got a good deal -- go for it.

New progressers(is that a word?) will probably be better than an [old?...you didn't say the age of the 148(techno?)] old freerace board but if the price is right

Can beach start and plane, but worried 75cm is not wide enough??

Yes, concerned about stability, my windsup is very forgiving and I'm 100kg.

Don't be concerned. That width is a good progression from windsup i think. You've still got 3:2 buoyancy to weight ratio so up haul is not going to be a problem. Slightly narrower is better one your planning if there is any chop.

Can someone explain the buoyancy to weight ratio?

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gorgemay said..
Can someone explain the buoyancy to weight ratio?

Just a figure of speech and basic maths. When you are learning you want a floatier board so the higher the ratio the better. As long as the board is more buoyant than your weight plus the weight of the rig, it will float when stationary. So if you and rig together weigh 100Kg and the board is 100Lt then it would be a 1 to 1 ratio, yes?

If the board was 150Lt then it would be 1.5 to 1 - which is same as 3:2. As you get better and sail in higher winds you will want to use a smaller board as they are more fun and controllable at speed in chop, swell, and waves etc.

What musorianin was saying is in his opinion you needn't worry about stability with a 146Lt board.

Gorgemay ..the 75 width is a great starting point at 146litres ..
my light wind board is 130 litre and 83 wide ..I'm 97 kg .it floats me fine with the 130 .
up hauling, tacking is still a must in the ocean ..a skill not to be shy about using ..

in saying that a 80 + would be easier .for you but the literage is fine.
all depends on how big the swell is ,
my main ocean gear is 125 litre @69 wide .15-25 knots.

remember you will always improve in time .. And get use to your gear.
i would go with the fanatic s.

I am 93kg ish and have used a Patrik Freeride 145t 75cm wide since I got a bit more adventurous after my SUP. I have been windsurfing for about 2 years now.
Learning to waterstart is no drama on this board, gybing is a lot easier than my smaller boards and it really comfy in choppy conditions. Just grab some sails like Severne Gators and you will have a ball on the 148 and learn plenty as well.
It is like going on a relaxing holiday sailing this board if I haven't had a crack on it for a while.

Thanks for the thoughtful replies it's much appreciated.