I'm looking to do some gear updates and trying to work out the right board for me and the spacing in liters between boards to cover most sailing conditions. I weigh 65 kg (145 lb) and am a good sailor but not looping or anything like that. I sail mostly flat water bump and jump these days. The wind conditions where I sail usually put me on a 5.3 - 6.6 sail, 90% of the time. My board quiver consists of a 145 Rocket, 115 Mistral Syncro and 95 Quattro Quad.

I recently found that my weight affects my choice of board more than I realized. I never really clicked with my Quad and it was suggested to me that the board isn't great for light weights because of the volume distribution (who knew!). I was also told that light weights also struggle with the 3S and other such boards.

So really 2 questions. 1) If I replace my 95 Quad what would be some good options? 2) If I was to start from scratch what would be the ideal spacing in liters (85, 105, 125 or 85, 115, 135....)?

Thanks!

I think we need to know what wind strengths. Not what sizes you use a lot. No insult, but for an expert vs intermediate its very different sail sizes.

For example, 6.6 freeride sail on that Syncro would be my 20-25kn setup for flatwater, but in wave sailing I'd use nothing like it. But I'm 100kg, so I reckon for a 65kg guy that Syncro is a big board for planing B&J stuff.

A 95L Quatro quad is the go-to allround wave board for pure wavesailing for a 90kg guy, maybe for float and ride wavesailing for someone your weight.... but not for B&J blasting at all.
A 145L is not for someone your weight at all unless learning (way too big for any planing windsurfing as the small sail won't let you get out on a rail properly and you can't load the fin enough)

IMHO if we are talking 15-30kn, you need a 100L freeride and a 80L FSW very rough numbers.... and its hard to cover that hi wind at your weight

I'm about 64-65kg myself and don't quite understand the question. I've never had a board with a wrong volume distribution for my weight, but I might set it up a little different to heavier guys, e.g. mastfoot further back, straps all the way back etc.

I cannot imagine that there is anything "wrong" with the Quattro board, it is a Quad though and it will not feel great in flat water or bump and jump. I would suggest getting an older single fin board instead, these are great for bump and jump. Just replace your smallest board, there is no need plan ahead for a complete and ideal range of boards.

The choice of board volume is mostly related to the desired sail sizes, as I see it, and these are usually well described by the board manufacturers. Fin tuning is important though, and it is good to have a few different fin sizes for each board.

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n1patrick said..
I'm looking to do some gear updates and trying to work out the right board for me and the spacing in liters between boards to cover most sailing conditions. I weigh 65 kg (145 lb) and am a good sailor but not looping or anything like that. I sail mostly flat water bump and jump these days. The wind conditions where I sail usually put me on a 5.3 - 6.6 sail, 90% of the time. My board quiver consists of a 145 Rocket, 115 Mistral Syncro and 95 Quattro Quad.

I recently found that my weight affects my choice of board more than I realized. I never really clicked with my Quad and it was suggested to me that the board isn't great for light weights because of the volume distribution (who knew!). I was also told that light weights also struggle with the 3S and other such boards.

So really 2 questions. 1) If I replace my 95 Quad what would be some good options? 2) If I was to start from scratch what would be the ideal spacing in liters (85, 105, 125 or 85, 115, 135....)?

Thanks!

It depends where you sail. At 68 I use a RRD 90 FSW, an AV Modena 98 slalom and a Patrik 122 slalom. In a big 4.2-3.7 day I have a 81 FSW, that would work great in general if it wasn't for the wind line that where I sail is often half mile out. For having fun a 85 (FSW), 95 (FSW), and 115 (slalom) would work nicely.

Only thing: at our weight I would not really consider anything bigger than 120 (the Patrik 122 was an "inheritance" and it is BIG at 81 wide!). I spent years with an Isonic 111 and I was completely fine in the 10-15 knots range.

I am 61-62kg, my biggest board is 94lt freeride, i can put a 6.5 sail on it no problem but i can plane nearly in same wind strength with 5.5 sail so 94lt 5.5 is my biggest combo now, which can get me planing around 14-15kts. If your 6.6sail is a race sail, 105lt may feel better depending on board type, but you don't need a bigger board than that.

Personally i can not ride a board bigger than 85lt with center back footstrap, i guess mostly depends on tail width. I think narrow tailed boards are easier to controll, to put easy leverage, for lightweight riders. We already have early planing advantage so compromising a little there for more controll is preferable in my opinion.

Freeride and wave boards have very different feel, you need to drive wave board with mast foot pressure and front foot, while only back foot is enough for freeride boards, i guess what doesn't click for you is not being able to put all the power down through back foot. They are olso harder to get planing and easier to lose planing, so not so preferable for freeride.

As for the question, assuming your sail range is 4.5 5.3 6.6, and you ride flat water b&j;
I would first get rid of the big board, and big sails to match it like 7+ if you have them.
2)85lt freewave board (4.5 5.3) and 105lt freeride or freerace board (5.3 6.6) would be a nice quiver, but 85lt will feel big in strong winds.
1)If you only want to change 95lt, and you rarely sail 4.5 weather, and you prioritize speed and planing, then change to a 95lt freeride (outside footstraps) can be good too.

For reference my wave boards are 68lt quad and 82lt quad, b&j boards are 75lt trifin freewave and 94lt single fin freeride (outside straps).
I am not sure which model your quad is but i have the new cube 82 and it is an amazing board for b&j, narrow tail compared to fsw boards, faster and earlier planing than most of them, i would recommend to lightweight riders as freewave board too besides being a proper wave board.
Olso one more important point is footstrap widths of brands, some brands have them too large like 16,5cm, ones i know are Severne and Fanatic. Goya/Quatro has 14,6cm and they are perfect for me, Patrik olso has tight options.

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Mark _australia said..
I think we need to know what wind strengths. Not what sizes you use a lot. No insult, but for an expert vs intermediate its very different sail sizes.

For example, 6.6 freeride sail on that Syncro would be my 20-25kn setup for flatwater, but in wave sailing I'd use nothing like it. But I'm 100kg, so I reckon for a 65kg guy that Syncro is a big board for planing B&J stuff.

A 95L Quatro quad is the go-to allround wave board for pure wavesailing for a 90kg guy, maybe for float and ride wavesailing for someone your weight.... but not for B&J blasting at all.
A 145L is not for someone your weight at all unless learning (way too big for any planing windsurfing as the small sail won't let you get out on a rail properly and you can't load the fin enough)

IMHO if we are talking 15-30kn, you need a 100L freeride and a 80L FSW very rough numbers.... and its hard to cover that hi wind at your weight

As for wind strength, we get thermals which range 15-22 kts a few times a week (this year excluded). Otherwise it is hit and miss, I maybe get 4-5 days a year 25+ and 1-2 days 30+ if I'm lucky.

The 145 was inherited and wouldn't have been my first choice in size but I use it on light wind days 10-15 with my 7.3 or 6.6. Last year I used it at least once a week after work and can get plaining in very little wind. I'm sure I would have been fine with a 125.

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SurferKris said..
I'm about 64-65kg myself and don't quite understand the question. I've never had a board with a wrong volume distribution for my weight, but I might set it up a little different to heavier guys, e.g. mastfoot further back, straps all the way back etc.

I cannot imagine that there is anything "wrong" with the Quattro board, it is a Quad though and it will not feel great in flat water or bump and jump. I would suggest getting an older single fin board instead, these are great for bump and jump. Just replace your smallest board, there is no need plan ahead for a complete and ideal range of boards.

The choice of board volume is mostly related to the desired sail sizes, as I see it, and these are usually well described by the board manufacturers. Fin tuning is important though, and it is good to have a few different fin sizes for each board.

SurgerKris, I think the idea was the extra volume on some boards makes it hard for lighter riders to control (maneuver), needing to exert more pressure than heaver people. A friend of mine is similar in weight and made this observation with the Tabou S3. All his heavier friends love it and lighter riders don't like it as much. It also has something to do with the volume being more in the back vs front of the board (but what do I know...).

Overall it looks like an 85 FSW is the way to go to replace my Quad. Any suggestions? What are people's thoughts on thrusters for flat water bump and jump? Just thinking it is hard to find single fin boards in that size now days. I suppose I could plug the the sides.

Next year maybe I can save up to upgrade my 115 Syncro with a 105 Rocket.

I can recommend Patrik F-wave for freewave, you can use it as single fin if you like. I have a review of it at equipment tab if you want to check.
If you want more freeride type, Exocet Cross 84 is the only production freeride board (with outside footstrap options) smaller than 95lt range that i know of. It used to be single fin, still primarily single fin but can be used as trifin.
I didn't try it but JP freewave has narrow tail, looks good, but JP olso has wide footstrap holes.

Single fin usually makes the board fly more and feel more free (for fsw usage with a smallish raked fin), trifin makes the board stick to water more, you can carve harder and has more controll.

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Sea Lotus said..
If you want more freeride type, Exocet Cross 84 is the only production freeride board (with outside footstrap options) smaller than 95lt range that i know of. It used to be single fin, still primarily single fin but can be used as trifin.

It is true that small freeride boards are hard to find these days. The Goya One used to come with outside footstraps when it was a single fin. I have the 86 liter one (from 2011) and I really like it, nice for jumping and also carves nicely in jibes.

A tri-fin will hold the rail better in jibes but will not fly quite as freely over the chop as a single fin in a straight line, depending on the size of the centerfin (some tuning can be done here).

This is from 22 of december in 2013, about +2?C in the air, and I ended up in the local newspaper the day after...

I'm the same weight as you, and now I have two boards.

An 85 fanatic FSW that I use with 4.2, 4.7, 5.5 as single fin but set as a thruster is doable with the 3.7 and a 75 quatro single fin wave board that use with 3.4, 3.7, 4.2, 4.7

This quiver gets me going from 14 to 40 knots. In flat water and bump and jump conditions. For pure bump and jump conditions, a single fin works great.

I used to have a 105 rocket with a 6.5, but I noticed that I only plan 1-2 knots sooner than the 85 FSW and 5.5 and sailing smaller boards is more fun anyway.

If you really need the 6.5, then look for a 105 freeride board and an 85 FSW. You can use the 105 with 6.5 and 5.5 and then switch to a smaller board from 4.7. Or you can switch the 6.6 for a 6.0 that will work nicely on an 85FSW with a 28 cm freeride fin and have only one board.

BTW, I have a tabou 3S 86 (single fin 2016) - Is more freeride oriented than the fanatic but works great with a 6.0

FWIW I'm 90 kg and would consider 145lt an absolute oil tanker, can't imagine that being fun. My biggest board is 115 then I'm on a foil if they won't go. Maybe consider in the smaller range to replace the quad (that you say you don't enjoy and is not suited to your local conditions) something like a Severne Dyno or fanatic free wave? Not sure if the 85 litre version of either has option for single inboard and outer straps, but 95 does-- you can run as a thruster and be more turny or blank the sides and run a more upright single fin for pure blasting.

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musorianin said..
FWIW I'm 90 kg and would consider 145lt an absolute oil tanker, can't imagine that being fun.

It is more a matter of desired sail size, then it is related to body weight. With large sails you do need a large board and fin to match. My largest board is a Starboard HWR and I use it with 10.7 - 8.6 sails, great fun to be flying on the fin in light winds and one will also make good angles, rather that just going back and forth.

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SurferKris said..

musorianin said..
FWIW I'm 90 kg and would consider 145lt an absolute oil tanker, can't imagine that being fun.

It is more a matter of desired sail size, then it is related to body weight. With large sails you do need a large board and fin to match. My largest board is a Starboard HWR and I use it with 10.7 - 8.6 sails, great fun to be flying on the fin in light winds and one will also make good angles, rather that just going back and forth.

sure, i can see that, but I'm thinking about the OP who is not using his 145lt with big sails and is light enough not to need so much board, that was my point. But, yes, i guess if you have the skill there is a place for big sails, big fin, big wide board

^^^ agreed, worst thing I ever tried was big board with not enough sail. You need enough sail to hang off and get out on the rail. Planing with say a 6m on 145L is just awful.... and no doubt develops really bad habits
Given the OP has 15-20kn often during the season, going to a volume of bodyweight x2 is just nuts

Yes, a 6m^2 sail on a 145l board is not great, that is for nearly complete beginners. Something around 7.5-8.5 would be much better suited for that board size.

The point I'm trying to make is that board size and sail sizes are tightly linked, and rather independent on rider weight, in my experience. Sure, I can easily float and ride on 77l board, but it will only carry sails well up to about 5.0. Likewise in order to have a board volume that is suited to my weight, then a 62l board is great (I have an EVO 62) but it will only carry sails well from about 4.7 and down. So in order to have something that carries a 5.3 sail with ease, I still need something around 85l. On top of that it seems like board manufacturers design their boards for heavy weights. I.e. the few board that are available below 80l are not designed for sailing in slow waves with marginal wind power. So us light-weights do tend up with too "large" boards in order to have the design characteristics that we are after.

I think Thomas Traversa uses "Da Curve" boards of around 64-66 liters, but the smallest Da Curve board on offer is 76l...

I am 68 kg sail mostly bump and jump and onshore wave 17 to 30 knots and use a 86 simmer helix or 87 kode for all my sailing and 4.2 5.0 5.6 for sails

I'm around that weight. I use my 5.3 with an 83 lt Kode wave board in waves and 85 lt Kode FSW in flat/ B & J. Those are my big boards! If I was using a 6.6 sail I'ld probably have a 95 lt board but I don't have one. In that wind strength in flat/B & J I turn to my slalom gear 97 lt slalom board & 7.0 slalom sail.