Just got back from my second decent session after getting my new gear. Even though it was gusty as anything (when isn't it here), I decided it was time to take the plunge (pun intended) and get serious about learning to use the harness.

It turns out the hardest part for me to begin with was the actual hooking in itself. The next hurdle was de-powering the sail when an unexpected gust caught me off balance. This didn't work most of the time so I ended up on top of the sail quite a bit.

After 20 mins or so of cruising round the wind picked up a bit and was able to plane in the harness. What an awesome feeling, like laying back in an armchair on cruise control. This didn't last long till I experienced my first catapult. I held on to the boom and was a bit of a laugh.

Now just hoping for some decent wind in the coming weeks. With weeks between decent sessions, my progression is going very slow. Enough to start looking at roof racks for my car to go searching for some decent wind.

Well done - I still remember the first time I got into the harness, takes it all to a whole new level.

Good for you braaad, the smiles are only going to get bigger

Well done. Now that you've learned to get into it, the hardest part is getting out of it. Welcome to catapult territory! Every improvement has its downside.

When you feel a catapult starting, and trust me- it will happen from now on, try to pull yourself closer to the mast. That should help depower the sail and reduce the body slam you would otherwise get.

Getting into the harness will improve your enjoyment immensely.

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braaad said...



It turns out the hardest part for me to begin with was the actual hooking in itself. The next hurdle was de-powering the sail when an unexpected gust caught me off balance. This didn't work most of the time so I ended up on top of the sail quite a bit.

I think the trickiest part for me was learning to use the power of the gusts instead of trying to de-power the sail. If you are firmly in your straps then they should only make you go faster.

Of course, it is when you are not in the straps that you are going to get catapulted

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FormulaNova said...

I think the trickiest part for me was learning to use the power of the gusts instead of trying to de-power the sail. If you are firmly in your straps then they should only make you go faster.

Of course, it is when you are not in the straps that you are going to get catapulted

For sure, but it's hard for me in the conditions here, sometimes not enough wind to even support my weight off the rig, then gusts to 15 knots. So I have to stand up with all my weight on the board in the lulls. I should have been using a bigger sail today, but I want to get the hang of the harness first or my arms will be dead before I do much.

As for the footstraps, when planing I have my feet right beside there respective strap, just haven't got as far as putting them in yet

I think you are actually more likely to get catapulted in light but gusty breezes because you tend to stand more vertical in this instance with your weight hanging forwards.
In a stronger breeze you lean out more and you move your centre of gravity back, which makes a catapult less likely, but more spectacular if it does happen.

But it's all ripping good fun,... until somebody loses an eye.

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pweedas said...

I think you are actually more likely to get catapulted in light but gusty breezes because you tend to stand more vertical in this instance with your weight hanging forwards.

Spot on. That's what was happening to me.

the harness is great, i remember when i first got into it, i thought i was hooked, but once i got into the harness and footstraps just cruising thats when i got hooked :D

what a feeling......Braaad don't think about it, just lean back pointing downwind, get in the footstraps and enjoin the ride, hold to the boom until you get confy with the harness......now you just seeing the top of the iceberg, if you are having fun now, wait until you get really hooked.

Who here has their harness hook pointing up? I do. I do not really remember when I decided having the hook up was the way for me, it was a long time ago. However I found whenever I tried sailing with the hook down, even though it was a bit easier hooking in, I felt more prone to catapults.

Having the hook up or down makes no difference on the likelyhood of you having a catapult.
It makes it easier to unhook if you see one coming but mostly they happen so fast that you don't have time to do much about it anyway, except think "oh sh!t! dear me!" as you fly gracefully over the top and impact the water in a manner which is highly amusing to everyone except yourself.
Having the hook facing up presents the problem of continually coming out of the harness when you don't want to, particularly in choppy conditions. I did try it once many years back but gave it up as a bad idea after just one session.
I would advise that you don't use it because if you get used to it you will end up having to deal with the deficits of the tecnique forever.
But then i'm just an old person and "everyone knows old folk are useless and can't do anything." (quote- Abe Simpson, Homers dad. font of all knowledge and wisdom)

hey there all.. new guy here to both the site and windsurfing, been at it for about 3 months now on an old long board and rig and more recently a newer rig, new mast and (05 7.0 v8) and been having a great time even got the old board planing a few times, but like braaad have a few questions (probably normal ones for a beginner). just lashed out on a new board ( 120 litre x-cite ride) and some more new rig last week (merry xmas matty).... girlfriend is gunna kill me if she finds out how much ive been spending ... and my god what a rocket ship. so first time on the plane on this board and fishtailing all over the place, couple more times out and developing more control, got the harness fairly sussed, plenty of spectaculer catapults getting there, but the foot straps are in the learners position and still cant seem to get back far enough to get in them, whats the trick, and mast track position ?, clueless. any help appreciated... thanx peoples

Hey X Sport guy, welcome!

To get into the straps for the first time, you really need to sheet in. You probably think you're sheeting in now, but I can guarantee you're not... You should have all your weight in the harness, and both hands should just have light pressure -- if you can let go one hand but not the other then your lines are in the wrong place.

Beginners (me included) tend to have their harness lines too far forwards. This stops you sheeting in properly.

So to get to the straps: Get in the harness, bear downwind, as you pop onto the plane put your front foot in the strap (most of your weight on back foot), then turn back across the wind and stab your back foot into the strap. Easy!
You'll get it in the next few sessions, and wonder why you found it hard before, I guarantee it

As above......and it all gets better from here on in!

Hey X sport guy, you're doing great but maybe I can help a little. I've found most beginners have a problems with handling and footstraps because they don't commit fully to the harness. You think you are but you still have weight on the board. All your weight should be carried on the harness. This means that you can move your feet without upsetting the trim of the board. The front foot strap should be easy, there is no weight on your foot and you can just slip it in. The back strap is not so easy. To get the feel of it I moved my strap to the centre position and it made it a whole lot easier. When you move it out again I can only quote what someone said to me when I was learning "a leap of faith, you just have to do it". Just remember to commit to the harness, that is what it is for.

How long do you set your harness lines?
Do they have to be set a little longer for a seat harness?
And what if you are a little vertically challenged?
When I was trying to hook in the other day for the first time I was finding it felt like I was having to pull sail over to hook in and maybe the harness lines were a little short. I lowered the boom a little to make it easier but still felt a little stretched hooking in.

Hey! Another beginner.. windsurfing must be making a comeback!
A couple of tips..

1) Boom height. Set the boom up so that when you're standing on the board beside the mast, the boom is around shoulder to chin high. This will help you get your weight off your feet (go faster, easier to get in the straps) It does mean that you have to move back on the board, and get the sail raked more to hook into the harness lines, but work with it!

2) Mast foot position. Measure (and mark) 135cm from the tail of the board. Centre your mast foot on 135 to start with. Forward of 135 will stick the board to the water, and back will make it squirrely and more prone to spinout.

There've been a few good threads here in the past few months on getting sorted.
Try this one for a start..

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=31010

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OceanBlue64 said...

How long do you set your harness lines?
Do they have to be set a little longer for a seat harness?
And what if you are a little vertically challenged?
When I was trying to hook in the other day for the first time I was finding it felt like I was having to pull sail over to hook in and maybe the harness lines were a little short. I lowered the boom a little to make it easier but still felt a little stretched hooking in.

Harness lines are personal preference thing depending on your stature (vertically challengedness!) sailing style, harness type, spread of the lines on the boom, and sometimes what you've had for breakfast.

You want to be able to straighten your arms while hooked in without having to spread your arms much wider than your shoulders.

Keeping the rig away from you lets it be more vertical, so catching more wind, and gives you a bit more time to react if things get a bit crazy. It's also easier on your arms because when you adjust the boom you can use your torso and shoulders to do the work rather than your forearms and biceps.

It's hard to know what length to get until you've been hooked in, in the straps and blasting because it's not the sort of geometry that you can easily simulate for yourself.

Modern trends are toward longer lines than previously, but you really just have to find what is most comfortable for you. If there's someone handy with a similar build, see what they are using, and maybe ask to try theirs (just don't catapult through their sail!)

Don't discount adjustable lines - you pay a bit more, but you can change them as often as you like without having to buy a whole new set.

I'd go with what you've got for a while, get the other things sorted, and then you'll have a better idea of how much longer you'd like them to be.

Oh, and before I forget... put that boom back up! A low boom is not your friend... it might seem easier, but in the longer term, you'll just learn bad habits which you then have to un-learn.

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555 said...

Oh, and before I forget... put that boom back up! A low boom is not your friend... it might seem easier, but in the longer term, you'll just learn bad habits which you then have to un-learn.

Agreed, you might not be able to hook in whilst not planing, but when you're planing/blasting, the sail leans back and you'll be able to hook in, my boom's nearly at the top of the luff cutout, (eye level for me). Once you're fully sheeted, in harness/straps, leaning back with arms nearly fully stretched out you'll see, and besides all that, the higher the boom, the more control and speed (I think)

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Sailhack said...

555 said...

Oh, and before I forget... put that boom back up! A low boom is not your friend... it might seem easier, but in the longer term, you'll just learn bad habits which you then have to un-learn.

Agreed, you might not be able to hook in whilst not planing, but when you're planing/blasting, the sail leans back and you'll be able to hook in, my boom's nearly at the top of the luff cutout, (eye level for me). Once you're fully sheeted, in harness/straps, leaning back with arms nearly fully stretched out you'll see, and besides all that, the higher the boom, the more control and speed (I think)

Are you guys kidding????
High boom is your enemy!!!You have compromised control with a boom that is too high.You need to be able to put downward pressure on your boom when jybing bottom turning etc.High boom also lifts the nose of the board inducing the old tail walk in strong winds.The only reason i would put my boom higher than my shoulders is if i was under powered and needed the extra lift to get on the plane.Chest to shoulder high is optimal for good control.

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stribo said...
Are you guys kidding????
High boom is your enemy!!!You have compromised control with a boom that is too high.You need to be able to put downward pressure on your boom when jybing bottom turning etc.High boom also lifts the nose of the board inducing the old tail walk in strong winds.The only reason i would put my boom higher than my shoulders is if i was under powered and needed the extra lift to get on the plane.Chest to shoulder high is optimal for good control.

Nope.. not kidding. You want to hang your weight off the boom. Personally I find it easier to hang from something that is above me rather than something that is beside me. But then I'm not a cirque du soleil performer - those guys don't seem to have heard about gravity! (or maybe it is more to do with the fact that their arms are bigger than my legs?)

Sailhack may be a little extreme with his boom at eye height, but I seem to recall mentioning shoulder to chin high earlier. This is good.. we agree on shoulder high!

A low (stomach to pec high) boom will give you a gammy stance, and work lots of other muscles!

Even in jibes, it's easier to pressure the boom downwards with it higher, and it will also encourage you to lean more forward..

A high boom should not lift the nose of the board - not sheeting in enough will do that - and that's the first thing I'd look at if you were getting the tailwalk happening. (second thing would be mast foot too far back?) If you're sheeted in, and hanging your weight down off the boom, the nose will be well stuck down - even on a huge board in big wind.

"Even in jibes, it's easier to pressure the boom downwards with it higher, and it will also encourage you to lean more forward..

A high boom should not lift the nose of the board - not sheeting in enough will do that - and that's the first thing I'd look at if you were getting the tailwalk happening. (second thing would be mast foot too far back?) If you're sheeted in, and hanging your weight down off the boom, the nose will be well stuck down - even on a huge board in big wind."

Can't agree with you here although this could be correct if your using a slalom board and a seat harness.But on a short board when you don't have alot of track to play with and you have a more upright stance, too higher boom creates control issues.Here is a good exampleof boom hight for perfect control on short board in high winds.

Here's Finian ...Big fella ,seat harness massively long lines.His boom is only three quarters up the boom opening in the sail.

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stribo said...


Here's Finian ...Big fella ,seat harness massively long lines.His boom is only three quarters up the boom opening in the sail.

On a speed board in a 'ditch' in 35 plus knots, no doubt with a kg or two of lead in his vest?? Not really usual sailing for most of us! Still, his boom is well in the top half of the boom cut out (which is a dodgy measurement by the way, because the cutouts vary between manufacturers, and models)

That first guy (is it you?) looks like he might need to change down a sail size - he's certainly not sheeted right in and looks to be concentrating on keeping the board on the water. A tad over powered perhaps...

Have a look at Jem Hall's Beginner to Winner DVD - he discusses it there. Basically about getting weight off your feet, and off your hands which will make things as efficient as possible. If you're over powered, then being less efficient can work in your favour of course!

Shoulder height doesn't count as low - that's pretty comfortable, and I only run my boom a little higher than that. It seems to help with early planing, speed, maneouvability on the water and in the air, popping the board off the water, and also landing jumps nicely. The only downside I've found is that it makes waterstarting in marginal wind more tricky.

Oh, and to qualify - I use this boom height on everything: 78 litre wave board, 104 litre freestyle board, 155 litre Go, and even a Starboard Start!

Stribo, you might be right! In my defence my comment of eye height is when setting up with the mast vertical, and probably between chin to eye (don't measure exactly)

The sailing I mainly do is flat/choppy with 6.5-7.5 sails rigged on a 430, although got introduced to some smallish waves yesterday...I reckon the setup I had wasn't suited! I must admit, I use adjustable lines, and have them fully adjusted, I've been thinking of shortening them lately, which goes against what I've said before!?!

Also, I wear a waist harness (sometimes 'chest harness' after it slides up if I'm not concentrating).

Just thought I'd mention this to backup my comment. I've tried with a low boom, but found waterstarting/planing/control better by lifting it.

Got a pic, but actually have lifted the boom since. (Pic's not as clear as yours, not even mentioning my crappy technique!!! I think I was coming in upwind at the time?)


Been thinking of looking into a seat harness, I'll definitely have to lower the boom if I do...

No that's not me 555.
But having taught many people to sail,my advice on boom hight has helped many of them when it comes to controlability in jybes and harness technique.As you well know there is no set and forget rigging in windsurfing ...It depends on the conditions on the day .
Tune tune tune.

Thanks for all that info... I am going to go play with boom heights tomorrow afternoon if the winds are ok.

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stribo said...

No that's not me 555.
But having taught many people to sail,my advice on boom hight has helped many of them when it comes to controlability in jybes and harness technique.As you well know there is no set and forget rigging in windsurfing ...It depends on the conditions on the day .
Tune tune tune.

agree stribo. it all depends on the conditions on the day and i also agree that a lower boom increases control.


the top image is me sailing in 30-40 knots on a 4.7m KA Kaos and a 70lt NXS nuwave with a 10" or there abouts KA wave fin.

the gear i borrowed from peter at caloundra wind and surf. because the gear wasn't setup for me i did a fair bit of tuning during the session to get it right. firstly after a few runs i increased downhaul and lowered the boom due to short harness lines and to gain more control. i over did the lowering of the boom by about 2 inches which is when the photo above was taken. the board was lifting so i felt that the extra 2 inches in boom height would have settled it down. the downhaul sorted the sail though as i had no issues with sheeting and wasn't overpowered or needing to change down. if anyhting a little more outhaul could have been used but the wind is dynamic and we must rig for the lulls and the gusts.

although i am not a pro i thought i'd chime in with how i approach setup which i have really messed with because of the range of gear i sail from big formula kit right down to small wave gear.

firstly i stick my mast in the rear of the track on all of my boards. the only time i move it forward an inch or 2 is on my formula kit in 20knots and big chop where i need the nose to drive down through the swells or on acourse if i need better upwind performance. typically setting your your mast forward in the track will increase tail walking as you are increasing the area of the board in the water and therefore the lift. i have also found it increases spinout but don't know why this is?

with regard boom height i approach it 2 ways.

on formula kit/slalom kit and in light winds i set it between shoulder and chin height. and if it is really light i'll go for eye height. once i start to have handling issues, whether that be due to wind strength or water state i lower it 1-2 inches. i also use long harness lines say 24-26.

with my wave kit or high wind slalom kit i set it lower more around chest and shoulder height. i also use shorter harness lines on this type of kit, say 22-24 and typically stand more upright. i raise the boom 1-2 inches if conditions go marginal and i am struggling to get on the plane.

for braaad and OB64 a tip to handle gusts are.

don't sheet out. that will releases the downward pressure on the mast and will set you in launch mode. followed by a rail bite/tail walk and a crash.

the way to ride the gusts is to compress your body. ie. lift your knees up and make your body more compact and lower. same thing you do when trying to get planing. hanging off the boom. this also works when you are planing downwind and a wave approaches. compressing your body will allow you to absorb the wave and stay in control.

the opposite can be said in the lulls. when the lull hits push your hips in towards the rig.

the big tip for all learners is that falling backwards is a better outcome in the long run. sure at first you will probably over do it by leaning back to far but it teaches you to use the rig to hold you up and not the board.

Spot on Gestalt!!
For you beginers never be afraid to tune. If it doesn,t feel right move it a cupla centremeters,outhaul it ,downhaul it,let it off a bit etc. untill it feels good and stable. After a while you get to know your gear and you start setting it up pretty close to or spot on everytime you go to the beach.
Tune tune tune!!!

As a relative newcomer I would say that I try to cope with the gusts/waves by bending my knees and getting my weight lower to the board. Yes, my first harness runs ended in following the sail over and planting my face in it. Doesn't happen so often now - only two-three times a session.


In variable conditions, leaning out makes it more likely that I end up in the drink as I hit a calm patch.