I currently own a Futura 111l. I sail mainly on Morton Bay, Brisbane. My knees are not what they used to be and although the Futura is great fun, I'm looking for a board to use in +18kts and the large wind driven chop we get on Morton Bay that can soak up the bumps and be easier on my knees.

I weigh 87kgs. I've read a few articles on line and have checked out the buy and sell on SB and am thinking about a 100l FSW by either JP, RRD or Fanatic.

My question is, will a carbon / pro construction FSW be sufficiently easier on my knees compared to my current Futura or will I need to go to a more forgiving sandwich construction?

From experience i think the Carbon will not give you much if any relief on your knees.
You could however spend a bit extra a get some better foot pads.
[<avatar] I have the JP FSW in carbon and a Naish Koncept in wood. The Naish pads are double thick and the ride is so much more pleasant.
From all reports the RRD's are a comfy ride too.

John they are all sandwich construction.
More carbon = stiffer board = harsher ride.

An RRD in all biaxial glass may be flexier but I dunno if your knees will feel the difference or not.

If your looking at new boards, the new pro edition jps are s-glass which are suppose to be more forgiving??
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In my limited experience, going from fibreglass boards to two different carbon boards, they are very stiff and will be worse for your knees.

If a board is the same shape in carbon or glass, I think the glass one will absorb more of the impacts than the carbon one.

You should also try an Exocet FSW, they have double density pads and a smoother riding rocker. It's smoother than the JP. I've had both and have bad knees. I'm using the JP now, it not bad but just not as smooth as the exo.

Will a carbon JP FSW be easier on my knees than my no carbon construction futura?

probably (generally wave boards are more pleasant in chop), regardless of construction, just the board shape alone seems to make a noticeable difference with comfort in chop. but it still might be a difficult question to answer unless someone has ridden both specific boards

if nothing else, you'll probably have more control and confidence when the wind is fully cranking riding the FSW, which is nice in itself. Wave boards tend to feel like they are part of "you", rather than "you" just being taken along for the ride

i agree with waiting4wind - and all of the exocet wave type boards i've tried have been comfy and nice to ride

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John340 said..

Will a carbon JP FSW be easier on my knees than my no carbon construction futura?

John, I reckon the board shape has much more impact on the ride than the materials. My carbon FSW is much more forgiving than my wooden slalom board.

There is a noticeable difference with carbon in that it feels crisper but that is not the same as harsher on the knees. It's a bit like flicking a piece of glass vs a piece of wood. With the same effort it hurts much the same but feels slightly different.

I like full timber myself.

agree with the guys that shape is a big player.

one really big player is whether the board has underlays on the pads or not.