Fanfare, WOW!!! I can only imagine how you 'rub yourself up'. But hey you might get lucky n pickup if you post on the kiting forums! Send em a pic n you will score for sure!

Not sure if the reason is the harness lines, 28'', or my bad technic, but in relatively choppy waters, i constantly get disconnected from the harness lines......suggestions?

Raise the boom.

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Shifu said..
I dont think there's anything to be gained for blasting type sailing with line two hand widths apart. Try 2.5 you will have more stability.

I totally find the opposite. Mine are 1/2 hand apart. I tweak on the first couple of runs until I can sail comfortably no hands.
I'm on freeride-wave sails.

If having them further apart is better why not 5 hands apart? Or 12?

Wave sails are small n relatively flat. CE would only move a small amount on the gusts. I use 8m+ sails. CE moves a bit on gusts. Hence the wider spaced HL,to overcome the gusty twitchy unbalanced feel. This what ive experienced. Wider makes the sail more stable but you lose the ability to feel correct sail trim.

Ok so ive finally tested some 36inch HL. 2 hands apart.Yep thats EXACTLY what i needed for my 189cm. So comfy easy sailing. Seat Harness taking the load.Fully recommend long lines. Give em a go!

Long lines always - check out Jem Hall video

I am 186 cm & run 31 inch harness lines on the 8.6 & above & go down to 29 inch below the 8.6 as they tend to bounce out on the chop every so often, thought I usually have the boom a tad lower on the smaller rigs

All these rules based on arm and hand length have no logical reasoning behind them.
The correct length is adjustable:
If the wind is light your run them short
If the wind is strong you run them long
If you go deep off the wind on flat water you have them short as there isnt actually mush apparent wind then
If you go deep off the wind over swell you might have them long for saftey.
Cross wind is usually the longest setting and up wind is usually the shortest Idealy for speed you always want to be almost being lifted but if there is chop and swell sometimes you need give up a bit of efficiency for control.

If the wind is light / patchy / gusty I have them long so I can get in and out of the harness. Especially subplaning as you can't take the rig back to help you get in. I tend to be hooked in all the time unless it drops below 5kts..
I have adjustable and run my upwind ones shorter if I'm speedsailing..I'm no expert but I've just found this works for me.

As with ALL sailboarding what may work for you, could be terrible for someone else.
The elbow rule just gives you a starting point which is functional for most sailors.

Hey Olskool, I could be off the mark here but ............... you haven't done a whole lot of windsurfing for a number of years then all of a sudden you are starting to do a whole lot of windsurfing again. Have you considered that your tennis/golf elbow is simply your body adjusting and isn't completely related to harness line length?

For example, I've only been windsurfing for two years now but remember that after the first few months of windsurfing I had really bad tennis/golf elbow which was actually sorted out by my friend who does remedial massage and I'm not affected by it so much now ( I was almost vomiting from the pain when she did it, a 13/10 pain rating for sure). For a beginner like me, Simon's comments on line length ring true, however I'm lazy and simply "adjust" my line length for the conditions by raising or lowering the boom.

Harness lines for race boards (longboards) are usually longer , and boom is a lot higher to allow you to rail the board more easily. a couple of pics from nationals a few years ago

Gday Paddles n BC yep ive been getting a LOT of TOW. Mostly reaching on the RB. Was getting a lot of fatigue /tennis elbow from underhand grip n 34inch lines. Since getting 36s im a lot straighter arms. Also tends go make me use overhand grip. Bicep n shoulder arent loaded anywhere near as much. Few tennis elbow issues since. Agreed on HL lengths for upwind sailing. I take ALL peoples ideas n experiment to see what works for me. Boomwise i normally rig quite high for lighter wind. (5 on Ezzys)Around 15-18kts ive found if i drop the boom about 30-50mm the board is easier to keep flatter on the water.Always Keen to learn n advance my sailboarding skills.
Soon to be getting saturdays off from work. Keen to venture from GB n come sail the Sandstone with you guys.
Thanks Guys