I am wondering how much is it feasible to pay for a sailboard - second hand or new? I do not sail as often as i use to primarily because the South Westerlies I use to rely on are no longer as common on my home beach as they use to be. How much should I fork out for my perfect sailboard?

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gollyone said..
because the South Westerlies I use to rely on are no longer as common on my home beach as they use to be.

Can we put that down to climate change, plain old fluctuating weather or selective memory?

So many variables....


A new, or near new board will be around $2000-$3500. The bottom of the barrel that might still be worth spending money on, say $300, but thats completely subjective. theres everything in between that.

some people i know might buy a new or good 2nd hand for $1500-$3000 durably constructed board about every 5yrs, not fussed about the small design improvements that they might miss along the way. Others i know seem to need the latest and greatest $3000 board every year. Others i know mix it up and own a variety of different aged boards/types. Seems to work pretty well for all of them.

others i know bottom feed pretty hard. They continually get old gear on the cheap cheap, even free. but every 2nd session it seems something goes bang or crack

Price is also relative to what the seller perceives the board to be worth. You might find a board thats a few years old thats been bashed to buggery and leaks, but the current owner has only looked at the price that model board, that year sell for (say $1600) and thats how they set the price. You might find a board from the following year in the next ad thats in quite reasonable nick, but its had one smallish ding professionally repaired (completely invisible) which the seller sees as a big problem, so they advertise it for $800.

only you can really decide what suits your needs and budget, but i'd steer clear anything that wouldn't look out of place in a verge collection.

Climate change. Worst season anyone can remember last year... and now same again!!
so pay more - big boards or sails or foils etc.

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Mark _australia said..
Climate change. Worst season anyone can remember last year... and now same again!!
so pay more - big boards or sails or foils etc.

However all the scientists, poring over all the data as they do, have tagged all sorts of things to climate change. Snow, frost, rain, fire weather etc. But so far , in Australia at least, not wind. Elsewhere some scientists have tagged an increase in wind and wind energy outputs to climate change.

www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/en/climate-campus/australian-climate-change/australian-trends/
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-worlds-winds-are-speeding-up/

The question is asking how long is a piece of string plus there is no one perfect board. Trying to cover all bases does not work. Figure out what you enjoy in the conditions you are most likely to encounter and make sure you have the kit to do that. Everything else is a luxury regardless of budget.

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Ian K said..
However all the scientists, poring over all the data as they do, have tagged all sorts of things to climate change. Snow, frost, rain, fire weather etc. But so far , in Australia at least, not wind. Elsewhere some scientists have tagged an increase in wind and wind energy outputs to climate change.

Speaking from Sandy Point and observing the patterns over the last 40+ years:

There has always been some fluctuation between years, but for the last few years there has been a marked change in the regularity and strength of the summer Easterlies. This is a subjective observation, but the difference is so stark as to be quite obvious.

For the last two years we have also has the strong WSW storms that Sandy Point is notorious for in Spring, fail. Over the years we ran speed events from 2005 to 2013(?), we never failed to get at least a couple of stonking WSW speed days in the fortnight of the last week of September, and the first week of October. For at least the last 5 years, we would have missed out badly. In this period in almost every year there were none, and in the others, if there was one, it was quite weak or brief.

So far for spring 2020 and summer 2021, there seems to be some return to a similar pattern as 10 years ago for the WSW strorms, but the Easterlies are still few and far between.

It appears to my Amateur weather watching eyes that the position and strength of the High pressure systems that pass across southern Australia and the Southern Ocean at this time of the year, has changed over the last half dozen years. It would be interesting if meteorological data comfirms this.

(This topic probably warrants its own thread)

Pay what you can afford.

Some custom board makers are doing them for under 2K.
I just bought an old JP Radical wave 88 for $350, already had 350 of fun on it. my last board was a JP radical wave 94 which I got for $450 expecting it to only last a few sessions, but nearly 2 years later it's still hanging in.

and good thing about a cheap board, you don't feel any pressure to make them look pretty when you repair them.

Personally the asking price for a new production board is a bit steep, annnnnnnd I hate to fork out that money for something which I may hate (pretty fussy) as hardly any shops will let you go take it for a spin.

I do yearn for a new board that isn't all flexed out though.

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Ian K said..
However all the scientists, poring over all the data as they do, have tagged all sorts of things to climate change. Snow, frost, rain, fire weather etc. But so far , in Australia at least, not wind. Elsewhere some scientists have tagged an increase in wind and wind energy outputs to climate change.

www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/en/climate-campus/australian-climate-change/australian-trends/
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-worlds-winds-are-speeding-up/

I'd suggest as it does not interest them as its a minor effect that doesn't affect people much?But the abnormally warm ocean temp on west coast kills the seabreeze (thermal gradient reduction) and is very notable lately

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Mark _australia said..
Climate change. Worst season anyone can remember last year... and now same again!!
so pay more - big boards or sails or foils etc.

But last year was the BEST season I can remember in WA?? If we can't even agree on that what hope is there??

^^^ stuff-all here....... maybe you got less wind but much more often...?
If we had somewhere to sail in an easterly I'd have been fine lol

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AUS1111 said..

Mark _australia said..
Climate change. Worst season anyone can remember last year... and now same again!!
so pay more - big boards or sails or foils etc.

But last year was the BEST season I can remember in WA?? If we can't even agree on that what hope is there??

i don't agree, **** swell

Not all of WA has had a bad season, troughed out or strong Easterlies on the West coast usually means places like Albany are on. This season so far reminds me of what it was like 20-30 years ago down here.

Well I had a window today to use my big sail that's brand new in just enough wind so was excited. Then overtime at work fkd that so don't mind me I'm just sad sack hahaha

The bottom line is the hours of benefit you get for the outlay.

I was initially put off by the high price of foiling gear. When I started I chased cheap and used gear. It got me foiling and that was good. It wasn't until I got a decent carbon kit that things really clicked.

My yearly sessions went from about 120 to 230 sessions a year. I can literally go out in any noticeable wind and use the same gear for all conditions. The carbon gear is zero maintenance and super robust. In terms of hours per dollar it is far cheaper than anything else I have done.

I don't mind a board that has had a few dings that have been well repaired - a fixed ding isn't going to affect its performance only its cosmetic appeal. I would be scared witless if I forked out $3000 for a brand new board - dragging it along the sand to shore would concern me. Probably would never use a brand new board because of the constant devaluation with use. So I'll remain a "bottom feeder" and buy good quality second hand gear made by reputable manufacturers. I would still go with a bundled package - board, booms, sails and masts instead of just an expensive single board.

I'd love to be paid to sail! Until then, acquired boards from $50 to $1,100. They all have different aspects. Love the $50 board, super light, well built, fast.

Today I look at boards from 200-600, there's plenty of performance to be found in that range!

Gollyone: I've sailed with people who didn't invest and ended up with ill suited equipment that didn't allow them to be their best. They ended up getting frustrated and leaving the sport. if you are a careful spender (that is fair enough IMO), then try to demo other sailor's gear (just a few runs. You'll know straight away). If you find something that works, then hunt for it on the buy/sell section. If, after a year you can't get one, then order it brand new from dealer (Nb/ board manufacturers sometimes don't change their shapes for a few years, so it's possible to get a cheaper old model that is exactly the same as one you demoed).

It's a no brainer when the gear makes you the best you can be

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AUS1111 said..

Mark _australia said..
Climate change. Worst season anyone can remember last year... and now same again!!
so pay more - big boards or sails or foils etc.

But last year was the BEST season I can remember in WA?? If we can't even agree on that what hope is there??

Yeah, I had a great season last year, except the whole of Feb had almost no wind. I kept kiting up until April. It was good. I wouldn't say the best, but still good.

This year is dismal.

Despite having a similar volume, it is amazing how different boards can be. I would rather fork out $3000 and buy a variety of boards in the $50-$400 range (20 different boards!) rather than putting all my eggs in one basket and buying a brand new board for $3k Ok, so some of the cheap boards might be duds (anything made by Tyronsea or Bombora for example) but hopefully given that I have finally worked out my perfect volume for different weather conditions, I can snag several boards that I can actually use and like.

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gollyone said..
I would rather fork out $3000 and buy a variety of boards in the $50-$400 range (20 different boards!) rather than putting all my eggs in one basket and buying a brand new board for $3k Ok,

Exactly what I tell my friends. In US nowadays for $1K you can totally buy 3-4 year old used board and a nice rig. Prices are good. I can even grab used 2019/2020 severne nano in A condition for $800. But it's like pro cameras. The best camera is not necessarily Nikon D15 or D5 but the one you know and can operate with your eyes closed. Similar for boards, it takes time to get to know one. So IMHO flipping through boards can be a bit counterproductive. Would love to test that Nano but don't have space to store 3 boards. Still funny how every time I get interested in a board, I convince and wind up myself that it will definitely this time define the laws of physics. Same when I bought 2 Blade pros at 80% off. I expected some sort of wizardry but after sailing them for a few times think that they are just light good balanced sails.

But hey definitely need guys buying new stuff so we can get gear reviews and buy these a year or two later at 70% off. I think best deals come from people who buy new and manage to test in a single session.