I've been sailboarding on and off for several years and am moderately competent. However, my knowledge of gear is about zero, having just bought what ever was available for cheap in the past.

My current and only board is 260cm. I've no idea what the volume is but it's rather small. The only markings on the board itself is the word 'Speed' in large letters near the front. My largest sail is an mid/late 90's V8 6.0 metre. The board and sail are a good combination in strong winds, but it does require a lot of wind to really get going.

I only weight about 67kg.

I've finally got the opportunity to get a whole range of new gear, but I've no idea how to go about selecting it.

The main thing I need to know is how to select a board. I usually sail on a choppy and wide river estuary in moderate winds, but need to able to handle slightly lighter winds also (since my current board handles the strong winds just fine).

How do I figure out what length, volume, width, etc I need?

Any tips for how to select new sails would be appreciated as well.

Hi Brass,

Last year I got back into windsurfing and bought modern boards. I have two boards, a Tabou Rocket 140 and Tabou Rocket 105. The number refers to the volume.

Older boards normally were numbered according to their length. While both boards are quite different in volume, they are both around 2.4 meters long. Most modern boards are around this length and can be up to 20 cms shorter and still have a volume of around 100 litres.

You will find the modern boards to be shorter and wider compared to older boards. There is probably good and bad with having long thin boards compared to short wide boards so see if you like the modern style. You will probably find the modern short wide board will get going in lower winds than the long thin board.

With sails, I don't think there is one over riding trend. I found the biggest change is that back in the 90s people's biggest sail was often a 6 or 6.5. Nowdays people quite happily use 7, 8, 9 or even 10 meter sails up to wind speeds of close to 20 knots.

What gear to pick? If you want to get planing in winds of around 10 knots you will need a fairly big sail, of 8 meters or more plus having a larger volume board of around 130 to 140 litres will make getting going easier, unless you have excellent technique.

What area of Australia do you live in and whats the wind like there?

Thanks, Mobydisc, that's all good info. It did surprise me when I started looking at getting a new board that they all appear to be what I used to call a "short board", and "long boards" don't seem to exist anymore. :-)

So it's making more sense now.

I live near Launceston and mostly sail on the Tamar River at Rosevears (Loch Lea), where we get a good afternoon sea breeze from the north west most summer days. It varies from around 10 to 20 knots (guessing) most afternoons, but of course you do get the extremes either side. I did sail in 45 knots (measured) up at Musselroe Bay once with my other sail, a 4.2 metre, but didn't spend much time standing up.

So maybe my current board would be OK with just a larger sail? Although a floatier board would certainly help me get home on those days where the sea breeze dies off very quickly when I'm on the other side of the river (nearly a kilometre wide).

I guess what I really need to know is how do I figure out what the ideal volume is (eg, based on my weight, wind, and/or other factors)?

There's little or no opportunity to try a board out as there are no shops anywhere near where I live, and I'll probably have to buy online from a mainland retailer.

Perhaps you should consider joining a GPS Challenge team down there. There may be one with members close by to where you live and your team mates would be willing to help you out and give you advice.

Its great fun seeing how and where you have gone.

Tassie seems like a great place for windsurfing so have a great time doing it.

Get on a modern board. Trust me , you wont believe the difference.

These days board width and volume is a common measure. For your weight something around 90-100 litres should give enough float and work in the windrange you sail.

So I would look at a Free Style Wave (FSW) boards for all round B&J, small waves, blasting. Or if your're more into speed then a Freerace board - they're fast but still maneuverable.

The newer boards being wider are a lot more stable for slogging and plane up really well.

Just to give you an idea, I'm just under 90kg and my biggest board is 111L, the other 4 are 90L or less.

Thanks all - the information posted so far has been very helpful, please keep it coming.

If forum rules allow it, can you suggest any brands and in particular, any online retailers that you'd recommend for boards?

(I already use windurfingsales for online purchase of sails/masts/booms/etc)

BTW, how'd you like the mid-80's 4.2 metre sail in my avatar? :-)

It's all delaminating now, but I still use it in strong winds.

Select to expand quote

Brass Monkey said...

Thanks, Mobydisc, that's all good info. It did surprise me when I started looking at getting a new board that they all appear to be what I used to call a "short board", and "long boards" don't seem to exist anymore. :-)

So it's making more sense now.

I live near Launceston and mostly sail on the Tamar River at Rosevears (Loch Lea), where we get a good afternoon sea breeze from the north west most summer days. It varies from around 10 to 20 knots (guessing) most afternoons, but of course you do get the extremes either side...

Longboards still exits. They just aren't popular on this site. They are more popular in racing circles these days.
http://www.lbwindsurfing.com/

For the wind range you are looking for a modern recreational step-tail long-board like Kona One, RRD Longrider and Tabou Windstyler would be a worthwhile option. They are more versatile than a short-board in more wind-varied gusty conditions. They have good control in chop on the move and you won't end up drifting downwind when there isn't enough wind. They point upwind well both planing and not. They are also quick enough.

www.exocet-original.com/newspaper/07June30/longboards.asp
www.windsurfingmag.com/kona
www.deepfried.tv/news/default.cfm?id=1558
www.tabou-boards.net/index.php/Boards/Windsurf/Windstyler
http://www.lbwindsurfing.com/review/kona-one-thoughts-and-views/

Well, a sudden change of plans is now in order.

I've just got in from my first sail a long time which was cut short by my ~15 year old sail being completely shattered. I don't know how else to describe it. One minute, everything was fine, the next thing I was water starting and noticed two enormous gaping holes in the largest panel. Thankfully I was close to shore, and when packing up, I realised that there were several rips in every panel (mostly smaller ones). It seems that many spontaneous tears occurred simultaneously somehow (there was no particularly dramatic impact - just a couple of normal flips of the sail by a strongish wind).

Anyone seen this happen before?

Anyhow, the upshot of all this is that I now have an urgent need for new sails (with my only remaining sail being a 25 year old 4.2 metre sail). So I'm now going to get two new sails, and see how they go with the current board before making a decision on a new board.

I'm quite light (about 67 kg), so I'm probably going to get sails only a little larger than my old ones. Probably a 5 metre and a 7 metre.

Is there a list of sailboarding colloquial terms somewhere? Like a glossary of sailboarding terms for the novice/casual/disconnected sailboarder who's trying to buy gear and can't figure out what all the styles are for because I don't really know any other sailboarders?

If not, maybe somebody can create a sticky topic for it here. :-)

Or just give me some definitions here?

When looking for sails, here are some of the styles I've seen mentioned:

Wave
Freestyle
Freeride
Freerace
Slalom
Speed
Cross Over
Longboard

I know what 'Wave' and 'Longboard' mean, and I think I know what 'Slalom' means.

But what about all the others? Can you guys help me out and provide some definitions/descriptions of these (and of any others you can think of)?

if you dont know what they mean then i suggest getting a freeride...like me

My guess at sail style definitions. Please feel free to correct or amend. Perhaps definitive definitions could be included in a Seabreeze wiki?


Freestyle - designed for planing freestyle, light and flicky. Very flat with little rotation, similar to wave sails but lighter construction.

Freeride - no cams, designed for easy rigging and easy sailing. Speed is a priority but not at the expense of maneuvering and handling.

Freerace - detuned slalom/race sail. Fewer cams, smaller luff pocket and should be easier to rig and less mast specific. Emphasis of speed and locked in blasting over easy handling.

Speed - similar to slalom/race but designed to be used in stronger winds on flat water. Possibly in the same range as slalom sails but in the smaller sizes.

Cross Over - not sure. Maybe crossing over from waves to flatwater?

Longboard sail - Tighter leech, deeper draft (spelling?). Designed for more power in light winds. More power for size but lower control. This type of sail is regaining popularity in windsurfing.

OK, I've made some decisions...

I've ordered a 5.3 metre and a 6.6 metre Loft 02 freeride sails. Both of these are larger than both of my old sails respectively. I also had to order a new mast to go with the smaller sail, and being my first RDM I also had to order a new extension to go with the mast.

So I'm now anxiously awaiting the arrival of all this new gear. It will be interesting to see how well the 6.6 handles the lighter winds (remember I'm only 67 kg), and if I'll end up needing a new board or not for the light wind days.

Cool, new toys are fun fun fun!