Apart from the obvious what makes a board a longboard?
I am interested in trying them out and I see a lot of old big windsurfering boards on the market and wonder whether they would be suitable or not.

As a generalisation I would consider a longboard to be

3.7 - 3.8m long
Centreboard

Apart from the Mistral Equipe, what other brands, models would you look out for?

Go kona my friend. look up kona there the masters when it comes to longboarding my friend

what is the price of a kona

Salty - when you say "suitable" what is it you want to do.

Many of the old longboards you see on ebay are Windsurfer One Designs, and are still used for racing in many locations.

Early longboards (that were great racers)
Windsurfer One Design
Mistral Competition SST

Later Raceboards (late 80's through 90's)
Mistral - Equipes, Pan Am, Equipe II,
Bic Bamba
Tiga World Cup Racing
Alpha 220 Pro Race
F2 Lightening Race
AHD???

Take a look at http://www.lbws.com.au/ There is lots of info there about the different boards.

Jb

Hi Jaybee

Not interested in competition racing but some of the pics on the Longboard website makes them look very graceful when planing. I like to see how fast I could get one going.

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Old Salty said...

Hi Jaybee

Not interested in competition racing but some of the pics on the Longboard website makes them look very graceful when planing. I like to see how fast I could get one going.

Salty, I have a RRD Longrider, and yeah they are graceful when planing. If a shortboard is a porsch, then cruising on a longboard is like driving down Highway 61 in a big Chevy convertible with the top down and Neil Young on the radio. The step-tail that the Longrider and the Kona have does actually work - when you get "planing" it sails on the shorter section, you look down at your feet and the back of the board is above the water - looks strange at first. I took my GPS out one day out of interest, and peaked at 24Knts, and it wasn't really windy (using a 6.4).

I've heard some pretty rave reviews on the Konas as well

Man Easty - that is 2 beers now. Exactly what I am after - cruising down Highway 61 in a open top Chevy burbling between my legs but perhaps Pink Floyd rather than Neil Young

Actually longboards are back.... All the usual companies are making them again.
Seems to be real demand for the 1 x board, 1 x sail, with 5-25knot range.
Sailing at any spot, any time is back in vogue. The idea of joining a club and storing your gear on site with midweek sailing does have appeal.
I think that is how windsurfing got so popular in the first place?...

tabou windstyler is pretty cool aswell. good in the waves and with a 7.2 race sail :)

Love the idea of the old chevy. It always surprises me in 5-10 knots in a beautiful sunny afternoon that people are sitting around waiting for wind. I've been eyeing off the Konas over the last couple of weeks. Is it possible to SUP and sail on the one board - anyone done this (with a centreboard)?

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windtechno said...

Go kona my friend. look up kona there the masters when it comes to longboarding my friend

Hi folks. Miss Newbie here. I have been windsurfing for about 18 months now. I got into it because, as a surfer, I was getting sick of the lack of waves happening, which always seemed to coincide with winds. That and not being aggressive, meant that in the lineup I usually missed out on all the waves. But I have seen the light, hallelujah! I have a Kona and love it! I only go out in the ocean, and it is just great riding the bommie breaks and the longshore swells. I have seen my share of whales in the last few weeks! And the dolphins are curious too!! And I have seen some cute little sharks as well!!! The beauty is that I can enjoy my time on the water no matter what the conditions, whether it is 5 knots or 25. I find myself windsurfing the longboard in a similar way to longboard surfing. It is a totally different style of riding to shortboards. I look for the "longboard" waves, and avoid "gnarly" stuff. I don't use footstraps, as I find they only get in the way, and I need the freedom to "walk" around on the board. Today I was out in 15-21k (BOM records) with a 5m sail and really ripping it. Going out was just as much fun as the cruise back in, blasting through the waves and getting some air! Being a longboard, it is more "cruisy" than a shortboard, but it is by no means slow when in a good wind. My favourite places are Diamond Head (which has a big underwater reef which creates an amazing swell), Trial Bay (beneath the Gaol) and Byron Bay (warm water, gentle waves, and a local groove). I have heard that it can be used as a SUP, and considering it myself. However, I think it would be less stable that a dedicated SUP. I think that with a SUP with mast track would a compromise the "fun factor" of windsurfing that you get with the Kona, by it's specific design. My smallest sail is 4.8m, which I used to learn with, and have used on a windy 50k day at Trial Bay (and was seriously overpowered but geez I flew :-) ), and the largest is 6.2m "Hotsail Maui Deva" which is designed for petite ladies like myself, and has a cute floral motif which I love, which I use in 8k and less conditions. 10/10 for fun factor!!!

I would not recommend a specific brand in particular.

Longboards are longboards - what you want to accomplish with them can be done on most of the old and new formats. Could be a combo of widening your sailing horizons, good old shape, going out more often, social, teaching friends, catching SUP-type waves, trying freestyle in lighter winds, etc.

I say that because there is no magic one-package - they all have pros and cons. Yes a shorter longboard (Kona) will allow for catching waves, and it almost gives a short board feeling, at times. But a friend of mine who's an accomplished racer and freestylist is ditching his - slow, don't point up enough, and poor on freestyle (having tried the latter, I must agree). But otherwise, great piece, but hate the rig that comes with it in North America.

Old longboards such as old Windsurfer and Mistral are not good in waves, but cater to a wider range of winds, are inexpensive, and great for freestyle and general shape.

I have tried SUPs-with-rig lately, on behalf of a manufacturer. There again, pros and cons, which might be discussed in some other thread.

Longboarding is a frame of mind: that of going out in the widest possible range of winds, for the true lovers of the sport of windsurfing.
I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole, except that, like most people, me live in a place that has much less than 50% chances of short board freestyle conditions.

So I longboard, and enjoy it.

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pierrec45 said...

But a friend of mine who's an accomplished racer and freestylist is ditching his - slow, don't point up enough

I only know my board, so can't comment on comparisons. As I have said, I am only a newbie.
For optimum planing speed for my Kona board a close haul is not the answer. It isn't a raceboard.
However, for general sailing, as far getting out through the chop in an onshore wind, I get plenty of grunt if I have my weight close to the mast, dig in the rail and hang my weight from the seat harness, generally getting well within the 45 deg close haul, and I find the whole procedure all very pleasant and relaxing. In low winds I also make use of rips, and avoid impact zones and longshore currents, which is all pretty well common sense. Getting out in anything less than about 7k, I reattach and employ the daggerboard, something I don't often need to resort to, as I like my deck clear.
In good winds (15k+) is an entirely different matter!
I like to make long cruisy expeditions along the length of the beach, and have no trouble in making it back home in a longshore wind, even when the wind drops away to almost nothing. And if I want to do it at speed/planing, I do broader tacks, within the optimum point of sail range.
As for speed, read this: http://www.kona-windsurfing.com/forum/read.asp?ID=115
We all have our own styles and preferences: "vive la diff?rence!!"