help please with Mistral board.
Looking at a Mistral Equipe.
Can't work out which model it is;
Dimensions are 380cm x 70cm 250lt says Equipe LCS on the board, white to yellow fade. so which model is it, 1.5 or 2.

It definitely doesn't have the 1 step tail.
I would like to buy this to go to the raceboard worlds with this board is there likely to be a class??

,

thanks Nigel

i am not egg spurt, butt ...
based on the info i have ....
NO step tail means NOT version one - as you also suggest
those numbers felt off and i went to an old spreadsheet i developed a long time
it is not exhaustive and yet has enough info ...

onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?cid=C6DB8ADE6B0C768C&resid=C6DB8ADE6B0C768C%21465&app=Excel

that sheet confirms my suspicions - perhaps it is a Mistral Competition with those dimensions ??

thanks Joe,

I have that sheet printed out & asked the same question. [Love your blog BTW]
It definitely has Equipe on the top of the board, race down the side.

I though Competitions only came in plastic? Doesn't LCS have a carbon content? He says it s an epoxy finish, not plastic.

That picture is REALLY tiny, do you have a bigger one?

yeah , i just re-read post and saw the point about Equipe written on it !!!
so, it is definitely a model year I have not heard of and will update my sheet !!
the lbwindsurfing forum had a good post on equipes, but could not find it this morning ...

LCS is supposed to mean "light compound system" = carbon
lighter, harder, stiffer and probably more fragile

for racing Equipes , the only class i have heard about, is the "open class"
and here apparently it is the SB Phantoms that win those races

sorry picture is small from the Gumtree web site.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/balgowlah-heights/surfing/family-windsurfer-package-sale-of-the-century-/1112914103

That LBWS post on the equipes is there, but the photos have gone....

I guess the real issue is that whether its a 1.5 or 2 doesn't really matter too much. They all went pretty well. Being a slightly bigger volume is IMHO a plus
thanks for help


edit;
Yes Phantoms are the go, but at $4500 new, $3500 s/h, I'm not excited, where for $500 plus 2000km of diesel to pick it up, I can spend the rest on sails etc.

Next year there is a 299 Phantom coming out that is according to Starboard a better board, especially in higher winds, so I d prefer to wait for something like that.

There will be a fleet of Retro boards at the worlds so you will have similar boards to race against. it could be entered into the open raceboard division or into the 7.8 max division.

Don't discount the old boards, two weeks ago an 1995 f2 lighting beat all the phantom 377's in the Qld state championship.

thanks Cammd, I dont know how this works, what classes etc as I've never entered a regatta before [except as a deck hand on keel boats..]

I thought LCS was Light Carbon System (and DCS Durable Carbon System)
I had a Screamer in 1990 which was the first of the single colour as shown in the photo (I think the DCS was purple and the LCS version yellow), my Equipe was from a few year earlier which was mainly white with graphics.

another sailor posted a photo here of an Equipe with the incorrect dimension decal on it, it was the same colour as that one.
that board looks like the Equipe l, it the same shape as Onedesign, it was the second Equipe and preceded the Equipe ll.
it should be 372x63 235ltrs and i think you will find it is on the list of approved Raceboards.

the epoxy Mistrals, F2 etc had a thin plastic layer over the composite construction.

thanks Evets, you spiked my memory...

its a 91 model!




Just need to translate the french

90-91 Mistral Equipe 1 LCS/XR ( Light Carbon System) 235 lts.

ok, some translation, it basically says;

'two stiffeners sandwich plate to ensure rigidity', if you add that to the line above about 'Inset Stringer Tech', perhaps it means two layers of something? that help to stiffen the board.

The interesting bit is right at the bottom, 'Equipe XR' series limited. 11.5kg On the right of the ad it has a LCS logo

I'm pretty sure the series II boards have a wider tail.
Still not sure about the size sticker on the board, but as I'm pretty sure I'm buying and a tape measure will soon sort that out
My guess is that this is a series 1.5 as they are sometimes called. The 1990 catalogue shows a different board.

hitthewave.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/windsurfing-brochures-ads-80s-90s/

Photo of actual board size sticker.

Select to expand quote

cammd said..
There will be a fleet of Retro boards at the worlds so you will have similar boards to race against. it could be entered into the open raceboard division or into the 7.8 max division.

Don't discount the old boards, two weeks ago an 1995 f2 lighting beat all the phantom 377's in the Qld state championship.

That wouldn't be hard, the 377 is a heap off ****. We used to plan up wind on these old boards, I haven't seen these new boards plan yet!!!

Select to expand quote

blazing928 said..
ok, some translation, it basically says;

'two stiffeners sandwich plate to ensure rigidity', if you add that to the line above about 'Inset Stringer Tech', perhaps it means two layers of something? that help to stiffen the board.

The interesting bit is right at the bottom, 'Equipe XR' series limited. 11.5kg On the right of the ad it has a LCS logo

I'm pretty sure the series II boards have a wider tail.
Still not sure about the size sticker on the board, but as I'm pretty sure I'm buying and a tape measure will soon sort that out
My guess is that this is a series 1.5 as they are sometimes called. The 1990 catalogue shows a different board.

hitthewave.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/windsurfing-brochures-ads-80s-90s/

89 90 91 92 93 Equipes are all the same board just different graphics. Yes you could call them series 1.5. LCS and XR are the same construction. Later series ll you have LCS and CHS which are different constructions.

Yellow seems like the 1991 which I thought was the same dimensions as a one design with narrow tail. Maybe you could measure the length and width to confirm.
What kind of fin box does it have? Powerbox? If you're going to race with a 9.5m sail then powerbox plus larger fin might be good.
I'm planning on doing RB worlds on equipe II + 9.5m

I think 91 does have powerbox & definitely narrow tail vs EQ2

I saw SaltyH post re sticker. Who knows what went on at Mistral.

Thinking of a Sailworks Retro 9.5 as I have some other sizes. I've been very happy with the Melbourne retailer & the sails are working for me.
I prefer sailability over ultimate speed as I feel at 55yo I'm not strong or skilled enough to get the most out of race sails. One fall & you're toast in a race!
Practice will be more important than big rigs.

Ive booked a room in Bris, easily cancelled if I get cold feet...

a great big thanks to all the replies & help
Nigel

As SaltyH said the sticker dims are nonsense.

Equipe 1 1989-1993 (one design) 372 x 63.5 x 235l and pin tail
Equipe 2 1994- 375 x 66 x 258l and squash/bump tail

Thats a 1991 colour scheme

mine is the white Equipe II/2 LCS-XR with sticker dimensions:
the CHS model is 258 liters ...

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Duff12 said..
............ If you're going to race with a 9.5m sail then powerbox plus larger fin might be good........

Hey I have just acquired one of these with a 9.5, and original fin, does anyone have suggestions re; a fin upgrade? I think it's the power box ie: single screw.
What shape fin is currently popular.
What size?
Will bigger fins over stress the power box?

I use a 42cm fin. I think it works quite well. I bought second hand to save money compared to new. It's a straight fin, not a curvy one.

dbmgreen, I sold the fin to Duff12 here is a photo of the fin. I hope this helps.

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RichardG said..
dbmgreen, I sold the fin to Duff12 here is a photo of the fin. I hope this helps.

Hmmm now I just have to find a 42cm fin

Hey Dbm I wouldn't. I was recommended to stay with the original. Any bigger is too much...

The Phantom 377L uses a 52cm Deep Tuttle fin with a 78 cm daggerboard on 298 litres of volume with bat tail. Totally different design to the Equipe in the fin area of the board.

http://www.star-board-windsurfing.com/2017/products/boards/phantom-race

The Exocet RS Race 380 (311 litres)- this looks like a beauty of a board, uses a 46 cm or a 54 cm Tuttle Box fin and an 85 cm daggerboard with an option for an XL daggerboard.

www.exocet-original.com/en/rs-380.php

The trend seems bigger sails and bigger daggerboards and bigger fins and bigger volume.

Returning to the Mistral Equipe: according to some earlier posts by other learned commentators on seabreeze:

"(The Equipe) has the std one which is 34cms (it's a Power Box)......" My Mistral brochures indicate that the Powerbox began to be used during 1993. I have a brochure which says that the fin size for a 1995 Equipe 2 XR/CHS is 38cm."

I use a 35 cm US box carbon fin in my 1986-1988 Mistral Equipe LCS XR which is the biggest US box fin I have and I am running 8.5 -9.5 m2 sails and the original sails for this board were 6.5 m2. For the later Equipe and One Design etc the sails were around 7.5m2 so it makes sense that the fin size should now for todays competition and raceboard format be bigger since sails are bigger now than originally. The daggerboard size is also important.

I believe Duff12 is using a 9.5m2 RSX NP sail so a 42 cm fin is not surprising then over the original fin he replaced it with.

Dmbgreen,
You might as well try whatever fin you have in your Equipe II before buying a new one. Post back here about the performance.
My Equipe II came with a 38cm but i use the 42cm.
On the Phantoms, the 52cm drake fin can be used to go upwind without the centreboard in high winds. The Argentinian was using a 55cm at the worlds. My mate tried a 60cm fin but it was uncontrollable, the phantom tail is not wide enough to handle that fin.

But we are not talking Equipe IIs or Phantoms. They are all wide tail volume boards. This is an LCS narrow-tail. It's like putting a 42 on a Sputnik...

Good point Jez35.
You seem very knowledgeable.

Jez 350, I agree whatever works for you is best. People should experiment do their own research and make their own tuning decisions.