I'm on a waterlogged Naish Kailua 230L, it has served it's purpose but it seems that it is so heavy that it will not lift up and plane, I feel the force transmitted thru my body to the board but not much happens, the pull of the sail becomes extremely hard but the board just pushes thru the water.
The schools on Maui have offered me a Starboard Go 155L and a JP Funster 160L with daggerboard, supposedly not waterlogged.
Do you guys think the daggerboard is still useful and or necessary?
I am beach starting, using the harness, tack and gybe but not yet planing, in the straps or waterstarting.
My aim is to put together a lightwind setup.

Hi,

By light wind do you mean light wind planing or light wind non planing?

I would try to get planing, that would be the ultimate goal.
Winds here are typically 10-15 knots.

buy a formula imo

Have a look at larger free ride boards of around 120 to 140 liters. Teamed up with a 7.5m or 8m sail it would get you going quite easily in those sorts of wind strengths.

Well what I'm really asking is considering 140L-180L freeride type shapes at my ability level is a daggerboard worthwhile having?
Would I be correct in assuming that a daggerboard is useless while planing?
And therefore if I'm going to get sails big enough to plane in my conditions, the DB would be redundant?

^^^ Yep, the daggerboard is mainly for stability until you get on the plane, then is of no use (unless you want to 'really' tack upwind). It will also ultimately hinder your progress & make it difficult to turn, also a trip-hazard when retracted.

Both the Go & Funster are great entry-level boards, but if the Funster has a dagger, go the GO!

Sideskirt,
Everything I have read implies that Formula boards are a bit difficult to learn to sail, would a formula board be appropriate for my ability level?

After the beast (220L) I moved to a JP Fun Ride 145 with an Ezzy 5.5 and now I am getting an Ezzy 6.5 and considering also a downgrade to a 120L.
It all depends how big you are and how strong is the wind.
Here in Bermuda the light wind is 10/15 but in the winter we get 20/25 and when we are lucky like this period, we can get easily get 30 ..
I can plan on my 5.5 using the harness if the wind blow up to 20, with less wind I need a bigger sail for my 145L board.
I am using 48 fin
Second year windsurfing

Don't go formula.... IMO get a JP Superlight wind pro edition

Much easier than formula and ideal for the conditions you describe, there are some good second hand deals on these at the moment.

So my mate is on his second season of sailing on a starboard GO 150lt. Here's some observations I have in case they help:

They're bulletproof, so that really suits the beginner - you can absolutely hammer the boom into the decking and it will not even show. This may be to your advantage when buying from a wind-school. They're also surprisingly (relatively) light for all that padded decking.

It can be ridden hard if you're heavy and brazen enough. My 100kg mate hit 29kts on it the other week using a 6.7m in 20-ish knots - smashing downwind thru heavy chop! I kept waiting for the explosive 'highlight-reel' blowout but against the odds he held it down. Apparently has little self-regard for his own safety!

They can plane early if matched with a big fin...go for the high forties if you're going to sail 7+ metre sails in in light winds. If you're more in sub 75kg bracket you'll get away with less.

Super stable - you'll never have trouble up-hauling or tacking with it. It'll waterstart with enough wind (like any board)

They do turn like an shopping-trolley. But that's alright - you can still gybe it with a lunge across the width to the inside rail. Warm up your groin beforehand - it's one giant step...

I have a starboard GO 180L. I got it second hand to teach the kids on. Since I got it, I have used it more than my FSW 92L. It is a great board, and better for the common conditions I encounter than my small board.

Best thing about it is light wind ability. I have done sessions around 100km on my GPS in 12-15knots of wind, and it is fast, comfortable and powers up wind (57cm fin). It is fast for what it is. I have gotten to 28.5 knots on it. it was a handful, but better than I thought. In light to medium wind it is ultra stable, and very easy to cruise around on, and I generally keep up with everyone else even on much smaller boards. It does not gybe that well. I can get a planing gybe on it, but you have to do a wide turn. If you try and push too much rail pressure, it just goes straight ahead ... railed up. It also has so much volume that I can take my kids/wife out sitting on the front of the deck, and with a bit of effort I can get planning and take them for a ride. It is also very durable. Mine has been blown off the roof of the car, and still going strong. It is very big, so a bit of a pain to transport.

Highly recommended!!

-- Adrian

Thankyou everyone for the comments it's very helpful, it looks like the Go 155L will be the one, they have sent me pictures and it looks good, I had him weigh it and it's within specifications meaning that it has not taken on water. Price is $450 US which is about the same as AUS, I could have it some time next week, we ship interisland stuff like this on a barge for quite cheap, it will cost about $45 to ship.
I would love to have a JP super lightwind but boards like that are non-existant in Hawaii, new or used and I can't really justify $2500 on a new one, how much are they going for used in Australia?
Next I have to get mast/boom/sails as all that current gear is rubbish.
I'm 198 CM and 97 KG, some days it's 5-10 knots with gusts to 15 and other days its 10-15 with gusts to 20, what sail size will I need to get planing? I'm thinking 9.5 and 8.5 respectively. Currently on a 6.1 three cam which obviously needs to be bigger.
Will I have a hard time adjusting to these radically larger sails? and should I step up incrementally with a 7.5 for instance?
Aloha

It sounds like you are getting a good deal on a board that will suit the conditions. Do you plan to buy the sails, boom and mast together?

You should not have much trouble adjusting to sailing with the bigger sails except when it comes to getting going. Water starting or up hauling is more difficult with bigger sails. The sail sizes you suggested will suit the Go.

I use my GO mostly with a 7.2 Hellcat. I personally would think a 7.5-8 would be great, but I doubt going as large as a 9.5 would give you much more oomph for the hassle of the extra weight and the large mast/boom you would need to buy to rig it. I would say an 8.0 for light wind (5-20) and a 6.5 for higher wind (15-25).

I have used my GO with my 6.2, and it still gets going in very light wind. Wide boards with high volume don't need much to get on the plane, and excessively big sails would really just give you a little more speed once going in light winds at the expense of being heavier and harder to handle.

Apparently there are two Go's to choose from for the same price, A one year old without EVA deck pad and a slightly older model with EVA deck pad.
I had him weigh them to ensure water tightness and interestingly the EVA model weighs one pound less but both are within manufacturers specs.
Do you reckon I should take the one with the pad or without?

neither just get a Starboard 9-5 SUP in the silver finish, comes with 2 mast inserts. I note that you said you wanted to put together a light wind SUP, the starboard will tick all the boxes and it surfs really nicely. Also it comes with footstrap inserts. This will give you 2 types of boards in 1, the SUP which it is designed for and a sailboard (155 litres) so will do the light wind thing and will also grow with you.

Select to expand quote

gregc said...

neither just get a Starboard 9-5 SUP in the silver finish, comes with 2 mast inserts. I note that you said you wanted to put together a light wind SUP, the starboard will tick all the boxes and it surfs really nicely. Also it comes with footstrap inserts. This will give you 2 types of boards in 1, the SUP which it is designed for and a sailboard (155 litres) so will do the light wind thing and will also grow with you.

What are you smoking? A Go 155 type board is the perfect board to get comfortable planing, a retrofitted SUP is not even in the same ball park..

Have you ever windsurfed before?

Select to expand quote

barn said...

gregc said...

neither just get a Starboard 9-5 SUP in the silver finish, comes with 2 mast inserts. I note that you said you wanted to put together a light wind SUP, the starboard will tick all the boxes and it surfs really nicely. Also it comes with footstrap inserts. This will give you 2 types of boards in 1, the SUP which it is designed for and a sailboard (155 litres) so will do the light wind thing and will also grow with you.

What are you smoking? A Go 155 type board is the perfect board to get comfortable planing, a retrofitted SUP is not even in the same ball park..

Have you ever windsurfed before?

Agree man, what the heck would you sell him a SUP to learn plan and harness?? Go for a 140/130, trust me, and you will speed on learning and enjoy the windsurf!

I already have three SUP's don't need another, I'm trying to get away from the whole a-hole surfer scene.
The question is do I get the padded deck or not?

Select to expand quote

Beaglebuddy said...

I already have three SUP's don't need another, I'm trying to get away from the whole a-hole surfer scene.
The question is do I get the padded deck or not?

We used to have GOs and Futuras which were the first boards we would put people on for high wind planing. Not much difference between them except for the soft deck on the GO. Some people will complain about scratching their knees on Futuras while climbing back on (usually exhausted), but these were brand new boards.

Basically if you wanna climb over it like a seal get the soft deck, if you want a board that looks marginally less 'beginner' then go the normal deck.. Or flip a coin.

I have a JP fun ride 145 and it is not padded the deck and I don't miss it at all ...

Select to expand quote

barn said...

Beaglebuddy said...

I already have three SUP's don't need another, I'm trying to get away from the whole a-hole surfer scene.
The question is do I get the padded deck or not?

We used to have GOs and Futuras which were the first boards we would put people on for high wind planing. Not much difference between them except for the soft deck on the GO. Some people will complain about scratching their knees on Futuras while climbing back on (usually exhausted), but these were brand new boards.

Basically if you wanna climb over it like a seal get the soft deck, if you want a board that looks marginally less 'beginner' then go the normal deck.. Or flip a coin.

I thought Futuras were a more speed orientated board and more difficult to sail than a Go..?

Select to expand quote

sboardcrazy said...


I thought Futuras were a more speed orientated board and more difficult to sail than a Go..?

That's true, but it doesn't make any difference with the level of sailor we're talking about. Just width, inboard footstraps and a fin. Correct stance and harness lines make more difference.

An intermediate windsurfer is so terribly inefficient the speed potential of the Future is never reached. I sailed the same kit, so I'd sail in 25 knots on a Go/Futura 155 and a 5.3 in decent chop. It's the same awful board, different deck.