I just had a quick look at a few websites. Dreaming about a plug and play type B & J about 85ltres. Decent freeride type that can take an upright fin. Comfort and control rather than speed for 3-4ft chop.
Most seem to only go down to 95ltres..Wish I weighed more..

You may want to check the Fanatic Freewave, it comes in 75, 85, 95, and 105 l. A couple of friends here bought the 85 and 95 recently, and seem pretty happy with it. They are their small boards for choppy conditions.

Custom board is your answer.
I am biased being a kiwi, try Carbon Art.

For e.g- found tabou 3s- the one that sounds more user friendly only goes to 96ltre
tabou-boards.com/boards/2019/freewave/3s-classic-19/
I may have to explore custom ideas.

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boardsurfr said..
You may want to check the Fanatic Freewave, it comes in 75, 85, 95, and 105 l. A couple of friends here bought the 85 and 95 recently, and seem pretty happy with it. They are their small boards for choppy conditions.

It does sound interesting..I was initially put off by the freewave title. It sounds like it's a wave board. When I feel rich I might chase it up. I wish someone local had one I could try.
www.fanatic.com/windsurf/boards/wave-freestyle/freewave

Hoe would a Tabou 3s compare to a Fanatic feewave? Also have they changed much in the last few years?

Sue I have a Freeway for really choppy high wind sessions.
Also use a Blast for choppy water sailing For comfort. Has a tutle base so can use existing fins.
Another bump and jump is Naish Starship.

I love my Windtech boards - just added the Silver Bullet 57 wide, 90litres, to my quiver - they are easy, comfortable, versatile, and devour chop - plus if you want to push the speed side 57 is good for 40knots + (best I have heard so far is 43)
The Magic Bullet 85 is another option, supreme B&J control with loads of early planing power
It might be the one for you too ...
Give Neil a call, he loves to get people on a board that will do what they want!

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Peter Hands said..
I love my Windtech boards - just added the Silver Bullet 57 wide, 90litres, to my quiver - they are easy, comfortable, versatile, and devour chop - plus if you want to push the speed side 57 is good for 40knots + (best I have heard so far is 43)
The Magic Bullet 85 is another option, supreme B&J control with loads of early planing power
It might be the one for you too ...
Give Neil a call, he loves to get people on a board that will do what they want!

Hmm.. I'd forgotten about that. I was thinking the Silver Bullit but it was too big. So the Magic Bullet 85 goes upwind well ?
https://www.windtechwindsurf.com/surf-aerial-stunt?sbm=%2BjFi%2FKldV3Q54AaFClREBe00YQvZwAHk%2B%2BBxlFgGCnxc4CyIVRVQ%2FLQoAfJTXcyRjKtmF62G%2F64%3D&sbr=mkHTabUFeD%2B3FcDGJl8yqxCMhFl4GAjMrDHkxOGvx48FGVII%2FlRkX93EvxwgnKD%2FPhPdDxZxQtISNf0j4f1EUJY9hHolyvOh%2BFd1izuwooS3Rfu5YKOGy56YVBe4k26j&sbt=%2BjFi%2FKldV3STpiLz%2BSugkRS%2FKojnnQyNoTo7WPBPpWbxwyHZ%2BNkvZRRYzGK%2F5yFic%2B4s3Lk4hCc%3D&utm_medium=Banner&utm_source=Seabreeze.com.au

It does sound very wavey- manoeuvre orientated. I don't really want that so I wonder if that would be a problem?
How's Neil going?

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sboardcrazy said..
For e.g- found tabou 3s- the one that sounds more user friendly only goes to 96ltre
tabou-boards.com/boards/2019/freewave/3s-classic-19/
I may have to explore custom ideas.

The tabou 3s is a awesome board ,and such a good allrounder ,I have the rockets which are a little bit more faster ,but the 3S
are even good in waves ,I ride a rocket 105 in westOz ,and don't find it too big ,and had it in 30 knots ,construction is good like most boards .
happy shopping

Windtech 85 is a 2 in 1 board for sure

Lock out the tail plate say 90% for freeride mode, to reduce the looseness and increase speed/upwind power - the small bonzer fins slow it down a bit, and add grip to fly upwind - I use a Maui Ultra upright style fin in my 95 for B&J performance

But I'm 90+kg, so can't be sure how it will ride for you - check with Neil, he would love to talk, and is making a phenomenal recovery

I really like my Exocet cross for lake Mac bump and jump. Has a powerbox fin. Mine is a 94 but they also make an 84. You're welcome to try it some time, it doesn't get much use for me at 95kg unfortunately.

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Peter Hands said..
Windtech 85 is a 2 in 1 board for sure

Lock out the tail plate say 90% for freeride mode, to reduce the looseness and increase speed/upwind power - the small bonzer fins slow it down a bit, and add grip to fly upwind - I use a Maui Ultra upright style fin in my 95 for B&J performance

But I'm 90+kg, so can't be sure how it will ride for you - check with Neil, he would love to talk, and is making a phenomenal recovery

Glad to hear he is going well. He certainly sounds like a very positive person.
I'll get some info from him.

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jamesf said..
I really like my Exocet cross for lake Mac bump and jump. Has a powerbox fin. Mine is a 94 but they also make an 84. You're welcome to try it some time, it doesn't get much use for me at 95kg unfortunately.

That would be great! I was wondering about that. I'm already an Excocet fan so it's worth chasing that too.

Wow those Windtech boards look awesome with the variable tail rocker. If you talk to them you should be able to get a Tuttle box rather than US box.
Good luck with your board selection.

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sboardcrazy said..

jamesf said..
I really like my Exocet cross for lake Mac bump and jump. Has a powerbox fin. Mine is a 94 but they also make an 84. You're welcome to try it some time, it doesn't get much use for me at 95kg unfortunately.

That would be great! I was wondering about that. I'm already an Excocet fan so it's worth chasing that too.

I bought an Exocet Cross version 1 90l in 2005 and used it for years. It eventually got a bit tired, so last year bought a version 4 94l. I was pleased to find they hadn't mucked anything up with the design. Its great board for blasting around in strong winds in choppy conditions or swell.
Compared to the Fanatic freewave, the Cross is faster and quicker to plane but wont turn so well on a wave. Quite a few people where I live have the Fanatic, a good board but more freewave than freeride as the name suggests.
I use a 6.5m (so long as the wind is stronger and I dont need to pump to get going) down to 4.5m on my Cross. On the 90l I had a 25cm upright slalom fin I sometimes used with a 5.6m 3 cam freerace sail. The fin supplied is good for b&j but has a lot of area for blasting. Its a pity Select dont do their freeslam fin in smaller sizes, they suit the board.

Patrice Belbeoch did an interview with the UK importer and said the design is the same across the Cross sizes - they dont get wavier the smaller the size. Sounds like the 84l would be ideal.

I think the Tabou 3S Classic (not the recent shorter stubbier version) is similar to the Exocet. Other than those 2, there isnt much choice.

They havent changed the design since 2013 or 2014, but looks like there is an update for 2020. I hope they dont muck it up!

I find my Dyno to be a great B&J board when it's set up as a single fin. The 85 may be worth a thought.

If youre looking at the Exocets it would be worth checking for any close outs on the windsurfing shed website.

OR, the Naish Starship goes down to 85l - might suit what you're looking for- have heard lots of good things about the Starship

So I think there may be some good options out there!

Happy hunting

If you can get hold of a used 3S 86 (pre-stubby design), you won't be disappointed. Sadly I just broke my 96. I've replaced it with a RRD Freestyle Wave 90 V4, which feels a lot smaller than the six litres difference might imply. So the RRD 90 might be an option as well.

I just remembered the German mag Surf did a test of 85l FSW boards.
The RRD FSW scored 5 out of 5 for freeriding, although thats only compared to the other boards in the test. It was the only 5/5 score.
The Tabou 3S they tested was the newer stubby version, that scored 4/5. The Classic would probably have scored higher in freeride, but they have dropped the 86l version????????
The other boards scoring 4/5 were the Simmer Helix and Starboard Kode freewave.

www.delius-klasing.de/freestyle-waveboards-85-21237

I think if a board has more than 1 fin box its made for turning, then its design wont be so good as a single fine for freeriding as it will have higher rocker etc.

Not sure about the lack of Freeride/ blasting ability on boards with more than one fin box. Dyno w single upright fin and straps outboard has been great for me. I think the mag tests made similar comments. As a general principle I'd agree but some boards are exceptions to that ( I'm sure there are others I just get to sail the Dyno!) .

Thanks for all the info. I'll chase them all up.
As I mentioned I am dreaming atm. I have some time to make a choice as I've just spent all my money on buying a van and fitting it out so it probably won't be till next year that I do anything. Unless something older and suitable turns up in the buy and sell.

Lots of good info on the B&J / FSW boards.

I often wondered why many brands stopped at 92-95L or so.
But I guess the users of those sizes 80-90L, is quite limited and for many brands it is hard to justify the low volume of production. As the set up cost for making any board on the factory is quite high, so you have to make sure to sell a good amount of boards. This include to do all the testing beforehand etc., that can add up as well.

Anyway those boards are great. Most of the brands mentioned above is great choices and fast, fun, easy to ride.

I would just just point out not to focus 100% on the volume. The width and tail end section has a big impact on how the ride is.

In general the more curved in the tail section is, the easier / more forgiving is the ride. So in other words a 95L board can feel a lot smaller and easier to control in high wind, if the tail section outline is more curved in. Back straps closer together. This gives you a good amount of control, especially downwind and across the wind. Upwind is normally the 'trade off' , as you have less tail width / volume to push the board upwind with speed. You can still go upwind, but just less efficient than a full slalom board.

When I used Starboard's, I did have a Futura freeride in 93L, when I was fully into the racing. Compared to my Isonic 80/87L , this board had more control off the wind, in strong conditions, even with the extra volume. I loved this board for free riding / speed and blasting around, but in a 'real racing situation' , the Isonic still had the edge as you could push it slightly upwind with great speed if needed ( to pass another sailor).

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Sail Repair WA said..
Lots of good info on the B&J / FSW boards.

I often wondered why many brands stopped at 92-95L or so.
But I guess the users of those sizes 80-90L, is quite limited and for many brands it is hard to justify the low volume of production. As the set up cost for making any board on the factory is quite high, so you have to make sure to sell a good amount of boards. This include to do all the testing beforehand etc., that can add up as well.

Anyway those boards are great. Most of the brands mentioned above is great choices and fast, fun, easy to ride.

I would just just point out not to focus 100% on the volume. The width and tail end section has a big impact on how the ride is.

In general the more curved in the tail section is, the easier / more forgiving is the ride. So in other words a 95L board can feel a lot smaller and easier to control in high wind, if the tail section outline is more curved in. Back straps closer together. This gives you a good amount of control, especially downwind and across the wind. Upwind is normally the 'trade off' , as you have less tail width / volume to push the board upwind with speed. You can still go upwind, but just less efficient than a full slalom board.

When I used Starboard's, I did have a Futura freeride in 93L, when I was fully into the racing. Compared to my Isonic 80/87L , this board had more control off the wind, in strong conditions, even with the extra volume. I loved this board for free riding / speed and blasting around, but in a 'real racing situation' , the Isonic still had the edge as you could push it slightly upwind with great speed if needed ( to pass another sailor).

For my size a 70-75ltre would probably be more comfy in 25kts and chop but often there is a 500m patch of 10-15kts to get through so the bigger 85 will give a bit more scope there. I'll do my go fast in flatwater so in chop " boring" is good..

Love my 2016 Tabou 3S Ltd 76 litres
Same great shape from 2009 to 2016.

Surf mag have their 2014 85l FSW test online as well. Whilst the recent tests have to be paid for and downloaded in a PDF, the 2014 has a lot of the text readable for free. The performance graphs and other info are in the PDF.

If you have a PC/laptop you right click to get a 'translate to English' option. In the PDF you can copy/paste into google translate or similar. Not sure what you do if you just use a smartphone.

Exocet Cross 84
www.surf-magazin.de/boards/freestyle_wave/test-2014-exocet-cross-84-silver

The other boards test should appear on the page as a link. The Exocet text is still valid for today's board as they haven't changed.
A few words dont translate very well using google, halse (gybe) usually translates as neck, but I see we have ZeeGerman who could help.
The Exocet, Naish, RRD and Tabou seem to be the most suitable freeride boards.

Some of the early jp Fsw boards were quite free ride oriented, vintage 2007-2009. I have an old Fsw 78 which is more free ride than wave. You can pick one up for a few hundred.
As mentioned by Sail Repair, the future 93 has a narrow tail and very controllable. I use one when slalom is too on edge and it works with my small wave sails.

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Yves said..
Love my 2016 Tabou 3S Ltd 76 litres
Same great shape from 2009 to 2016.

Agreed. For a fast FSW its gotta be 3S

But maybe not the stubby one.....


Nothing wrong with RRD, JP etc too


However, as above poster said, steer away from Dyno / Goya One etc with their thruster setup. Sue I reckon you want a comfy / easier turning / handle the chop freeride, not a wavey FSW.
That means something like a 3S
Trouble is they don't go small enough, so an 85L RRD or JP FSW from a few years back could be the go for you.

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Waiting4wind said..
Some of the early jp Fsw boards were quite free ride oriented, vintage 2007-2009. I have an old Fsw 78 which is more free ride than wave.

Agreed, that was my main complaint about them hahahah so would suit Sue very well

If anyone has one of these, dont sell it to Sue, I want it ! Worst thing i ever done was get rid of mine.
RRD FSW V2 84
The 90 in orange was also fantastic.

Yeah that age RRDis magic

The quad in that era was awesome too

I have an Exocet Cross 84. It is a superb open water blaster. Like all the Crosses it loves an upright fin and will support a wide sail range. The gybing and rough water performance is sensational.