OK so haven't windsurfed much for the last 20 years, I've been wind-suping a little lately and I think the bug has bitten again.

Early 50's now, 6'2 around 125kg, knee and shoulder a bit iffy (how cruel is time and neglect eh?). Haven't been completely idle though, SUP'd for a few years and ride bikes pretty much every other day.

Back in the day harness and footstraps, waterstarts, planing gybes etc OK, but of course 30kg lighter and 20 years younger then so I anticipate a fair bit of a relearning curve for the skillz. No great ambitions just want to get out & hook in for a decent blast now and again.

Funster, Go, Viper around the 180-190 litre mark have have been proposed - also pre-loved raceboard been suggested.

Thoughts?

Nah it is like riding a bike (almost) so i would not go with that beginners gear
130L freeride and 6-7m then go out in a nice wind strength for easy planing. You will start nailing gybes 1st session as they are so easy to turn now....

Thus I suggest having a go on somebody elses gear, lest you spend heaps on big stuff and then outgrow it in session #3

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Mark _australia said..
Nah it is like riding a bike (almost) so i would not go with that beginners gear
130L freeride and 6-7m then go out in a nice wind strength for easy planing. You will start nailing gybes 1st session as they are so easy to turn now....

Thus I suggest having a go on somebody elses gear, lest you spend heaps on big stuff and then outgrow it in session #3

It is like riding a bike! you never forget how to fall off

Agree with Mark. I had a bit of a break and it came back pretty quickly. I think I was surprised at the aerobic fitness needed, so you'll have to work on that. But also agree, don't go for a dinosaur board. Get something a bit more zippy. If you could waterstart then, get something you can waterstart now (and if desperate uphaul). Guess 130ltr is about right. An Allride or something similar.

What kind of sailing do you want to do - bump andjump or general blasting. I'd go for a board volume of your weight plus 20 to 30 litres in either bump and jump gear (eg Starboard Carve, Fanatic Gecko, JP Xcite, or free race gear (eg Starboard AtomIQ, JP Supersports, Tabu Rocket).

Sails, depends where you sail and wind strengths, but with your weight for 15 to 20kts you'll need 7.5 to 8.5 rotational sail like a Severne NCX or Naish Noa. Then get mast (460 to 490 RDM) boom (180 to 240) extension (36) base and fin ( 42 to 45cm) to suit

Welcome back human..a 130-140 litre board and a 7.0 no cam sail is a good start ..boards have come a long way in 20 years ..so much easier and forgiving to sail ...and faster than ever .wide boards are in .around 72" - 80 wide would be good for your weight .

heavyweight returning to windsurf ...

for light wind I would suggest something like a JP SLW
wide board and great with > 8 m²
VERY stable and less falling off

the rest depends on location and type of windsurfing, etc

for me the SLW with an 8 oh if you are feeling strong
nothing wrong with starting with a 7 m² on this board

for me - next board down would be more 130 aimed at 7.0

i weigh about 105 kilos and have boards
<20 kph Mistral Equipe I/One aka MEQ
20+ kph JP SLW92 with 10 m² cambered race sail
20-40 JP SLW with 8.4 cambered or 8.5 non-cambered'
30-50 MEQ or BEE 124 with 6.9/7.0 m²
40-60 BEE with 6.3
and that's about my limit
that's on inland lakes with max 1 foot chop
location, location, location makes all the difference
ocean salt water helps flotation

i am looking at losing weight - every bit helps flotation and flexibility !!

joewindsurfer.blogspot.com/2011/06/heavyweights-and-windsurfing.html

wait a sec - you have over 1800 posts !!

Crikey!
Sorry, editing is only available up to 4 hours after posting...
Click to try again...

wait a sec - you have over 1800 posts !! oh - in SUPs and only now u consider windsurfing ??
guess it is a natural progression ??
what about WindSUP ??
local fellow is going from windsurfing to WindSUP !!

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joe windsurf said..
Crikey!
Sorry, editing is only available up to 4 hours after posting...
Click to try again...

wait a sec - you have over 1800 posts !! oh - in SUPs and only now u consider windsurfing ??
guess it is a natural progression ??
what about WindSUP ??
local fellow is going from windsurfing to WindSUP !!

yep been on windsup some, that's what's triggered this renewed interest. I have a scruffy 5.3 rig I scrounged from a mate put it on a big 12'0 by 33" SUP just for shiggles and was surprised at how quick the basics (and the itch) came back. Not much interested in bump and jump, like I said in my OP just want to hook in and blast around on the bay a bit.