What options do I have for a freeride board, around 68 wide, that handles well in rough water/open ocean and is good quality?

Wind range 11-16kts. Sails will be 7.5 and 6.5.

I don't have one but the Tabou Rocket .... I am told feels most like a FSW (ie at home in rough stuff and not too much like a slalom) so is tops for going fast in open ocean.

Heaps of good freeride boards out there.

http://www.patrikdiethelm.com/index.php/product/boards/freeride

PD is making some great boards in Carbon / Kevlar top and bottom. Nice and strong! I've tried the slalom, FSW and wave, all good. The Freeride 125 might be the go.

I reckon the RRD Firemove also looks really interesting... I've only tried the 102 but like the concept, early planning, easy gybing. Probably the 112, or go the Firestorm 111 for a more trad board. Love the control and ease of use of the RRD boards.

Tabou Rockets get heaps of good feedback from a variety of sailors.

Hard to go wrong! 68-70 wide - it's my favourite size, really versatile. If you could only have one board, for an ~80kg ish sailor, this would be the size.

Star-board Futura 101 - am i right Ian Knight??????

The Futura 111 is a more comparable size if you want to carry a 7.5 more comfortably. I love mine in bay conditions, but if you hav'nt tried one I defintely would before you buy, come grab it for a spin

The Futura's are definitly great boards- and lightening quick with a good pilot. But perhaps the 111 Carve is a better bay / ocean blaster?

Thanks for the suggestions.

The Carve seems a bit narrow for its size. At the Moment the Futura 111 and Scross 116 are the front runners, and possibly carbon Art 68 (though might be a bit stiff) I like the look of the Patrik freerides but the smallest in 125 litres which is a bit big for my 80kg.

The search continues.

the rocket will handle more chop than the futura (I had both) but speedwise the starboard is awesome !

You'll probably enjoy whatever you get if it's a contemporary boards, but it is well worth considering the RRDs

Either the RRD 111 Firestorm or the 112 Firemove could be ideal for you.

The Firestorm (68cm) is probably one of the fastest free-rides, yet is super comfortable in chop, gybes a dream, and the Firewave is a wider (74cm) still pretty fast, extremely chop friendly and is so easy to set any sort of gybe.

I've been sailing the 102 (68cm) the last 2 days, 18-22 kn, with a 6.5 Fire no cam, and it was an absolute joy.

Yes, I do sell them, but I also sail them... both by choice!

Jez

I'd recommend a Fanatic Hawk 110L. 240 by 65. Sail sizes 5.0-8.0.
Fast on the straights easy on the turns. Great bump and jump. Love the one I've got.
Have used it with a 7.8 down to a 4.7 but it is sweetest with a 6.6, 6.0 or 5.4.

I have a Tabou rocket 115 L with a 7.5 for those 8 to 15 knots good setup .

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uncle mike said..

Star-board Futura 101 - am i right Ian Knight??????

Yes you're right Uncle Mike, after years of sailing and recommending Tabou rockets, I'm a big convert to The Futura 101. The Tabou can get just a little sticky when it hits a bit of chop. The Futura always stays slippery and just skates over, no matter what.

Anyone sailed a carbon art freeride?

Easy starboard atomIQ 100. 233 ish x 68. Based on 110 I sonic rocker, but loves the rough stuff, and jibes superbly. Carbon and Powerbox.

Second option would be the fanatic gecko 105. Similar rocker to the hawk, flys off the tail, but a little stiffer to jibe. Prefers a longer arc than the atomIQ.

I figure when he is talking open ocean and chop he means the head hi rolling swells which have a foot of short sharp chop as well.
Thats what I envisage. Seems many responses are just listing ya favourite slalom many of which are "slighty more freeride than race".


I still run with "slightly faster than FSW" if talking ocean sailing.

IMHO

Yeah, swell with 1 metre close spaced chop in light winds. Scrambled bay conditions. It's a wide bay with 20 Nautical miles of fetch. We've all learned to sail freeride boards there, but it takes a while to get used to. It's possible to sail slalom boards, but comfort factor is low and accident factor high.

Don't want an FSW type board for my biggest board as light wind performance is important in Qld. Also they get a bit boring after a while and I prefer to sail of the fin rather than over the board generally.

My Starboard Futura 101, going cheap

I use anything from a 6.2 to 7.8 on my Futura 101 which I can still uphaul if the wind dies (I am 72kg). Great board when it starts getting a bit choppy for the slalom board.

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evilC said..

My Starboard Futura 101, going cheap

Somehow I don't think I'd be any better off.

Each to their own, but unless your massively big not sure why you would want a board so wide in 'choppy' conditions?

I'm really enjoying my 102 Fanatic VeeRay Freerace board, think its 62-63cm wide ? (2013 model, think the 2014 may be 65?) It seems to be doing more than ok in the Qld 1Hr Freerace series..http://www.freeracequeensland.com/results.html..brag brag(early days yet) I use it in 14 -25knot range with just the one sail 7.0 Ezzy Cheetah, I just need to sort my fins out a bit better and should get a couple more knts up my sleeve.
Its a super easy board to sail, get on the plane remarkable quick for a smaller board, gybes well, comfy in chop, slight deck concave nothing radical, no radical tail wings or anything..in fact nothing weird or really different about it al all, seems to be very practical freerace/ride design, feels nice and solid in build also.

I have yet to get it out of control even in the ocean, so not sure what will make it do that yet?
The fact that its not 'carbon' means that it maybe say 1kg heavier but it's also nice on the knees! and they cost HEAPS less!! It also has 'inboard' strap settings which may be better for choppy water.

My only gripe is that the pads are thin and hard...almost tempted to take them off and gets some Naish or similar.

Few pics of it here, tried to find some choppier conditions...probably none as choppy as Redcliffe, haven't sailed there, but I have sailed it plenty of times at Mooloolaba.

The answer's simple. Redcliffe is my home spot and it's super sloppy-choppy even in 12 knots. This board is for the 11-15knot wind range. I get 40% of my sailing in this wind range. A nice handling board is a thing of beauty and when you're clocking up 70, 80, 90+ kms in that water a soft ride is much appreciated.

PS. Redcliffe would be an awesome spot for freerace.

Redcliffe is on the radar for a Brisbane event! No promises, need to convert some of the GPs crew, rumour has it some of them are a bit 'Soft'' when it comes to bumpy water! stir stir!
But we do want to get some Brissy action in.
I'm really surprised at how 'non slalom' like the veeray is, easy to handle in open waters, and that's without a 'free ride fin in' ....if its +20 though in open waters I would always prefer to go my Evo and Ezzy panthers!

Redcliffe is on the radar for a Brisbane event! No promises, need to convert some of the GPs crew, rumour has it some of them are a bit 'Soft'' when it comes to bumpy water! stir stir!
But we do want to get some Brissy action in.
Sounds like you really should be looking at the FSW type boards....extra comfort and control equals much more speed.... I'd say somewhere like Mooloolaba in Freeraceqld would get won by a FSW board simply due to the easy gybing and comfort factor.

RRD Freestyle Wave, I have the 108 and its an awesome board, its 236 x 68, recommended sail sizes from 5.2 to 7.3. Comfortable and easy to use but also fairly quick. Has really thick foot pads which helps to soften the ride in chop

Its the one in my avatar pic!

I have the Atomic and love it for rough water sailing. In the river we often get the current/tide and wind in opposite directions so for big jumps I use the Kode 102 and a 6m but for blasting its hard to beat the Atomic with a 7.5. Really good for tight gybes in between the chop and smooth in the rough stuff.

Just a heads up - I know the Carbon Art freerides are getting an update (inc shape tweakage, pads and gfx) which will be released soon. Just drop james an email for more details james.dinnis@carbonartwindsurf.com