What volume wave board (relative to weight) do you reckon is the smallest that is still relatively functional?

75 kg, looking for the smallest that will work in 3.0 to 3.7 conditions. Would only use it near shore, could swim back if wind really drops. So not considering the safety factors, just don't want something so small its a dog in normal 3.7 wind.

Main board is 85 liters. Have used 75 liters...turned nicer, but not a massive improvement. Could uphaul it but was borderline dangerous in really long slogs (2miles) in dyimg wind. So keeping 85 for that use and want something way different. Usage would be small onshore waves/swell...no real down the line riding

Interested in something tiny that would be really fun in spot conditions. 55 liters (weight -20) too small? And I am thinking quatro pyramid or goya custom quad, something like that.

I ride -10L pretty regularly from 4.7 on down at 95kg. No hope of an uphaul and there are times when I can waterstart but not slog it.

I'd look at board size as percentage of bodyweight rather than liters however, 55L would be awfully small for you.

The current trend is bigger board, smaller sail. Not that you need to follow that but if gives you an idea. If its super windy, there might still be holes in the wind where a tiny board is not that fun.

I'm a bit lighter than you and a 75L is my smallest board which works beatiful in very strong winds with a 3.1 sail. Maybe find a 75-80L board that is easier to control, such as a Pyro or more narrow design.

A tiny board might only get used a few times a year.
Benefits of using a slightly larger board is that you get to use it much more which is a better investment plus you feel more comfortable.

local board size is proportionate to local shark size

I am 74kg, boards are 69 litres (pin-tail) and 71L (wide-swallow tail), then 83L (quad fin) and 86L (freewave). My speed board is 54L but there is a sandbank I can walk back to the car.

Answering your question -> as others have stated, a few litres less they your weight. If you are sailing 3.0 - 3.7 at 75kg, you can easily use something smaller.

The board volume isn't something that you should focus on - it should be board size and usage. You can have a lot of volume in a small package (a thicker board) or a lower volume. Or you could have a pin-tail or wide-tail. Or rocker line or a number of other factors.

You noted that 75l wasn't a massive improvement. I would question that. If the wind is 3.0m @70kg, that means the wind is a solid 40kn -> the board size will matter, so the 75L will be more manageable in that wind.

As for uphauling - you aren't ever going to uphaul in 3.7m weather... ever... needing something to uphaul in those conditions, isn't a consideration -> if the wind drops from 40kn to less - say 20kn - you still waterstart and sail in.... slowly. Remember that rig-weight + board-weight + body-weight = minimum-volume... so the 75l isn't really uphaulable (though some people do have that skill)

... it reads like you want one board for 12kn - 40kn, which isn't a thing.

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gandalf99 said..
What volume wave board (relative to weight) do you reckon is the smallest that is still relatively functional?

75 kg, looking for the smallest that will work in 3.0 to 3.7 conditions. Would only use it near shore, could swim back if wind really drops. So not considering the safety factors, just don't want something so small its a dog in normal 3.7 wind.

Main board is 85 liters. Have used 75 liters...turned nicer, but not a massive improvement. Could uphaul it but was borderline dangerous in really long slogs (2miles) in dyimg wind. So keeping 85 for that use and want something way different. Usage would be small onshore waves/swell...no real down the line riding

Interested in something tiny that would be really fun in spot conditions. 55 liters (weight -20) too small? And I am thinking quatro pyramid or goya custom quad, something like that.

I am 75 - 80kg and I use a 4.0 in 30 knots so you would need 40 knots to use a 3.0 and I don't know where you would find such conditions or why you would want to sail in them anyway?
I think you are focusing too much on volume. For nuclear conditions you need a board that sticks to the water during the chaos. That means that apart from lower volume you also need a board with more rocker, more vee, more weight (heavier construction), less width, softer flex and smaller fins. Anything less than 70 litres for your weight is only going to make it trickier to sail through the inevitable lulls (especially amongst waves!). 75l is my smallest and it needs to nuking before I consider it.

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mathew said..
... it reads like you want one board for 12kn - 40kn, which isn't a thing.

No, I have the boards for 12-30 already. It's upper 20s-40 that I'm looking for. Basically I'm wondering what's the smallest size that will still sail ok in normal upper 20s knots wind (3.7 for me).

The uphaul thing is only applicable when having to come back from several miles, so I won't use this board in those cases.

And yes good points on type of board rather than just volume. I was thinking something quite aggressive already (extreme wave design), so it's just a question of how small I get it. Not much of a secondary market here so hard test anything out before shelling out real money.

You can go down on fin (fins) rather than size. Just ask the pozo folks, about as windy and as high as jumps get. I sailed 77 overpowered on 3.7 in 35-55 knots and had set the mast track all the way forward. With a 3.0 or 3.3 I would have been fine at 70 something kilos.


I got the chance to try a 74 in Cabarete my home spot and it was too small for my now 68kg. I only uphaul in near zero winds when I get back only carried by the swell. Otherwise 8 knots+ waterstart only.

75kg, my smallest board was a 70l and that was only out in 23kts+

I know JP and Starbaord sold 65l wave boards, but never saw any around. You'd get going on one in 25kts+

I think that it is more of an "attitude" issue. I'm about 65kg now (used to be closer to 67kg) and I had time-period when I felt that most boards (single-fins at that time) were simply too large for me. I then really loved the EVO 62 board and used it as often as I could, with sails from 4.7 and down. Still have it, but use it less now.

After that came the multifin boards, and now the board that I'm using the most is a 90l Cortex. The modern multi-fin boards can be tuned a lot with the fin setup and fin size etc. and they will feel "smaller" than they are in volume. I.e. they can make small turns and will not be bouncy in the bottom turn etc. It also helps to use sails that are a little smaller than the "norm" and go more for a float and ride set-up.

So my advice would be; get a small second-hand board and see how you like it. If anything it will at least be a fun learning experience which can improve your wave-sailing on larger boards too. Trial and error is a big part of the fun and there is no such thing as a perfect quiver of boards and sails, at least in my experience.

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gandalf99 said..
What volume wave board (relative to weight) do you reckon is the smallest that is still relatively functional?

When choosing a board for riding waves in windier conditions look more closely at the dimensions of the board, and the shape of the bottom and the tail, and pay less attention to the actual volume. You want a board that would have the speed potential, given your wave conditions, yet that would still have small enough tail so you could make it turn. Lots of different shapes out there.

Interesting topic. For those that range from 100kg to 105kg, think we are stuck with the bigger boards 110l+ for lighter float ride sessions, and 99 to 105L for moving beyond lighter sessions of 20knts+

When I was 75kg, many years back, I used to ride a Strapper Hot Dog Wave 60litres with anything from 4.5m sail down. Big board was 75 litre Contest Wave.

Nowadays at over 90 kgs an 82litre is rideable when 4.5m or above and is even fine when nuclear windy. Regular Wave board is 93litre and bigger board is 106 litres.
Simple rule of thumb for me is same litres to kg for normal plus or minus 10 litres for stronger or lighter wind.

I think there is a big difference between lighter, medium and heavy weight riders.

Nowadays not many lighter riders (<70kg) go under the weight in liters, but heavier riders (95kg) do.
I think Thomas Traversa is riding mostly 60-65L boards and he is around 60kg. While Philip Koster is riding a SV Pyro under his weight (about 95kg) in liters.

Also the conditions make a big difference. When you local break is not a typical shorebreak wave, you can choose a smaller board much quicker, as getting out is not so much of an issue.

At 74kg my high wind wind board is still 10L above my weight, a goya quad 84. I prefer to have a slightly bigger board with a smaller sail.
I could have gone one size smaller, but then you get into trouble if you go on a trip abroad. In order to cover 5.3 or light 4.7 days you would need to take a second board.

Board shape also makes a big difference. some bigger boards are still very controllable in 3.7-4.2 weather, some aren't.

For you, at 75kg I think something between 70-75L would be the ideal high wind size. Especially in strong winds there is a big difference between the lulls and gusts. If you seek control in very strong winds, I rather be on a 3.3 and 75L than maxed on a 3.7 and 68L.

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yaden said..
I think there is a big difference between lighter, medium and heavy weight riders.

Nowadays not many lighter riders (<70kg) go under the weight in liters, but heavier riders (95kg) do.
I think Thomas Traversa is riding mostly 60-65L boards and he is around 60kg. While Philip Koster is riding a SV Pyro under his weight (about 95kg) in liters.

Also the conditions make a big difference. When you local break is not a typical shorebreak wave, you can choose a smaller board much quicker, as getting out is not so much of an issue.

At 74kg my high wind wind board is still 10L above my weight, a goya quad 84. I prefer to have a slightly bigger board with a smaller sail.
I could have gone one size smaller, but then you get into trouble if you go on a trip abroad. In order to cover 5.3 or light 4.7 days you would need to take a second board.

Board shape also makes a big difference. some bigger boards are still very controllable in 3.7-4.2 weather, some aren't.

For you, at 75kg I think something between 70-75L would be the ideal high wind size. Especially in strong winds there is a big difference between the lulls and gusts. If you seek control in very strong winds, I rather be on a 3.3 and 75L than maxed on a 3.7 and 68L.

I think this has to do with rig weight and possibly rider height/ability to engage the rails.