Hello!I am a beginner windsurfer (85kg) living in Spain. I had 10h of lessons in a group and now another 10h of practice on a rented equipment. I am practicing on a 190L board. They gave me a 220L at the beginning but one day I decided to try the 190L and was surprised how much more comfortable it is. I thought it will be so much less stable but it really was not a big problem and the handling of it is much easier.

My problem is that where I live the rental is very tourism focused and they only operate around summer months. The water/air temps here are nice until the end of October and in November a thin wetsuit would suffice - the rental closes the end of September :( It means I will loose 1-2 months when I could practice and the same next year before summer :( Another thing is that the quality/state of the equipment is terrible.

That is why I started looking for equipment earlier then I was expecting. I can steer the board, go upwind/downwind, tack... I can balance in lighter/stronger wind, lean back comfortably, depower when needed etc. I fall mostly when I have to uphaul in waves or when wind dies suddenly :) I will be mostly sailing on sea, with winds not exceeding 20kts (most likely 10-15kts). I will actually want to use any wind for practice as I really like the sport.
I read everywhere that I should probably buy equipment with a daggerboard but I have realised there is another option - a removable center fin. And I have found that in Spain there is one very popular board, easy to buy used - Starboard GO.
I have found some shop offering used board + sail from 2019. The board is 151L and the sail I could choose from 5, 5.7 and 6.7.

Do you think it is a good idea to buy this equipment with my skills? (I would of course use the center fin)
Is the volume enough for me? (it is very wide - 86cm)
Which sail should I buy for learning? (min. by manufacturer is 6m2 for this board)

Do you have any other ideas for me?

Cheers!

I dont have experience with the newer model GO's, but I have an older (Circa 2005) GO 165L (90cm wide) and it is fantastic. My kids learned on it, my wife sailed it, and I still use it for light wind fun days with a large sail.

Mine has the screw-on side boards, which the kids used at the start, but discarded when they go a bit better skilled.

I would be pretty confident in saying that this GO 151L, 86cm wide board will suit you well from what you have described.

With your size, I would recommend either if the larger two sail sizes. The 5.7m will be easier to handle and uphaul, and the larger one will give a bit more power for getting to planing in the 12-15 knots of wind. The 5.0m is proably too small once you have got the hang of balancing your weight against the sail and leaning back and you would need stronger winds to get planing which means rougher water and more difficulty uphauling and balancing.

Have fun, and good luck!

That should work great. Just make sure the fin box can take a foil.

-Grant

The GO , would be brilliant. 5.7m sail. You neglect to mention your weight, could be a factor the rest is personal stuff you will have to figure out.

much like a car, some offer advantage which out weight , others the opposite, point none perfect.

On size starting at 220 , huge, going down is size is not so noticeable. You may have a few session to be accustomed to the the 151, but it will be worth it.

GO for it! It's pretty much ideal for an athletic, ambitious beginner.

Once you are more skilled, 6.7 is about the smallest sail that GO could realistically work with at all. With a fin a skilled sailor at 85kg would be using 6.7 in 18-22kt, and in any more wind than that you'd go to a smaller board, so of the three sails I'd go with that one. It will also work in very light winds with a foil. Stop using the center fin as soon as possible - you won't get a sense of planing off through the footstraps as long as that fin is in there and once you're really planing the big back fin is all you need to blast upwind. You don't mention masts, but if the 6.7 will work on a 460 then that's an advantage because your most used sail if you keep that board will be something between 7.5 and 8.5, and many of those work on 460 masts but not on anything shorter.

Thank you all so much for the answers. Great support!
I will take all of your suggestions into accout when deciding exactly on the setup but I can see you are all very positive about the board choice. I also felt like it should be just the right size for me to keep learning without too much frustration. I am determined so getting used for some time to less volume is not a problem - especially that i think width has a lot to do here and i am already learning on a narrower board

As above, the Go is a great option. Heavier, but more durable than the Carve, Futura, etc. More fun than a RIO, which is very barge like in comparison. The centreboard is really only useful in sub planning and you will soon be removing the centre fin as you progress.

The EVA deck is great on your knees for climbing on to uphaul and offers some protection from mast impacts and harness hooks.

I also had the 2005 version and regret selling it as it was a great light wind option. Newer versions, which I also had a few of were more like the Carve shape and no where near as early to plane. I would imagine the newer shorter wider versions would be earlier planning, as my current 2016 Carve is earlier planning than the older longer narrower versions I have owned.

Generally an awesome board to progress on and hopefully when you are ready to go to a smaller board you will be able to keep the Go as a light wind option for when you are ready to go to 8.5 and 9.5 sail and larger fins.

Good luck.

G'day Zbuffer,

I can vouch for the the suitability of a SB GO for someone in your situation. I bought a 2005 model (brand new) to get back into windsurfing after a long absence. I had limited ability at the time and found the board ideal with which to progress. You can use small sails with these boards to learn the basics and then increase the sail size as you progress. Up until recently I used the GO as my light wind board and it is still a lot of fun to sail.

My 2005 model is 170 litres, 256cm x 90cm with a 62.2cm tail. It doesn't have any centre board or centre or side fins but I didn't find that an issue when progressing. The 2019 151 litre is 251cm x 86.5cm with a 53.9cm tail according to the SB catalogue. I am 75kg and in the video below I am sailing with a 7.7m 2-cam Neil Pryde Hornet in about 11-12 knots. I need about 11-12 knots minumum to get it planing with the 7.7. At your weight you will need a bit more sail with the 151 to get planing but I think that the board will be a good platform for you to use to progress to planing stage.

Good luck with your journey. The key to improving is getting time on the water, the more time you can spend out there the quicker you will progress. Hope this helps with your questions.

Edit. My Go is the 2005 170 identical to the one above that Orange Whip has. :-)

IMHO, Amongst the very best designs of the GO's they made.