I've bought this old windsurfer but am interested in knowing what brand this is

i don't have the mast foot and will eith make something, buy one if someone has one or just flog off as a SUP. It's well made, appears to be Fibreglass not epoxy quite heavy but a production board not a custom for the 70's. One owner, parents bought it in nsw somewhere, possibly around Lake Macquarie newcastle for their son Who said it was one design brand.? Boom plastic ends have the number TK508B and TK503B. Centreboard and fin box have a similar number starting with TK - 103 and 303?

i think it is a Sunsurfer from Taiwan.

That rings a bell. That's was my first ever board as a kid 32 years ago.

Oh thanks. That name came up somewhere else in a peconic puffin article april 2007. The board pictured was a little different and blue but someone mentioned they made two different boards. Can't find any images though on google for this board. I'm guessing it was early 80's at the latest and maybe late 70's? Hey you don't have the mast step floating round in your old toy box do ya?

Enjoy tying the boom to the mast!

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Dag said..
That rings a bell. That's was my first ever board as a kid 32 years ago.

Hey D, I sold that board for a tidy profit, only bought it out of curiosity. It was bloody heavy but pretty solid and in good condition. I must say it glided pretty well in light winds and even when supping. Very stable with the wide tail. A good learners board with a very good non slip deck

I think it's called a windsurfer LT

back in yer box puss

I remember , mine had bugger all grip left on it. Bloody heavy alright. Definitely needed two people to lift onto roof of car.
Must be in good nick for one of those that old.
I really didn't look back, going to One Design from there. That thing with a bit of a blow, and the older style of rig really made a goose of me a few times while learning.

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Sparky said..
I think it's called a windsurfer LT

Baha! At least you know how to use humour properly.

Thats what it is a sunsurfer not a Windsurfer

I just did a job for a bloke who has what he said is brand new out of the box one of those .
With two sails two centre boards & two masts .
One boom .
He wants to sell it & asked me how much I told him $50 .

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actiomax said..
I just did a job for a bloke who has what he said is brand new out of the box one of those .
With two sails two centre boards & two masts .
One boom .
He wants to sell it & asked me how much I told him $50 .

Yeah, i think people don't realise how much these things are really worth. I think your $50 is too much as the tip fees will cost you more.

My brother was telling me his colleague had something like $30K worth of gear that he wanted to sell for only $6K. When I asked him how old it was, I told him not to bother. I think this guy didn't realise how much the sport has moved on.

Formulanova the bloke told me he thought it was worth $2000.
He's had it for 6 years & never sailed it .
I told him its all changed since that was made .
I dont think he believes me .
Tried to convince me it would be great as a sup .
I told him I would never buy it & I reckoned he would be lucky to get $50.
I think he thinks it is some kind of investment.

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actiomax said..
Formulanova the bloke told me he thought it was worth $2000.
He's had it for 6 years & never sailed it .
I told him its all changed since that was made .
I dont think he believes me .
Tried to convince me it would be great as a sup .
I told him I would never buy it & I reckoned he would be lucky to get $50.
I think he thinks it is some kind of investment.

I think I sold mine for $200 as a sup. Had a sail and a paddle on it, they are actually very stable and ideal for learning on, however, about 23kg I think!

I wanna know if that thing on the nose is designed to split your head open, or just happens to work that way....?

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Mark _australia said..
I wanna know if that thing on the nose is designed to split your head open, or just happens to work that way....?

probably a old fashion go pro mount

or a catapult deturant .

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actiomax said..
Formulanova the bloke told me he thought it was worth $2000.
He's had it for 6 years & never sailed it .
I told him its all changed since that was made .
I dont think he believes me .
Tried to convince me it would be great as a sup .
I told him I would never buy it & I reckoned he would be lucky to get $50.
I think he thinks it is some kind of investment.

I must admit, when I first took up his sport I didn't know what modern equipment was like. I bought an old setup out of the trading post for probably $200, and never used it.

I thought it was normal equipment as the yacht club at wollongong was hiring out the same stuff.

Luckily I stumbled across a place that did lessons and I learned that modern equipment is much lighter, comfortable, and user friendly.

I guess most people have seen the equipment from the 80's and assume its all the same and still worth something.

But IS modern equipment really that much lighter? Which bit?

Modern sails, for example, are comparatively heavy. Here's some examples I measured and posted a while ago;

Hobie Miracle 20 fast catamaran racing jib, 5.1m = 2.45kg bulletproof dacron
Laser Radial mainsail, 5.7m - 1.85kg with battens
Windsurfer One Design, 6m mylar 2.22kg with battens
Windsurfer One Design, 6m dacron, 1.58kg with battens (the original windsurfer sail)
Tasar dinghy mainsail with full battens, 8.3m, 2.7kg (mylar/kevlar)
28' offshore racing yacht No 1 headsail, about 20.6m, 4.9 kg (mylar scrim)
18 Foot Skiff headsail, about 10.8m, battens removed, 3.9kg (kevlar)

Average modern 6m windsurfer sail with battens - about 3.6kg

When a windsurfer sail can be as heavy as the sail off an offshore racing yacht, and twice as heavy as the original Windsurfer sail, it's arguable that modern gear has not improved all that much in some respects. And the offshore racer's sail gets worked over harder in many ways, as do the Laser, Skiff and cat sails.

Similarly, while this Sunsurfer was always a cheap and rather nasty board, on a typical day it will often be faster than a typical modern board which will not be planing and which will have a very flat, heavy sail with a very open leach.

This sort of discussion reminds me a bit of the fact that sailmakers are always claiming that their new sails have a bigger range - and yet if you examine World Cup quivers and sailmaker brochures from decades ago it is apparent that the number of sails they tell you you need to cover a certain wind range has NOT improved. Similarly, Boards or something else tested old speed/slalom gear against new and found the old stuff was only about 10% faster, which is probably less than the difference between two typical sailors. And that was when the test sailor was much more used to new gear.

Sure, lots of new gear is great and it has certain advantages. However, actual qualitative proof that it's dramatically better (or in some ways as good) remains elusive.

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Chris 249 said..
But IS modern equipment really that much lighter? Which bit?

Modern sails, for example, are comparatively heavy. Here's some examples I measured and posted a while ago;

Hobie Miracle 20 fast catamaran racing jib, 5.1m = 2.45kg bulletproof dacron
Laser Radial mainsail, 5.7m - 1.85kg with battens
Windsurfer One Design, 6m mylar 2.22kg with battens
Windsurfer One Design, 6m dacron, 1.58kg with battens (the original windsurfer sail)
Tasar dinghy mainsail with full battens, 8.3m, 2.7kg (mylar/kevlar)
28' offshore racing yacht No 1 headsail, about 20.6m, 4.9 kg (mylar scrim)
18 Foot Skiff headsail, about 10.8m, battens removed, 3.9kg (kevlar)

Average modern 6m windsurfer sail with battens - about 3.6kg

The board I first bought for learning was about 3m or 3.3m long, and was made from either plastic or fibreglass. I can't remember. But, it was heavy compared to the epoxy composite boards that were around at the time. I was surprised at how light they were in comparison.

Similarly, I taught myself mainly on a windsurfer one design or a clone, on Lake Illawarra, and with sails that were small enough to get going, but nowhere near the size required to plane. So, I was surprised when I went to the newer equipment and found that it was easier to lift, and the sails appeared lighter. I think the shape of them also made them more user friendly compared to the old style sails that I had.

So, whether they were lighter or not, my recollection is that the newer stuff was. I certainly found the newer boards much easier to ride, but that could have just been because I had already sorted out my balance on the OD stuff.

Oh, lots of the old stuff was rubbish, and in certain conditions the new stuff is definitely better than all of it. But the best of the old stuff is better than the best of the new stuff in some ways.

One thing I really enjoyed with the older equipment was just cruising around on it, at less than planing speed. It was fun. The modern boards don't seem to have that same feeling for some reason.

The new Wally does, and better than any that have, I reckon.

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Dag said..
The new Wally does, and better than any that have, I reckon.

I agree Darren, in fact everybody I know who has tried it were very impressed, anywhere from 5 knots to 30 knots, very well behaved and a pleasure to ride! How many other modern boards can boast that effective wind range with a 6m or is it 5.7m sail?

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Tardy said..

Mark _australia said..
I wanna know if that thing on the nose is designed to split your head open, or just happens to work that way....?

probably a old fashion go pro mount

or a catapult deturant .

Haha! Go pro mount, I like it! Early jvc cassette handycam in a big boxy waterproof housing, you would need a board that big to carry it in those days.

catapault deterrent - yes if u catapault, your head will be split open like a watermelon!

I think the eskimos used this board as an icebreaker, but Chris is right on above, these old boards did glide along very well in sub planing conditions when most of the modern boards are sitting in the garage cause it isn't windy enough. And when you sail these longboards, you can actually go exploring around islands and bays etc instead of back and forth on the same path repeatedly. Take a fishing line and spin for some tailor out the back as well, I did that many times in the past.

i kinda regret selling it but didn't have the space, had to be one of the best learner boards I've ridden, very stable, if only it was 10 kg lighter...

You're right, FN - the physics don't change, and lots of older boards have great 'glide' - just as lots of modern boards have fantastic early planing and top end speed. I'm not knocking the new kit - in fact I've got to pick up a more modern waveboard for summer. It's just that the physics don't change, and improving gear in one way often harms it in another way.