looking at new boards and just getting my facts right
the modern free ride boards around 70cm wide 120 odd lts should be able to get up and plane easy but dose the extra width mean they get out of control easy in higher wind?

boards I have in mind are starboard carve iq or jp excite hopefully still quite quick but still versitile

combination of a few things such as your weight, capability, sail size, fins, wind strength, water state etc, but on the whole either of those boards you mention at 70cm should be fine up to 25kts and potentially beyond for the average sailor of average weight etc with the appropriate kit.

I sometimes ride a 70cm wide board in 25kts plus and the major control issue I notice is rough seas or cross chop more than the outright wind strength. All things being equal a narrower board would be more comfortable and in control in those sorts of conditions. So the answer is to buy more boards

As under fin said.

boards like the excite can be used in stronger winds by putting a smaller rig and fin on them to redcue the tail walking. but it gets to a point after 25 knots where the chop bounces the board too much
When it catchs the wind underneath it can lead to some spectacular crashes.
That being said if you can find a nice flat piece of water like the pit you wont have too many issues in 25 knots.

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jack5566 said...

looking at new boards and just getting my facts right
the modern free ride boards around 70cm wide 120 odd lts should be able to get up and plane easy but dose the extra width mean they get out of control easy in higher wind?

boards I have in mind are starboard carve iq or jp excite hopefully still quite quick but still versitile

It partially depends how heavy you are. Wider boards are more stable at speed, eventually getting to the point where it's difficult to foot-steer them. One of my boards is a RRD 360 evolution which is about 69 cm wide, and I have some control issues with this board when going fast because I can't get enough weight/pressure onto the rails when I'm powered up to make it go where I want.

As an example, sometimes when I'm going fast and try to cross some chop which is a few degrees off my angle of travel, the board will change direction to track along the wave because I can't get the rail pressure to make the board climb the wave.

I've also got a Tabou Rocket 105L which is about 61cm wide and even that's a bit too wide when I'm really powered and its choppy, which just make things uncomfortable. For that reason I'm about to buy a JP FSW 85L which is a lot more controllable when powered up in chop.

If I could start over again with my boards I'd have an 85L for the windy/choppy/surf days and a 120L board like the x-cite ride for all days when it's too slow for the 85L.

I'm 85kgs and sail with a 6.6 or a 5.3.

"horses for courses " where you sail and how much you weigh, it's not the width that gets you on the plane it's the rocker and when on the plane its the fin that keeps you planning, the width allows you to carry bigger sails for shorter length boards, the wider the board the bigger the fin, it even gets to the stage where the bigger you go the slower you go for e,g formula sailing, the main board i use is 500 wide, with a 30cm fin and a 6.2 N/PRS sail i will get planning quicker and plain through the lulls better than a another sailor the same weight and the same fin & sail on board that's about 650 to 700 wide