This one worked well. An old (9'0") 275x55cm Styrotech. Chopped it down to 250cm long and made the cut outs so that tail shape was the same as my 46cm speed board. I had no idea how far to go forward with the cutouts (this was pre cut out era) so went to 50cm. It still had 173mm of nose rocker. It went from being a 33kt board to 37kt in our local estuary. Still had 81 lit volume so was quite useable in lighter winds than the 46cm speedy. I moved the straps to the position of the 46 speedy also.

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Te Hau said..

This one worked well. An old (9'0") 275x55cm Styrotech. Chopped it down to 250cm long and made the cut outs so that tail shape was the same as my 46cm speed board. I had no idea how far to go forward with the cutouts (this was pre cut out era) so went to 50cm. It still had 173mm of nose rocker. It went from being a 33kt board to 37kt in our local estuary. Still had 81 lit volume so was quite useable in lighter winds than the 46cm speedy. I moved the straps to the position of the 46 speedy also.

^^^
Thanks for posting that info, it's also good to see a pic, did the cutouts improve the turning?

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getsum said..

Dezza said..
Nice

have you found KA72.com? You can upload your gps file and get some analysis of your session on there, speeds, distance, tracks etc, can use any gps on that site. There's a group on KA72 for Primbee you could join too, a few of the primbee crew are on that, a good way to see what speeds are being achieved without having to go the full monty joining the gpstc.com

Hi Dezza
That sounds great thank you.

We just got ourselves a Suunto Ambit3 run, so just in the process of trying to work that all out. LOL

I hope that was a good choice?

No hadn't seen it but, We will check out that KA72 for sure.

What's the weather doing this weekend?

Cheers
D&G

Suunto seem to get a lot of false readings when windsurfing. I often come back with a fastest km of 600kph.

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getsum said..

Te Hau said..

This one worked well. An old (9'0") 275x55cm Styrotech. Chopped it down to 250cm long and made the cut outs so that tail shape was the same as my 46cm speed board. I had no idea how far to go forward with the cutouts (this was pre cut out era) so went to 50cm. It still had 173mm of nose rocker. It went from being a 33kt board to 37kt in our local estuary. Still had 81 lit volume so was quite useable in lighter winds than the 46cm speedy. I moved the straps to the position of the 46 speedy also.

^^^
Thanks for posting that info, it's also good to see a pic, did the cutouts improve the turning?

Nope, it definitely didn't go around corners any better.

Took the "bargain bin special" out for a blast today, wind direction wasn't to good,

The board seemed to go ok, I got it to 30knots on my gps watch.But i know it can do more.

It didn't like going around corners to much, on one gybe it threw me wayy over the handlebars

Overall it was quick, easy and fun to sail.The extra volume helped, especially for tacking it and staying upwind.



I got the Thommen out as well but unfortunately the wind was light at the time.


It was great to have a sail today with all the - really quick - guys and girls at Primbee.

Good Times.

You were looking fast out there today mate and arguably got the better wind. Great videos too!!!

I was about to enter the water as you came in.

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Tony Wills said..
You were looking fast out there today mate and arguably got the better wind. Great videos too!!!

I was about to enter the water as you came in.

Thanks bud, yes I remember now, today was a fun day, just trying a few cheap boards out.

I might do a bit of blasting around with all you speed demons during the winter.

Gunna need a bigger shed

I just got given another free bee, this time, a weapon








Oh and the white board got the chop

Hey G That Lorch , looks like a SCREAMER , Oh and guess what I have the other model 83 Ltrs 49.5 wide
Cant wait too SEND IT !!!!!!!

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Bazz2231 said..
Hey G That Lorch , looks like a SCREAMER , Oh and guess what I have the other model 83 Ltrs 49.5 wide
Cant wait too SEND IT !!!!!!!

Mate ! Awesome

No stopping you now
that lorch looks very nice

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Dezza said..
No stopping you now
that lorch looks very nice

Thanks Dezza

Well it certainly looks the business !

I don't know anything about that brand ? or what it would go like?

It's in really good condition and is cleaning up nicely when I got it home tonight.

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RetroBlaster said..... I don't know anything about that brand ? or what it would go like?

It's in really good condition and is cleaning up nicely when I got it home tonight.

Well check Lao Shi out here,
www.gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2013-05-08&team=12

42kt 2s although my memory of it looks the same as yours, I'm not sure if it's the same,

Be careful with the Lorch !! A few here have had some big offs on that board. Has some issues at high speed

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decrepit said..

RetroBlaster said..... I don't know anything about that brand ? or what it would go like?

It's in really good condition and is cleaning up nicely when I got it home tonight.

Well check Lao Shi out here,
www.gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2013-05-08&team=12

42kt 2s although my memory of it looks the same as yours, I'm not sure if it's the same,

Thanks

But it's not mine anymore...

My Mrs claimed that one : (

Shes on the Lorch now

She wants a full on speed board
to try and keep up with Dezza

I'm back on "White Lightning"
AKA The aircraft carrier
that's having some nose surgery

Did 44 knots on that Lorch, never had many big offs...well a few.

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mr love said..
Did 44 knots on that Lorch, never had many big offs...well a few.

Nice I like it !

What are the big offs you are talking about? I happen to own the same board. So far I haven't had the chance to seriously try it. In the Easter Holidays it went to La Franqui with me but there was no Tramontane.
Do I have to brace myself for something daunting?
"issues at high speed" doesn't sound very encouraging to me.


Cheers, Sven

Rails a bit square in the nose and very little V means it can grab in chop when going very deep off the wind. Been years since I sailed it...this one was modified with tail cutouts to narrow the tail a bit. I had fun on it...was a good board.

Mark (Lao shi) had a big one on his as well but that sometimes happens when you go faster than you have ever been before in extreme conditions. Can dent your confidence tho.. was it me or the board or the conditions?
gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2013-05-08&team=12
We talked about it , I felt the wide squared off tail might have allowed the fin to aerate as the tail of the board lifted on chop at speed. Looks like Martin might have thought the same , hence the custom cut outs.
NB: Despite the crash Mark posted he thought the board was "awesome as usual"

Mine was the bigger S83 49.5 wide.
I found it very footstrap position and fin dependent.
When you had it dialled in it was tops but had some big offs early on.

First ride on the wife's Lorch today, at Primbee, rather brezzey and unfortunately just a little bit to choppy.



Lorch Part 2
Stronger Wind, had to water start , just to get on it, bared away a little, after sailing between the two guys.

I thought the board was alright, but it suited my Mrs more than me ,she really liked it.
I sailed her Sputnik 265 today, I much preferred that.

Doesn't look too bad, does it? Interesting to see someone use it with a wave sail, I would have expected it to be way too loose without a dedicated speed sail. I've tried mine in similar conditions before, so haven't really ventured into serious speed. I love how it goes through jibes as long you enter them fast enough. Those "issues" sound a lot less scary after your explanations, Mr Love. Thanks heaps! 44 knots is massive and a lot faster than I'm hoping to go. 40 knots is the magic line I would love to cross on it.
What's interesting is that Lorch claimed to have it designed to handle chop better than other speedboards.
Regarding fins: I mailed G?nther Lorch and he recommended a 22 cm fin to me (givens: 85 Kilogramm sailor, 5,6 speed sail).
A Choco Mach 3 20,5cm felt too small for me in first trials, a 23 cm Winheller felt more trustworthy, but made a lot of humming noises.
Fin recommendations anyone?
What about a fin for fast reaching courses, e.g. for an hour attempt? Would a 28cm ish pointer fin do the trick here?

Cheers,
Sven
P.S.: does a price of 350 ? (new in the original package) qualify as a bargain here?

Great sailing in some extreme wind conditions. The blade sail looks to be powering that board really well

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Dezza said..
Great sailing in some extreme wind conditions. The blade sail looks to be powering that board really well

Thanks Dezza,

it was fairly breezy aye?

How was it later in the afternoon?

It looked like you were flying!

Hope you had a great sail

Cheers
G

Most of the worst 'off's' I have had, and seen, on speed courses, were in the earlier days of narrow speed needles with very square and sharp rails. We also had fins vastly more prone to 'spin out'. That is a very dangerous combination! When the fin lets go at top speed, or as so often happens, when you take the power off and start to slow down in the roughest part of the course, that sharp edge can suddenly catch and trip you. Not a nice type of crash to have!!

I have even put my body through the bottom panel of my sail, and broken my mast above the end of the extension, with a trip when going upwind! (I remember I got the mother of all corkies in the thigh)

Modern speed and slalom boards tend to have a much more tucked rail edge. Many speed boards have a slight vee, or slightly raised side panels on the bottom, all of which can allow the rider to slide sideways for a moment or two without catching the rail. This gives us a few split seconds of vital time to unload the board and, either get the heels down, or pull the fin back in to grip. Thankfully, it happens a lot less often with modern fins now anyhow.

Is it possible that the Lorch has a relitively flat bottom and quite square sharp rails?

In any case, a really good safe fin will make a big difference.

Adding a small amount of 'V' is relatively easy, if you feel keen enough to give it a go... either a licking of epoxy+microballons, or a few coats of epoxy-paint.

Looks pretty rough when you're sailing the Lorch but does it bounce more than the older style boards?

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mathew said..
Adding a small amount of 'V' is relatively easy, if you feel keen enough to give it a go... either a licking of epoxy+microballons, or a few coats of epoxy-paint.

Thanks Mathew , good info.

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sboardcrazy said..
Looks pretty rough when you're sailing the Lorch but does it bounce more than the older style boards?

hi
yes it was rough water, obviously not very suitable for it. I had a 4.5m sail and it was very overpowered.

I think no matter what board I'd been on that day, it would have bounced around. But as you can see I'm no speed sailor.

My wife really likes the Lorch, it planes her surprisingly easy in light winds
and she went well on it when the wind picked right up.

Today she sailed the Thommen 83lt and a 4.5 sail. I was on the white crazy board and a 5.2 sail.