Looking for some thoughts and reccommendations on a new board to replace my 09 Isonic 111.
Here's the criteria, I'm 90kg and the the primary sail for this board is a 7.8m NP RSS. The board will be used for blasting around and light wind speed sailing. The knees are a bit trashed so something that not too harsh is a must. Also I'm not doing as much sailing as I would like to now, so a board that is less technical to dial in is preffered. I find the SB is good but if I haven't ridden it for a while there is a bit of an adjustment period to get it dialed for comfort in a long session. Moreover it needs a big / powerful fin to help it trim. Of course good speed is important, the SB can knock out 31-33 knots on a good day.

I'm also thinking that I could go the next size up, ie. around 120l to extend the light wind sailing (as I also have a 90L slalom). However I'm not sure that going bigger will get me any more low end out of my 7.8M?

I notice that the 2011 boards are out for SB, Fanatic, Exocet, (not sure when the new JP is surfacing). I'd consider a fast free race board but I really prefer something with a decent edge that you can power up and drive off the fin.

Thoughts and suggestions appreciated.

Just another thought "Tabou" the Manta has more edge than the rocket or the rocket is more comfortable but both have comfortable rides, both not as quick as Iso's but less technical, I went from manta to iso bec I got a bit bored with the ease of Manta, whcih comes at the price of lower speed, but I'm no elite sailor

See if you can grab one of Steve Walsh's CA's for a test. Sounds like an SL70 or 75 that you'd be looking at?

I sail an SL70 with a 7.8m North S-Type and a C3 Venom 44 in gusty, predominantly light Harbour conditions and rate it highly! Easier to sail than the older Freeride setup I had in nearly every aspect - light wind tacks being the only negative I've stumbled on as my sh!te technique requires more volume in front of the mast track!

X Fire?

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Review/RRD-X-Fire-vs-Tabou-Manta-vs-JP-Slalom-VI-2010/

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Review/RRD-Slalom-Xfire-80-90-102-112-and-122/

Hey Waitin 4,

Sailed and raced the new Falcon 121 over the weekend and loved it. Come take it for spin any time you want.

Fast, lively and super nice in the turns.

Sam.

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WINDSURFnSNOW said...

Hey Waitin 4,

Sailed and raced the new Falcon 121 over the weekend and loved it. Come take it for spin any time you want.

Fast, lively and super nice in the turns.

Sam.

I was in the shop on Friday and noticed the big stack of Fanatic boxes and was wondering if the the new slalom boards were in that pile. I'll take you up on that offer, next weekend, time and weather pemitting

In the meantime, feel free to post up a review on the Falcon and I'm keento hear how it compares to the JP.

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WINDSURFnSNOW said...

Hey Waitin 4,

Sailed and raced the new Falcon 121 over the weekend and loved it. Come take it for spin any time you want.

Fast, lively and super nice in the turns.

Sam.

Sam, thanks for the loan of the board today, I Managed to get it out for a quick hour and back in shop before close time - just in case I couldn't get it back during the week.

Very nice - used it in 10-15 knts , SE with cross on chop, on my 7.8m. I think everyone on the beach was impressed. I was blasting around nicely while others were off and on the plane.
It didn't feel as fast as the GPS indicated, did an easy 26.7 knots in marginal conditions. The board was easy to jump on and ride even though I had a bit of trouble dialing in my sail (front foot was a bit light).
The tail on this board is very powerful, almost didn't need to pump, just point the the board downwind, step back on the rail and off she goes. I felt that a bigger sail would have trimmed the board a little better than my 7.8m, but it powered along nicely driving of the 44cm fin and quite lively.

The one thing that really surprised was how easy it was to get my back foot into the strap, it just seemed to be in the perfect position. I have to concentrate on getting the back foot in with my Isonic when I haven't ridden it for a while.

The gybing was good, however I haven't used a board this wide for a while so I was a bit sloppy. That powerful tail made it easy to drive through the gybe, in fact, a couple of times it startled me, as it would accelerate mid turn with a bit of extra rail pressure.

After today's ride I'm really keen to try the smaller sizes.

I managed to score a ride on the Exocet RS5 - 115L on Sunday.

Used it with my 7.8m RSS and a 42cm Tectonics Talon 42cm. Wind started at 10-15knts and built to 15-25.

I found the board easy to settle into. The first thing that came to mind was that the tail didn't feel as powerful as I thought it would be for a board this wide (73cm). It was smooth and comfortable to sail, it had the relaxed feel of my older Exo TB boards, but even easier to sail and gybe. It didn't feel at all big and it was quite balanced and easy to get into the back strap.

Initially it didn't feel as fast as my SB Isonic 111 but I think it was deceiving because it was smooth. I did a 32knot GPS run so quite happy with that given it was my first ride on the board. I was preparing for a 34 knot attempt as the wind was starting to really crank and my RSS was in perfect tune...but then the UJ snapped
I didn't feel as fast upwind but I think that after a bit of tuning there is a lot more performance to be had.

I felt that the 42cm fin was good when powered but I would look at a 46 in marginal winds.

So overall I am impressed with the board, it's a relaxed easy sail with plenty of performance.