Not so much a review... but a request for reviews from others.

For light wind sailing (10 - 15knts)

Formula Board VS Super Light Wind, Super Sport or similar board

Not so much racing as planning/cruising in light winds

I love sailing my formula board in this wind range, just cruising around the bay. I don't race, just love getting out on the water whenever I can.

I can't comment on the SuperLight, as I've never sailed one, and rarely seen one. There's quite a good second hand market for formula gear, not sure about the superlight.

I got out yesterday on Botany Bay in 10-15 knots with an 11m sail and planed all day - it was brilliant!

My setup was really cheap as it's now coming up to six years old, but if you're not racing, there's not really any need to keep on the current gear just to pick up a couple of places in a race.

What about using a formula board with a smaller fin and sail? Something like a 55cm fin and an 8.5m sail? I have no interest in sailing with a bigger sail or racing. I'd like something that is fun to sail in 10 knots of wind, planes easily and if the sail is dropped, its not a disaster waiting to happen.

I just got a complete formula kit and tried it for the first time last Saturday at Botany. Wind was around 18 knots and choppy, I couldn't handle the 9m sail, so I used an 8m and 460 mast. I think you need to get on the straps as quickly as possible, otherwise the board is hard to control, also it takes some practice to tack. I love the pointing ability and planing downwind. Having a 70 cm fin you are more limited on where you can sail, I want to try next time with a big 50 cm weed fin.

I got some Formula gear about a month ago. First time out using a 10m felt horrible, lacked confidence +++. after a few sails niow finding it a bit easier, took the 11m out on Sat in 12-17 knots and it felt okay ( still hard work) but the down wind runs were pretty good. Not sure how a smaller fin would go on a formula board as they are pretty much an upwind / downwind board and bot that great for reaching. But at least it means that you can get on the water more often !

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Mobydisc said...

What about using a formula board with a smaller fin and sail? Something like a 55cm fin and an 8.5m sail? I have no interest in sailing with a bigger sail or racing. I'd like something that is fun to sail in 10 knots of wind, planes easily and if the sail is dropped, its not a disaster waiting to happen.

Spot on Moby - As I have had limited tow over the last 18 months, didnt want to get nailed with bigger sails so just used a 7.8 RSS and either 70 or 55cm fin on my formula board - still planing under 10 knots and easy to control, reached quite well (well compared to large sail) - this combo worked well from 8-18 knots without too much drama.
As an aside the smaller rig had a LOT less drag when going downwind

Having never sailed a formula board I'm only speculating but wouldn't their upwind/downwind bias largely come from their big fin? I've seen windsurfers on formula boards planing in under ten knots of wind and reaching at good speed. They said there wasn't enough wind for going up or down wind however reaching was okay.

Formula Board for recreational sailing is an interesting debate.
Personally I like being able to sail where ever i want and not being limited to reaching, so I'm naturally drawn to the Formula concept. On the back of that i love racing and that is essentially what FW is designed to do (go up and down wind)

Big sails i.e. >9.0m combined with a bigger fin >60cm are the key to enjoying this type of sailing experience. The bigger sails not only get you planning in light winds (below 9knots) but provide the downward pressure through the mast base to keep the board on the water. The boards wide tail, is so you have the leverage over the sail and the fin so you can drive the board. This is why putting small sails on big boards can actually make life more difficult.

Once you get over the psychological barrier of using bigger gear in both light and strong winds you will struggle to go back as being powered is so much more fun than slogging or trying to avoid the walk of shame back to your original launching spot. I know this is pretty general, but glad to see some chat...

PS: I also like the "never having to water start" option, not that I'm afraid of sharks or jelly fish!

I own a 92cm SLW have used it with 10m sails, currently use 7.8-8.5m race sails with it.

First up, it is not a Race board it's a free ride board, it's got some reasonable pace but if you're looking primarily to race then the formula would be the go. That said on the SLW 90 I've cracked 30kn and the 92 I'm in the upper 27's with more in reserve.

Where I think there is an advantage is dealing with chop, I've had it out in a chest high swell at my local surf break which you would normally take a wide board out.

Most of all the SLW wind is a fun board to ride with reasonable pace and I never fail to come of the water without a smile in my face when I take it out.

i recently turned up to my first race in years with my 10yr old Mistral Devil.
SW smirked " i see you bought your slalom board!"
Point is, an older formula board may not be too different to todays light wind boards and a less demanding alternative to todays race machines.

IMHO an old Formula board which can be picked up here on SB for around $500 or less will give you the most bang for your buck and planning earlier.

I've got a 2002 Starboard Formula 186 with a 9m Sailworks Retro (which is lighter than most 7m racesails) and a 65cm fin, with this I can get planning with a coupla pumps in 8kn or 10kn without pumping
This combo is great for reaching but was hard on the back foot until I moved the backstraps inboard 5cm

but to answer the original question Formula board vs SuperLightWind

I've sailed my old Formula board against a mate who has a JPSLW and
from 8-12kn the Formula planes earlier, points higher, and is faster
(I've clocked 21kn on da GPS in about 10-12kn of wind)
but after 12kn and approaching 15 kn i'm almost outa control and heading in for a smaller board while he's still going

Pretty much what Brett wrote. Wish I'd hopped onto Formula a couple of years ago as I have 3x the TOW, can go all over the bay and it's not nearly as scary as is often made out.

If my desired wind range was 10-15 though *and* I was just after B&F sailing, I'd have maxed out at 75-80cm slalom with an 8.6. @ 79kg that would be plenty for me from 8 knots and up B&F, but I wanted it all, so FW it was and is.

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Brett Morris said...

.... I know this is pretty general, but glad to see some chat...

Brett, why formula riders grab the uphaul rope instead of the front of the boom sometimes? is it just to rest the arm?

Some of us grab the up-haul rope to get away from the rig and let the rig stand up a little bit more. Hopefully you can point a degree higher...
The Jury is out on whether it works of not, but once you do it for a while it is actually difficult to go back to a traditional stance. Muscle memory kicks in i guess?
You can see 2 styles in the below photo. Our actual stances aren't that different.

I've owned and sailed alot a starboard 161 and a JPSLW 90...

I really like the jp slw. I replaced a sb f161 which I really liked. But at my new spot where I now sail, the water is usually pretty rough for a formula board.
The slw needs a little more wind to plane than the 161 with a 10.0 retro sail but it doesn't need as much pumping to go.
It handles rough water way better.
Much more relaxed sailing with slw (I have switched to a waist harness vs seat harness with the formula).
I would say it is not as fast as the 161 and actually it doesn't seem that fast (no gps just a guess).
Great for jibing - way better than a formula board - it is actually a fun board to jibe - hard to plane out of a jibe like any big board and big sail.
I can't say I really like the raised footstrap area.
Fin really sucks - way too small and flexy - I use a drake 64. I do use the stock fin with an 8.0 and in higher winds.
Overall I really like it for where I sail.
For flat water I would have probably just kept my 161.

I have not sailed many formula boards but I did have a SLW (90) for a while...

I did a review here:
whitelionwindsurfing.blogspot.com/2011/02/jp-super-light-wind.html

In Summary I think that the JP SLW delivers on its statement that "...this board simply widens the wind range where it is possible to get planing and have heaps of fun. It plans as early as Formula boards (which have been purely developed for racing and to go straight up and downwind) but it is a lot more fun."
If you are focused on SPEED in light winds then an XL slalom board is probably the go. You may not be planing as much as the SLW in "real world" light wind that can have big holes as compared to a race where it will be scratched if lulls are less than the minimum wind speed.

If you want to get a second hand formula you better be quick as I hear most of them are being shipped over to WA.[:)

Stay away from formula and 10/11m sails. Get a kite

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PS said...

I got some Formula gear about a month ago. First time out using a 10m felt horrible, lacked confidence +++. after a few sails niow finding it a bit easier, took the 11m out on Sat in 12-17 knots and it felt okay ( still hard work) but the down wind runs were pretty good. Not sure how a smaller fin would go on a formula board as they are pretty much an upwind / downwind board and bot that great for reaching. But at least it means that you can get on the water more often !

It's probably worth pointing out how narrow the trim range is on formula gear. 2cm of downhaul can make the difference between a rig that feels like it's made of concrete and one that feels like it's sailing itself. So even if you're not racing it's worth putting some time into getting the setup just right.

But I'm sceptical about small sails/fins. I sometimes run a 9m and a 68cm fin cause I'm old and weak, but even in 20knots I can tell that the board would ride better if it was more powered up.

This is very interesting!

Always been interested in Formula but put off by my crappy gybes & waterstarting big gear. Does falling in have to be a thing of the past before it's worth having a crack? Is there any limit to what can be water started?

You light guys have it easy, 8 knots ha I need a motor if I wanna plane

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needsalt said...

This is very interesting!

Always been interested in Formula but put off by my crappy gybes & waterstarting big gear. Does falling in have to be a thing of the past before it's worth having a crack? Is there any limit to what can be water started?

Heaps of volume for uphauling on a Formula board, no need to waterstart if you don't want to.

Wearing a buoyancy vest also makes a big difference waterstarting big rigs.

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leto said...

Stay away from formula and 10/11m sails. Get a kite

I want to "sail" if I want to wakeboard I do it behind a boat

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needsalt said...

This is very interesting!

Always been interested in Formula but put off by my crappy gybes & waterstarting big gear. Does falling in have to be a thing of the past before it's worth having a crack? Is there any limit to what can be water started?

Uphauling is pretty easy with an easy-uphaul, even with an 11.0+ in stronger winds. I rarely fall in now as there's so much width you have the space to make an error and recover. Most sails I get wet only when launching and returning to the beach.

Water-starting is fine if you have the correct technique for flying the sail. There's so much volume in the tail you can basically pull the tail under you and then just stand up in even very light winds.

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needsalt said...
Is there any limit to what can be water started?

I got a loaner of a 9.8m and a formula board.
After 2 sails on it a mate of mine who lent me the gear asked how it went.
I replied all good but a bit of a bugger water starting
He pi33ed himself laughing saying that's what the uphaul was/is for !

As a wave sailor I havent used an uphaul in nearly 20 years... well not on the water anyway, I think I used one to tie something up in the shed a few years back

Thank you! Acceptable to uphaul! Love it! Going to get some gear and give it a crack as soon as I can!

Do they make weedies for Formula gear? Do big weedies work?

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needsalt said...

Thank you! Acceptable to uphaul! Love it! Going to get some gear and give it a crack as soon as I can!

Do they make weedies for Formula gear? Do big weedies work?

Yes you can get them but can be hard to find,I know 2nd Wind Sailboards over here have some Selects or at least they used to,if you can get hold of a Leading Edge grab it but rare as rocking horse sh1t