Howdy,

I need some help, as my windsurfing ( slowly ) improves im wanting to get into freestyle wave sailing. I have a jp excite ride 120 which is a awesome board so i can vouch for jp however i have my eye on a starboard flare 99 ltr the alternative would be a jp freestyle wave does anyone know how these boards compare other than cost ??

the current jp freestyle wave is awesome. We had a demo board floating around the comps all season, by the end of the season people were fighting to use it. Was really fast on the flat water out the back and performed well on the wave. If your looking for something to advance into freestyle and waves with, the freestyle wave would be well worth a look.

I've had both brands in the last couple of years. The big Plus for JP is the powerbox fin in the FSW. way better than US and Starboard are pigheaded about this issue. It is critical in the larger sizes ie 90 ltr above. I broke heaps of US fins due to the weak conection. The power is rock solid. Also a heap faster to put in.

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qldsalty said...

I've had both brands in the last couple of years. The big Plus for JP is the powerbox fin in the FSW. way better than US and Starboard are pigheaded about this issue. It is critical in the larger sizes ie 90 ltr above. I broke heaps of US fins due to the weak conection. The power is rock solid. Also a heap faster to put in.

IMHO - I dissagree with you. US box is way better, specially if you want to wave sail (if you dont then probably makes no difference). I lost sooo many powerbox fins on my old power box board, and had to swim in, because the single bolt shears very easy when you hit a rock/reef and you loose the fin (although it doesnt break, it is useless to you on the bottom of the ocean - once i found it with a snorkel)

Since then I have only had wave boards with US-box fins, and although I have broken a couple, they can be salvaged. with a little metal bracket you can fit to the brocken section. Plus if you want a board that is more tunable, the US-box is also way better because it allows you to change the fin position. Also the 2 times i have broken fins I have been able to sail in on them (although awkwardly), because the back of the fin stays in the slot. US box wins hands down if you hit rocks/reef, which depending on where u sale may or may not be an issue.

That being said my wave board is about 80 lts, and I never use the 100L powerbox board any more (in part because I have no fins left, and cant be bothered buying a new one) and i dont do any freestyle.

@lee1972,

I have had a 92/ 93 Freestyle Wave they first came out. I usually upgraded every season as every season they slightly improved the board.

The biggest change in my opinion came in the '08 model. They really managed to pack a lot more wave orientation into that board while keeping the top end speed the same.

I currently still have the '08 model but I am thinking of upgrading to the '10 model... depending on how it performs.

Despite what people will say here about Starboard vs. JP as far as performance goes the Starboard Flare doesn't even get close to the characteristics of the JP FSW.

Yes, the Starboards have some really well thought out details such as the foot straps but in the performance is what counts. And the FSW wins that hands down every time.

In a nutshell the FSW planes early, turns on a dime and has a near endless top end speed. If you decide to get one of those get the pro edition! It's worth the extra money.

Also, the JP FSW is the type of board that will benefit from playing with different fins. You can really change the bias of the board towards more wave, freestyle or freeride simply by changing to a different fin.

RE fin system, don't know if US box or powerbox is better. However, last time I was at windsurf and snow and had a look at their very large selection of fins there weren't very many freestyle and freeride fins with US box system. Most of the US box fins they had were shorter style wave fins.

BTW, were do you sail most of the time? I am here in Sydney and sail mostly the South side (Wanda, La Perouse, 'Bra, Kymeeagh). You are more than welcome to take my FSW for a spin next time you see me at the beach...

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stehsegler said...

@lee1972,

Also, the JP FSW is the type of board that will benefit from playing with different fins. You can really change the bias of the board towards more wave, freestyle or freeride simply by changing to a different fin.

Agree my 92 FSW is wicked with a 30 cm Super X fin, great free ride, insane upwind with a 32 Mean Line freeride and loose as a goose with the 27 FSW fin.
Love it, wish there was wind to get out more on it.

Howdy,
Wow i forgot about this thread. Well im still wanting to move into freestyle, i have been doing heaps of reasearch about freestyle boards namely the RRD, JP and starboard ( flare ) checking out the boardseeker review they all come out pretty close except for the rrd's carving abililty however it does go on to say its the best board to learn freestyle on and i have heard that from a few people namely on sea breeze. Im not to worried about the lack of carving ability in the rrd because A) i dont carve much B) i cant carve gybe yet, but im so agonisingly bloody close.
Im using a Jp excite ride 120 for 15 knots and above and a big fanatic shark 160 ltr for light wind stuff. I brought trickionary the other day so i have been out practising light wind stuff non planing , mainly board 360's heli and push tacks , front to sail and catapults ( i excel at these ) and just about everything else..
Just like to add im considering these boards because you can always find them for sale.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I just wonder how these boards would perform on places like botnay?

For improving, I would go for the JP Freestyle if you are going arround 100L(99 for the JP). For high wind I would choose something else of course.

The JP freestyle Wave have a lot of speed...ok in wave but not good at all in freestyle...in fact, I think the RWW is better for sliding than the FSW....

In fact, the freestyle boards are now have a lot of carving ability (need that in advance trick..so lucky customer now have better boards) lately...so those boards are very interesting, they are so stable, get going so quick, and in mushy small wave, can have a blast. I would go for that!
nord_roi

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lee1972 said...

Howdy,
Wow i forgot about this thread. Well im still wanting to move into freestyle, i have been doing heaps of reasearch about freestyle boards namely the RRD, JP and starboard ( flare ) checking out the boardseeker review they all come out pretty close except for the rrd's carving abililty however it does go on to say its the best board to learn freestyle on and i have heard that from a few people namely on sea breeze. Im not to worried about the lack of carving ability in the rrd because A) i dont carve much B) i cant carve gybe yet, but im so agonisingly bloody close.
Im using a Jp excite ride 120 for 15 knots and above and a big fanatic shark 160 ltr for light wind stuff. I brought trickionary the other day so i have been out practising light wind stuff non planing , mainly board 360's heli and push tacks , front to sail and catapults ( i excel at these ) and just about everything else..
Just like to add im considering these boards because you can always find them for sale.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I just wonder how these boards would perform on places like botnay?

just a couple of pointers re freestyle.

There are two things you will find in a pure freestyle board:

1) the fin that comes with the board is a short and stubby freestyle find. These are specifically designed for sliding board moves and will allow you to plane backwards with relative ease.

2) The boards tend to have a rocker line designed for flat water. Especially in the bigger sizes. I don't think you'll have a lot of fun in waves.

Most people recommend that you have a freestyle board that will actually float your body weight. Especially in the lower wind ranges.

One last tip. Once you start trying to go for those spinning/ sliding moves make sure you warm up with stretches first. Your ligaments will thank you greatly for it.

i've never done much good with the supplied JP fin on the 08 jp freestyle. I find i do better with a small flexy wave fin rather than the so called freestyle one.

how do you guys find the one that came with the 09 board?

haven't tried the FSW 09 or Freestyle JP 09 with the supplied fin but test a few other boards last season and always found that you get better performance out of the board using a different fin.

Not sure what the philosophy of board manufactures is. Perhaps they are going for a middle ground rather than performance. Personally I think most boards these days should come with two sets of high performance fins.

First of all, the fin provided with the JP fs is massive, way too big for freestyling...it's riding like a formula with that fin...so no worries in that deparment.

Lately, freestyle move need turnability, so those boards turn quite well and can give FSW a run for their money in mushy Wave. Anyways, the only true freestyle wave board I know who is great in wave is the Quatro...I did not all tested what is available..but most of FSW boards just suck in wave anyway!
nord_roi

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stehsegler said...

just a couple of pointers re freestyle.

There are two things you will find in a pure freestyle board:

1) the fin that comes with the board is a short and stubby freestyle find. These are specifically designed for sliding board moves and will allow you to plane backwards with relative ease.

2) The boards tend to have a rocker line designed for flat water. Especially in the bigger sizes. I don't think you'll have a lot of fun in waves.

Most people recommend that you have a freestyle board that will actually float your body weight. Especially in the lower wind ranges.

One last tip. Once you start trying to go for those spinning/ sliding moves make sure you warm up with stretches first. Your ligaments will thank you greatly for it.

I was in almost the same situation 18 months ago, and ended up choosing between two JP boards - 100L Freestyle board, or a 108L FSW. This was my second board after a Go 155.

I ended up being able to pick up a 2008 108L FSW pro-edition demo board for $1350, and it's the best decision I ever made.

The FSW is a great board which, sure, does make compromises, but does everything - freestyle, blasting and small wave riding - pretty well. (And you'd have to be a pretty freestyler to notice the performance difference between the FSW pro and the Freestyle board, I think.)

So after 18 months, here's what I've done with it:
1. Blasted around Port Phillip Bay in 15kts with a ka Koyote 7.5m
2. Blasted around flat water at Inverloch in 30-35kts with a 4.7m (with a 23cm fin - I agree totally with getting different sizes, I've got three for this board)
3. Learned to pop the board, and get 2/3rds of the way around a vulcan (it'll happen one day!)
4. Taken it out into waist high surf at Inverloch in 15-20kts with a 5.8 - wasn't pretty but I did my first wave riding
5. Learned to carve gybe - it turns so quickly that I found using less carving pressure made it easier!
6. Learned to jump off the big chop we get in Port Phillip, and float the board (have yet to nail a smooth landing though)
7. Learned to lock down the board through gusts when totally overpowered, and drive it through chop - again in Port Phillip Bay.

As you can see, I've used it as a great all-rounder board, and it's really taught me a lot about the different aspects of our sport. The only thing it doesn't do well is the light wind stuff, because for me at 82kg it's a little unstable - but that does force me to keep my COG low! If I really want to practice things like heli-tacks or sail 360s I'll use my Go board. It's a little big, and the JP Excite 120L you have would be better!

At my weight I could have gotten the next size down, but ended up buying a cheap 2nd hand 85L Fanatic Goya FSW which is what I use on big wind days. This is a better spread of sizes for me, for the moment at least!

Hope this helps.
Tristan

Hello,

I brought a freestyle jp 100 ltr from perth in the end as it was to good a price to pass ( it seems everything is cheaper in perth even with shipping costs. Heres what i have managed to do with it so far

1. sweet f all

there has been very little wind here, so much so im considering packing my van and driving south to sandy point
Really looking forward to getting out on it, maybe a fsw would have been a better choice considering the conditions here but we shall see at the moment its just gathering dust.
Sounds like you skills are coming along nicely

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TristanF said...

I was in almost the same situation 18 months ago, and ended up choosing between two JP boards - 100L Freestyle board, or a 108L FSW. This was my second board after a Go 155.

I ended up being able to pick up a 2008 108L FSW pro-edition demo board for $1350, and it's the best decision I ever made.

The FSW is a great board which, sure, does make compromises, but does everything - freestyle, blasting and small wave riding - pretty well. (And you'd have to be a pretty freestyler to notice the performance difference between the FSW pro and the Freestyle board, I think.)

So after 18 months, here's what I've done with it:
1. Blasted around Port Phillip Bay in 15kts with a ka Koyote 7.5m
2. Blasted around flat water at Inverloch in 30-35kts with a 4.7m (with a 23cm fin - I agree totally with getting different sizes, I've got three for this board)
3. Learned to pop the board, and get 2/3rds of the way around a vulcan (it'll happen one day!)
4. Taken it out into waist high surf at Inverloch in 15-20kts with a 5.8 - wasn't pretty but I did my first wave riding
5. Learned to carve gybe - it turns so quickly that I found using less carving pressure made it easier!
6. Learned to jump off the big chop we get in Port Phillip, and float the board (have yet to nail a smooth landing though)
7. Learned to lock down the board through gusts when totally overpowered, and drive it through chop - again in Port Phillip Bay.

As you can see, I've used it as a great all-rounder board, and it's really taught me a lot about the different aspects of our sport. The only thing it doesn't do well is the light wind stuff, because for me at 82kg it's a little unstable - but that does force me to keep my COG low! If I really want to practice things like heli-tacks or sail 360s I'll use my Go board. It's a little big, and the JP Excite 120L you have would be better!

At my weight I could have gotten the next size down, but ended up buying a cheap 2nd hand 85L Fanatic Goya FSW which is what I use on big wind days. This is a better spread of sizes for me, for the moment at least!

Hope this helps.
Tristan

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lee1972 said...

Hello,

I brought a freestyle jp 100 ltr from perth in the end as it was to good a price to pass ( it seems everything is cheaper in perth even with shipping costs. Heres what i have managed to do with it so far

1. sweet f all

there has been very little wind here, so much so im considering packing my van and driving south to sandy point
Really looking forward to getting out on it, maybe a fsw would have been a better choice considering the conditions here but we shall see at the moment its just gathering dust.
Sounds like you skills are coming along nicely

Ellobuddha and his friend ended up doing just that; heading down from mirimbulla NSW for the weekend. Wasn't ideal wind direction for Sandy Pt. so came to Rye in Port Phillip Bay where we put on some great wind and an excellent turn up of windsurfers. If you decide to head on down, just post in the Vic forum to let us know. The Vic sailors are all very welcoming.

Leman is spot on.

Do yourself a favour and get in your van. We had two days great sailing. Stayed at Fish Creek pub on the Friday night and rechecked the forecast/wind obs in the mornging. No good for Sandy so a quick drive down to Rye. Had two days having a ball though my Xcite was too big and too choppy for a little slalom board (For me anyway)

I have since bought a 09 FSW 101 (im 100kg) and had it out only the once in up to about 40kn gusts and it sits unreal through the chop.

Looking forward to getting back down to Vic. Hopefully for the first week of Speed week. Heaps of locations to sail within reasonable travel time. Great wind and friendly crew. GET DOWN THERE.