Hi Jesper

Just wondering how you are going on the XFires. I see you had a bit of a bad start to the last round of the PWA but managed to get back to a reasonable position and have good speed, great stuff.
I'm really enjoying both the 102 and 122, great range and fast. I even used a 7.0 on the 122 the other day and was suprised how well take combo worked.
The only thing I am having trouble with is my stance trying to get upwind on the 122 with my 8.5 and 44cm Sting fin. I feel like I really need to twist the heal of my back foot forward and out on the rail lots and I have trouble keeping my front leg straight to lock in and crank up wind. I also feel like my body is twisting and it gets uncomfortable. Reaching and off the wind is no problem and really comfortable.
I have my back straps 2nd from back and front straps all the way back, mast track just back from 135cm.
Any advice?

Thanks

Brett White - NZ

Hi Brett

I still enjoy the boards 100%. I can see on the other RRD riders (Finian, Julian, Tocelli, Slabe and Rosatti) in the PWA, that they enjoy them as well!! :)

Not sure why you are not comfortable upwind? I have my mast track position between 134-137 on all boards.

I use a 42 Vector Canefire carbon and it delivers great upwind performance. Anyway in my opinion it is a slalom board and reaching / downwind is the most important.

Cheers

Jesper

Jesper, thanks for a quick reply.
Agree, myself and my mate just love these boards and agree they are slalom boards and are great at it. It's just we get such gusty wind here in Auckland that sometimes we need to crank upwind a bit underpowered at times to get some good downwind runs.
Thanks for track positions. I'm usually running 134-135 for the 122 and 135 seems so far sweet for the 102. We seem to run more under powered that over here half the time.
Are you still running your straps 2nd hole from back on both front and back?

Thanks

Brett

Hi Brett

With the strap position it is all about personal comfort.
I mostly try to work it out myself without looking at the other guys settings. Just go with what feels the best.

I still have the straps in the 2'nd hole from the back (front and back)

Jesper

Brett,

Maybe you should look at your Sails?

Race Sails from all brands are designed to operate in a broad range of wind/water conditions.

However in Auckland's (5-30+ knot ****ty gusty shifty winds) that operational session range is too extreme for Race Sails.

In my bias view (& unbias design point of view) the KA Koncept is the only sail that can handle that extreme range of conditions.

Then there is the Fin, that's another story!

Jesper, thanks again.
I am going to put the front straps forward one position and try it.
Agree it's usually a personal comfort thing and generally I always have my front strap all the way back because I don't like the floaty front foot syndrome. But so far the X-fire is nicely locked in with the front foot so I'll give it a go.

Icesurf
How's things?, thanks for the sail plug, but the sails I have are great (although I still have my little 5.8 KA Koncept that is gathering dust)
PS Got Auckland wrong, nowadays it's 1-25 knots max and don't need much below a 7.0. :(

hallo guys,
what's the sail and wind range of the 102 and 90?
Expert sailor/racer around 82 kg.

thanks

Hi W100

The sail range for the Xfire 102 is 6.0-7.8. You can go smaller or bigger if needed, but this is kind of sweet spot range.

I did try it with a 8.3 Koncept and it seamed to work OK. Also a 5.7 Koncept I tested on it and it worked. Its a very big sail range for this board,,

The range for Xfire 90 is 5.0-7.3. Again you can go up to 7.5-7.8 if needed.

Wind range for 102 - 15kts-30kts
Wind range for 90 - 18kts-35kts

Jesper

I agree with Jesper on the sail ranges for the boards.

With my 8.7 on the 122, I am using slightly bigger fins than Jesper. I'm using 46-48cm Deb R16's and it feels a bit more powered up with these bigger fins for me.

I run my straps on the 122 on the back, outside holes. I like a loose feeling board so this gives a bit more power on to the fin which can make the board rail a bit more and feel a bit more lively. With the straps more inboard it settles the board down and you can keep the nose tracking really straight through gnarly chop; nice to have boards with so many options.

The 122 actually works quite well with a 7.0 in windy conditions - it has such a reduced tail width to other brands so it handles the big winds very well.

I'm using the same track positions as Jesper also...

Hi Jesper,
As you have a lot of experience with starboards as well, a couple of questions if you find time:
I have an isonic 111 and want to switch to rrd, probably 112. I am 75 kg and the sails are 6.8 and 7.8, fins deboichet sl2 36 and 39, medium chop.
1) How would you rate these two boards regarding their abilities to start planing and top speed?

I was really happy with my speed on the 111, but would like to improve my performance in lighter winds, especially in low wind start and mark areas. Thus my other option is rrd 122.
2) Do you think I would in that case loose a lot of top end speed compared to the isonic 111?
3) Do you know the tail widht of the rrd 112 and 122? Can't seem to find that anywhere on the net...

My smaller board is isonic 86 (with 5.6, talon 32).
4) How would you compare it to the rrd 90, again regarding planing and top speed?
Thanks a lot, vlad

Hi Vlad

1) The RRD Xfire and Starboard are both great boards,,

To be honest I don't think there will be much difference in planing between the IS 111 and Xfire 112 boards. They are both very efficient.

The 112 RRD is however planing very early (nearly as early as the 122), and you can use it with sails up to 8.6 and down to 6.8.

For jibing the Xfire in any size, is super easy. Very forgiving and you can throw them into gybes hard, tight, slow speed , high speed and they handle everything with ease and exit out of gybes are great.

2) Both boards has excellent top end speed. For me the Xfire 112 is more comfortable over the distance, with a lot less leg strength required, and you can use smaller fins as well with no problems.

3) The RRD boards has a little narrower tail section than the Starboards, but I think this is on of the features that is winning a lot of sailors over to their boards,,as the stance on the boards is very balanced and comfortable. In most cases when sailors try the boards , their first comment is how easy and comfortable they are, and they are never scared of going max speed,,

4) I did like the Isonic 86 when I used them, but again it comes down to the comfort on the Xfire and smoother ride over the distance. Top end speed for the boards are similar. You can easily sail the Xfire 90 in as much wind as the IS 86.

The Xfire is great in choppy water as flat water conditions. The narrower tail section and deck profile, really helps for the control in choppy waters.

Both brands are great race boards, but the longer you sail in distance / hours and the more gybes you throw, the more the Xfire will be a good choice.

Cheers

Jesper

Help! I have decided that my next board will be a RRD X FIRE but I cant decide on the size.
1st up I weigh 75kg if that has any bearing on the decision. As much as I would love to have a quiver of them I can only afford one at this stage.

Jesper as you live in W.A and know our wind/chop conditions if you had to choose one size for mainly river and some ocean sailing what would it be.??

I feel the 102 or 112 more towards the 112 would be the way to go.
I am using KA Koncepts.

Cheers!

Col, I can add a few thoughts for your consideration.
I am slightly lighter than you at 70-72kg (depending on how many mince pies i've eaten), and I have a XFire102. This board works as my "big" light wind board, and I can get planing with my 7.7 and 38cm fin in the same wind that I can get planing on my 130L Carve. The width and light weight of the XFire helps. The 102 XFire also is comfortable in the Swan chop powered up with a 6.0 and a smaller fin (32-34). The relativley narrow tail I think helps with control. Having said that, once it is windy enough for the 6.0 I am usually happier on my 85L Sonic.
What does this mean for your board selection? For a 1 board quiver I would seriously consider a XFire 90. Best bet is to demo a 90 and a 102 (if possible demo the 90 in light wind, and the 102 in a strong breeze to better assess which one will cover your required wind range). The 90 could be the go if you want to get the best of the stronger sea breezes, or the 102 if you don't want to miss lighter wind sessions. To my thinking the 112 might be a bit big as a 1 board option, but would certainly get you going on more marginal days - with the compromise that it might become a bit of a handful on the windier days.
Hope that is useful feedback! Jesper may also have some thoughts.

Hi Col

Both the 112 and 102 are great boards, you can't go wrong here. They have a very similar feeling on the water, but it is just a matter if you need the extra volume or not?

It all depends of what sail sizes you want to use, and if you want to have max sailing time on the lighter days and also what your own level of sailing is?

Rindwider is correct that the 102 takes sails up to around 7.8 with no problems. The 122 would take up to 8.6.

Cheers

Jesper

Thanks for the advice rindwider/Jesper.
When will the 2011 range of x fire be released. Cant be that far away.

Hi Jesper,

I have the same issue as col5555. Iám looking for a new board and my eye felt on a RRD 102. My weight is 95kg and lenght is 1.95m.
At this moment I have a Futura 133 (2010) with a North RAM F10 9.0 and F11 7.0.
Would this be the right size for me?

thanks in advance for your reply

Marco

Hi Marco

With your body size and sail choices, then the Xfire 112 would be the better option.

Cheers

Jesper

Thnx Jesper for your quick respons. Is the sweetspot of the 112 7,0? and what will it be for the 102?

thnxs in advance

Marco

Hi Marco

You can use the 7.0 on 112 and 102 with no problems.

Sweat spot for 112 might be around 7.0-8.0 and for 102 6.4-7.5
I sail the 112 with sails from 6.6-8.5 and the 102 with 5.8-7.5

Cheers

Jesper