longboarding- where did www.lbwindsurfing.com go?

I just got a longboard so looking up some technique info, etc.
but the LBWS forum is down !
its been showing an admin login page for weeks now, anyone know who runs it and what happened to it?

the longboard wasn't enough to save me from getting skunked this sunday,
but i did get it going ok in about 7kts saturday morning to about slow jogging speed
and great upwind.

I forgot my boots, so it was running shoes or barefoot.
Being a serial toe-stubber i opted for sailing in running shoes!
proper authentic 80s-style!
which worked out ot be a good idea when you've got to give the mastfoot a good kick to slide it

I didn't get it railing or get a proper flare gybe




check out those rails, right angles all along from nose-to-tail

Thanks Steve,

after looking at that site I'm feeling well underfinned:
everything listed was 35 -70cm, ave around 40-45cm
I've got a U.S. box 23cm, might have to look around.
Why has a longboard got a U.S. Box ?!




Y i looked at the wind (lack of), time wife was allowing and generally the fact that i was testing old, used gear and decided I'd rather go off a known (stuff-up friendly) beach than join a race straight off.

I measured it up as 66cm * 380cm and 16Kg
Took it out with a NP V8 8.5, but had sail leant to leeward for the duration.
It reminds me more of the Laser than shortboarding.

Next weekend I'll take it out for all but the biggest wind.

For anyone who fancies some Autumn doldrums longboarding its currently Bayside hard rubbish time! and I've previously passed dozens of big old boards on the nature strip: F2, Ten Cate, Bombora, Tiga. Saw a Mistral One Design last time but after a sprint home on foot to get car it was gone

no i've not see anything this time as it runs over 5 zones, one per weekend, and its not our zone yet. I've just seen quite a few over 4 years of living in bayside.

2 made it home: A Bombora BigToy (360cm longboard), now gone,
and a 88L F2 Starlit Slalom Wave, which I beleive used to hold world speed production board record in its day, set on my old local sailing spot of West Kirby Sea Lake, near Liverpool, U.K.

A few of us were done at Inverloch on our Wally's on Sunday. Becoming a regular sight again down there with these light winds. Still great fun.
Check out www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Victoria/RPS-IWC-Longboard-Challenge-Saturday-19th-March/ for what happened at our recent long board weekend.

Pity the lbws site is still down, I'm sure someone on that site could give you the history of that board. I think JF is for Jim French, a local board builder.

The fin is tiny, but for non-planing conditions < 10 knots it's probably not such a bad thing. US box would have been the only option when the board was built. I had a similar age board and retro fitted a tuttle box so I could use bigger fins. I currently use the fin in the middle (38 cm) and with an 8.5m sail it takes about 12 knots to get planing. If limited to US-box look for a second-hand fin like the one on the left. I tried the big 56cm fin on the right but found the board lost manoeuvrability.


I find these boards perfect for 8-15 knots, wind that would tempt but usually frustrate me on a short board. In these conditions I use it as a "touring" board, heading up wind in a building seabreeeze, then deep off the wind planing. Here are some GPS tracks. In wind 15+ knots and with 8.5m sail I've got to Vmax=22knots.

PtOrmond-Black Rock


StKilda - GreenPt

thats great than jonesmb, y that left fin looks good.
I was considering whether a tuttle or powerbox could be refitted as I've got them, but I'd probably wreck it.
I'll keep an eye out
Also the U.S. Box fin top looks simple so that a powerbox, say, could be easily cut for it ?
Anyway if my fin was good enough for the board's last 20 odd years
then I'll wait until it gives me a problem.

those are long runs you made ! I wonder how my GPS lines would look?
I've toured along bayside on a longboard before but ususally in a westerly.

Windrider Im well up for a longboarding in the bay this weekend.

For anybody who is not yet longboarded up there is a full Windsurfer One Design in Melbourne on ebay with 2 days left for $50 !
(Bill? Carey?)

Y fair enough Bill,
I learnt today that its not all easy !
and yes I managed to to damage more equipment, but in a new way.
I took it our this afternoon (wth 6.6) off Hampton beach, it picked up from 10 to 25 kts, I catapulted on broad reach and ripped the slider straight out of the mast track
(but no damage at all to the slider or track !). Reassembled and is good.
I got back in with a wetsuit boot over the mast foot(to stop board damage) and tied the downhaul to the daggerboard handle, never had to do that one before!
Brilliant fun until then!

A few questions for anyone who can help:

- When the daggerboard is loaded up with sidewards pressure (anywhere not dead up or downwind) it won't move. How do I move it up/down without either head to wind or go on a run? (it occured to me later i might want to sink windward rail until daggerboard is under no sidewards pressure, would this work?)

- The harness lines felt wrong (as setup for this sail for my normal shortboard).
The front hand was far too heavy on all sailing points.
Do you generally need to move lines forward for longboard ?

- With daggerboard up, when trying to bear off downwind in strong wind, beam to broad reach especially, it seemed impossible to steer downwind. I tried sail steering, foot steering(carve), mast foot pressure to force nose downwind(i.e. hiking well out to force board sidewards and lift it off water surface), scissoring with legs. Nothing worked too well.
I presume this is because of very striaght boxy rails.
(It seems now that it is not under-finned, I'm not going to slip downwind anytime soon!)
In the end I powered down and went on a tippy run home.
What to do ?

Thanks

Should have been a happy sailing day but wetsuit zipper was broken- brr.
And then had to swim in from a wind shadow while demonstrating the wonders of longboarding. Dont think I got a candidate...

Up to planing speed everything is reversed- sinking the far rail helps the daggerboard point you high. And instead of a shortboard carve to turn downwind, keep the windward rail well engaged while bringing the sail across. If it is still not happening fast enough get the nose up a bit by standing with feet very wide. This is also good insurance against the deadly submarine stop into a wave Modern sails seem to want to be left right back most of the time, I notice.

Ow! Gusts to 44 knots and I still hadn't gone back for the shortboard .
Retreat to get warm and find no electricity availabvle.
Gotta get a long sleeve long ass polypropaline, it seems.
Or go up mountains for dry cold.
Regarding turning downwind, I find rakingthe sail back early shortboard style hinders the process. A true plane back to the footstraps is needed before relinquishing sail steering (mast upright).

No. it's not back....
It's (the old site) buriedin the wayback machine.
JF board?
web.archive.org/web/20090914011907/http://www.forum.lbwindsurfing.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=616

Lonngboard forum is back online!!