just thinking about getting into some wave gear for next season, as an alternative to slalom, and speed sailing...

im only going to be out on the waves when its 20 knots or more... if its over 30kntos more likely to be on speed kit on the flat water. any less bigger board on the river...

ive got a 4.7m wave sail and am looking at a wave board around 85L and maybe a 5.8m too...what do you think?

im around the 90kg mark and was wondering what size wave fin would best for the board and sail combo

85L/4.7m
85L/5.8m

I have an 05 JPFSW 91 that I use with a 27cm freestyle wave fin for 5.4combat and 5.0 and a 29cm carve fin for 5.8. I am a bit lighter at 80kg. I have also used it with a FO weedy 26cm but hard to keep upwind on the bigger sail. 5.4 is most often used sail.
The freestyle wave gets going with the 5.8 at about 14knots. It planes earlier than a full on wave board but is harder to stay tight on the wave. Good for TOW though.

4.7 23cm and maybe a 26cm for 5.8 - some crew would go smaller.

use a MFC 23cm FPT on a 84 RRD wave cult for 5.4 & 4.7 and 22cm with a 4.2 - seems to get going well and nice on a wave.

My 2 cents worth

I've got wave fins from 23.5 to 26.5 cm, my favourite is the Select Wave 25cm.

Would be sweet for your gear

For 90 kg Select fins the X1 wave evo 23 or 24cm use with 5.7/5.8
21cm Select fin X1 wave to use with a 5.0 you should be able to get away with the bigger fin for both sails.

i used to have a select fin...... i called it whistling dixie

If you actually want to wave sail, use a 21cm for strong days and small sail and a 23cm no bigger for lighter days 5.8, and get yourself a 5.3, trying to wavesail overpowered on a 5.8 is a pain in the #ss.

Big fins in wave boards are a waist, these boards are designed to turn, who cares if it doesn't plane in 13knots it's a wave board it's ment to be on a wave.

It's like all those people i see on freestyle boards with 29cm fins in them saying it stops spin out or something stupid like that. spin out? duh there ment to spin out..

I don't know about anyone else, but I find that if I can't make it upwind to the break, then I have difficulty wavesailing.

A bigger fin helps here, especially if you're used to slalom sailing...

P.S. Bear in mind that no-one would accuse me of being a good wavesailor

i guess i must like small fins then. i'm mostly on a 20cm or an 8.25". only if i'm on a 5.7ish and its real light i'd go to 23cm.

It kind of depends on ur board and the conditions.

I'm thinking if you were on your 4.7 you might rather be speed sailing sine your not a small bloke. If i were you i'd run a 5.7-5.8 and a 5.2 ( or maybe even a 5.0). i'd even consider trading the 4.7 on a 5.0.

basically what PC said is the go.

I shouldn't be telling anyone this but the best fins for wave sailing are formula ones. About 1 metre long, awesome for big hacks.

Thats right Eyemhardcore. You shouldnt open your mouth at all...

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Bertie said...


I'm thinking if you were on your 4.7 you might rather be speed sailing sine your not a small bloke.

not necessarily, the idea is to have the option to wave sail when the wind is strong, so im looking at a 79L JP 2006 wave board FSW... with a 4.7 /5.8 combo.

still 90kg's... so im thinking a 23cm will be good for both sails on that board?

will i be pushing it a bit at 90 kg's on the 79L board?

will the 5.8 be too big for that board?

will i need 25knots to get going on the 5.8?

well considering you like to ride tiny speed boards you should be cool with riding low volume boards

I rode a board 10L less then my dry weight in Kg this summer. was super loose but my bung leg made it much harder than it used to be. I'm now on average riding boards one size up than i used to before and finding it so much easier with minimal performance losses.

is the board the JP radical 79L or the FSW 78L.
I had the 2005 80L radical wave and loved it to bits as my big board. I cant comment on the FSW much but know the 06 is more freestyle orientated than the 08 or newer ones as indicated by the tail bevels on the 06 and 05.

If your planning on sailing lots of Down The Line stuff (margs, gero, gnaraloo) then the radical wave style will suit well. But if your mainly going to be in Perth then the real world wave style board will be more forgiving and help bring your


I get your idea about being able to sail in nuking winds, but you will quickly find that if your all set up down the beach with ur 5.8 up and it cranks in a little bit more you WILL want to just rig up a 5.3, as opposed to taking your POS VW golf home to collect your speed kit then head to the river, then rig up. Now in summer without daylight savings after work you aint got a chance in hell of this happening. you Will end up with a 5.8, 5.3, 4.7 and a 80L and a 90L wave board on top of all ur wave gear!!!

However if it really is nuking in the storm fronts a 4.2 might be more suitable. I've been blown off the water already this winter on a 4.0. but in reality sailing when its that windy isnt much fun.

edit:
5.8 will be sweet on the 79. i ran that combo alot. 20knots will prolly have you moving round the break OK i would guess.

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Bertie said...

well considering you like to ride tiny speed boards you should be cool with riding low volume boards

is the board the JP radical 79L or the FSW 78L.
I had the 2005 80L radical wave and loved it to bits as my big board.

i think its the radical wave http://www.jp-australia.com/2009/index.php?id=78

i would have to make a decision as to which kit i take before i leave home... selling the VW at the moment... looking at bigger car to carry more gear but wouldnt be able to carry more than 2 boards 4 sails... so may be able to mix-n-match the slalom/wave gear. it would be nice if you could rely on a forecast...

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stringer said...

Bertie said...


I'm thinking if you were on your 4.7 you might rather be speed sailing sine your not a small bloke.

not necessarily, the idea is to have the option to wave sail when the wind is strong, so im looking at a 79L JP 2006 wave board FSW... with a 4.7 /5.8 combo.

still 90kg's... so im thinking a 23cm will be good for both sails on that board?

will i be pushing it a bit at 90 kg's on the 79L board?

will the 5.8 be too big for that board?

will i need 25knots to get going on the 5.8?

Stringer I'm close to your weight at 88kg I use my 4.5 less than 10 times a year 4 of those days would be in summer, I use my 5.0 most winter days or Gero trips in summer and about 10 days in perth in the summer The rest of the time I use my 5.7 for about 90 % of my sailing. My main board for 95% of my sailing is about 90 litres (60cm wide) for the other 5% I use a 80 litre lots of rocker 56cm wide board. Hope this info helps.