Hi i am looking for advice wrt low wind wave gear.
My current biggest wave combination is starboard quad 2010 76 L (57,5 wide) with a powerful aerotech charge 5.25.
I am a lightweight at 63 kg.
I can get planing from 16 knots or so.

I would like to plane just a little bit faster. We often have winds in 12-16 knots range. I sail in Belgium and Holland so I can't float and ride.

What would make the most sense?

Use a bigger board with my current 5.25? I can pump that sail effectively.
Or would I need a 5.7 sail to?

What size board would make most sense?
85-90 L 60 cm wide?
I guess the width is most important not volume (at my weight)

Any lightweight riders that can share their large board + 5.3 combo?
The width + how many knots you need to plane

I'm about 64kg, and I would recommend a single fin board and a larger sail. A freestyle wave or free-ride board of around 90-100 liters, combined with a 6.2-6.7 sail. That will give you more speed and fun at around 16 knots of wind. In order to extend a lot towards lower wind strengths you need to go a lot larger. At around 12knots I'm using Formula gear, with 10-11 sized sails.

.

Me, at 87 kg, much heavier then you but I'll weigh in.....

Sailing in The Netherlands, predominantly North Sea. I also went looking for bigger wave kit, to get me going in lighter winds.

I already had a Quatro Cube 106 (62,5 cm. wide) that I can pair this with a 6.3 Goya Eclipse which is the max sail size for this board. This combo gets me going in about 16 knots but it is noticeable that the sail is really the max that the board is happy to carry. The wind had to be pretty steady to have a nice session with this board/sail combination. However I wanted to expand the lower wind possibilities.....

So I got a Quatro Power in 115 liters (67,5 cm. wide), this got me easier through the wind holes, paired with the 6.3. Brilliant board, 3 fin (having a large center fin really helps). Very happy with the combo..... but I wanted to be able to sail in lower winds....... So I got a Ezzy Zeta in 6.8, a powerhouse of a sail. Now we are talking! The board/sail combination is very effective in lower winds, 14 knots and I am sailing....

Why writing all this? My conclusion is simple, like SurferKris above: the earlier you want to get going, the (much) bigger the kit you need. Nowadays the Freestyle wave boards are very well behaved in the upper windrange so don't be afraid to go for a wide board, also choose a much bigger sails then your suggested 5.7. You want to get going in low winds and at 16/17 knots you could use the board and sail you already have.

Hi Jo, I would say it depends what you're expecting to do. If it s wave/freewave riding, I would suggest to replace your SB quad by something with a faster rocker line but not much bigger. 80 to 85l I would say.

If it is more for freeriding in the north sea chop with a few jumps, I would go for a freeride/freecarve/supercross/freemove (you name it) 95l and a 6m sail, or maybe a little bigger.

I m 75kg, I have a 5.3 for those wave/freewave side on shore session. With a Patrick TWW 83 or a fanatic skate 100l. When I just wanna have fun speed through chop I have a jp super cross 100 and a 6m simmer vmax.

I also have 108l freerace board with a 3cams sails. But it s a pain in the rigging and trimming and jibbing setup. I will replace it by a wingfoil soon!

Thanks for the replies.
I really like my SB quad. Its the best board for upwind I have ever sailed. Handy in North Sea current.
I would like like to be able to do some wave sailing in 12-16 knots, not freeriding.
For that I have an old tabou 3S 86 L 58 W but I seldom use it because it is not good in waves.
Would going from SB Quad 76L 57.5W to SB quad 86L 60W give me some better planing performance?
Or would it be negliable without a bigger sail?
I am afraid a bigger wavesail would be hard to pump and cumbersome in the waves.

12-16 kn , that would be tough on wave gear, I'm similar weight, tri fin from witchcraft was my best set up and was a lot of fun, 80l*58 cm, with 5.3 M2 sail, anything bigger was never that much fun, think my low end was around 14-15 kn... Now I mostly windfoil, still waves, sail size as low as 3.1 (could be even smaller) and my low end 6-7 kn with 5.1m2...

Get a 95L fsw and 5.7/5.8.
You'll be screaming.

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JoFromBE said..
I really like my SB quad. Its the best board for upwind I have ever sailed. Handy in North Sea current.
I would like like to be able to do some wave sailing in 12-16 knots, not freeriding.

Sounds like you need to try a few more modern boards. ;)

I have a SB quad 77l (2011 I think) that certainly has enough volume to float and ride, but I feel that it doesn't carry a 5.3 sail very well.
For that I have a Simmer Cortex 90l, that carries the 5.3 with ease, compared to the 77l SB. I have the Cortex set-up as a Thruster, and one can play a bit with the centre fin size for early planning performance or for better turns. To me it is a much better board and the five boxes gives plenty of tuning posibilities.

I was on a surf trip to the west coast of Denmark ("cold hawaii") last week (at the same time as the Youth PWA) and these two boards covered most of my needs, together with sails from 3.7-5.3. But when it is truly 12knots it is not enough for me to have fun. At the times when I have measured the wind strength on the beach, I feel that I need about 16 knots for the Cortex and 18-20 knots on the SB. I use the Cortex with 5.3 and 4.7 in marginal winds and usually only switch to the SB when there is full power on a 4.7, at least.

Simmer boards in 85-95L would be where I looked. Either Quantum, Cortex or Quantex.
They are some of the most efficient boards which can still turn very nicely.

Thanks for the replies.
Still on the fence though.
Bigger wave wave board,modern FSW multifin and perhaps 5.7
food for thought.

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JoFromBE said..
Thanks for the replies.
Still on the fence though.
Bigger wave wave board,modern FSW multifin and perhaps 5.7
food for thought.

Hi. If you're going to use your equipment mosly for wavesailing, just increase the width and volume of the board. Let it be a pure wave board (not FSW). Something allround with flattish rocker. My choice is SV Pyro at the moment.
Large FSW boards have wide tails and they are long (not good for rapid turns). Most of them have powerbox located for freeride blasting more than for wave riding. Choose one with US box if you decide to buy FSW. They start earlier on flat water, but on a wave it does not really matter.
I also don't like to use huge sails in waves. I have 6.2. But usually use 5.3 max... My weight is 85 kgs now.
In weak winds I pump a lot on waves or go for slalom.
Cheers