I have just returned to windsufing after a 20 year break. I dusted off my 30 year 0ld Tiga 295 bought a few second hand sail and stated sailing at Melville waters.
I am wondering what sort of board would be best for me. I weigh 105km (a little bit more than I weighed in the 80's) I can deep water start, and I pulled off a few jibes today before the wind dropped and I had to swim back to shore.
I was a reasonable sailer in the 80's and would like to get right back into it.
Any advice would be appreciated.

130 - 140L freeride board, as long as those sails are say less than 10 years old.

I'm really impressed you pulled off a few gybes after such a long break! I get rusty after just a week or two!
I used to sail a Tiga 295. You will find a modern board so much lighter and easier to sail and it will probably fit IN your car.

I'd agree with Mark's recommendation.

I know its a little off topic, but I also returned to windsurfing a few years ago after a long break. Like you I learnt to sail during the 1980s.

One thing that has really changed is the amount of down-haul required on modern sails. If you have some recent sails, make sure you either experiment a lot, or get someone knowledgeable to give you rigging tips.

You can get a sail looking good and it seems to sail well, but what took a long time for me to realize was that I could keep using the same sail in far more wind than was used to if I applied even more downhaul. The wind range of modern sails is far greater than ones from >10 years ago. Having a floppy leach used to mean your sail was flogged. Now it's part of the design. Looks wrong, but works a treat.

I was thinking...if you can water start and gybe, go just a bit over your weight.

Thank you for your quick responses.
I was thinking about a 130l board.
My research recommends weight + board weight + rigging weight + 20kg
Which works out for me somewhere between 120 and 130kg.
I bought two second hand KA sales 6.1 and 6.5 which seem to work quite well, but I need a new boom and and new mask. My home made extensions on my 30 year old boom are a little dodgy and the fibreglass rotho cup masks are not very flexible.
I am impressed with the flex the new sales have and the camber. All new to me.
One thing though my old equipment is still in good condition and may make excellent museum pieces for someone who is creating a display.

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Maddog49 said...
Thank you for your quick responses.
I was thinking about a 130l board.
My research recommends weight + board weight + rigging weight + 20kg
Which works out for me somewhere between 120 and 130kg.
I bought two second hand KA sales 6.1 and 6.5 which seem to work quite well, but I need a new boom and and new mask. My home made extensions on my 30 year old boom are a little dodgy and the fibreglass rotho cup masks are not very flexible.
I am impressed with the flex the new sales have and the camber. All new to me.
One thing though my old equipment is still in good condition and may make excellent museum pieces for someone who is creating a display.

You're going to need a smaller sail! Like a 5.3 or something. Don't rig up your sails on an old mast, you might be looking at mast breakage which can also rip your sail. Or if you have to make sure the mast is compatible.

I am back after a few years too and similar ability than you, I can deep waterstart, kind of gybe and plane, bought a board a bit too radical for me and the straps position been what it is now (very close to the edges of the board) made me totally useless on that board (Isonic 133) I have sold it now and looking at something that has a bit more volume 140 t0 160 l and easier straps position.
I tryed a JP X-cite 160 and liked it, maybe I will get bored of it fast but it is fine for my weight and style.
Good luck finding the rite board as I have found it is hard to find second hand big volume board.

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felixdcat said...
I am back after a few years too and similar ability than you, I can deep waterstart, kind of gybe and plane, bought a board a bit too radical for me and the straps position been what it is now (very close to the edges of the board) made me totally useless on that board (Isonic 133) I have sold it now and looking at something that has a bit more volume 140 t0 160 l and easier straps position.
I tryed a JP X-cite 160 and liked it, maybe I will get bored of it fast but it is fine for my weight and style.
Good luck finding the rite board as I have found it is hard to find second hand big volume board.

if you go too big your sailing wont improve, better struggle the first few sessions and figure it out then be fine on your first session and realise the board is way to big...

just saying

Your weight 105 plus rig weight 10 plus 20 litres to allow for lulls (you don't want a board you can only use in high wind) = at least 135L

KA sails are good, what type are they? That size should be fine for you. They will need a suitable mast. They work best with a KA mast but Neil Pryde masts work well too.

First priority after a board and mast - update that boom! Anything from the last 10 years that isn't bent will be heaps better and easier to use than the old one you have.

Sorry Windxtasy-Mark,
but why does a guy who can gybe a tiga 295 first day out in 20 years, who can water start, and is only 105 kg and could sail well back in the day, need a 135ltr plus size board. Especially if he only has 6.5m sails?

How many sailors do you sail with that ride 135's on their 6.5's that can actually sail?

Do you know the volume of the tiga 295?


Maddog
Welcome back and hope you can enjoy your sailing again. Unless you are planning on getting bigger sails for the river you will only need to go to 125ltr max. Anything freeride from the last 7 years will work well for you. Stay away from full slalom boards until you know where your new enthusiasm will take you, and stay away from sub 105 ltr boards at your size on the river until the same point.
6.5m is considered a small sail now for sheltered waters or at least a sail for 18-25knots. You will find a 135 far too big for those sails unless you intend to only sail in 18 knots or are going to invest in 7.8/8.5m sails later.
It will take you days to get back into the groove not months if you could sail fine before.

Next weekend when the wind returns, go to the river and look at what sailors your size are riding and what size sails they go with.

tiga 295 = 115lts 1991.

Thanks Jungo
I have been looking at the guys rigs down at Melville waters and was surprised at the size of the sails they were using 7.5+.
I was only using a 5.4 in the 80's but only salied when the winds were above 15-20 knots. Most are using boards around 90 litres but they are alot smaller than me.
I see lots of boards for sale in the 80 -90 litre range and then there is a jump to the 150+ litre boards. I don't see too many for sale in the mid range 120-130 litre.
I wonder why.
I thought my tiga 295 was around 100 litres. It sinks with my weight on iy and I could never uphaul on it even when I was lighter in the 80's.

I'm another one of the old farts returning to the sport. I picked up my new gear this weekend and compared to my old gear well... there is no comparison. The new stuff is so much better than my old gear I am still having trouble believeing it. The newest of my old gear was 1999 seatrend slalom/race and I also have an old caveman high wind slalom. I replaced the seatrend with a JP slalom IX 68 and it would absolutely blow the doors off my 20 inch caveman on the windiest day it ever had. It is astonishingly fast and to top it off it's an absolute piece of cake to ride.

To cut a long story short, do yourself a favour, pile up your old gear in the back yard, bucket of petrol and a match. Do yourself a favour and lash out on some modern gear, you will bloody love it.

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Jungo said...
Sorry Windxtasy-Mark,
but why does a guy who can gybe a tiga 295 first day out in 20 years, who can water start, and is only 105 kg and could sail well back in the day, need a 135ltr plus size board. Especially if he only has 6.5m sails?

How many sailors do you sail with that ride 135's on their 6.5's that can actually sail?

Do you know the volume of the tiga 295?

My reasoning
* I am 97kg and my 105L FSW has been my most used board this season.
* It is the end of the season and the wind will shortly be sh!t
* Plus, no insult to Maddog but I see plenty of people who say they can gybe but when we say "full carve and plane (or almost plane) out of them" .... and all of a sudden they are actually getting less than half of them really.
* he is on the river starting in Feb, not Coronation beach starting in October.
* the volume of a Tiga 295 is irrelevant as the rocker and width and volume distribution on a c.1991 board is so far from what we use now it can be ignored.

A 130L is waaayyy more controllable now than back then, and after he gets that board nailed it will be his big board when he gets a 100L FSW for NEXT summer.

BTW I had a 6yr break due to injury (after about 6-7yrs sailing) and jumped straight onto about a 80L waveboard and nailed gybes number 2 and 3. But fk me I wish i went bigger for the first year or so back in the sport.

I could think of nothing better thna a Starboard Carve 131 ish

Your right Mark.
My gybes are not carve gybes they are long and slow like an aircraft carrier.
I managed to pull off three last week, but had a great swim on many occassions.
At the moment I am spending more time in the water swimming then on top of my board but I am enjoying myself. When planning I just hang on and hope I don't get catapaulted. My foot work is slow and heavy and I am struggling getting my feet in to the footstraps and I am still getting use to my harhess. The shame of it all when they could not buy a harness big enough for me.

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Maddog49 said...
Your right Mark.
My gybes are not carve gybes they are long and slow like an aircraft carrier.
I managed to pull off three last week, but had a great swim on many occassions.
At the moment I am spending more time in the water swimming then on top of my board but I am enjoying myself. When planning I just hang on and hope I don't get catapaulted. My foot work is slow and heavy and I am struggling getting my feet in to the footstraps and I am still getting use to my harhess. The shame of it all when they could not buy a harness big enough for me.

I relate to the feeling about the 3XXXXXXXL harness that still take a lot of persuation to fit around my belly muscles
But I now float a Lot better and even plane with my feet in the straps on my X-cite and I enjoy myself even if maybe I will get bored of it soon, maybe not???? and when it happens I will sell it as I realized there is a good market for big floaty boards!
[

Were you out on the water Sunday Felixdcat?
I wouldn't mind having a look at your board and watching you sail.
I am still a little confused on what to buy.
I think I need to talk to the wife and lash out and buy some decent equipment.
What would be in my wish list?
2-3 boards 110l, 131l and 150l
3-5 sails
Carbon masts
Two booms
new wet suit
GPS
Several fins
I think I need to win lotto.
I would be interested to see other peoples wish list.

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Maddog49 said...
Were you out on the water Sunday Felixdcat?
I wouldn't mind having a look at your board and watching you sail.
I am still a little confused on what to buy.
I think I need to talk to the wife and lash out and buy some decent equipment.
What would be in my wish list?
2-3 boards 110l, 131l and 150l
3-5 sails
Carbon masts
Two booms
new wet suit
GPS
Several fins
I think I need to win lotto.
I would be interested to see other peoples wish list.

could not make it on Sunday, was told that I went sailing (my yacht) on Saturday so I had to be home and do chores ........ Want to sell the blody house (and the wife) and live on board, all alone no one to tell me what to do! Females put tooooooooooo much effort in non essential things like home chores, gardening, cleaning .............. .
I am happy with my floaty board for now and love the fact I can position the straps my way, I will get a good 6 to 6.5 sail with no cambers next!

Looks like Friday and Sunday might be our next good sailing days.
I wanted to buy a 26foot yacht but the wife did not like the idea, we ended up buying a block of land up at Dongara.
You can't do anything with a block. I have to mow it each year.
She also keeps organising my social life. Often my weekends are booked and I can't go sailing.
No one can tell you to do things when your sailing.