Sail/Board Size Question

[nanmoo]

This concept elludes me.

When I look at boards, they always list a reccomended sail size for the particular size of the board. So for instance, a 155 Futura reccomends 7.0 -10 m. To me it seems that the board size really does not matter as much as the windspeed, and then the board is a matter of sea-state, skill, rider weight and preference.

Now I was out on the water the other day in the 25-30+knot winds on the 155 GO, which is the exact same shape as the Futura 155 plus a little weight, and had I rigged a 7.0, I would obviously have been blown off the water. I had no problem planing the board with a 4.7 before the wind backed off a bit and switched to the 5.5. Obviously I understand that a larger board is less manueverable and has more friction with the water and thus will require a larger sail to acheieve equivilant speed on a smaller board.

So is the sail/board reccomendation purely a marketing tool to convince you to buy more boards? Or am I missing something? Everytime I look at these reccomendations I feel like I am doing something wrong breaking out the GO in high winds with small sails.

[winddoctor]

Hi Nanmoo.

The rec. sail range for a given board is not really marketing BS. It is more of a "sweet spot" range. You could go larger or smaller, but you start forcing the board into a less than optimal usage. You are right that skill, conditions, etc. also come into play.

If you were comfy using the smaller than rec. sails, who's to say you were begging the windsurfing cops to bust you?

[KUS]

This concept eludes me.
...To me it seems that the board size really does not matter as much as the windspeed, and then the board is a matter of sea-state, skill, rider weight and preference.

well, you won't have this dilemma when you ditch the Go
Tons of factors, u mention some but yes,
Situation#1: you can run smaller sails on large boards but do you want to if your board could be much faster and maneuverable, be able to jump or do tricks? And: no, you won't achieve the same speed with a large board and a larger sails as a small board with a smaller sail.....not even close. And: foot distance and mast position plays a big role, if your board prefers a 7-10m and you run a 4.0 on it, well, your center of effort will be way forward than compared to a 10m, is going to be a mile out of balance and you will get catapulted. Not to mention very uncomfortable and bent like a pretzel. In addition your poor 4.0 is going to get torqued in a big way with all that resistance of the mondo board and having a softer mast will get bent right out of shape. Your needing a smaller fin for the wind speed and sail will be insufficient for the board size and you will spin out and be without much control the rest of the time. (a larger one may make you bounce out of the water due to the lift, esp in turns and chop)
Situation #2: a smaller board will feel horrible with a large sail, this being the less desirable of the two bad choices. Not only will it sink with the additional weight but want to constantly round up into the wind due to the sail size and the center of effort well aft.....you will be having to forcibly bear off constantly just to keep the board heading in a semi-straight course. Your fin that is usual for that board will be too small for the massive sail and your fin will again spin out.

Other factors: your SmartCar will one day lift off the highway with the Go on top so unless you get rid of it or the Go there will be a nasty event which will render this argument a moot one.

Once you figure out smaller boards and for light days still have one that will barely float your weight, you will not use the large boards again unless 1) you are a desperate 5 days a year sailor needing that fix 2) the cooler needs transporting up to the Nitinat Sauna or River mouth like I did once. 3) the crab trap or your drifting kiter buddy needs retrieving and you happen to have the Go along for a picnic table 4) You are learning Bonaire sail tricks 5) you have a 10M sail and are not entirely sure why except it goes with the board and you already have a van awning 6) your 3 kids want to go fishing on the other side of the lake

[Bobson]

Hey Mr. Nanmoo-dood,

Both answers are good ones, Mr. Kus's is a bit negative(no offense) towards big gear but both are accurate.

What I would like to add is that if the wind is blowing more than 20kts then it's not always time to go to your 80l board and 5.0m sail...(just guessing on sail size and board volume). I enjoy going out in 20kts of wind with larger sails and boards. I think it's fun to go out and sail all over, around islands down to the nearest marker and back etc. I just want you to see the other side of the Kus coin that there is a place for the larger boards and sails after you master whatever skill you are working on. Imagine launching with a buddy one day at Esq. Lagoon and sailing over to the breakwater and back, possibly racing eachother the whole way if that's your sort of thing....pretty cool!!

Enjoy your sailing and I look forward to sailing with you one day soon!

ps. After you get a handle on the GO with your 6m sail....you can try my 8.5 or 10.0 on it in 10kts.....you will be amazed how great it is to skim over such flat water in such a light breeze going so fast....enjoy!!

Bobson.

[nanmoo]

Haha, picnic table.

Now that the center of effort was mentioned, I quickly had a couple revelations about the session that now make sense. It was very hard to get back on the board and into the straps with the 4.7, now made sense of because the CE was so much further forward then when using the 6.3 DUH! I should have been able to figure that out on my own. Also, because of the placement of my harness lines, using the small sail also messed the position of those up quite a bit too.

BTW -

I DO have another car, not just the Smart, it's just I can cruise around town to windsurfing spots with no worry of CO2 emissions of fuel costs or parking woes in the Smart!

[nanmoo]

Bobson,

I can definitely appreciate the idea of a larger board and straight line blasting. When I got into this sport it was more straight line blasting off waves I was looking for than carving waves into the beach. The type of riding that I really drool over is exemplified in The Windsurfing Movie where Robbie Naish charges at some bumps and just launches a good 30+ feet over the water staying relatively level. I am no expert, but I don't think he is riding at sub 85L board in that scene.

BTW - The next sail I was planning on getting was already going to be an 8.0 ish or so!!!

[KUS]

well, yes, there is Bobson, Mr. Smiles and I am prejudiced. But that's formula boards and the like, not a Go. And usually the ocean doesn't lend itself for that.....and yes, exploring and ripping around racing can be really fun

I am just envious I didn't come up with the SmartCar as the windmobile good on ya.

You are correct, you get the biggest airs with slalom boards, good speed and they fly much better.....I think my 9'ers around 100-105L were the champs for me in that regard. Horrible gybers tho in comparison

No, I really just have a thing against Go boards I really think if the sailor hangs onto it too long, it slows or stalls their development and promotes all kinds of bad habits. The learning boards of old didn't do this. I'd rather you sailed a START to learn from, it is self-limiting.

BTW a smaller board is much easier to learn to waterstart on because you can sink the tail as long as you can control the round-up by bearing it off.

[more force 4]

The other thing is that a bigger board does give you security and can still be handled even with a harsh ride. For the 70 mile (130 km?) crossing of the English Channel last fall by Antoine Albeau and Guy Cribb, they chose 110 litre boards and 5.8 and 7.2 sails; and it was over 30 knots almost the whole way and very gnarly, 5 hours of blasting plus getting to the wind line. Mind you these guys are even bigger than Bobson and world champions (at least AA is!). Theres a good write-up here http://www.guycribb.com/windsurfing_tec ... ews387.htm
and about a 15 minute mini-documentary here
http://www.guycribb.com/windsurfing_tec ... 167v01.htm

Note that although the gear is big, the sails and boards still match the 'sweet spots'!

[nanmoo]

That is a awesome video, that would hurt wayyyy too much not being able to switch tacks.

In retrospect it really makes me feel like a sissy everytime I complained about the toeside traverse on snowboard out of the Blackcomb glacier. Even being squished into a batthub boat for an hour and a half would be comfort to those two guys endeavor.