First board to buy for 50's former windsurfer with kids

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First board to buy for 50's former windsurfer with kids

Postby JoeSmith » Tue Jun 12, 2018 9:15 pm

Greetings all,

I was quite a passionate windsurfer in my youth (35+ years ago) and recently sailed again (for the first time in 35+ years :))) . It was so exciting that I'm in the market for a board. I was able to get right back up (with lots more huffing and puffing) and feel like, with a little practice, I could quickly be a weak intermediate. However, I have kids (10 and 13) and lots of nieces/nephews (not to mention a non-windsurfing, though athletic, wife) and the budget will allow just one board right now. So ... what should I be looking for? To make it even more complex, I live in southern Utah where the winds seem to be fairly irregular and light; I assume I'll need a big sail.

Would something like this (https://lasvegas.craigslist.org/spo/d/w ... 91642.html) be too advanced?

Any insight would be appreciated :)

Thanks
JR
JoeSmith
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:55 am

Re: First board to buy for 50's former windsurfer with kids

Postby Craig Goudie » Wed Jun 13, 2018 9:24 am

Greetings Joe, Welcome back to the sport, you also have the option of Kite boarding (though I wouldn't recommend that for a 10-13 year old),
and Kite foiling and Wind foiling.

You can do much better than that for price and for a quality rig (plus a Presto is just too small for your circumstances).
Those sails, boom, and mast are just not acceptable.

From your description (BTW your weight would be very useful to know), location, and family, I'd recommend a board some where
in the range of 150 to 170 ltrs in volume (maybe even a long board in the 220 ltr range), and a sail in the 7.5 to 9.5 range. for yourself.
But, you'll need an additional sail in the 5M range for your wife, children, nieces and nephews.

The sport has changed dramatically in the last 35 years, large short boards are much shorter and gear in general is much lighter, so a
9.5M sail may seem huge (and it is), but they feel more like a 7.5 from the 1980s.

I haven't looked at the WIndsurf buy and sell section here on the board (and frankly it doesn't get a lot of use, though I see Brett Linde
has some large rigs that you could have pretty inexpensively, and that sail of DImitri's is quite reasonable if you want something really nice),
but you might post something there that says I want a .................. what do you have?

For example, something a 180 lb intermediate could enjoy in 12 to 20MPH winds would be a BIC Techno 152, or Starboard Carve 140 (both can be had for around $500 in very good used shape, and a rig like an Ezzy Cheetah, Sailworks Retro, or HSM Superfreak in the 8M sail range, which can be bought used
for around $400 complete with mast (I see Brett still has some really inexpensive large masts) and boom (this will probably be a big expense, if you go carbon, but used aluminum booms which can cover 5M to 7.5 M sail run about $150 and used carbon booms for the same coverage cost about $400) If the wind
where you live now is more, like 5-15, then you really want a longboard, and there are a lot of Mistral Equipes taking up space in garages across the country that can be had for $350 or less. A wind SUP might also be of interest in your case. Google that if you want to know more.

Places to look on-line for used gear are http://www.iwindsurf.com/classifieds.iws or http://www.windance.com/Used-Gear/
actually there are probably about 6 used gear on-line place you can check out, just google used windsurf gear.

You might also post in the facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/UtahWindsurfers/ and see if you get any action.

What I own for Northern Utah Windsurfing in light wind is a 150 Ltr Angulo Sumo board, a 9.5 Sailworks Retro with all carbon rigging. For
medium wind a 115 Ltr RRD Twin Tip board and 6.5 -5.5 Sailworks Retros, and for high wind a 75 ltr Custom board and 3.7 to 4.7 Naish sails.
In the Gorge (where I spend most of my sailing time these days), are boards 95 ltrs, 80 ltrs, and 70 ltrs and sails from 6.7 to 3.2. I am 6'3" and
weigh in at a porky 190 lbs these days.

That'll give you a start, continue on here with specific questions and I'll try and answer them when I have time.

-Craig




JoeSmith wrote:Greetings all,

I was quite a passionate windsurfer in my youth (35+ years ago) and recently sailed again (for the first time in 35+ years :))) . It was so exciting that I'm in the market for a board. I was able to get right back up (with lots more huffing and puffing) and feel like, with a little practice, I could quickly be a weak intermediate. However, I have kids (10 and 13) and lots of nieces/nephews (not to mention a non-windsurfing, though athletic, wife) and the budget will allow just one board right now. So ... what should I be looking for? To make it even more complex, I live in southern Utah where the winds seem to be fairly irregular and light; I assume I'll need a big sail.

Would something like this (https://lasvegas.craigslist.org/spo/d/w ... 91642.html) be too advanced?

Any insight would be appreciated :)

Thanks
JR
Craig Goudie
Sailing the Gorge on my:
8'4" OO Fat Boy, 7'9" OO Slasher, 7'4" Goya SurfWave
with Northwave Sails
User avatar
Craig Goudie
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Location: Most Likely--Doug's Beach

Re: First board to buy for 50's former windsurfer with kids

Postby JoeSmith » Wed Jun 13, 2018 12:08 pm

Thanks Craig, for the very thoughtful and detailed answer to my question! :)))

I'll check out the sites you recommended for used gear.

Yes, the state of windsurfing equipment has changed dramatically in the last 3 decades! It's going to take me a while to get up to speed on the various options for equipment :)))

BTW, I'm 6'2" and weigh about 210 lbs.

Thanks again
JoeSmith
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2018 10:55 am

Re: First board to buy for 50's former windsurfer with kids

Postby Craig Goudie » Thu Jun 14, 2018 9:22 am

You're probably going to want a minimum of 150 ltrs for the light wind that happens most of the time here.

-Craig

JoeSmith wrote:Thanks Craig, for the very thoughtful and detailed answer to my question! :)))

I'll check out the sites you recommended for used gear.

Yes, the state of windsurfing equipment has changed dramatically in the last 3 decades! It's going to take me a while to get up to speed on the various options for equipment :)))

BTW, I'm 6'2" and weigh about 210 lbs.

Thanks again
Craig Goudie
Sailing the Gorge on my:
8'4" OO Fat Boy, 7'9" OO Slasher, 7'4" Goya SurfWave
with Northwave Sails
User avatar
Craig Goudie
Site Admin
 
Posts: 4327
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 8:53 am
Location: Most Likely--Doug's Beach

Re: First board to buy for 50's former windsurfer with kids

Postby duanekarren » Mon Jun 17, 2019 9:57 pm

200 L beginner Starboard for sale with mast, boom and 5.5 sail on Utah Windsurfers Facebook site. $700. If you are interested and can't get on the site reply to this site and I will get you the particulars.
duanekarren
 
Posts: 205
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2005 3:59 pm


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