PS. My concern about the RSX or similar is that it would feel too 'boaty' and not high performance.

www.rsxclass.org/

Hi Yagon

I initially bought my formula board for light air cruising but I've since upgraded boards. The first was a Starboard 186 which was great for this. If you could feel breeze on you face then you could sail it. In under two knots you would sail around on circles but this was more a factor of the big cammed sails. The new board is a 161 and is not as good in the drifter stuff but has a better top end.

I agree with Gestalt. Although I've never sail an RSX, at 18ish Kg's compared to 8-9 for the formula board, it can't feel the same, although I know there will be RSX sailors that disagree.

So many great options, and the RSX is the bottom of the list. 20kg board for starters. try carrying that down the beach with you kids in tow.....
There is a fantastic Formula scene in NSW that is really family friendly. There is also a great race-board scene that is club based and again really family friendly.
There was over 70 kids leaning to sail on the weekend in Sydney.
Time management is a really issue these days, but with todays gear windsurfing does not have to suffer...

www.windsurfingnsw.com
www.storm-riders.com.au

Also check out the Dobroyd AC site...Cheers

Hi Yagon

Most of my tooling around is done on Pittwater. Govener Phillip Park can be a pain in the arse at low tide with the 70cm fin but Taylors Point and Sandy Point (no, not that one) are good low tide options and as long as you can get some distance into your legs, rather than short tacking between boats, then getting through the moorings isn't a problem

yagon said...

Thanks for everyone's feedback. Some further questions:

Most of my prior formula sailing was at places like Botany Bay or Lake Macquarie where there's good open winds and easy launches. I think now I might be sailing Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour and Pittwater (due to a shorter commute), which require more difficult launches - weaving through moorings and slogging through light wind zones. How would a modern Formula board cope with this?

I've also noticed the Starboard Phantom Race 320 - similar to the RSX, but perhaps a little more modern in design and weighing only 15kgs. Has anyone had expereince with or can comment on the suitability of this board:

http://www.star-board.com/2008/pages/products/v_phantomRace.php

I've sailed against a Phantom Race 320, and against and on other hybrids ie RSXs (9.5 and 8.5), Techno 293s, and Prodigys. Unless it's a steady 15-20, none of them are as quick as a Raceboard and they can be marginal against a Windsurfer One Design or slower. Personally, I think the whole hybrid concept is flawed and a Kona may be a very good idea for you. It's not as quick as a Raceboard in light winds (or a One Design) but quicker than a hybrid with the same sail size, and gybes very nicely in planing winds. It's much less complicated to sail than a Raceboard (no mast track etc).

PM me if you're interested as I think I know of someone trying to sell one little used and with a bag.

We've just unpacked a Jungle... looks ideal for what you're talking about yagon.
we don't have any scales in the shop, but it feels about as though 11.8 could be about right..
We'll be having the Jungle, along with the Starboard, Mistral, Naish & Oxbow sup's on demo. so if you're in Perth, drop on in.

Jez www.2ndwind.com.au

This is fantastic feedback. Thanks to everyone for contributing.

There's a lot to think about, especially since buying a new kit is a relatively significant investment (for me).

I'm leaning towards a board with a daggerboard for maximum versatility, but I don't know if it would be a hybrid (eg Starboard Phantom 320) or a longboard (eg Kona or Starboard Phantom 380).

yagon said...

Thanks for everyone's feedback - I'm really inspried to get a board that will get me on the water EVERY weekend.

I do have some more questions:

What is the performance of a raceboard (eg Starboard Phantom 380) in planning conditions (eg 15 knots, daggerboard retracted)? Can you drive it off the fin (downwind or on a reach) like a Formula board?

What is the top speed of a longboard compared to a hybrid or Formula board?

The Raceboards do drive off the fin, but as far as I know (I haven't done much FW) it's more like a slalom board because the fin is smaller than a FW board. In speed terms, the Raceboards are surprisingly quick and you can zap past, or hold, many slalom sailors. I don't think any Raceboarders around here have used a GPS much; the Kona seems to have a good top end and has recorded 33s or so allegedly. I wouldn't expect that sort of figure from a normal Raceboard but they'd surely be high 20s.

My info is that the top speed of a Raceboard is higher than a hybrid because the hybrids are bouncing at top speed and also running out of fin; the Raceboard sits lower and therefore can handle the smaller (compared to FW) fin more comfortably. Raceboards can also move respectably quickly with a smaller sail and that helps top-end control.

I haven't sailed the Bic but in light winds (unless you want to go the FW route) lots of length, a skinny shape and a big centreboard are the key facters IMHO. The Kona, for example, was a little bit slower in light stuff than a Wally when we tested it with a Wally rig, because it has a shorter waterline, more width and smaller centreboard. Other Kona sailors say the same thing. So as far as I can see, the Bic, AHD, Tabou etc would be significantly slower than the Kona, Wally or Raceboard (assuming they're all using similar size sails).

YOu could look at coming down to Dobroyd one Wednesday afternoon, we could proibably give you a go on a Raceboard and perhaps a Kona..

greenleader said...

just seen the new bic jungle!

this puppy is light, has a daggerboard, doubles as a sup and has the hullshape of a mistral superlight (first edition, early eighties) gonna plane in nothing!!!

i'm exited!

http://www.bicsportwindsurf.com/products/index.php?sportid=1&catid=43&rangeid=190&prodid=469&lang=us&year=2008

i love the guy trying to deflect the fountain of water coming out of the daggerboard slot from hitting his gonads, with his foot

or maybe hes trying to deflect it towards his gonads

and bidet to you too good sir. are you allowed out to play over the weekend?