Gloves and carpal tunnel syndrome

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General Gps & Speed Waves Foiling Gear Reviews Lost & Found WA NSW QLD SA VIC TAS

nebbian

6277 posts

nebbian

WA, 6277 posts

25 Aug 2005 9:49pm

Hi,

Thought I'd let you guys know about an unexpected thing I discovered today.

The last few times I've been out windsurfing I've worn spearfishing gloves. These are quite thin, made of some sort of leather, and are quite flexible. I wore them to stop my hands getting sunburnt, and to protect my skin when pulling up the uphaul rope (I got some blisters once).

Today I went out as usual, and as usual my forearms were killing me after only half an hour of windsurfing. It got so bad that I had to stop for 5 minutes to rest my arms on the way back into shore. When I got there I pulled the windsurfer up onto the beach, went to my car and just sort of sat there for a while, wondering if I need to buy a harness or go to the gym! My forearms were pumped up to the max, and it was difficult to grip anything. Eventually, just for kicks I took my gloves off, and hopped back on the windsurfer.

My god the difference was incredible! Even in strong winds my arms didn't get tired, and I windsurfed the rest of the day (about 3 hours) without stopping.

After thinking about it for a while I realized that the skin on my palms must grip the rubber on the boom, so that the fingers don't have to hang on as tight. When the gloves are on, this palm-boom friction isn't there, so all the weight is taken up by the finger curl.

So a word to the adventurous: Don't wear gloves when windsurfing!

rosey

NSW

575 posts

rosey

NSW, 575 posts

26 Aug 2005 5:00pm

buying a harness probably would be a good idea....

waveslave

4263 posts

waveslave

WA, 4263 posts

26 Aug 2005 5:56pm

Yeah, gloves are fully gay.

greenleader

QLD

5283 posts

greenleader

QLD, 5283 posts

26 Aug 2005 10:39pm

jacko only wears one glove

RAL INN

2897 posts

RAL INN

SA, 2897 posts

27 Aug 2005 7:59am

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

it's nothing to do with friction and all to do with grip size.

the narrower the tube you grip the less arm pump you experience.

that's why booms are getting thinner, why the best motorcycle grips are the thinnest.
why back in the 40's or 50's speedway bike riders ditched grips altogether and just rapped a couple of rubber bands round the ends of their handlebars.

The gloves, no matter how thin they seem, thicken the grip diameter.
About the only place they are usable is with kite bars.

And about that blister " once". Diddems.

best winds
Tony L

rosey

NSW

575 posts

rosey

NSW, 575 posts

27 Aug 2005 10:10am

ye whats the go with the one glove thing

ive seen a couple of people wearin only one, looks even gayer then 2!

ju_724

231 posts

ju_724

231 posts

27 Aug 2005 10:40am

whats gayer? gloves or purple hands. ahhh happy memories of sailing at sandpoint in hail storms.....

3hrs without a harness, r u popeye?????

Jakub

29 posts

Jakub

WA, 29 posts

27 Aug 2005 12:48pm

www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=why+use+windsurfing+harness%3F&btnG=Search&meta=&gws_rd=ssl

rosey

NSW

575 posts

rosey

NSW, 575 posts

27 Aug 2005 5:33pm

gloves are definatel gayer...purple hands is something to show to poeple!!!

Tom

7 posts

Tom

WA, 7 posts

28 Aug 2005 10:54am

I discovered the same thing you did nebbian. Only it took me a year of wondering why everyone could windsurf for hours longer than me before I figured it out! I did try different boom thicknesses but this was no help. At least I've got pretty strong forearms now.

FormulaNova

15100 posts

FormulaNova

WA, 15100 posts

29 Aug 2005 11:44am

No, you were right. You need to go to the gym! Don't blame the gloves. If anything, they were probably highlighting how out of condition you are, before you had gone dangerously far. I hope you weren't using ALL your fingers!

If you were able to sail for 8 or 9 hours without a harness, and still not have any problems gripping anything, then I would think that you would then be up to the standard you should be!

I would recommend installing a horizontal bar across your doorways at home, and just hang there while watching TV. In fact, if you can sleep in that position, so much the better, as its really the only way to get to the calibre that you need.

Mind you, while doing this strength training, don't wuss out and use both arms! Everyone decent uses just a single hand on the boom, and the other holding onto a can of beer. Keep working up to it where you can hold your weight on a single finger.

And just for the record, harnesses don't help at all. They result in you not reaching the potential that you otherwise might achieve. Witness all the pros. None of them use harnesses. In the same token, dacron sails are far more durable than the plastic garbage they throw at you these days.

rosey

NSW

575 posts

rosey

NSW, 575 posts

29 Aug 2005 6:12pm

pro's not using harnesses??

....the only time ive seen a pro not wearing a harness is when they are riding a wave or going for a huge jump..
and plastic garbage?[}:)]....i would guarantee if you jumped into a new x-ply sail, it would be a whole lot stronger than an old dacron sail...me thinks someone is stuck in the 80's

RAL INN

2897 posts

RAL INN

SA, 2897 posts

29 Aug 2005 5:54pm

Don't forget the stretching exercises to aid in reaching down to pull out the centre board and place in it the sail pocket found only in real mens sailboards.

best winds
Tony L

Jakub

29 posts

Jakub

WA, 29 posts

29 Aug 2005 4:46pm

and don't forget the dagger boards and aluminium masts

quote:
Originally posted by rosey

pro's not using harnesses??....the only time ive seen a pro not wearing a harness is when they are riding a wave or going for a huge jump..
and plastic garbage?[}:)]....i would guarantee if you jumped into a new x-ply sail, it would be a whole lot stronger than an old dacron sail...me thinks someone is stuck in the 80's

Yousurf

165 posts

Yousurf

WA, 165 posts

29 Aug 2005 4:48pm

Those old camber induced sails are way better for sailing with no harness. The added weight and the awkewardness of gusts make your forearms get pumped.

Since the new x-ply sails came around, my forearms are like a little girls. Back in the old days, I could only sail for about 6 hours straight without my harness(6.5 metre camber induced in about 35 knots), now I sail from sunrise to sunset with the same sized sails, I don't even stop to eat because my body isn't using any fuel.

I really think that people who use harnesses are just whimping out.

rosey

NSW

575 posts

rosey

NSW, 575 posts

29 Aug 2005 7:47pm

me thinks that you have never tried a decent harness... and i would pay a whole lot of money to see you take out your cambered 6.5 in 35 knots....unless you are a formula racer[}:)]...

ju_724

231 posts

ju_724

231 posts

29 Aug 2005 8:09pm

a treu windsurfer - 6.5m cambered ; no harness; 35knts AND sailing clew first all day...

FormulaNova

15100 posts

FormulaNova

WA, 15100 posts

30 Aug 2005 4:33am

quote:
Originally posted by rosey

and plastic garbage?[}:)]....i would guarantee if you jumped into a new x-ply sail, it would be a whole lot stronger than an old dacron sail...me thinks someone is stuck in the 80's

I tried one of those new plastic sails once. They have absolutely no shape! I rigged it on my fibreglass one-piece mast, added another 60cm of extension, and it looked awful! Stronger, maybe but...

I took it for a sail and it had absolutely no power and felt pretty bad. To try and get some shape into it, I kept on letting out the outhaul and downhaul, but it took heaps before it looked set properly. I even had to put new downhaul rope into my extension just so I had enough rope. A bowline on the end of the existing rope would have done as well.

I took it for a sail with it's proper shape, and it was twitchy, and the thing was like a plastic bag. The power was all over the place. No wonder newer sailors need harnesses!

Some idiot on the beach reckoned that I needed more downhaul. He was crazy as, as it was, the mast was almost bending. Any more tension and it'd probably break!

Stuck in the '80s? Of course, the music then was so much better!

FormulaNova

15100 posts

FormulaNova

WA, 15100 posts

30 Aug 2005 6:30am

quote:
Originally posted by RAL INN

Don't forget the stretching exercises to aid in reaching down to pull out the centre board and place in it the sail pocket found only in real mens sailboards.

best winds
Tony L

Tony, you are talking about pulling the centre board out with your toes aren't you? Anyone can do it with their hands, and to use a hand would mean puting the beer down. Wouldn't want to spill any. It would ruin the whole sailing day!

RAL INN

2897 posts

RAL INN

SA, 2897 posts

30 Aug 2005 10:46am

Hey i was well cool, the beer was attached to a special hat of the times, 2 cans of Courage linked by plastic tube to mouth.

The extra encouragement to plane across and back very quick so beer could be kept cool by the added air flow.

Back then real men took their wives and family along windsurfing.
It took all of them to lift the board onto the roof racks.

best winds

pole boy

292 posts

pole boy

WA, 292 posts

30 Aug 2005 9:41am

if you want stronger arms just go the red blooded aussie way and lie in bed with a few tissues. though you may find one arm stronger then the other...

poley

RAL INN

2897 posts

RAL INN

SA, 2897 posts

30 Aug 2005 12:26pm

but it wouldn't keep the beer as cool.

FormulaNova

15100 posts

FormulaNova

WA, 15100 posts

30 Aug 2005 12:17pm

quote:
Originally posted by RAL INN

Hey i was well cool, the beer was attached to a special hat of the times, 2 cans of Courage linked by plastic tube to mouth.

The extra encouragement to plane across and back very quick so beer could be kept cool by the added air flow.

Back then real men took their wives and family along windsurfing.
It took all of them to lift the board onto the roof racks.

best winds

Yeah, boards these days are just too light! And fragile! They don't even plane as well as the old one-design stuff!

And you call yourself a real man? A real man would have sailed his board with a line attached to tow the car! With the family inside!

How your family would have suffered...

Don't you find it hard keeping the hat and associated 'courage cans' attached as you do a forward-loop? What, with the centre-board in between my toes, and one hand on the boom, it's almost neccessary to use the other hand to hold onto the beer. I can almost see the need for harnesses, but only to hang the beer from during a manouvre.

How did you overcome that?

RAL INN

2897 posts

RAL INN

SA, 2897 posts

30 Aug 2005 2:08pm

Forwards, kid stuff.

That old Alpha was real hitech, it had a batten.

as for the loops. we were into freestyle then.
like standing inside the boom, sailing backwards and if you were really cool, with the board on edge.

pusy things like loops were easy with the can hat, you just performed a personal flip in the opposite direction of rotation, which kept the hat upright during the whole performance.

Of course this was all done on flat water using only other sailboard wakes as ramps.

It was no good towing the family as who the hell would be back on the bank cooking the barbie.

best winds
Tony L

RAL INN

2897 posts

RAL INN

SA, 2897 posts

30 Aug 2005 2:13pm

Oh. and as for Harness lines.

who needed one when those super hitech Bic oval booms moved up and down enough to hook straight to the boom.

even easier with those recycled yaghting harnesses with the hook at nipple hieght.

rosey

NSW

575 posts

rosey

NSW, 575 posts

30 Aug 2005 4:54pm

no shape?...if a brand new sail came with no shape,i would be marching it straight back to the shop and shoving it up the owners ass...old fibreglass one peices werent exactly built for the constant curve in todays sails, so that is the start of your problem....

RAL INN

2897 posts

RAL INN

SA, 2897 posts

30 Aug 2005 4:52pm

Problem! Problem!

that's no problem, I'll give you problem.

problem is when you have to put away the He-man sail.
pull out the batten, insert it up the sleeve, untie the boom, and roll up the sail around the mast.
Fibreglass? aluminium? who knew? you never saw it.
As for you wimps complaining about fitting the sail in it's bag.
well us real men have to slide the entire sail and mast into a 5m piece of cloth tubing the diameter of a 2yo's sock. Now that puts hair on yer chest.

So does licking the mold off when you take it out the next weekend.

FormulaNova

15100 posts

FormulaNova

WA, 15100 posts

30 Aug 2005 3:37pm

quote:
Originally posted by rosey

no shape?...if a brand new sail came with no shape,i would be marching it straight back to the shop and shoving it up the owners ass...old fibreglass one peices werent exactly built for the constant curve in todays sails, so that is the start of your problem....

You're kidding aren't you! It's all a marketing scam! Why do you need all those carbon masts and carbon booms? It's all just to make you buy more and more.

When I went to rig my 12.5m Gaastra on the old boom, all I had to do was to click in a few more extensions. Stiffness... nah who needs it, my arms aren't that long anyway.

590 mast? No way, just add a couple of extensions and there you have it. Why would I waste $1000+ on a new mast when an old cut down Neil Pryde mast top can be added to the top? Constant Curve? Curves? Why would you want a mast curved anyway? Don't they break when you do that?

Next thing you know you're gunna tell me that I should be using footstraps! Those things are just ridiculous. Why would you want your feet in there anyway?

I must conceed they are useful for helping me carry the board though. At 30kgs you need all the help you can get.

rosey

NSW

575 posts

rosey

NSW, 575 posts

30 Aug 2005 5:43pm

ok....tell me that you have been joking this whole time and you are jus a stir

...

FormulaNova

15100 posts

FormulaNova

WA, 15100 posts

30 Aug 2005 3:45pm

quote:
Originally posted by RAL INN

Problem! Problem!

that's no problem, I'll give you problem.

problem is when you have to put away the He-man sail.
pull out the batten, insert it up the sleeve, untie the boom, and roll up the sail around the mast.
Fibreglass? aluminium? who knew? you never saw it.
As for you wimps complaining about fitting the sail in it's bag.
well us real men have to slide the entire sail and mast into a 5m piece of cloth tubing the diameter of a 2yo's sock. Now that puts hair on yer chest.

So does licking the mold off when you take it out the next weekend.

Mold? You had MOLD! You lucky bastard! What we would have done to have mold on our sails!

Good point though about the mast. Who seems them anyway. I can't believe that Gaastra have given me a sail bag (admittedly one of these new fangled 'huge ones') that's only 3m long, when the mast is 5.9m long! It looks silly having 2.9m hanging out the end, but I guess that's why they leave the end open like that.

Thanks for the suggestion of removing the battens though. I wondered why it never rolled up cleanly...

Untie the boom? Okay Tony, you win. Clamp on booms are a luxury that I've given myself. I know, I'm a wimp... I was never that good at knots...

FormulaNova

15100 posts

FormulaNova

WA, 15100 posts

30 Aug 2005 3:50pm

quote:
Originally posted by rosey

ok....tell me that you have been joking this whole time and you are jus a stir...

Yeah, sorry. Couldn't help it when I saw the original comment about nebbian wondering if he needed to buy a harness.

I remember when I first got one and couldn't believe that all these people had been 'cheating' all this time by using one! My arms have been grateful ever since!

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