jh2703 said...

How does it go...

Well I am impressed, ...
Best speed for the day was 19.53 knots...there is heaps left in her.
....Get one.

Bummer, I tought you would hate it and I could be the one to buy it off you.

What's special about the deck ? (they talk about it on the promo vid)

i found this last night from another brand


www.windsurfing44.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2627&start=10

was just looking at mine again..... you know it a good job they wrote JP-Australia on it a couple of times...... nearly forgot who made it

GusTee said...

Can a novice sailor (not a total beginner) go fast on a SLW90? What would the pros and cons of this board be in comparison to a progressive freeride board 120-140lts for a novice sailor on flattish water, 10-20knots of wind?

providing you're already riding in the harness and footstraps, you'll definitely go faster on this.

footstraps will seem strange if you've not ridden a wide board before, but you get used to that. depending on your weight, managing any high float board in the 20knots might be an issue - stronger gusts push the wide boards around a fair bit, and need a bit of experience to handle. this type of board needs to be light, which is a compromise in sturdiness of construction. if you find yourself still banging your gear around a bit, go for something a little more rugged.

as a novice (or any sailor really) it's all about time-on-water. you need to choose a board that suits your local sailing conditions, and allows you maximum sailing time. so if you find 10knots is the norm, a board like this might be the go.

Jase suggests that yeah, this board does get going in lighter winds considerably less than 15, but it requires a level of technique to get it onto the plane in light conditions.

Well I agree with jase above, in fact we were both out on the same day , not a white cap in sight but both planning.

I certainly have not been on the plane in such light winds before, my other boards being Xcite rides 110 and 130.

I was worried to begin with that it would require more skill than I have, but to the contrary no problems at all. i was soon planning, first run missed the back strat , second found it (more luck than judgement). while the front strap was easy enough to grab i did have problems with the back, but to be honest in such light wind it was not a disaster.

I personally had some difficult pointing downwind, but I imagine this will come with practice, I have only used it the once and as soon as it came up to plane it wanted to sail upwind as fast as it could, which is not a bad thing.

like Jase says, it does not just pop up , some technique is needed but not a lot. perfection though will take a bit of practice for me at least.

Sadly I on this particular day there was another sailor out on a much smaller carbon Art board who was planning no problem at all.... although he does i imagine weigh 30kg less than myself...... this poses the question.... how much liposuction can you get for 3000 bucks? it is an option!

I was sailing that day with a 7.5 NP V6, when my new 8.7 H2 arrives I will let you know how that goes.

Out of curiosity, for the guys using the JP Super Light Wind boards, could you give some numbers ie. wind strength, rider weight and sail size and type for a particular session where you where constantly planing. Trying to judge what would be needed (sail size) for a 80kg rider in a solid 10-12 knots plus.

Cheers jh. Missed the thread in the gps section. thanks

Oh for some $ & a sailboard mad partner...

Does it come with a master's ticket and navigation lights?

WindmanV said...

SBC said "Oh for some $ & a sailboard mad partner".

I meet 50% of that specification!

Unfortunately I don't think my current partner would be happy to let me go.. then again maybe he would! Whenever I threaten to never talk to him again or leave he suggests I go & live with my mother..
I was going you to ask which 50% but obviously the sailboard mad part..

The Neil Pryde / JP windsurf day at Botany Bay yesterday had an SLW for demo. I took it out when the wind was blowing around 20 knots +. It was rigged with a 6.1 NP Fusion and what is probably the standard fin of about 56cms in length. Sam was rigging a 7.5m sail but the wind was picking up in strength so the bigger sail was not needed.

The water was reasonably flat with a little bit of chop but not too much.

Firstly the rig was the right size for the wind. Plenty of power and no trouble getting on the plane and up to speed. The board probably was not designed for winds of this strength. Despite this it was a comfortable ride. Once in the straps it was zooming along. There was no trouble going upwind, downwind or across the wind. The board just mowed the the chop down and there were no control problems with the board bouncing around. My GPS was recording a maximum speed of about 26 knots which wasn't bad. I'm not the fastest sailer in the world and its a very different type of board to what I'm used to.

Its a very stable platform. No trouble just standing in the board. The footstraps are right out on the rail. Thats something I'm not familiar with. Despite this it was very comfortable once into the straps and blasting along. I was a bit afraid about gybing being so far out on the rail and don't think I made a planing gybe.

Later on that day I demoed a JP X-Cite Ride 122 with the same sail, which was better suited to the conditions. I then rode a friend's Mistral wave/slalom 92L and 5.8m Hot Sails Maui which was again better suited the wind which was pretty strong by then.

I can really image its great being out there on the SLW in 10 to 12 knots and just blasting along. Its more full on than my Tabou Rocket 140 and probably a bit less versitile but for its design purpose its great.

The more I ride this board the more I love it, With winds gusting to 15 Knots at the most I had a good session with DrJ. I'm sure it was just an off day DrJ, The wind was gusty as all hell and I had a few issues myself but I've had heaps more time on the superlight and have it worked out(I still miss the back strap sometimes)...It will come to you.

Finally got my SLW wet today and I must say it was the best fun I have had in years.

I think the planing gybe will take a while to master - you are sailing so efficiently in light wind that you almost always get backwinded in the gybe.

I am looking forward to the lightwind days this summer.