It's not rocket science Windsurfing is a better experience with less kit. It's only taken me 5 years to discover this!

I used to find that my most used sail was a 6.5 - so when I bought my last quiver of sails I got a 6.1 & 7.2 that have broad range depending on how they are rigged. I can cover 90% of my sailing time with these 2, combined with a few older sails kept in the trusses of my shed (5.0, 5.6 & 7.5) I should be able to get out there...when I'm not busy working!

ejmack said..
It's not rocket science Windsurfing is a better experience with less kit. It's only taken me 5 years to discover this!

Yeah, I have started to realize this with simplifying my current gear... less gear now....I had a sail size for any condition before....... now I have:

5m for 20+

6m for less than.....

Thinking a 4.5.... or maybe even a 4.2..... for 30+

A 4.2 is probably doable over 30 knots (fits the 20% rule - which makes sense).... and the boards have enough float should I need to chug home... 93-100 (my weight is 85-90 kg)

There is some rule though about a multiplier..... someone mentioned it once..... Ginger Pom???

Struth, nice setup!

There are some sail sizes you just love though.....

I started recording the gear I used each session back in 2004 when I first started using a GPS.

Hundreds of sessions have been logged, and I've divided the data up to include: date of session, fin (length in cm), board width (cm), board type, sail size, sail type, wind average, max speed, efficiency (which is a bit dodgy as I would divide board speed in knots by wind speed in knots), and distance.

Some of this data is irrelevant, but other info can be used to possibly inform future equipment selections.

For example, I average the board width, sail size, fin length and wind strength columns which theoretically should tell me the wind strength I sail in most of the time, and the board width, sail size and fin size I use.

Therefore, I could also say that if I was to have one board, one sail and one fin, then I would choose:

7.0sqm sail / 64cm wide board / 36cm fin / in 17 knots of wind.

This would be a good combo.

However it does not explain why my shed has 6 boards, 7 sails, 7 masts, 5 booms and a trailer...

I just can't help myself.

I think that one meter is a tuneable gap, That said I own sails in 1/2 meter increments. Do I use them, yep for sure but I thinks I can lighten my quiver for next year. That said It'll be in 1/2 meter increment, 5.0 5.4 and 5.8...they are my most used sail sizes for wave sailing and bump and jump. That said I'll still keep a 4.7 for those ballistic days and a 7.2 for the light wind lake blasting. So what's right...Who really knows, Depends on what you do and how much you want to sail?

A 3 sail quiver is my goal.....maybe one day?

Also depends on your boards and how you use them. I get about a 6 kt (15-low 20's) range out of a 5.4 on an 86 litre freewave. But I get nearly a 10kt range (low 20's to nearly 30kts) with a 4.7, but I use the 86l board up to mid 20's then a 74l board from there up to infinity (well, 45kts at best, with a 3.7 which I have only ever used about twice in 5 years). So two boards, two sails: 15 knot wind range.

Also, in the old days when I was mainly sailing slalom boards, instead of changing down a sail size if I was getting overpowered a lot, I'd change down a fin size, which meant I could get a bigger wind range out of the same sail. The board was more controllable after changing to a smaller fin, I'd get to stay on the water longer instead of swapping sails. And it's much easier to transport two fins rather than two sails.

Oh yeah, and something has to increase by the square of the number you first thought of, but I've forgotten all that fiziks stuff.

^^^I think everyone has the perfect sail, Mine is a 5.4....Sweet As.

One meter gap is useable with the larger sizes but when it get windy you'll need to add a few extra sails.

Mine ,cruising 8.5/7.5 , play time 6.6/5.8 and time to get serious 5.0/4.4 all in Cammed sails. Still thinking about a 4m

you can use percentages between sail sizes or knots
for knots i use the sail calculator jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/2010/11/updated-windsurf-calculator-online.html
where i live winds are light or killer - over 25
i stay under the 25 knots
at 100 kilos - <20 kph winds - longboard + 8.4
20 kph 94 cm board with 10-oh
20-40 kph 80 cm board with 8.4
30-50 kph 80 cm board with 7.0 - or 63 cm / 124 liter board
40-60 kph 63 cm board with 6.3
after that - go watch

4 boards and 4 sails - the longboard was $100, the 94 cm board was $300 and the 63 cm board was $300

my father-in-law says he who dies with the most toys wins

I am not too advanced, so I have lots of sails and a few boards. I think this helps me to select the one that gives good performance without being too tiring . Also having several you don't wear them out so quickly. And being a weekend sailor I cannot wait for ideal conditions. I have kept records for almost one year. Most used sail: 6.6, then 7.5, then 10.0. Also have 8.5, 5.8, 5.0, 4.2.

Hey guys

I used to have 4.2, 4.5, 4.7, 5.0, 5.3, 5.5, 5.9, 6.6, 7.0, 7,8 which is a lot of gear but found I only used about a third of all the kit, was shop sponsored tho, now I find 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, and then a 12m kite fine

Does weight make any difference.. say 2 sailors freeride with similar abilities..One 90kgs one 64kgs..would they need similar sail gaps? I find I get overpowered VERY quickly once it gets 23kts + ( 64kgs..)

sboardcrazy:
23 knots of wind is still A LOT of wind = about 42 kph
using the sail calculator with 64 kilos - that would suggest a 3.6 sail
with a small , light board obviously

that alone would imply technique and skills to me
in a previous discussion people said the same thing - technique impacts size of sail
AND type of sail used
since i use race sails - they tend to be larger than what others are using
regardless of the fact that i am a heavyweight

for sail spacing the sail calculator can take care of that
for me 100 kilos - 10.0/13 knots, 8.4/16 7.0/19 6.3/21 knots and then i too gt ovrwhelmed
inversely for 64 kg 13 knots/6.5 16 knots/5.3 19 knots/4.6 and 21 knots/4.0
6.5/5.3/4.6/4.0 - looks like small sails to me
sounds like your biggest sail ever would be a 7.0
is this about right and make sense ??

sboardcrazy said..

Does weight make any difference.. say 2 sailors freeride with similar abilities..One 90kgs one 64kgs..would they need similar sail gaps? I find I get overpowered VERY quickly once it gets 23kts + ( 64kgs..)

well at 64 Kgs you would, for me it starts to become fun from 23 knots, i prefer 25-27ish or a nice 10-15 cross off , but im a fit 120Kg so i need more wind so i can have the same fun that you might have in 20 knots

northy1 said..

aus301 said..


I have one board and three sails. 4.7, 5.3, 5.8. This works perfect for me.

thats my aim - what board and weight are you to run that setup?

I am 85kg and use a 92lt Quad.

That gets me going in everything from 15knts to 30+. Would a smaller board be nice for the big days, sure, but I can't justify complicating things for just 2-3 days a year.

I am a bit like Bowsa, a wind snob. With family and other fun stuff to do I don't normally go out unless it's getting close to 15 and cross to cross off.