i reckon 68lt is a bit small for you mate.you will sink like a stone in the lulls

Try something around 72-75lt should be fine for your weight.

I'm sure others will tell you all about board width, fin size mast foot position, and rockers lines,I will leave that to them

to help answer your question:
what level are you and where do you sail when its that windy.

Is it when you are sailing along? Ive had the board blown 50mt downwwind when the wind flips it waterstarting or chophopping but I just thought that was normal for strong winds..30kts + gusting to ..>>

All of the above.
Overfinned.
Not enough MFP (Boom too low?)
Wind gets under the nose of the board and blows it around (volume & area too large for the conditions)

Mate, I was sailing once in about 30 knts of wind on dead flat water, the board was a 93 litre axxis, sail 5 m and I think fin 27 cm. All of sudden the wind just pick me and my kit up to a few metres in the air and just slammed me down Very unsettling as you say.

I moved the mast track all the way forward and kept more pressure on my front foot and it did'nt happen again. So technique can help as well as the right gear

75 to 80 litre wave board with a 21 or 22cm fin, perfect for windy days, heap more control in chop and you can jump it.

Thank you for your input. From most of the info I seem to be on the right track, boom high, 23 cm Choco weedy, and who knows, the day I came unstuck I may have not been sheeted in hard.
I am a little confused by the "body weight minus 10kg" guide. 78kg less 10 = exactly the size board I was looking at, but as a percentage I am using a smaller board than a 110 kg guy on a 100ltr. (I think?)
Thanks again. Although with the amount of wind we've had over the last 3 months this is a pointless discussion anyway, but I want to be ready!

Mark _australia said...

gazza said...

i reckon 68lt is a bit small for you mate.you will sink like a stone in the lulls

Try something around 72-75lt should be fine for your weight.

Agree with all above replies bar Gazza's (sorry Gaz). Yes, depends on skill level but when I was 100kg my board for when it was really howling was 75L. Now at 92kg an 80L is perfectly comfortable for good seabreezes, let alone a good winter blow.

25L less than bodyweight does make it a mongrel coming out of gybes as it sinks no matter how good the gybe is, but once planing is is sweet as there is no bouncing and railing up.

Recommending 10L under bodyweight for a winter (or really good summer breeze) board is about right for WA I reckon. That is easy to grovel on in the lulls (compared to 25L under!!) but is still small enough to reduce the unwanted airtime.

At 19cm fin is a good investment too

he main thing with real small boards are they tend to be quite narrow
the spec for the mistral is

Length Width Volume Weight Fin* Sail Range
237cm 52cm 68ltr 6.2kg 23cm 3.0-5.7

i still reckon 52cm on a 68lt board is still pretty small for a 78ish kg(go on admit it 78ish really means 80 kg)

sure you can sail it no worries when the wind is 30+knots but you still have to be confident sailing back if the winds drop to 15 to 20 knots and your are sinking to your knees.

The worst thing with winter sailing in wa is its very gusty and up and down.

im 70kgs and use a 4.1 and a 68lt board thats 52cm wide.

i use it in mast high waves and 30+knot winds and can still get back to the beach (just) if the wind drops out.

most good sailors i know that weigh around 80kgs will get away with a 74lt board and a 4.0m sail as their smallest board with good technique and the right set up.

most board companys smallest boards are around 68lts 52cm wide.
if they are aimed at the 80kg market for strong winds where are the 58lt 48cm boards that are aimed at the 70 kg guys

Spot on

I'm 85kg and I've got a 2008 JP FSW carbon 77. It's really light and takes off at nothing. Sailing it over powered on a 4.5m is practically impossible but dropping to a 3.7m and it becomes loads easier..