You need to tell us what you weigh.

I'm a Lardy 80kg.

I am about 105kg. Reflex 9.7 (4 cam full race sail) and jp super light wind which is 92cm wide and 168 litres is my light wind gear and gets on the plane and goes super fast when in the same breeze i am chugging on a mistral 137 which is 82cm wide with a firewing 7.8 (3 cam free race sail). The difference is extrordinary. I havent tried the 9.7 on the 82cm wide board so i cant say exactly what is due to sail power and what is board drag. But the slw definitely feels like it glides over the water even when i am chugging, compared to the 137 which feels like its pushing through the water. If you are 25kg lighter than me, probably something like the mistral 137 might suit you. Of course steve allen used to get going in not much wind on an isonic 117 (now on patrick boards) with a reflex 9.7, so that might be a good choice for you.

I have to agree with john340, the mistral 137 slalom with a 7.8 is a sweet combo when its powered up so maybe i need to try it with the 9.7. In the light stuff. Sounds like 82cm wide might be good for scott265.

2014 iSonic 117.

So the 2014 isonic 117 looks to be 80cm wide, which gives you 8cm more width than your 2008 futura. Sounds like it could be what your after.

Obviously you're not going to get formula board light wind performance, but it'll be an improvement on your futura.

If you buy it, don't forget to get a decent/ appropriate sized fin for the size sail you intend to use on it. It makes a huge difference to how well it goes upwind and how controllable the board will be.

Although, that would depend whether you keep your futura 122 L or want only one board...

Harrow said..

Subsonic said..
What year isonic is it? They have changed the widths from year to year. I have a 2011 isonic 117 (it's 75cm wide) gets me going in about 12knts of wind, and 18 knts is about it's maximum with my 65kg of weight trying to hold it down.

Subsonic, what size sail do you need to get going in 12 knots?

That's depends a lot on how, where and why you measured 12 knots.

Thanks for the advice, I went with the iSonic 117 carbon in the end. Will get a better fin straight away and then a larger sail proberly 8.5 in the spring. Can't wait for it to turn up.

Hiya Scott. Do you still have the World Cup 265?

Hope this might help. Largest I have is 7.8m and 121L and weigh 78kg these days. As you can see in this video the wind is 10-12knots but can still burn along ok. As mentioned above - the wide board helps and you don't need the volume as much because of this. I don't do any crazy sail pumping just run with a bit of swell and pump the fin to make the board plane and you will be away.

Cheers
Marty

gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2013-12-26&team=6

sboardcrazy said...

Subsonic said..
7.8m overdrive.

The 12knts of wind speed is from looking at the seabreeze wind meter readings after a session.

It involves pumping onto the plane at 12knts, but there's enough board surface and sail area to keep me planing once it's up.

Seabreeze readout can be dodgy depending on where the local windmeter is situated. Better to take a handheld meter reading and then you might have to adjust a bit for local topography.

True,

But this particular wind meter resides on a spit post in the middle of the swan river (I sail past it on a regular basis). It doesn't get much more accurate than that.

Hand held meters can also be a dodgy way to collect wind readings. As you stated, generally you have to account for the local topography, which is a guess at best.

I'm quite sure some of the seabreeze wind meters are in back sheds, and sometimes they forget to open the window.

Have big gaps in your quiver and its easy. Not much wind = 9.7m lots of wind = 7.8m