Hi, I'm looking for some advice on upgrading my windsurfing gear and would really appreciate you fellas helping out a newbie.

I've been sailing for one season now and I'm looking to get some nice gear. I'm looking at getting a sail, mast, and board for flat water sailing (Moreton Bay). I weigh just under 60kg and about 5.9' tall.

I've got my eye on a Starboard FreeSex 96 (2004 model) going for $800. I've heard it's a good board, but have been told by a sailboard shop that they could probably put me on something a little more suitable for flat water sailing, but their options are quite a bit cheaper. Any advice? I like the look of the Starboard and i'm looking at something that will help me progress quickly but not require me to upgrade in a years time.

Sailwise, the same shop has a good condition 5.5m Aerotech Charge going for $275 and a 5.5m Rapidfire 2003 model (new) going for $460. I'm looking for a fairly recent model good quality sail that will withstand the usual learner's extra wear and tear. I was looking for Ezy sails because i've been told they are great quality, but how are the Aerotechs and Rapidfires? Are they pretty reliable?

As for the mast, am I better off getting a 2nd hand mast with higher carbon % (say 45%) or a brand new mast with 25% carbon. I was told I should definitely not skimp on a mast because if that goes, chances are I'll loose my sail also. I've got about $600 to spend between my sail and mast so if I get a better sail I'm going to have to sacrifice on the mast. Any thoughts? As a beginner, should I sacrifice the lighter weight and just go straight for a 25% carbon mast for the extra strength?

Thanks guys

when my brother and i were buying a new sail between us, we were going to get a brand new 30% carbon mast, but when we went to pick up the sail we ended up getting a 60% (maby more i cant remember) carbon second hand mast for the same price. The guy in the shop who was very helpful and told us that this was a better way to go. (We were also learning at this point like you are.)

Back then we didnt know about seabreeze so you coiuld probably even get a better deal than us if you keep you eye out for something nice.

We were sailing a Neilpryde V8 Streetracer and the second hand mast that we bought, was the mast recomended by neilpryde for the sail. So we thought that would be a better way to go because the mast was in good condition aswell.

Have a look at what mast is recomended for the sail that you get mabey, because all our sails have recomended masts.

hope this helps

OK advice from shops- why are first time sail buyers getting a v8?

I was almost about to level the same about the rapid fire as crash landing did, but I know the rapid fires- they have very narrow luffs (much narrower than v8) boardering on a no cam and rotation is very good anyway. Sometimes a single cam is a better choice as it keeps the shape and power in the sail for things like waterstarting and also make power delivery very smooth whereas wave sails are very on/off.

At 5.5m the rapid fire is a single cam bump and jump sail (i think, 2004 onwards are definately single cam). Construction is as good or better than many wavesails that i've seen.

Re: masts. Yes a 60% mast will suit a v8 better. Under normal sailing you are not doing anything that will break a 60 but not a 30 (and that includes any catapults). Where they will make a difference is if you drop the mast getting it out of the car or similar, the higher carbon content mast may break sooner as a result. The other factor is mast size, if nitai was looking at getting a 7m sail I'd probably suggest the 60% mast but at 5.5m (400 or 430 mast) the weight difference is not huge. I step from 100% race masts to 30% wave masts regularly and dont think much of it. Newer masts also tend to be lighter for a given carbon content than older masts- less resin, less paint, no excessive wraps of fibreglass in the boom area and better material placing (better swing weight due to this also).

wow thanks for your replies dudes! Very helpful.

Seems I really need to decide what direction I want to take my windsurfing. To be honest, I'm not sure. Freestyle appeals to me, but so does blasting.

MKseven you say there are better boards than Freesex for Moreton Bay, by better do you mean boards that are better suited to blasting and choppy conditions, like the others pointed out?

I haven't tried the Freesex yet, and what I meant by "I like the look of it" was that it looks sexy. Very important of course! Nah, to be honest I had my first lesson on a starboard so I am partial to them and originally set out to "get a Starboard" but that's probably not the best course of action.

The freesex i'm looking at is being sold by Sean O'brien (seanobrien.com.au/bio/ ) and I am able to demo it before I buy it.

you've got a point there I think bubs.

the gear I have now is a gastra 5.5 sail (pre 2000 I think) which some major wear from the batons pushing through the sleeve due to not enough downhaul. Reason for that is I have a fibreglass mast which doesn't like bending . Got a worn carbon boom and my board is a custom board I got for $250 I think. Can't remember the litres but it's long and narrow and definitel a sinker but not too bad for me because i'm light. I got it all for $800 last year and it's served me well enough.

I want to upgrade because last year I tried a mate's gear (I think he spent $1600 for a rig) and it was a different experience. So much easier to sail. So i got the money now and I wouldn't mind the learning to be a little bit more fun and less frustrating.

I've got about $800 to spend on a board and about $600 for the sail and mast.

I started sailing last season and haven't managed to harness in or get in the straps yet. Thats about where I'm at now, but finding it very frustrating.

I was so keen to jump in and get sailing that I couldn't wait around for good deals. I'm pretty impatient like that. I just want to get the gear and go sailing

Regarding board litres, what is optimal, considering i'm beginner going onto intermediate and i'm 58kg and 5'9"? is 96L too little, or does it depend somewhat on the shape of the board and distrubtion of weight?

I've looked through the deals here at Seabreeze and found one that might be good. There's a Starboard freesex 96L 2003 model going for $450 which is almost half the price of what I was looking at. Can't be much different between the 2003 and 2004 model right? There's also a 2006 Starboard Kombat going for $1,400 but that might be a bit out of my price range. Is it an ideal board though at 106L?

yer i went from my first board which was my dads old board (like 20 to 25 years old) a T.C Beacher (about 280L) which is the best learning board ever made. To my old board which was a Bombora which was about 220 to 230L i would think, and i started using a 2000 model Core Wave sail on that. Then i used my bros board which was a Tige 285 about 110 to 120L and quite an old board but very nice and is a flat water slalom board so very quick. and now finally to my newest board which is my 99L Naish Wave Quest 258.

I'm about 65kg and about 5,9 to 5,10 like you and i get along on that fine. When i got it, i was still getting use to small boards but i can up haul it and everything like that. It took me a little while to get use to but after about 10 or 15 mins i was sailing it fine.