I tried a JP exite Ride 120ltre board today ( 1st modern one Ive tried ) & decided I need to get something similar as a light wind board.5 - 15kts odd range.I want something I can uphaul in sloppy conditions & that will breeze through the lulls.
I found the JP planed through the lulls much better than my existing board ( 105ltre 258cm long 58 wide) & I even got a chop hop in light wind!! suprise suprise..I want to have a board I can get on in gusty conditions maybe work upwind for a while or travel & then come back downwind & know if the wind dies I can uphaul & get back in. I weigh 65kgs.
Problem is limited funds..Dont care if its crappy to look at as long as its sound & pref last..8 years...? or more recent..
Had a look in the buy & sell but nothing much of that size on offer.
There was a starboard Isonic 125ltre 2006..? what are they like..?

i am similiar weight, it depends on funds.

i have tried the 2009 F2 boards.[raceboards]

the 62cm wide,by around 238 is probably too small.

i have also tried the 2009 68cm wide[around 105litres] and the 85cm wide[around 120 litres]

both boards are carbon and feel light underfoot when sailing.

they both sail very high out of water, unlike the starboards which sail lower in water.

it depends on what you like.

the 68cm points upwind so high ,yet feels quite like quite a small board.

i own a older F2 X-SPEED 64 wide 110 litres it feels slightly faster than 68cm newer model but not as good upwind.

the manta i have heard is good also.

in this type [lightwind] the weight of the board is all- important.

the F2 by weight and design is the best by far.

the starboard125 if its the non carbon one that i tried, feels like a log and slow.

i tried the 68cm wide F2 with a 5.8m rigged full, i got me going in around 11/12 knots. a 6.7m would work great.

contact steve stratfold in perth he has a few older F2 boards for sale.

Starboard Carves changed little thru the years. A really old one is still a sweet board. I just sold one for $100 so they are out there.

See what second wind in attadale has

sboardcrazy said...

I tried a JP exite Ride 120ltre board today ( 1st modern one Ive tried ) & decided I need to get something similar as a light wind board.5 - 15kts odd range.I want something I can uphaul in sloppy conditions & that will breeze through the lulls.
I found the JP planed through the lulls much better than my existing board ( 105ltre 258cm long 58 wide) & I even got a chop hop in light wind!! suprise suprise..I want to have a board I can get on in gusty conditions maybe work upwind for a while or travel & then come back downwind & know if the wind dies I can uphaul & get back in. I weigh 65kgs.
Problem is limited funds..Dont care if its crappy to look at as long as its sound & pref last..8 years...? or more recent..
Had a look in the buy & sell but nothing much of that size on offer.
There was a starboard Isonic 125ltre 2006..? what are they like..?

The Isonic 125 is a full on Slalom board,and from what you've said it doesn't sound like a board that would suit you. It's not B&J oriented and it has a very wide powerful tail (equivalent to 150L free ride), more suited to race sails and it's a little fragile.

Gestalt said...


exocet are another board brand that build very smooth sailing and forgiving boards. well worth a look.

2008 Exocet Nano 125, Freeride/Lightwind, Quite on the cheap side, i know theres a brand new one somewhere on the internet for 800 brand new.
So if you go back a couple more years to like a 2005 Exocet Speedslider 120Lt, your looking at a very affordable and forgiving freeride board.

I was origonally going to buy this 2nd hand Speedslider 140lt for me to learn on, but somebody beat me to it.

If funds allow try look at a starboard futura; in the bigger sizes they have lots of footstrap option to suit novice right up to expert...fast too..
Also just sold mine but a fanatic ray 125 is a great option...I am 95kgs and floated me well...was ultra fast with tuned botton and c3 fin...just too windy here in wellington to get much use from it...what a problem to have eh !!!

Ive got a 130ltr Xcite Ride. If you can find one grab one - though they are normally fairly $$$$ which is a sign of how well they are regarded.

As far as the Futura goes a mate just bought one but it doesnt seem to handle chop real well with its big wide nose - having said that you want it for a light wind board so shouldnt be a problem - On the upside the Futuras seem reasonably quick.

Anthing that gets you up and running in light wind is going to be more fun that watching from the sand.

Mark _australia said...

Starboard Carves changed little thru the years. A really old one is still a sweet board. I just sold one for $100 so they are out there.

See what second wind in attadale has

Grr...[}:)]

knigit said...

I'm not much for bothering with sailing in 5-15knots so I could be well off here but was thinking that at 65kg a 120l board seems a little excessive in volume for you, you'll be lucky if you even get the rails wet.

If your 105l board is from the 90's, have you tried a newer board in that sort of volume range? Still plenty of volume for you to uphaul.

Anyway, give one a try before buying in the 120lplus size range. It will give much better planing through the lulls than your current board, feel less like you're riding a bus and definitely be a lot more fun on the days when you do get some decent wind.

I've just upgraded from 103l 2002era to 93l 2009 board, even with a drop of 10l it's a lot easier to gybe and I don't feel like I need any more wind to get it planing.

Re sailing in 5 - 15kts..Im not real keen either but as its an hours drive to go sailing & I cant tell sometimes if its any good until I get there ( even with seabreeze etc ) I need something I can go out on & just be on the water..something that is no fuss & will get me home if the wind dies & im on the other side of the lake.Mind you it would be lovely if it was blisteringly fast , carved gybed like a fiend & chop hopped too.. Am I asking too much..??
Re being too large..bugger..I just found a 130ltre JP .. I was wondering how much difference another 10ltres would make..You need to be able to sail a few boards to see..
My 105ltre one is 2002/3.. it has a domed shape & is narrow which makes it a bugger of a thing to climb onto when its choppy ( especially trying not to damage it with the seat harness hook ) & wobbly to uphaul.I noticed the JP was flat & much easier to get onto. My 105ltre felt like a waveboard after the JP.
If I can I will probably sell my 105 when I get the 'new' board but if not it will plug the gap for 15 -20kts with my 86 ltre waveboard for 20kts +..

sboardcrazy said...
[Mind you it would be lovely if it was blisteringly fast , carved gybed like a fiend & chop hopped too.. Am I asking too much..??

You need to be able to sail a few boards to see..

Crazy I had not realised that you had a high wind board which makes some of my previous post irrelevant. Just felt that a 130l board might be a bit of a handful if you were to get a decent blow.

Like you said, perhaps try a few different shapes and sizes to find a compromise. Agree with gaz45 about shape being more important than volume because I'd think that anything over 110l will float like a cork for you.

However, like I said I'm not the most qualified to be giving cruiser advice .

www.seabreeze.com.au/graphs/wa.asp

Mark _australia said...

Starboard Carves changed little thru the years. A really old one is still a sweet board. I just sold one for $100 so they are out there.

See what second wind in attadale has

I couldnt find secondwind..?

JP slalom slalom board. 2006 114 litre.
Anyone know what these are like?

I have a Futura 122 for light wind and use it with 7.5/8.5. It's a little closer to a slalom rocker than the xcite - in otherwords a little faster but not as comfortable in sloppy stuff, a bit slappy because it is quite flat and requires a far bit of back leg pressure. I sometimes use it when it's gusty with a 6.5 or even a 5.5 (flat water) just so I'm not struggling in the major lulls - it's good fun in the gusts on flatwater. You might want to also consider something like an RRD FSW 120 - they're still pretty quick but will be more comfy and manouverable than a Futura. Carve would be a great choice too. Unless speed is your number one requirement you should probably stay away from slalom boards like the iSonic, you may find them harder work and less comfortable. Hope that helps

My biggest sail is a 5.7m & if I buy another board i wont be able to get a larger one for a few years ( needs another mast & boom too if I get one). So does the fact that I only have a small " large ' sail have any bearing on what size board would be best for the purpose..115 or 130ltres..?

i would go a bigger board over a bigger sail everytime.

currently using a 5.8 on my 125lt board. to uphaul you only need 30lt more than your boady weight so a 110lt board will still work.

certainly for 5-15 knots a 130lt won't hurt either.

only downside for a lightweight on bigger boards is tail width which can make gybes a little harder.

how did you find the gybes on the excite?

also, i know i'm going to get hammered here but at 115lt you open up a whole other segment of boards to look at. freestyle boards!

knigit said...

I'm not much for bothering with sailing in 5-15knots so I could be well off here but was thinking that at 65kg a 120l board seems a little excessive in volume for you, you'll be lucky if you even get the rails wet.
.

I would agree with this. I am 62kg and my biggest board is 105lt F2 sx (2007) 69cm wide. This is way big enough for me as the width gets it planing very easily in light wind with my 7.5m sail. Ive got a very old mistral 150lt board and the F2 planes in about the same wind because of its width and modern shape.