My next board

[BLARBR119w]

As spring beckons, I am contemplating what my next board should be. Last season I was finally waterstarting with some semblance of proficiency on my very old Alpha 298 (130L). This season I'll be working on my jibes. I've come to the realization that I don't need all that volume now that I'm not uphauling. My question is what should my next board look like. Not necessarily what specific board model but what kind of board: wave, freeride, volume etc...I am 173lbs and I sail Sherman Island usually on a 5.0 or 5.5 sail. I'm not looking for one of those tiny 80L matchsticks that I see others using but a transition board somewhere between my aircraft carrier and the matchstick. I appreciate your help.

Bruce

[jse]

Have you considered a pure freestyle board? I wish I had something along the lines of my Fanatic Skate's when I was starting out.

[jingebritsen]

Maybe something a bit tougher in construction than a freestyle board? Seen lots of those get smashed nose syndrome....

http://www.exocet-original.com/products/crossIII-spec.asp

Either a 104 or the new 114 would be my choice.

These others practically jibe themselves too. Either the 114 or the 124.

http://www.exocet-original.com/products/sting-spec.asp

[jse]

Oh yes, mine has suffered a smashed nose 3 times. But I attribute that to the sailor, not the board. After all my JP FSW has a smashed nose too. I would suggest going to Delta Windsurf and try some out. My reason for recommending a Freestyle board is that you can tack them much easier than other boards of the same size, you can uphaul them and you can learn to do a whole lot more than you would on a B&J, FSW or slalom board.

Steve

[jingebritsen]

Typically constructions of FS boards are lighter at the expense of durability. Seen plenty of smashed up noses on them. Esp on formative sailors' stuff.

[jse]

I'm not sure what you mean by that post. Must be referring to someone else. In my case, the JP FSW is a 2006, and I don't even remember what happened to the nose. It's cosmetic and I fixed it with some MarineTek. My skate 107 was smashed twice by someone who I loaned it to who was trying to learn to sail a smaller board. I won't mention her name or identify her, because she might divorce me The third time was my fault, doing loop exercises the wrong way. I had Mike Z. fix it the last time and it came out so nice I wanted to cry.

Steve

[coachg]

The volume for your next board should be between 95-105 liters. That should have you dialed in with a 5.0-5.5 at your weight. As for the type of board that has to do with how you sail and want to sail. Some sailors at Sherman only sail on ebbs or floods. Are you one of those? Pure slalom boards are happier on the floods & pure wave boards happier on the ebbs. Freeride boards are a blend of slalom & wave so they tend to be happy in both conditions at Sherman.

If you are unsure of how you really like to sail then look for an older freeride board in the 95-105 liter range. You can rent from Delta and try what they have. Take a drive to Coyote and rent there to try a few more. Any board from 2001 up to brand new would work but an older board would cost much less.

I would look for a board that takes a powerbox fin. You will need bigger fins to stay up wind in 5.0 conditions on a flood and there are far more options with a powerbox then with a standard box setup.

Coachg

[swchandler]

"I would look for a board that takes a powerbox fin. You will need bigger fins to stay up wind in 5.0 conditions on a flood and there are far more options with a powerbox then with a standard box setup."

Although I'm in agreement with most of your post, I think you're being a bit short sided narrowing things down to the Powerbox design. It's important to note that there is the Tuttle design cavity box too. In my view it's arguably a superior design overall, particularly if one wants to use large fins over 45cms on higher volume light wind boards. Even brands that use the Powerbox configuration in most of their models, they will switch to the Deep Tuttle configuration on boards where larger fins and big sails are the call.

In principle though, I do agree that a cavity type of finbox, where fins are fastened in place from the deck, is a far better choice over the A Box configuration finbox. However, the A Box configuration does have its place in conditions like wave applications where the maneuverability of a board can be tuned by fore to aft placement of the fin in the box.

[coachg]

I suggested powerbox fins simply because there will be more fins available in the size range he will need for a 95-105 liter board with a 5.0 & 5.5 size sail. I wasn’t suggesting it was a superior box, just that it will be easier and cheaper to get the used powerbox fins he will need. When I suggested a powerbox fin system I didn’t envision him needing anything much bigger then around 34 cm and definitely nothing close to 45 cm.

Coachg

[swchandler]

I have to question whether Powerbox fins are more available or less expensive. I've been dedicated to the Tuttle design since 1992, and from my experience, I don't think that your point is well founded. I've got many great fins, and they weren't difficult to obtain, or more expensive.

We don't want to unnecessarily limit potentially good options based on a particular finbox design. The Starboard brand is dedicated to the Tuttle box design for all but their wave, and maybe their freestyle models, and we know that they are a leader in the market.

However, I will say that it might be easier to buy questionable quality used fins that might have been a part of the original manufacturers board package. Yet, good used aftermarket fins aren't necessarily had for a fire sale price, regardless of their cavity box design.