board for progressing teen

[jfeehan]

my 15 year old daughter has been sailing our starboard GO - it's the original version, maybe 9 or 10yrs old, with the full foam deck, and is pretty big and heavy. it's not so exciting.

she weighs about 120lbs

she is regularly in the harness, and often has feet back at the straps, but doesn't always get in them.

she is not usually planing much.

i think one issue is that the board is so heavy that it needs a fair bit of power to actually get it to plane - maybe more power than she can easily handle.

certainly, she can still learn a lot on this board, but i am thinking that a lighter, smaller, board will plane earlier, and generally be more fun when the breeze is up a bit.

what would be a good board?

she has tried my futura 111, and can uphaul it easily (she is just learning beachstarts). but, i don't want her using that board, because she might break it, and anyway, the footstraps are not in a good position for learning. also, it's not an easy-handling board for someone her size.

i was thinking maybe a big freestyle board - they plane up easy, are pretty comfortable to sail.

any thoughts?

[DanWeiss]

Hi Jeff,

Have you considered the Techno 293? It is a fun board for teens who get the occasional planing day and who still want to be out there.

[jingebritsen]

http://www.exocet-original.com/products/nanoII_spec.asp

nano II is lots of board for the $$$. easy to sail, yet goes pretty fast too.

http://www.progressivesports.com/windsurfing-boards-freeride.php

free style boards, imho, are quick to plane, but also just as quick to ride rough and feel topped out. esp if the wind comes up and one does not rig down soon enough.

exocet's signature feature is early planing yet massive upside wind range. hard to find just a few years ago. been that way since i've been sailing them.

[jfeehan]

Hi Dan - i hadn't considered the 293. we have a fleet of them at my yacht club, and she sailed them in the Jr. program a few years ago, when she was beginning to windsurf. i'll ask her about them.

one concern about the 293 is that it seems as heavy as the GO.

i'm not sure she will have any interest in racing, although she is doing high school sailing...

with respect to the freestyle boards topping out early..., i agree - i've seen it myself.

but, i figure she won't be going very fast. in fact, as i see it, one of the advantages of at least some freestyle boards is that they plane easily, and can plane at relatively low speeds.

i figure she will mostly be in flat water.

it would be nice if the board could do double-duty for me as a light wind ocean board.., say for a 6.2 wave sail..., and i'm pretty sure i don't want a freestyle board for that.

[d0uglass]

Hmm.

The Techno 293 would definitely be good if she wants to race with other teenagers.

For the other board you describe, a Kona 10'5" might work. It's longer and narrower than the GO so it glides up onto a plane gently, and it's nimble and maneuverable in flatwater or waves. The footstraps are centered, which should be good for beginners.

[wsurfn1426]

Jeff:

You seem to be one step ahead of me with the kids. I have a 13 y/o is riding a '06 JP Young Gun 114 and a Hot 3.2 MircoSO. He is able to use the harness easily, and will be finding the footstraps any day (if we ever get any planing wind again, terrible summer here).

I have been very hands off (probably too much so). I have always made it available, but never pushed it. My kids have to ask to go sailing. We did take a Bonaire trip a year ago, and he has attended a 3-day kids summer windsurfing camp the last two years.

A few weeks ago, we sailed across the lake together a few times, non-stop, and now, I caught him surfing the 'net looking at boards. I am hoping the hook is getting set.

He was drawn to the RRD FSWs, probably purely due to looks or marketing.

I think he is going to have to show me a lot more ownership of wanting to do this, but I have already decided, to share my quiver (Severne S-1s) with him, when he is ready.

I think his board, though, will need to be purely picked for him, and not be a possible alternative for me.

I plan on renting first, and also getting a non-biased opinion from one of the young experienced instructors. Fortunately, Worldwinds is only 4 hours away, and they picked up RRD last year, and have Fanatic as well.

I will likely buy a used board once we know what we really want. I will try to get him as involved as I can in the process.

The unwrapping of a new board should be a very special and well-earned moment in one's life, in my opinion.

We will see how it goes. I think the more they take ownership of the idea/desire, the better it will go. If they have some peers to hang out with instead of the family, all the better still. That is tough to find right now. I hope that will change in the near future.

Fingers crossed.

[isobars]

We stand on shore watching in admiration as a bud's 85-pound (?) 13 yo daughter sails throughout the Gorge on 3.2 to 5.2 sails on her Kauli Seadi 75L wave board, planing all the way through most jibes, sometimes alone all over the big river way out east if Dad's slow getting his kit rigged. Is she a local or Maui wunderkid? No, she's a Canuck who gets to sail primarily on summer trips to the Gorge. Her secret? Mom and Dad are devoted to teaching them.

Mike \m/

[mark]

My 18 year old daugther who weighs about 110 pounds has been using a JP Young Gun 115 liter board for the past 5 years. The board has a removable center fin and can be set up with several good foot strap options depending on the rider's ability. She sails at Sherman Island on the Sacramento River in winds betweeen 10 and 20 MPH. She mainly uses either a 3.7 or 4.2 but the board can easily use larger sails.

The stock fins are of good quality and the board still sails well even close to 20 MPH with the larger fin in the forward box. JP recommends starting with larger fin in the forward box. As the rider procresses you can exchange the two fins and put the smaller one in the forward box. There also is a nice plug for the forward box when the time comes to eliminate the forward fin. Both boxes are power boxes so the fins are easily exchanged.

The only downside of the board is that at 115 liters it is too small for very beginners much over 120 pounds. For heavier beginners up to 170 pounds I prefer to use our Bic Nova 160 liter board which also has a center fin. While both boards work well I think the JP board is the nicer package of the two because of the fin quality and having power boxes for both fins.

If your 120 pound daughter has been sailing the Go board she most probably has the skills to easily make the transition to the JP 115 liter Young Gun board.

[tyler4bu]