COL said...
Would appreciate thoughts on this board. I'm 75kg & ride a 6' 2"x 18 3/4" x 14" tail board, which is great in moderate conditions. I'm looking for an additional board for the stronger days & am wondering if this is going too small. 18knot with 10m, is that a bit optomistic? Thanks for your input
cheers
Col
Have never ridden that board so can't comment on performance only specs, seeing I'm only a couple kilos lighter. If it's 5'7" x 17 3/8" it will feel small and narrow after what you have been riding.
On the +'s.... good for strong winds and because of narrow width and weight, better in bumpy conditions than your present board. Depending on rocker, outline, and fin size, could be a goer in large surf.
On the -'s ......Obviously you can't paddle surf it. you will need decent wind and to use the kite power the whole time. It's on the smaller end of the scale for you.
To give you an example at 73kg here are a few of my board measurements.
Normal all round surfboard- custom JS 6'2' X 18 1/4" X 2 1/4" (2 x 4oz)- ( I don't like kiting on these dimensions, unless it's butter smooth, but great to paddle surf in most conditions)
Go to kite board- custom Warren Cornish 5'10" x 18" x 2 1/4" epoxy (3 x 6oz) (Can't be paddle surfed, but a killer kite board in all conditions, that can take a beating. Dimesions for me, on the borderline between powered kiting and not using the kite)
Light wind- firewire 2011 dominator 5'8" x 20" x 2 3/8" (excellent for strapless, light wind etc. Fun board to paddle surf in small waves as a 4 fin, lots of slide. Lacks rail to rail and drive in larger surf)
Missing from quiver (am waiting on it) is a travel board much like what the pros are riding at snapper. 5'9" x 19 1/4" x 2 1/4". Shorter, wider, boxier rails, small square tail with heaps of outline and flatter rocker than your normal short board. Could be paddled and kited.
I would go bigger than those dimensions, but if your only using the power of the kite, it may suffice. Try and demo before. Stuey Martin and Warren Cornish both kite and do great customs, the exact dimension, materials, inserts you want. Probably around same cost. Maybe have a chat to one of them.