After a post few month ago and a good inspirational reply from Jamesf I made my own centreboard to add to my big 130 l board.
This afternoon I went for a sail with my 2 boys (11 and 14) and they had a go with a small 8knt wind. They tried last year but kept drifting.
They had a ball, going back and forth for 2 hours.
I am so happy.
Guess where they want to go tomorrow !
I used a small suction tile holder, bought at Bunnings for $8.90 and an old chopping board.
And it stayed ON for the 2 hours in the water !
The last post:
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/Home-made-detachable-centreboard
That is excellent. A cheap way to turn many boards into one suitable for a learner. In my experience too, the sideways drift and not getting forward momentum is a big stumbling block for learners using a board without a centreboard.
Well done Stef. Glad to see it worked! Good idea using an old chopping board - let me guess what you bought the Mrs for Christmas :-)
All the best with the kids.
Great solution you can't beat a centreboard for learning. My 14yo now 15 was at the same stage same time last year. We have sailed most weekends and he started racing techno293 6 months ago. It took a little bit for him to start completing races a bit longer he started to finish races now he is becoming competitive and racing with the rest. If it's possible I would highly recommend the board it's great for progressing and the racing structure. He now is friends with most the other windsurfing kids in Brisbane as well as others around the country which is great cause he's not stuck only sailing with the old man. Sailing week in and week out really fast tracks skills. Yesterday we sailed at the gold coast in 25 to 30 on short boards he can waterstart carve gybe tack jump and I put it down to racing with other kids. The best thing I did was get him into techno I just wanted to pass our experience on to you or any other parents with kids that have an interest in windsurfing.
Just made one of these too. Used an old oversize fin instead of the chopping board but it still does the trick. My daughter is learning on a starboard sup and your ingenious design has worked wonders, thanks
Make sure you take it off when not in use.
The constant vacuum under the sucker pod will lift a permanent bubble underneath.
They really suck. 
