Hi Guys,
Just Moved Back to Wellington Point, after living out west for a couple years & im keen to get into Windsurfing.
I am looking to purchase a used board preferable a begginer Board & Sail.
Can anyone give me some advise on where to start looking and what size and style i should be looking for...
or if you know of anyone that is selling a complete set up.
kind regards,
Heath.
Number 1: Advise in this context is actually spelt Advice.....
You advise someone when you give them advice....
Lesson 1 is now complete.
Ok, now that I'm done being a dick...
I would start with a beginner board of 160-240L.....
Big and stable is your friend.
Some people will say to go 120-160 because you won't need to buy another board as you progress, but you will progress faster on a bigger board.
This all depends on your size, weight and physical ability as well.
As for the sail and rig, in non-planing conditions, the bigger the size does not give you much more speed.... So smaller is your friend.
I would look at anything from a 4-5.5m sail and maybe in the style of a wave sail as these are more robust.
I would go second hand as much as possible to keep your costs down and then progress to more expensive gear as you get better.
Finally, go and see a windsurfing school. Good way to get into a group of like minded people and you will progress faster by having learnt the basics.
Talk to your local shop and tell them what you are wanting to get out of windsurfing. I am a big supporter of paying the little bit more to the shops if they provide the service and support.
And most importantly, find a group of people to windsurf with as it is much more fun than doing it on your own!
Enjoy!
A) get a lesson if you have not already - start there first - the cost of a100 - 200 lesson is better spent then on the wrong board off eBay.
B) note the size of the boards duing ur lesson, prob be 200 l. I recommend if u then get ur own, get the size smaller (eg 180 -160 l) centre board pref.
C) be prepared to pay 800 for first board, rest of rig, simple sail boom and mast u will find easily to put together the rest of the rig.
D) agree with getting mates involved, look for scoopon for windsurf lesson and get a few mate on it to, then u can share bits n pieces as u build ur rig, u can still have lots of fun learning with 1 rig between 2.
E) don't be tempted by eBay 80s deals, I did, got few sails in then mast base broke, not replaceable and simply not stable enough in water to progress as fast.
D) I repeat , get lesson, get hooked, then spend every night on train between eBay, gumtree and seabrese shop looking at kit!
Enjoy!
It depends a bit on your weight and size.
Assuming you are about 70 to 100kg:
A board of at least 70 cm wide (up to about 90cm) because you want it to be stable and not fall in much. About 160 to 240 litres as said depending a bit on your weight.
This big beginner board will be ideal for beginning and give you the fastest progress. The stages are then to go to an intermediate sized board, which might be 65 to 80 cm wide, depending on your weight and then your final board size for your largest board. The stage switches depend on how fast you progress.
Sails are a bit different, as a good sail for an expert can be a good sail for a beginner and you can use it through all the stages. I tend to advise based on the mast, but that also depends a bit on your weight. Masts are made in a 4.00m size for sails from about 4m to 5.3m, 4.30m for sails from about 5m to 6.5m and a 4.60m size for sails from about 6.2m to about 8m.
Unless you were very light or very heavy, I'd suggest the 430 mast and a sail of about 5.0 to 5.5m. You could then add a 6.0 to 6.5m sail without having to buy another mast or boom. Again, if you are heavy or the wind is predominantly light, you might start with the 6 to 6.5m sail.
There are Standard Diameter Masts (SDM), and Reduced Diameter Masts (RDM). There has been a move to RDM masts in recent years, but sails made for SDM masts work very well and you are likely to get better value using a SDM and an older sail to suit it. You would need a boom which had a clamp big enough to fit an SDM mast. These also should be cheaper second-hand as people move to RDM masts. The larger SDM clamp could be used on an RDM mast by fitting a rubber shim onto the RDM mast. If you got a 430 mast, the sail sizes used with it tend to fit a boom with a length range of about 165cm to 210cm.
Buying second hand equipment is a bit of a minefield unfortunately as there is a lot of variety on offer and not everything works well with everything else. Having a lesson should get you in touch with someone who can give you good advice, or if you get friendly with some experienced windsurfers, they are (surprisingly) almost invariably very helpful and may know people who have gear to sell, but don't just take the advice of a windsurfer who is trying to sell you something.
Hi Heath. The most important thing is to have fun. Doesn't matter if you going slow and getting passed by everyone - you'll get there.
Just get out on the water and enjoy the free locomotion 
It's the best sport in the world.
I agree with everyone else with board sizes, lessons etc but one thing you should note when starting are sails. I started on a big truck of a board 200L+ and 5.7 naish wave sail. Splashed a few extra dollars on a good quality sail starting out and now its my most used sail due to its versatility and size. Wave sails are flat so you can easily de-power if necessary, theyre light and built like tanks. Definately recommend looking into getting a similar sail.
Good luck learning, it's well worth it when you start getting in the straps/doing carve gybes. Cheers
