Apart from the obvious
what makes a board a longboard?
I am interested in trying them out and I see a lot of old big windsurfering boards on the market and wonder whether they would be suitable or not.
As a generalisation I would consider a longboard to be
3.7 - 3.8m long
Centreboard
Go kona my friend. look up kona there the masters when it comes to longboarding my friend
Salty - when you say "suitable" what is it you want to do.
Many of the old longboards you see on ebay are Windsurfer One Designs, and are still used for racing in many locations.
Early longboards (that were great racers)
Windsurfer One Design
Mistral Competition SST
Later Raceboards (late 80's through 90's)
Mistral - Equipes, Pan Am, Equipe II,
Bic Bamba
Tiga World Cup Racing
Alpha 220 Pro Race
F2 Lightening Race
AHD???
Take a look at http://www.lbws.com.au/ There is lots of info there about the different boards.
Jb
Hi Jaybee
Not interested in competition racing but some of the pics on the Longboard website makes them look very graceful when planing. I like to see how fast I could get one going.
The step-tail that the Longrider and the Kona have does actually work - when you get "planing" it sails on the shorter section, you look down at your feet and the back of the board is above the water - looks strange at first. I took my GPS out one day out of interest, and peaked at 24Knts, and it wasn't really windy (using a 6.4).
Man Easty - that is 2 beers now.
Exactly what I am after - cruising down Highway 61 in a open top Chevy burbling between my legs but perhaps Pink Floyd rather than Neil Young
Actually longboards are back.... All the usual companies are making them again.
Seems to be real demand for the 1 x board, 1 x sail, with 5-25knot range.
Sailing at any spot, any time is back in vogue. The idea of joining a club and storing your gear on site with midweek sailing does have appeal.
I think that is how windsurfing got so popular in the first place?...
tabou windstyler is pretty cool aswell. good in the waves and with a 7.2 race sail :)
Love the idea of the old chevy. It always surprises me in 5-10 knots in a beautiful sunny afternoon that people are sitting around waiting for wind. I've been eyeing off the Konas over the last couple of weeks. Is it possible to SUP and sail on the one board - anyone done this (with a centreboard)?
I would not recommend a specific brand in particular.
Longboards are longboards - what you want to accomplish with them can be done on most of the old and new formats. Could be a combo of widening your sailing horizons, good old shape, going out more often, social, teaching friends, catching SUP-type waves, trying freestyle in lighter winds, etc.
I say that because there is no magic one-package - they all have pros and cons. Yes a shorter longboard (Kona) will allow for catching waves, and it almost gives a short board feeling, at times. But a friend of mine who's an accomplished racer and freestylist is ditching his - slow, don't point up enough, and poor on freestyle (having tried the latter, I must agree). But otherwise, great piece, but hate the rig that comes with it in North America.
Old longboards such as old Windsurfer and Mistral are not good in waves, but cater to a wider range of winds, are inexpensive, and great for freestyle and general shape.
I have tried SUPs-with-rig lately, on behalf of a manufacturer. There again, pros and cons, which might be discussed in some other thread.
Longboarding is a frame of mind: that of going out in the widest possible range of winds, for the true lovers of the sport of windsurfing.
I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole, except that, like most people, me live in a place that has much less than 50% chances of short board freestyle conditions.
So I longboard, and enjoy it.
