I am getting back into Windsurfing after 20 years. Was out on my old Edge (92l, 54cmx258cm) in 20-25 knots with a similar era race sail 5.9
Very comfortable and able to blast around and have a great time. Able to plane out of some of the gybes.
My question is am I missing out on something by not having a more up to date board? I notice ALL the new boards of similar volume are FAT and stubby. Does anyone have experience with the new boards around 95 l ? Are they faster? Easier to control? better or worse in chop? what are the big advantages to the new stuff. I can't imagine anything working better than what I have now
thanks
Edge has narrow tail, nothing like it for high wind blasting powered up.
New is wider, better bottom end and easier to plane out of jibes..not better for 25+ winds.
For rough water, new slower boards are more controllable and jibe easier.
Flat water, only new 80 liter speed/slalom are comparable, they are faster and more fragile, and more hi strung.
But if you want wave performance along with high wind fun, new totally superseded Edge, but you'd have to drop 5-10 liters for the same wind range.
Thanks, that's helpful.
So given I dont need wave performance and I dont want to go slower and I have few issues with controllability or jibing, it sounds like I should keep this board or replace with an old school similar design rather than a slower new board.
If you enjoy the edge no need to change til you have to, if you want to change to newer imo better to change 10-15 kt wind boards first. Some of the older boards were really good in chop, being slightly heavier & longer rockers. Not so much with the edge from memory but some of the older boards were quite rail trip happy, most of the newer designs seem pretty sorted with that now.
Wide isn't slower unless you have a really good flatwater speed spot. In general the narrower design MIGHT have high peak speeds but the newer designs carry a high average speed.
You need to consider your rig, if your current rig suits the edge then it wont really suit new board plus there will be some slight stance changes, longer harness lines etc
Might be age or nostalgia but im starting to appreciate the whole retro thing & like seeing old boards/sails on the water.
I have JP FSW 84, Tabou 3S 86, Rogue Wave 80, and like my JP Freestyle 94...2001..and Naish Freeride 8'6" ..2000, just as much.
Oh, and Carve 90, JP Pro Slalom 84.
Usually its a question of weight
20 years means its going to take more wind to get planning on the same kit
Select to expand quoteka43 said..
Leed, why do you have 7 boards all within 14 liters of each other??
Because he can 
The old boards of the same volume allow you to plane just as early, but you have to wait a bit longer before moving aft to the straps.
That means you're sailing on a smaller board when in the straps, allowing stronger turns and more control in high winds. Not great for light winds.
Great for high winds and have some volume to get back if the wind dies to a breeze.
So maybe on the 20-30 knot days, the old school shapes could be best for blasting in the chop? While the newer shapes are best for light wind and early planing. I really need to demo a new board....
Depends if blasting fast and high jumps is more important than making more jibes and the world of forwards and backs, vulcan,spock, and flakas.
Spin tricks need mast base back and short wide shapes.
Old school ducks, jumpjibes, heli's, boomarangs, shoots can be done on longer, narrower boards.
Then...the lost art of the planing HIGH wind jibes...old school.
"Is board wind range wider, or just shifted towards the lighter end by their earlier planing? After all, higher winds = bigger chop = rougher ride with wider boards, shorter length = less directional stability at speed on rough water, shorter waterline = decreased pointing ability, and wider = lower top end speed."
Found this on a windsurf forum from several years ago. Makes sense to me.
personally i cant see any advantage in old school shapes. the extra length is a problem in the air and over chop. the narrow volume distribution is slow to plane, reduces the boards light wind ability and the tiny tail hurts the exit of gybes and limits fin choice.
if you compare older speed board design with newer speed board design you will notice they are wider and faster and shorter amd faster.
long boards can suffer from nose lift and narrow tailed boards can suffer from instability at speed. especially when there is tail v.
Select to expand quoteRE57 said..
"Is board wind range wider, or just shifted towards the lighter end by their earlier planing? After all, higher winds = bigger chop = rougher ride with wider boards, shorter length = less directional stability at speed on rough water, shorter waterline = decreased pointing ability, and wider = lower top end speed."
Found this on a windsurf forum from several years ago. Makes sense to me.
my current board i use from 12-35 knots.that is not possible with old school design. i tried for years.
in the transition from old to new we started cutting the nose off oldr boards to improve control.
then around 2000 boards got wider as formula windsurfing took off. from there it's been an evolution in volume distribution.
Can someone recommend a newer board that will be very fast and reasonably stable in 20-25knots and handle the chop well? Prefer 90 plus liters.
Select to expand quoteLeeD said..
I have JP FSW 84, Tabou 3S 86, Rogue Wave 80, and like my JP Freestyle 94...2001..and Naish Freeride 8'6" ..2000, just as much.
Oh, and Carve 90, JP Pro Slalom 84.
I missing out on something by not having a more up to date board? I notice ALL the new boards of similar volume are FAT and stubby. Does anyone have experience with the new boards around 95 l ? Are they faster? Easier to control? better or worse in chop? what are the big advantages to the new stuff.
Have a '16 RRD Firewave 92. Great for 14-21 mph wind.
90 liter Carve is faster, stiffer, easier to uphaul, jibes easier at speed, loses speed underpowered.
Rode the 2000 Naish 8'6" Freeide today in 15-21mph breeze with 5.2.
Fast, planing jibes 80%, jumps high, instant acceleration.
Select to expand quoteRE57 said..
Can someone recommend a newer board that will be very fast and reasonably stable in 20-25knots and handle the chop well? Prefer 90 plus liters.
SEVERNE FOX
Select to expand quoteRE57 said..
Thanks Fangman, those Silver Bullets look awesome
I have the SB64 so obviously I am biased. BTW the tail flex plate really does make a difference 
Neil is finishing a prototype Old School Grand Tourer type board atm. 285 long , about 130 litres and I think approx 60cm wide. The pics are on the FaceAche page. I am frothin' to have a play on that board!
Select to expand quoteRE57 said..
"Is board wind range wider, or just shifted towards the lighter end by their earlier planing?
Top end similar, but wider boards increase range towards lower end & increased sail capacity.
After all, higher winds = bigger chop = rougher ride with wider boards
No, wider shapes don't dig down so much in chop. Floating over the top not catching the chop = increased comfort. However with the really wide boards sometimes it takes a bit of muscle to keep them down.
shorter length = less directional stability at speed on rough water
No, stability is alot about maintaining reasonable speed, step on a speedboard in the chop & tell us how much better stability/narrow width is.
shorter waterline = decreased pointing ability
No, wider much better upwind while having a bit more tuck on the rails.
wider = lower top end speed
No no no, people need to get out of their head that wide is slow, when the 2012 mistrals were released spotty i think did 42 knots on 82w & 48 knots on 47w. That's not an isolated thing guys have done 35 knots on 100w formula boards. It's only the last 30cm of board in water & at relatively low angle of attack. Shorter shapes can slow down if you start shoving rocker curve into water which has to have a faster change in a shorter shape, likewise it can give a bit more pop/reduced comfort when hitting chop. Also you carry longer fins on wider shape to an extent, on a new 95L vs old 95L your fin length will be pretty similar.
Each part of a shape is a compromise, the 2020 boards should have the least amount of compromise for benefits, so despite liking to see old boards the new ones are better.
What year was the Mistral Edge?
20 years ago? Or was it even longer.
If you had a good time on that board back when it was new, then you can do so again - but ideally with an old rig.
What has changed in all this time? The boards are shorter and wider, especially in the tail. But the key thing is that the mast track has come back on the board too.
So we sail new boards in a different way, with a change of sailing stance.
I'd be interested to know where the mast foot sits on the track of a Mistral Edge - what is the measurement from the centre of the deck plate to the board tail, in cms.
In the modern era (last 15 years) the mast foot centre moved back to 125cms from the board tail on a slalom or typical freeride board. Wave and freestyle boards are sailed with an even more upright stance, meaning their mast foot centre is often more like 120cms or less from the board tail.
(With waveboards with a chopper tail, the measurement doesn't work so well, or isn't so helpful).
Our rigs have also developed, to go with this new mast position, and are more compact. For example, the early 5.7 rig might have been set on a 460 mast, whereas now you can set a 5.7 on a 430 or even a 4m mast. And that change goes hand in hand with less mast rake, and a more upright sailing stance.
It may be worth trying some new gear to see what you like.
At typical 95 litre board will now be 230 long, and 59cms wide.
Why run the mast base so far back?
Also, modern slalom boards have mast bases well forwards from wave, freestyle, and even freeride boards.
What are we doing out there? Are you doing forwards and airtime spin tricks? If yes, mast base back for sure.
If the goal is simply go semi fast, be stable and comfy, make planing jibes and sharp jibes, jump and heli, old school mast position works just fine.
The Mistral Edge was around '96 or '97. The rig I use is of the same era. The 5.9 is rigged on a 460 mast wth 7 cams . I notice most of the new sails have a much lower aspect than the older ones . Short masts, longer booms...does this cause some pulling on the back arm?
My harness lines are shortish-around 20-21 inches but it doesn't feel like I am sailing upright at all.
Tried a RRD xfiire 122l board. Fat and stubby. Yes it planned up a little quicker than an older school board but riding it was no fun, likely due to wrong type of rig. Jibes very differently. Feel like I almost have to do the splits to bring that pig around. Very awkward as I am not used to the width.
i will get the Edge measurements in a few days and let you know
Select to expand quoteRE57 said..
Can someone recommend a newer board that will be very fast and reasonably stable in 20-25knots and handle the chop well? Prefer 90 plus liters.
Fox or Rocket
Comfortable is fast. This thread is making it sound like new boards are only good until they are fully powered up........ which is plainly wrong.
If you're having fun why change? But riding a board from about 2010 onwards will be a revelation
