I have been windsurfing on and off for few years now and have been procrastinating the move to a smaller board for too long....
Inspired by the local beginners/ intermediates all on smaller boards..
My plan is to go from a starboard start 200+l to a fanatic shark 145l ..
I am keen to hear any tips anyone has to help with the transition.
depends on skills/comfort, weight, sails, location, location, location
two seabreeze buddies from Queensland/QLD can help
Jeff Irvin aka jirvin4505 and Morgan
Morgan has a website and videos too
windsurfinglearningcurve.com/
Select to expand quotekpb said..
I have been windsurfing on and off for few years now and have been procrastinating the move to a smaller board for too long....
Inspired by the local beginners/ intermediates all on smaller boards..
My plan is to go from a starboard start 200+l to a fanatic shark 145l ..
I am keen to hear any tips anyone has to help with the transition.
I once asked the same question because I wanted to use a smaller board that could handle the chop a bit better. On a windy day the big board was out of its comfort zone. You will get a lot of advice asking this question, some of it contradictory. The best advice I received was not to rush or be to hasty. On this advice I waited a number of months and improved my skills enough to make a smooth transition. If I had done it earlier then the outcome may have been different because smaller boards require you to be more precise with you movements.
My bigger board was a 145L which is ok for intermediates and light wind days. I transitioned down to 107L which is still a bit large compared to what wave sailors use. The main thing is to find a board that you are comfortable riding because it is all about having fun on the water, not in it all the time.
since people are willing to put numbers and past experiences ...
I too went from longboarding to shortboarding or ... from a 200+ liter board to one smaller
since I was 100 kilos at the time and ready to use 8.0-8.5 m² sails, I purchased a 160 liter / 79 cm wide board
for me that was a perfect start and I was planing within a year, harness, etc
still not in footstraps , but we won't talk about that here 
in today's windsurf world, width is almost more important than volume
there are StarBoard iSonics that are also 80 cm wide and only about 120 liters
liters are for flotation ONLY
early planing comes with width
if you were to go to a JP SLW92 which is 165 liters - you will have NO issues
a BIC Techno is rare, but perhaps better for someone going to such a board - less sensitive deck ...
as Mark SSC has stated - "do NOT rush" - take your time
windsurfing is all about patience anyway 
all the best
joe
Could be a jump to far??
We need more details .....
Weight, straps, water start etc
What size sails are you using. Are you hanging onto the start?
What winds are you having trouble with?
Anybody able to give you a go on a smaller board?
I see from your profile and posts you sail Wynumm and manly and want to go faster also.
Where are the straps on the start?
Must admit I often find the chop at Many difficult to deal with and would be a challenge with a big board.
Cheers Jeff
Willing to help
All of what Jeff mentioned.
Depending on your ability, it might be a good idea to still be able to uphaul if needed, so look at volume.
Also if you are going to keep the Start, does the Fanatic have a powerbox fin? I initially ended up with a mix boards and of fins, which can get expensive.
The Go's in my opinion are a good transition board, and pretty robust and quite quick.
I am finding now that I can make most of my gybes on my 165 Go, but I need to be so precise where I put my feet on my smaller 121 Carve and make very few on it.
I am 100kg and will generously call myself intermediate, if that is any help in your choice.
If you go a bit larger on your next board, you could down the track easily off load the Start and keep the newer board as your light wind board after moving to a smaller board again.
Good luck.
Hey there KPB,
I had a similar experience 12 years ago when I learned how to windsurf. I started with a 200 liter board and enjoyed it for about 2 years until the board started to delaminate. I then moved down to a 130 liter board which was a good transition down on liters. On the 130 liter board I learned how to maneuver the board more with my feet and ankles which took a little getting used to. You will then learn about how mast foot pressure is so important to understand. I then went down to a 110 liter board. That is where I advanced the most. I leaned how to water start, use foot straps, gibe, tack, and chop-hop and jump. I just bought a new Naish Starship at 115 liters to give me a little more early planing power. Still waiting for a good breeze to test it out. I think around 130-140 liters would be a nice transition down. 110 liters in my opinion would be to far down at once. I would ease into it, you will enjoy the sport more with less frustration. Plus there is a huge loss in buoyancy form 200- 110 liters.
Good luck!
Hi kpb, I'm one of the Sandstone learners being mentored by Jeff, Ballast (Brad), Waricle (Pete) and others who sail with us. Between us all we would have a range of boards that you are probably welcome to try to see what your next direction may be. I use a Starboard express which is a 180L Go with a centreboard, Adam has a 160L JP Funster, Jeff has a 170L Fanatic Stingray and I'm sure someone here would have a 140L something that you might be able to use. Conditions are usually quite kind to us at Sandstone as you can see from the Sandstone thread photos posted by Pete from last Thursday. It looks like we might be getting a good SE this Saturday if you wanted to come for a drive and give a few different shapes and sizes a go. Bring your own rig so your used to it and plug it into a few different sized boards if you want.
Firstly thank you for your replies...
To answer the questions
I am about 100kgs
Planing in the harness
I can tac easily on the start
Slow gybes 80 to 90 %
In the foot straps
Beach start.
Sails are 6.5m and 7.5m
I have done a bit of windsurfing on an older 150l board but that was a while ago...
My experience with the Starboard Go , especially the larger volumes is their reluctance to plane . If you are an accomplished sailor getting over the hump is easy however for a newby quite difficult . The easiest 160 litre board I have ever ridden is a BIC Techno ( 35 years ) and a board you will not grow out of . Comfortable, easy to jybe and reasonably quick ( 27 knots for me) Ask Jeff or Morgan . The new Techno 133 is an amaising board is you want something lighter and much quicker
Hi Kpb
I went from the Rio 259L to Naish 180 - struggled with balance at first and now comfortable - it took a bit to get here. The board I had on Saturday was Fanatic Sting Ray 155L which is my new go to board.
The only thing you can do is take your fanatic shark out and try it - if it is too small and too hard to tame then it is time to find something a bit bigger. Pick your tides and go out the Lota side or Thompsons at Victoria point. These places at high tide you can touch which helps heaps with the Learning Curve. Be prepared to fall off heaps - you missed my first go on the Fanatic a couple of weeks ago at RQ - I was like a complete beginner again - must have fallen in 25 times. But tamed her in the end and had a blast.
It is all about how we move our weight around on the board - baby steps for we big fellas.
Was good to see you - I'm away in Hervey Bay this week end but back the following week so might catch up then
Cheers
Morgan
As a average skilled big whopping 115 kg bastard a 145 litre board would be about as small as I would go for general blasting. I think the fanatic would be spot on. Its still big enough to pull start when your buggered or when the wind drops. Us big guys can easily carve gybe bigger boards. It will still feel wobbly as **it getting off the Start. Youll be amazed how twitchy it will feel under your feet. When you think you want an even smaller board you can keep the 145 for lighter days.
Select to expand quotekpb said..
Firstly thank you for your replies...
To answer the questions
I am about 100kgs
Planing in the harness
I can tac easily on the start
Slow gybes 80 to 90 %
In the foot straps
Beach start.
Sails are 6.5m and 7.5m
I have done a bit of windsurfing on an older 150l board but that was a while ago...
I think the the 145 would be a great step down ...
you will need a smaller one for when the wind picks up over 20 knots ..but one step at a time .
The 145 shark ,has good performance and will be good for the sails that you have . 
they have good width ..
so up hauling should be no problem ..and tacking stay close to the base .
I also tack on my 130 naish titan with a 8.5 and the nose does sink if you walk to far out on the nose.
its because boards are a lot shorter these days ...good ..
At 100kg i would say a 110 litre or up to around 70cm wide sounds about right.
Wider than 70 cms and the board will feel too big and uncontrollable when its 20 plus knots.
A Tabou Rocket around that size should be awesome.
Select to expand quotepetermac33 said...
At 100kg i would say a 110 litre or up to around 70cm wide sounds about right.
OP is not exactly an advanced rider in WA.
^+1
to go from 200 liters to 110 for 100 kilo "newbie" is a plan for disaster
ok, i am more than 100 kilos and suck, but my smallest board is still only 124 liters
and still learning stuff about that board size ...
Select to expand quotekpb said...
My plan is to go from a starboard start 200+l to a fanatic shark 145l ..
I am keen to hear any tips anyone has to help with the transition.
Re reading ...I think you may have the 145 already?
Also what are the limitations you are finding with the START? These may influence your choice of board and progress.
So I'm thinking biggest tip for you kpb would be to sail more ????
Always makes a difference.
I was surprised that at 100kg and a big board your largest sail is 7.5?? This may suggest you only get planing when it's blowing strong hence trouble with the size of the start? Especially with the chop at Rq Manly.
I wouldn't downsize at Rq Manly untill I learnt to waterstart.
Lots of good tips here already. What got me more comfortable on narrower boards was sailing long skinny boards - longboards
As morgs says - shallow smooth water - beach starts - fall off a lot until you get it or backtrack to the start when your tired.
Stop and learn to waterstart on a windy day - lots of youtube videos... its breakthrough/gateway skill to smaller boards
Get a Mentor to coach you through this stage.
Come and sail with us at Sandstone - happy to help
cheers Jeff
ps As a larger sailer myself lots of pain and pleasure working my way down to smaller sizes...
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Queensland/Sandstone-point-shortboard-development/
Im now getting out regularly on 124l however still have my big boards for light wind backup
Hey Jeff , what 124 are you on? From memory it's the Kona Sting ( lovely board) . Back to the thread, if you can borrow a retro short board which can be narrow and a bit longer you may learn how to get a lower volume board going . Short wide boards can round up a little while beach starting which can be a bit disheartening. If you already have a board just persevere with it and you will progress . No one makes bad boards anymore however as you progress to intermediate you will find certain boards suit you better . Eventually you will conquer the 110 litre board but not for now. Sail in conditions which suit learning . As Jeff said a7.5 may need too much wind to get going and once you are the water conditions are a bit bumpy which leads to fatigue and frustration.
Thanks again for all the responses i really appreciate it.
Thank you for the invite too from the Sanstone point sailors..I will need to stay local this weekend but will look forward to sailing with you in the future.
I already have the Fanatic (thank you Simon) so i will give it a go this weekend and see what happens..
Wondering if you got out on your smaller board with the wind we just had??
How did it go?
Cheers Jeff
Select to expand quotejirvin4505 said...
Wondering if you got out on your smaller board with the wind we just had??
How did it go?
Cheers Jeff
Thanks mate for checking in...I went out on the bigger one last weekend ( i did get planing but it was really bumpy at Manly) I need to put nose protection on the smaller one first .I will do that this week and take it for a spin this weekend.
If you come to Shearwater and I'm around, feel free to try my 130L F2 (it's a 2006 model so nothing to worry about).You might have to use your rig though as I'm about 31 Kg less than you 
Select to expand quotejusavina said...
If you come to Shearwater and I'm around, feel free to try my 130L F2 (it's a 2006 model so nothing to worry about).You might have to use your rig though as I'm about 31 Kg less than you
Thank you for the offer.mate
My first board was 70 something wide and it had a 6.5m sail.
I am glad I learned on it and not one of those lazyass boards because it pushed me to control more and go faster. They are definitely harder to get the hang of it but so much more fun. I was able to go from no experience to using the straps in 6 months and going on 2m waves after a year. I have done quite a lot of skateboard and snowboard before tho... i think it prepared me a bit. But yeah... I would say go on a spot that is not too choppy to start with, and choose a day where the wind is very constant (no gusts) and bite it. Make sure you got a bigger sail.
