Not much choice in small freeride boards

I just had a quick look at a few websites. Dreaming about a plug and play type B & J about 85ltres. Decent freeride type that can take an upright fin. Comfort and control rather than speed for 3-4ft chop.

The Tabou Rocket 95L is only 58cm wide with a lot of concave and narrow tail. Looks like they have stopped making one that small. I think mine is 2016. LOVE it.

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Windxtasy said..
Sue, I have reserved an 85 L 3S for when I am in Maui. I will let you know what I think of it.
I used a 76L 3S last time I was there and liked it but felt like something a bit larger would cover a wider wind range.

Great ! Thanks. When are you going ?

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jimbob SA said..
Sue you need to look for some older supercross boards from like 10 years back. The Jp ones where great made for speed in rough stuff. Be in your budget too.

Supercross? I've never heard of that before?

Comfort, get a floaty wave board with lots of V.

Upwind implies early planting. Get a slalom board with a long blade fin and overpowering wind.

So far I've only seen two board options for highwind B&J that have outboard foot straps, the Severne Dyno 85 and the Starboard Kode 85. The Dyno has a powerbox while the Kode has a US box, so the Dyno may take favor for tuning with an aggressive upright fin. I've seen lightweight riders (below 65K) use the Dyno 85 to great effect at the Wind-OBX long distance race in North Carolina. Great option for increased blasting comfort in 30+ knots. The Fanatic FW STB 95 is also a good option if you have a little bit more weight and can hold down a bigger board in 25+. The JP FSW boards and the Goya One 3 might also have these options, but I can't figure out if the smaller boards come with two foot strap rowes like the larger ones do.

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Sea Lotus said..
Exotec Cross Silver 84 looks really suitable for choppy water blasting for lightweights, anyone have experience with their glass construction and bottom shape?

I've got a Exocet Cross 90 v1 I bought in 2005, which was glass, but not heavy. It lasted well, I've used it lot and only bought the 94l last year after I dinged the nose. I wore a small hole in the deeper 'v' towards the front due putting the board in the bag, running it up a sandy beach when landing, sliding it onto the rack in my van etc. I certainly got my monies worth out of it. I think other Exocet boards like the x-move and S-line in glass construction are quite heavily built, for centres etc. The Cross glass boards look a lighter build for performance.

I've now got the Cross 94l v4 2016, it hasnt change from 2013-2019. The shape tends to stay more or less the same across the sizes, so would have thought the 84l is similar. The bottom shape is flatter than boards like Severne Fox, Dyno and Tabou boards which have deeper 'v'. The Cross is flat 'v' at the back going into shallow double concave under the mast. The pads look thin, but the double density foam is recessed into the deck and its really comfortable, soaking up the bumps. The rocker flat is about 85cm (+/- 1cm), no tail rocker, rails are sharpish at the back up until roughly the front straps then become tucked forward of that. 25cm of rocker measured at the front, so its not going to catch on swell or going out through waves.So its good for early planing, speed and control, but less good for doing tight turns, but its more of a blasting board for chop/swell and medium turn carve gybes. Good if you arent worried about wave sailing although you can still use it in waves.
I had the chance of buying a new discounted Silver (glass) board for ?1099, or a lightly used secondhand Carbon for the same price, and went for the Carbon as its lighter and stiffer. No regrets. I use it with a 6.5m 2 cam freeride sail (so long as its windy enough that I dont have to pump to get going) down to 4.5m which is my smallest sail. The OE 30cm fin is fin for bumpy seas with 6m+ sails.

Looks like a typo in the 2019 web site. The link to their archive has disappeared on the new website, but the 2017 versions were 0.4kg difference in weight for the 84l according to the specs I saved at the time.

There don't seem to be a lot of RRD FSW boards around in the buy & sell? Who sells them in Aus?

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gavnwend said..
^^^Try 2nd wind perth. I think Jez is a dealer for RRD .

Thanks

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TerryA said..
Sue. Have a look at the older starboard Kode s. They are fast (for wave boards) but controllable. I had a 80 on Maui and borrowed a 74. That was a great little board

They are on my Seabreeze Buy & Sell search list.,.

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Sea Lotus said..
Exotec Cross Silver 84 looks really suitable for choppy water blasting for lightweights, anyone have experience with their glass construction and bottom shape?

Anyone know who sells Exocet in Australia? The windsurfing shed just sold his last 84 cross.

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Sea Lotus said..
Another option may be Patrik f-cross.
They are in fsw category but single fin, 4 straps down to 86lt, lightweight in both constructions.
Do you think it can be used as freeride bump and jump?

I think mine was 2011. Only used it with a single blackstrap. It felt rough and slow, albeit I used it in choppy water most of the time. It was light though.

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Sea Lotus said..

Faff said..

Sea Lotus said..
Another option may be Patrik f-cross.
They are in fsw category but single fin, 4 straps down to 86lt, lightweight in both constructions.
Do you think it can be used as freeride bump and jump?

I think mine was 2011. Only used it with a single blackstrap. It felt rough and slow, albeit I used it in choppy water most of the time. It was light though.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Yes, their 93lt carbon is 6,2kg and glass is 6,3kg, glass is lighter than most carbon boards, and it is told to be a smoother ride than carbon.
It being so lightweight got my attention but no way if it is rough and slow.

Was yours carbon construction?

Probably. I got it 4 years ago from Perth for $400. It looked like it had been used only briefly, then spent the next few years in someone's shed. I know Patrik spends a lot of time in WA every year. Maybe it was one of his less successful protos. But it had a serial number...

It was my first small board, so maybe I'm not the best source. But a very advanced sailor borrowed it over an extended period of time (one of his favourite boards was an old F2 design by Patrik... Guerilla?). He was underwhelmed - "might still be ok with the right fin". He too found it rough and slow.

I've also tried a friend's 85 trailer wave (2015 or 2016) and it felt way smoother. Perhaps there's a reason why mine cost only $400.