I wonder if anybody has comments about the Wind SUP’s, i.e. SUP’s which can be rigged for windsurfing. I am in a process of saying farewell to the much acclaimed shortboards world and I am looking back into the longboards or their equivalents.
I am an intermediate windsurfer, sailing mostly in light winds. After several (and costly!) trade-ins in order to reach the elusive “ bliss” of the shortboard world, I have come to the conclusion that shortboards are not for me: short as they are and without a daggerboard they perform very poorly, if at all, in light winds sub-planing and, even worse, upwind. None of them, as far as I am concerned, passed the test, not even the much acclaimed Tabou Rocket, the Bic’s, the Starboard Rio, etc. They are excellent boards and they may well blast downwind like rockets in 25 knots winds, but at 10- 12 knts , which are the prevailing conditions here in summer, they don’t move( or if they do, they drift ..laterally!), unless they have an extra-long fin and are rigged with a behemoth 8.5 or 9.5.(Then you do move around, but you also break your back in uphauling or gybing..).
In fact, my current Bic Core 293 needs at least an 8.5 to get going in light winds, whereas my first board of 25 years ago, a longboard of course, moved around swiftly and painlessly in light winds with only a 6 or a 6.5., even though it weighed twice as much as modern shortboards. This is because its thick rails and its almost V shaped, displacement type of hull , unlike a flat hull, contributes to increasing the lateral resistance of the board, which in turn , by Newton’s 3rd law, translates into forward motion..
I wonder if anyone has comments about these Wind SUP’s, how they perform and how they compare to real longboards. Another interesting board is the Kona Step One, cheaper than the Kona One.. Of course speed buffs and racers will frown upon them, but my priority is not speed or planing ( the winds are very light in summer here..and I am not masochistic enough to sail with a dry-suit and a parka in sub-artic conditions, when winds finally pick-up...) I just want to maximize the time spent on the water and take advantage of the short summers, without spending the weekends at home or on the beach waiting for gale-force winds..
THanks
Francone
It sounds like you'd be happier with a race board like a Mistral IMCO or Fanatic Cat than a windsurfing SUP.
If primarily sub-planing then definitely a board with a displacement nose, there are only a few, or at least a narrower board like a Kona or an old race board so the nose is pushing less water. Most of the wndSUP's are just a big surfboard, planing hull and lot's of tail rocker, if you are not in waves tail rocker is your enemy. I like the idea of an old raceboard, you can slide the mast back and forth for up/down wind, planing/sub-planing and they have footstraps.
Owning both a Kona and raceboards I would suggest an old raceboard or a Wally one design
Have you explored average Joes blog? Covers this topic really well
Cheers Jeff
Pros-
One board for 2 disciplines.
Most cruise well albeit sub-planing.
Easy for teaching friends how to windsurf on.
Cons-
No footstraps so not much speed and a gust will throw you.
Not great boards for purpose sup or windsurf.
Sounds to me you should consider 2 boards one long board (which you could always paddle if you liked) and a short board probably about 20 litres more than your body weight. You could probably get away with one say 7.0m sail and that would cover the average weight sailor up to about 23 knots. Good luck in your search!!!
If you don't like using a shortboard for what it is not designed to do (cruise in no wind) then you won't liek using a SUP for what it is not designed to do (windsurf)
Buy a longboard 
(BTW were do you live if the wind is so poor so often?)
I have both a windsup and long board. Windsup is fun to play around on or teach the kids etc but it doesn't sail well. Longboard sails awesome on all points in winds from 3 to 30. Go for the long board
Francone lives in Montreal, as I do, average joe windsurfer
i have suggested on another forum that we get together next summer - 6 inches of snow on the ground now
Sailboarder has also suggested he/you borrow his Kona One
we could meet Francone at Lac St-Pierre , closer to his East-Montreal home on a weekend
he can try my Mistral Equipe, Fanatic Ultra CAT , the K1 and even my JP SLW92...
we want him/you to keep the stoke
pls do not get discouraged ....
Select to expand quotejoe windsurf said..
Francone lives in Montreal, as I do, average joe windsurfer
Wondered why he was only getting 10-12kn in WA 
Even passing wind in wa generates more than 12 kts.
I have a starboard element 11'2 x30" it sails gin in sub planing even with my 4yr old on board. In 25kts it planes, turns great considering its size and my wife enjoys supping on it. Great board IMHO.
Now you're wondering why I had it out in 25kts... Me too. Had to try it. Was at crescent head in 4ft onshore. Was wicked fun riding waves, made a couple of planing gybes and only fell in once. This helped avoid going on the rocks.
Select to expand quoteMark _australia said..joe windsurf said..
Francone lives in Montreal, as I do, average joe windsurfer
Wondered why he was only getting 10-12kn in WA
Who said 10-12 knts in WA?! ( Washington, Western Australia?). I didn't say WA . I live in Montreal. . When I said that here the prevailing winds in summer are 10-12 knts, I was referring to the only lake at driving distance which is large and open enough to present suitable conditions for windsurfing: the Lake-of-two-Mountains. We do have plenty of lakes in Quebec : some, like the Champlain Lake , which straddles the Canada-US border, are an ocean-like paradise for windsurfers, but not as close.. Most are inland lakes surrounded by hills or mountains which make winds very unstable and create crosswinds or wind-swirls..
The area I normally sail by choice and necessity is a shallow bay, almost in the shadow of a small island. Often you have to “walk” the board 100 ft or so to give enough clearance to the fin to launch the board. Winds do blow in, but even if they are over 15 knts out in the open, by the time they get into the bay. they are down to 10-12 knts, if not dead. The only way to get out in the open is tacking upwind, which is not very easy in light winds with a shortboard.. There is another launching area across the lake, which is very very good, but it is ( for me) too distant for comfort to drive there. This is why I am moving away from shortboards. For me, they are useless, but I don’t want to detract from shortboards by making my judgment more absolute than it should be: Mark was perfectly right when he said in his lapidary statement in another post just above that one cannot expect from a board what it is not designed for. He points to the limits of any compromise, but sometimes one has to make compromises, because one cannot change the weather in his/her my area. The only other option would be to give up windsurfing, which is..not an option for me!
Cheers
Francone
Boards for all occasions problem solved 
oh and probably a good aluminium trailer and heavy duty racks 
I have recently bought a Fanatic Fly and really like it. My main reason and justification for buying it was to have one board only when we are going somewhere for a weekend. For that purpose it is ideal, paddles quite well, and sails fine as well. Last sail I had on it was in 30 knots with a 4.5 and I had a ball. The deck is quite grippy.
However if I had a shortboard with me I would have been on that, and if the wind was light and I had it with me, my old race board would have been being used as the Fly doesn't go up wind well and to be honest I would prefer a touring type SUP on a longer paddle. But on that weekend I sailed and paddled flatwater and some small surf and managed to fit the family in the car too. My 4 year old and I are able to comfortably paddle on it together. 11ft 31 inches wide 217 litres, super stable.
If you are after a do it all board then yep, and maybe have a look at some of then boards with centreboards to make it even more all purpose. I have been looking at some of the inflatables lately, but I am needing to do some work on my sales pitch on that one!
I have a Coreban Icon 10'x29
Pro's- all good, I have two teenage daughters 17 and 13 or 27 and 23 depending on the day. Rigged with a 4.2 wave sail the 17 yr old can go out and improve each run on her upwind skills up to about 12kts. After about 3-4 runs she can return to the same place on the beach. She is strong and determined. The younger one is improving all of the time and loving it. The rig is probably a bit heavy for her to get the full enjoyment but she enjoys what she does.
I can use the same board in 6-12kts with a 5.3 in small waves and have a ball.
I have had it out in 25kt winds and have had great sail also.
Without footsteps you do learn to " drop your arse" in a gust and develop some survival skills.
On the days when the girls go out for a sail I enjoy just going for a cruise around the bay on a big flat stable surface. Just enjoying the day at the beach. With not much wind the wife is happy to be on the beach with a beer and a mag so we are all happy.
Cons- The factory boards are not built to withstand a few good catapults. Get a good local made board or be prepared for a bit of damage. Then you will have to take it to a local to fix it up and strengthen the nose area.
Cheers PK
