I am a 60kg girl... I'll be sailing my Simmer Icon 5,3 sail... wanting to learn and practice jibes, tacks, getting into footstraps... I am still at beginner/intermediate level... smallest board I tried so far was Fanatic Shark 135l at school...
now I am getting smaller board to have it at home, as I felt that on my previous board which was and old Fanatic ultra ram 145l, I could not progress any more, it was just too long and big for me...
I have an opportunity to buy a Fanatic Shark 135l used board, a RRD Firemove 130l or maybe a Starboard Carve 121l, a bit more challenging ? what is your advice? at first look/thought??
wind conditions I+ll be sailing most: summer breeze up to 15knts most of the time.. a stable consistent wind
my thoughts are either the shark or the carve.
the rrd is probably too wide for you.
can you put up the spec of the boards because from year to year the shapes change a lot.
go for the smaller, will still give you 60 litres of floatation and will be much easier to handle in stronger winds and chop once you start improving
Starboard Carve 121l
plenty of volume and stability for uphauling for your weight
really good for learning to gybe
If 145 was too big for you, coming down only 10-15L won't be a big enough step.
and as powersloshin said, it will be much easier to handle in stronger winds and chop once you start improving.
I am 57 kg and I think I went to a 120L board after my beginner's board and it was perfect.
Next step was 95L
I now have a 73, 85 and 111 to cover all wind strengths.
Here are the specs:
RRD Firemove 2014
material: Carbon
Volume 130l
Size 238 x 79 cm
Sail size 7.2-9.5
- use board but like new
Fanatic Shark 2013
material: HRS
Size 245 x 73 cm
Sail size 6.0 - 9.0
-used and cheapest board of the three, but I will have it repaired
Starboard Carve 2014
material: Tufskin /AST
Volume 121l
Size 252 x 72.5 cm
Tail width 47
Thickness 12
Sail size 5.5 - 8.5
- new and most expensive
yes, the fanatic and starboard are almost the same size. it's much of a muchness. get the fanatic because it's cheaper.
be careful it has no water in it because if it does it's ready for the tip. you need to weigh it and see how far out of spec it is.
They're sending me the photos of the used Shark soon... they claim it doesn't have any water inside... I am not able to weigh it by myself, the shop is not in my town... I'll just have to judge it's conditions from the photos...
I'll see how damaged it is...
The Carve is brand new.. more expensive, but it's also on the outlet price in another shop..
Would JP X-cite 135l (250 x 73cm) ride for example be better than 121l Carve ? .. by better I mean for learning jibes and getting into footstraps in moderate winds?
Select to expand quoteZgirl said..
Would JP X-cite 135l (250 x 73cm) ride for example be better than 121l Carve ? .. by better I mean for learning jibes and getting into footstraps in moderate winds?
Very similar design criteria, both classic freeride boards, comfy in a range of conditions, great to gybe and a good turn of speed. Any modern freeride board around those dimensions will fit the bill. Less width will make it less stable, more width will give you control issues at your weight. I reckon 70-73cm wide and ~250ish long.
Select to expand quotepaddymac said..Zgirl said..
Would JP X-cite 135l (250 x 73cm) ride for example be better than 121l Carve ? .. by better I mean for learning jibes and getting into footstraps in moderate winds?
Very similar design criteria, both classic freeride boards, comfy in a range of conditions, great to gybe and a good turn of speed. Any modern freeride board around those dimensions will fit the bill. Less width will make it less stable, more width will give you control issues at your weight. I reckon 70-73cm wide and ~250ish long.
control issues at which wind speed? I think like my max will be up to 18knts with my 5,3 sail
Select to expand quoteZgirl said..paddymac said..Zgirl said..
Would JP X-cite 135l (250 x 73cm) ride for example be better than 121l Carve ? .. by better I mean for learning jibes and getting into footstraps in moderate winds?
Very similar design criteria, both classic freeride boards, comfy in a range of conditions, great to gybe and a good turn of speed. Any modern freeride board around those dimensions will fit the bill. Less width will make it less stable, more width will give you control issues at your weight. I reckon 70-73cm wide and ~250ish long.
control issues at which wind speed? I think like my max will be up to 18knts with my 5,3 sail
While you're progressing you may find that committing all your weight through the harness lines is a challenge. As the wind picks up this is increasingly important on wider boards, to make sure that they stay planted and the wind does not get under them and send you flying through the air. When I was beginner/intermediate I used a Bic Techno 125L (about 68 wide I think) with a 5.3m wave sail. @80kgs I could still find myself lifted out of the water in 18-20kts due to poor technique
When you are comfortable in both straps and can use you harness effectively then you will be able to go for a much smaller board for 16+kts and you'll have a great light wind board for anything else.
Select to expand quoteZgirl said..paddymac said..Zgirl said..
Would JP X-cite 135l (250 x 73cm) ride for example be better than 121l Carve ? .. by better I mean for learning jibes and getting into footstraps in moderate winds?
Very similar design criteria, both classic freeride boards, comfy in a range of conditions, great to gybe and a good turn of speed. Any modern freeride board around those dimensions will fit the bill. Less width will make it less stable, more width will give you control issues at your weight. I reckon 70-73cm wide and ~250ish long.
control issues at which wind speed? I think like my max will be up to 18knts with my 5,3 sail
To put some perspective on it.
I weigh round the same as you (60kg).
my largest board is a 117Litre thats 75cm wide I can (with a 7.5m sail) get it going in around about 12knts of wind.
In 15knts of wind with the 7.5m sail Its great fun, the board gets planing with no pumping, feels lit up, but not out of control
In 18knts with the same sail, the board is quite flighty. Any little bits of chop and it wants to flick me off,mainly owing to its width and my lack of weight to be able to hold it down.......
Taking into account that its a 5.3m sail youre sticking on it, you'll probably need at least 15knts before you might get it planing, 18knts of wind and you'll probably find it gets flighty like my board unless youre sailing on super flat water....
Its a good next step though, I'd definitely go for the combo/sizes youre looking at, when youre ready for a bigger sail, you can stick it on that board and get planing sooner.
as a conclusion, you all mostly think it will be best for me to take the Starboard Carve 121l (252x72,5cm) to pair it with my 5,3 sail to sail it mostly at light and moderate winds and when I get more skill to go on stronger winds?
I weigh about 63kgs and have a 115ltre 75cm freemove board.
It behaves well in chop and the width is great for gusty conditions. It's more forgiving than a narrower board so I don't need to worry as much about getting in and out in gusts & lulls. ( compared to my 125 Rocket that was 69cms wide) Easier and more forgiving to gybe too.
I wouldn't want to use it in much more than consistent 18-20kts in chop as although it behaves it bashes you around more being bigger.I'd be using a 6.6m in those conditions and wanting to change down to my 95ltre. I'm an intermediate female sailor.
Select to expand quoteZgirl said..
as a conclusion, you all mostly think it will be best for me to take the Starboard Carve 121l (252x72,5cm) to pair it with my 5,3 sail to sail it mostly at light and moderate winds and when I get more skill to go on stronger winds?
It will combine better with that small sail than the bigger boards too - more balanced
Select to expand quoteWindxtasy said..Zgirl said..
as a conclusion, you all mostly think it will be best for me to take the Starboard Carve 121l (252x72,5cm) to pair it with my 5,3 sail to sail it mostly at light and moderate winds and when I get more skill to go on stronger winds?
It will combine better with that small sail than the bigger boards too - more balanced
which one the shark? that's the smaller board.
I decided to take the carve 121l... I think that it's 72,5cm will be enough to keep my 60kg stable enough :-)
