In the market for a family board with a bit of performance for lake / bay sailing but ok for beginners too. I found the Go on the starboard website. Anyone suggest anything else 110 to 120L ?
Boards (UK windsurfing mag) did a good review in a recent edition
Haven't got it on hand but think fanatic viper was highly rated in the 'softtops' category - something the mean with EVA foam deck ideal for someone to sail as a beginner board (after an extremely wide initial beginner board) to progress to freeride
Those big wide things offered by all the windsurfing companies these days,Seem to put smiles on faces. I,ve got a jp xciteride 120 and with the straps in the centre it's still good in the surf on light days.
a JP Funster, is the way to go!
They are the same as the Starboard Go, except they are a bit quicker when you put the straps out wider!
And plane earlier!!
Definetly look at the JP FUNSTER!!!
Most of the brands now offer the fully padded learner / family board, many of them are tuned down versions of their formula boards. I'm using an RRD Easy Ride to give some lessons at the moment. This thing would make a comfortable bed as it has a huge EVA foam protection pillow on the nose.
The other point worth mentioning is that, for it's size, the board is quite light. If you need to carry the board for a distance this becomes a factor, or just getting it up on roof racks. I used one of the bigger GO's last year and it almost killed me dragging it down to the beach.
Make sure you get one with stubby fins, just makes it easier to in shallow water. The learner progress on these boards, with a light sail, is amazing. My pupil is comfortably sailing back and fro after a few hours.
I was going to buy an old bomb to give lessons on but came across the RRD at Wind SurfnSnow (Sydney shop). This board was a superceded model and an absolute bargain, (price of a used sail). They had two on the rack at the time so it may be worthwhile to give them a call.
Here's the RRD in action.
I am borrowing a Go off a friend this weekend for a bit of a muck around. I am interested in seeing what all the fuss is about and whether a Go is the go.
I've had a go on a medium sized GO with a big sail and it really did go!, quite a performer. But the really big GO felt more like an ocean liner, more learner and fun oriented.
One of the guys a I sail with just bought a 70cm+ Starboard Futura 122 to give the family lessons on. But he can get off it, lots of fun and very high performance.
If you go down that path he's come up with a protection system which I've tried and it works reasonably well. Get yourself some white sticky velcro strips and EVA foam or pool noodle. Make up some padding to protect the rail and nose (or any vulnerable area). Use the velcro to attach. This makes it quick and easy to fit or remove depending on how the board is being used.
The other accessory you can make is a centre fin, if the board doesn't have one. I've used a right angle piece of perspex with suction caps. It crude and has a bit of drag, but for learner speeds it's not an issue but makes a big difference for the learner.
all round. 
Just to add, a proper sail makes a difference as well. Giving the kids a lesson we had two going on JP Young Guns. One with a modern shaped kids sail and the other with a 'one design style' piece of triangular cloth.
The one with the triangle had a lot more trouble tracking straight. When they swapped over there was an immediate improvement. Having decent gear really helps learners to stay motivated.
We tried out the Go today. I first took it out in a very light breeze and a 3.7 sail. Quite stable and very smooth. My wife then tried it. She is a beginner and this is her second sail ever and the first one in six months. A bit of a shakey start but then she could uphaul and start going. Biggest issue is sail trim, needing to learn how to steer the board to avoid going downwind.
We were in a good place to learn, high tide over a sandbar, around half a meter of clear water. I felt my Tabou 140 and the Go were similar to sail in these sub planing conditions. The Go is a bit bigger at I think 150 litres and a bit wider. The biggest difference is the soft deck. Very friendly for knees as opposed to the nonslip on the Tabou. The biggest issue for the Go is drifting off downwind. This has been mentioned before in threads discussing the Go. I guess any modern shortish board with a tiny sail will have problems getting back upwind when severely underpowered. However for a rank beginner in a place where you can wade back upwind its not such and issue.
So I don't think I'll buy a Go. I'd rather buy an old raceboard. I had a go of an old Bic raceboard a few weeks ago and it was really nice in sub planing conditions, cutting through the water and very purposeful. Don't have anywhere to put the raceboard though. I think it was a Labamba or something like that.
Have recently bought a funster 160 with exp 3.3 and after half an hour my wife (never put on a wetsuit before let alone sailed) was tacking and sailing out to sea and back.
Daughter is sailing competently after 2-3 hours max gybe and tack - even trying to catch waves.
Divaldo gave us a tip for getting them to sail down or upwind - "bullfighter or Bow and arrow - once they understand sail back for bullfighter their pretty quick at heading back up wind. Bow and arrow - sail forward of centre and they head off ready to gybe. Thanks Dave
I can sail it with a 6.4 or the 3.3 and try some tricky stuff- they sail up wind like you wouldn't believe with the centre board down
I thought buying something so big may not appeal to the kids etc but they love it and there the ones asking to go sailing now.
Even had a couple of knee high waves and it surpisingly turned OK and kept in trim pretty well - wind possibilities are looking good maybe even on small waves
If you want the board for learning you are better to get a wide board with a centreboard than a long board which is usually only about 65 cm wide. A starboard start or Rio or the Jps mentioned above. 20cm extra seems to make the stability twenty times better. the 100cm boards are virtually impossible to capsize.
The raceboards are great for subplaning speed and racing but not for beginers or early planing. They are much cheaper but for learning the value is there in the wide boards that have centreboards.
If you can afford a bit more and want more performance you can also look at the olympic RSX board, the mistral Prodigy, the Bic Techno hybrids. These have great stability and a good compromise between planing and subplaning performance. They are not so well paded for learners and are easier to damage.
Yes fair enough. I found the Bic raceboard to be quite tippy compared to a modern wide board. So I would not want to teach with this sort of board. I'm hoping we can get away with the Tabou 140 and not have to worry about buying another board. I really liked the feeling of the raceboard. I was using a 7m sail and it felt like it could handle a 9m easily.
Maybe stay at Lake Wallis for a week and get lessons so the biggest widest board stage can be skipped.
Go the Go !!
I've just bought myself one after looking around.... cant go wrong.. .. great board
I have to say that I never had an issue with the Go not getting upwind. I think the rig and fin choice may have more to do with that than the board itself.
The upwind performance critisism of the Go is probably due to it being used in very underpowered in a learning situation. When powered up and used by a competent sailor the Go probably trucks upwind similarly to a formula board. However when used in 5 knot winds with a 3.5 meter sail its a struggle to get the Go or any similar style board to do much more than a beam reach.
Are we talking Go's with a centre fin (bigger one) or the smaller ones without. No centre fin on a big board and small sail would be very difficult.
My partner had no problems going up wind with a 3.5m sail and the RRD with big centre fin.
I still think that wide is great to start with, you don't need to worry about board balance too much allowing you to get the feel of the sail technique. My partner has had about 3 hours water time and she is confidently sailing and tacking in light wind.
The Go I am talking about is about 155 litres in volume and doesn't have a centreboard. Its not that much different to my Tabou 140, besides being a bit bigger and having the comfy deck.
Your RRD looks bigger than this Go.
i have a Go 180 (old as) and it has been a great board for me over the past 14 months or so, sailing it with everything from a 4.0 - 7.4 and from 0 to 30 knots. Got a bit much on the upper end but it still has done me well.
If I had my time again I would have a got a slightly smaller one (155) but the Go is good.
Just upgraded last week.
If your looking for something with a centreboard/fin with more performance than a funster or start have a look at the starboard rio.
Full eva deck, goes well upwind with small rigs, the funster can be difficult to sail upwind with small rigs, and more performance than the funster or start.
Also good for the full wind range. Very good entry level setup
Its still not a GO but it is a great board for sub planing conditions and getting started
