Id love advice from people with personal experience with
learning to windsurf on isonic 150's. Particularly rig and fins.
But techniques also. Thank you
Best advice is don't.
iSonics are pure slalom boards. Light weight and fragile for a learner.
best to start with a funster/go type of board. Wide, stable and a centre board so you won't drift down wind too fast.
Using the iSonic to learn will only frustrate you.
welcome to the sport.
Just because its a high volume board doesn't matter it easy to learn to sail on, I agree with what westoz said.
In my opinion get a big, floaty longboard for learning, the newer the better but older ones are still good. Rig it with a new, light sail and voila, perfect learner board.
They track really nicely in sub planing conditions, have a centerboard, they are cheap (or free if someone's feeling generous) and are a great light-medium wind board for as long as you are a windsurfer.
Welcome to the sport, best thing is how willing people are to help (and the sailing is pretty good too)!
I did ask for personsl experience. I already spent my budget and don't have the storage room for a second board. I am sticking to the board I have and seeing it through. CLIFF YOUNG and Roger Banister would not get frustrated and give up . Neither will I.
Anyone with personal experience out there ?
Select to expand quoteandysghost said..
I did ask for personsl experience. I already spent my budget and don't have the storage room for a second board. I am sticking to the board I have and seeing it through. CLIFF YOUNG and Roger Banister would not get frustrated and give up . Neither will I.
Anyone with personal experience out there ?
I have friends who have learned on formula boards so it is possible. Half of learning is choosing the right location and conditions.
What level of "learner" are you? In this sport, everyone is a learner. What is your weight, what sails, and where do you sail?
Whan I was a basic intermediate (planing in straps, most waterstarts, no turns), I moved from a 122l Kode to a 101 iSonic (I'm 72kg). It was a difficult transition as the isonic demands a lot more skills. It was also a rather expensive as I was smashing the board up a fair bit.
It did however force me to try harder and improve faster (otherwise every session my body and the board would get smashed!)
A 150 l iSonic (didnt know they would make one so big) is for a big sailor in light winds with massive sail, think 100+kg in 14 knots with a 9m.
If you are an absolute beginner (uphaul only and not planing), then the board would have enough volume to get you started. When you get to the planing stage, it will be much more difficult to progress on the board as the strap positions and board handling requires higher skills.
As for rigs and fins, if you're at the absolute beginner stage, they won't have any real effects - fins do very little untill you're planing.
Be a pity for such a nice board to get smashed up,however the main problem you will face is when learning to get in the straps as they are quite outboard and do not have enough strap positions for a learner.
Have to agree with Westozwind,buy a cheap learner board,keep this one for a light wind slalom blaster when the experience curve has shot up.
I do know this board and it is in really good nick 
To answer part of your question the board works with 50-56 cm fins,best with 8.5-10 metre sails.
If you absolutely want to keep it and have never windsurfed before, get a 5-6 metre sail. Add a double line of pool noodles sliced in half to the front and off you go. Remember to hang on to your boom when you get catapulted, don't let it go, at least the front hand. Find someone local that can help you.
Enjoy, the journey is as much fun as the destination...
Thank you for your time. Im 67kg . Sailing off garden island. Using a 6.2 atlas . I uphaul still mostly but have eater started from standing once succesfuly.
I know you don't want to hear it, but here is my experience.
I started out on a 145L slalomboard. I was crashing all the time because my small(under 7m2.) no-cam sails could not hold the board down.
I was struggeling to get planing and keeping the board under control because I didn't have a specific fin-size for each sail or knew how to tune the board propoerly.
I tried to get into the straps for 1,5 years, never getting to the back strap.
I felt like I was the worst windsurfer in the world.
Then i bought a 120L freerideboard. on my second stretch I was planing faster than I ever had before in both straps and felt like the best windsurfer in the world.
Seriously, even though slalom boards have gotten easier to sail, just save yourself from my experience. Sell the board and get a 120-130L freerideboard.
If you decide on keeping it, here's some advice. The board will never work well with a 6.2 atlas. I tried a 6m2 freestyle-wave sail on a 101 Isonic. Scariest thing I ever did on a windsurfer. I think you would need at least 8m2 freerace sail to keep that board locked down. You also need the right fin. I had a 135L F2 SX. With an 8m2 it only worked with fins between 46 and 52. With a 7m2 it only worked with 40-44.
Thank you Flatout . I wanted to hear it all and particularly the tuning in the last paragraph. So a 44 weedy should work well with a 8m2 freerace sail ?
Not if your only learning :)
Board (with 5.5m sail) is probably ok for learning how to uphaul and get moving (hopefully while staying upwind)
But
Wrong board for trying to learn harness and footstraps(ie planing...which is what it's all about :) )...it's the footstraps that will minimise the crashes which will save money and possibly injuries in the long run :)
If your serious about using that board you will need to get rid of the curent sail. You probably want a 7.8 a fin to suit and restrict yourself to wind conditions that suit that size.that would be 15 knot max probably more like 12, But your in WA so that might be hard. Maybe move over to east coast :-)
That board was designed with big guys Sailing on inland lakes in mind. Maybe the river on a light day, would be ok.
You could have new footsteps plugs fitted.
I wss out today on 5m maui aloha and the 32 weedy getting into and staying in front strap feels natural. Im looking forward to more consistsnt wind to get into the back one.
I have a 44 weedy coming this week and open to influence on sails that will work well with it .....
The board is only 228 long and the boom does not hit bosrd in any dirrection. Can the mast still do damage ?
Select to expand quoteandysghost said...
Can the mast still do damage ?
Plenty
If you want improve your chances of success you need to set the board up at least some what closely to how it was designed, and choose a sensible wind range. A used 7.5 or maybe 8.5 Sail, not a race sail but something sensible like Severne ncx, gator etc.
Keep in mind, if your successful, you will still be restricted to a wind range that suits that board.
