please help need help please with new board

Select to expand quote

WillPower said..

Hi guys
Big question here any feedback is welcome. My question is I am looking for a new board and am not sure if it suits me. To start off I weigh 50 kilos and have had a bit of experience in windsurfing (spent a week in Fiji with a starboard go 4.7 sail and solid 20 knots and literaly spent every day on the water even when it was raining and got cold) I have been searching the market for about two months and just recently I found a man selling two f2 boards from 2004 a sunset and sputnik. The boards are both ninety litres and are in good nick coming with a 3.7 4.0 4.2 5.0 and 6 I was wondering if these boards would suit me or if they would just be a waste of money please please please reply I would really like to get into the sport and I am just assessing my options I am in tasmania so if any of you tasmanians have gear that you are selling or giving away I would happily take it off your hands.
Thankyou for replying. See you on the water

Well they're not particularly good boards to learn on. You were on a GO which is vastly different to a 90l sunset/sputnik. But you are only 50kgs so should be able to uphaul on them. Can you waterstart? How much money is he asking for the lot and more importantly how old are the sails and what make are they? 2nd hand windsurfing gear is dirt cheap, anything older than 8, 9 years is virtually worthless. I have a 5 year old wave board, $2k new and now I would be lucky to get $100 for it, despite it being in near new condition. If he is selling the lot for under $150 (assuming sails are also 2004) then yeah maybe. But if you want to get into the sport, you need to start off with the right gear. You don't have to spend big $$. The gear you've described isn't really suitable, unless it's really, really cheap and you are motivated. A lot of people start out on random, crap gear & get good, but there are also many people who start out on random, crap gear that give up the sport because learning on random crap gear isn't much fun. You are better off buying an intermediate board - say 130l - with a 4.5m & a 5.5m sail. No older than 2006/7/8ish. Also have a look at the free gear thread. A lot of us have decent boards & sails that we don't use and cannot sell and would be happy to give them away. Shame you're not in WA!

at 50 kegs i would go a 100L FSW.
Big enough for you to up-haul on but small enough to throw around and do some jumps on it.
120L will be too big and you'll look at trading it sooner rather than later.
I'm probably wrong but.

Zed's advice is really good regarding old gear/price VS fun/ease of learning.
We really need to know what level you got to to recommend board size esp can you waterstart yet?
If not I would recommend a 120L freeride board. If you can waterstart you could go smaller, 90-100.
I was 50kg when I started windsurfing. After the beginner board my fave board was a 120L. Comfy and versatile. I didn't feel comfy on a 95L until quite a bit later.
I am still only 56 kg and use a 63L, 85 L and 111L. They are all good, just depends on the wind strength which one you choose. So don't be afraid to start with a bigger board, it will make your learning more fun and you can keep it for your light wind board when you progress and get a smaller board for blasting around on.

Will i know the gear you are talking about, i would say no. ( i think it is that gear on Gumtree?)
I remember a learner coming to me last summer saying he had just picked up a bargain . The gear was as old as the hills ( early 2000's), and the guy who sold it too him said..
' it will sink up too your knees, and them go like a rocket when the wind blows'- He sold this to the above learner!!!.
My advice is ask guys at the beach, on this forum and double double check before you buy ol gear off someone who has been out of the sport for years..
Size of board really will come down to how fast you want to progress as well,
do you want to take up windsurfing and do it nearly every day this summer---then get something a bit smaller ( a bit of a challenge but you will grow into it).
If you want to progress without any hassles then borrow our Tassie club boards for two weeks ( big starboard starts) and then get a early entry level freeride.
There are plenty of 50kg guys and girls who are happy with there Jp funsters of 145 litres and similar boards- still learning the basics of gybes , footstraps, harness and waterstarts.

And there will be a lot of people lined up behind you to buy it when you are finished