Just finished my new weight jacket.Base load 6 kg Max 10kg.Used an old wetsuit as the base glued on blue foam,then stiched and glued sail cloth to the vest. Total cost $60 time 40hrs.Hope it floats www.seabreeze.com.au/gallery/gallery.asp?imageid=6147
www.seabreeze.com.au/gallery/gallery.asp?imageid=6148
Modeled by my 9 yr old his total weight 30kg
DON'T USE SOLID WEIGHTS SUCH AS DIVE WEIGHTS IN WEIGHT JACKETS.
Apart from being illegal for speed sailings etc it is also extremely dangerous to use solid weights. The best weight to use is water so that when you fall in it does not hold you down. Weight jackets with nuetral buoyancy i.e. water are allowed in some sailing classes and I think speed sailing.
If you use lead weights such as dive weights, when you fall in you are still held down by the weight so you either sink and drown if knocked out or use all your energy treading water and drown.
Best weight jacjet is a camel back water bottle. They fit several litres of water and you can keep yourself hydrated while sailing.
"..Apart from being illegal for speed sailings " ??????
Where do you get your info?
ALL the guys at the last Speed Sailing comp in Namibia were wearing lead and lots of it. Of course they were also required to have enough floatation so their vests were neutrally buoyant.
This is a speedsailing post. Speedsailors have been wearing weight vests for decades but they are not commonly used in the general windsurfing community so are few and far between. Kato was showing how he made his own.
As I,m only 74kg I find in gusty conditions it helps stablise my upper body.Use them if you want but,they do change your balance and wear out your arms quicker.As to illegal,never heard of it in 20yrs of sailing.Please tell me more Tim. Lead weight is great as its more compact than water,doesn,t leak or move around and easy to add or remove.Yes make sure it floats with you in it ,otherwise your just dumb fish food. Use them or not
At 70Kg I'm very tempted, but with all this talk of catapult injury not sure if I'm game!!!
ISAF have a ruling on the leaglity of weight jackets:
THE RACING RULES OF SAILING for 2005–2008
WINDSURFING COMPETITION RULES
International Sailing Federation
International Windsurfing Association
43.1 Competitors shall not wear or carry clothing or equipment for the purpose of increasing their weight. However, a competitor
may wear a drinking container that shall have a capacity of at least one litre and weigh no more than 1.5 kilograms when full.
Of course I do not believe that anyone has agreed that we are bound by the ISAF rules, and I am not sure there are any class rules that can override this.
If I remember correctly this rule was brought about because of people injuring their backs carrying extra weight around the racecourse.
I would agree with TimB, lead weights should be a no-no. Anyone with a bad back would agree I am sure.
At a minimum the jacket shoud be neutrally buoyant itself (with the lead weights), so there is no increased safety issue.
Alternatively, spalsh out on some food, at 74Kg's you can afford to have a burger or two. 
JB
The purpose of weight jackets is exactly what Kato said, otherwise there is no point to wearing them. In any case, the ruling is meant to apply so that any extra weight, has neutral buoyancy.
Water-based jackets are easy to make neutral (excluding the fact that the fresh-water used in the jackets, is more dense than sea water), you just need extra flotation to offset the lead.
Here is the ISA rules for 2007: www.speedsurfing.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=66
They specifically state that any weight vest must be neutral - it says nothing of using lead (ie: you could use depleted uranium for the extra density vs smaller size), just that the specific density of the vest must be less than the sea-water.
As to the ISAF ruling, Alison Shreeve mentions them in the context of ISAF (www.aus911.com/index.php?id=11), so it appears to be unclear. Further reading indicates that total mass above the knee must be less than 9kg - which would include your wet wet-suite, etc.
JayBee, do you have a reference to the section 43.1?
quote:
Originally posted by mathew
The purpose of weight jackets is exactly what Kato said, otherwise there is no point to wearing them. In any case, the ruling is meant to apply so that any extra weight, has neutral buoyancy.
Water-based jackets are easy to make neutral (excluding the fact that the fresh-water used in the jackets, is more dense than sea water), you just need extra flotation to offset the lead.
Here is the ISA rules for 2007: www.speedsurfing.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=66
They specifically state that any weight vest must be neutral - it says nothing of using lead (ie: you could use depleted uranium for the extra density vs smaller size), just that the specific density of the vest must be less than the sea-water.
As to the ISAF ruling, Alison Shreeve mentions them in the context of ISAF (www.aus911.com/index.php?id=11), so it appears to be unclear. Further reading indicates that total mass above the knee must be less than 9kg - which would include your wet wet-suite, etc.
JayBee, do you have a reference to the section 43.1?
quote:
Originally posted by frant
OR VICE VERSA..
Mat. Are you saying you put yourself forward for the Darwin Awards and then withdrew your nomination?
Well. While you are that frame of mind we better do a few Tandem speed runs next week! 
I use a flotation vest with a camel back and money in the front.
$10 in 5 cent coins
Flotation helps when waterstarting sails with big luff pockets, and works well as an impact vest.
Hey decrepit,You start with just a few kgs and as the weight is at your shoulder height no danger to your neck and the solid lead might protect your shoulders.Spend a long time sailing with this before moving up in weight. All that foam also protects your ribs.
WhippingBoy got ta ask....why 5 cent coins....no pokies in WA?
quote:
Originally posted by kato
Hey decrepit,You start with just a few kgs and as the weight is at your shoulder height no danger to your neck -----
quote:
But if you hit head first, it's your neck that absorbs the kinetic energy of the lead!!!!
quote:
Originally posted by sailquik
Hey decrepit,You start with just a few kgs and as the weight is at your shoulder height no danger to your neck -----
But if you hit head first, it's your neck that absorbs the kinetic energy of the lead!!!!
The only thing that can be a worry is hitting your sail head first. If you hit the water it is not usually an issue. My neoprene vest has quite a lot of padding and it also is quite elastic for shock loads so it give a bit on impact.
Kato offers good advice though. If you want to try a weight vest, start with just a kilo or two and get your body and balance used to it. When you feel comfortable and fit, add a bit more weight. I am reluctant to use any weight early in the speed season until I have built up a bit of core fitness. As Kato says, it can be hard on the arms and grip, and the higher mass can put a bit more strain on an iffy back. Build up slowly!
By the way. I like lead better than water. It is much less bulky and a can be moulded to the body a bit better
It's hitting the rig head first that worries me, from the "breakneck speed" thread. Maybe I'll try 1/2 kilo and see how I go a bit further along my learning curve. My limiting factor at the moment is inexperience, once that's less of a problem may be the time to try added weight.
".....My limiting factor at the moment is inexperience"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
quote:
Originally posted by yoyo
".....My limiting factor at the moment is inexperience"
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
The jacket worked really well.Floats with 8 kg,possibly with 9 not with 10.But 10 was always going to be too much, just had the pockets already made up.
