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Seen many pics of WA guys sailing those boards.
Comments?
Are they better than previous model?
Why?
...and why that huge lenght?
Hi, I have a nude speed baord, designed by chris, and understand the mistral speed boards are direct copies of the nude's designed by Chris and shaped by James, and I declare I have no affiliation to nude or mistral. I am an ordinary sailor, with a lot of experience, but no elite talent here.
In my opinion the nude speed board is by far the best speed board I have ever ridden. Its not just that its very fast, and I have the gps speeds to prove it helped me to sail the fastest I ever have, it is The control at speed that just builds the confidence in ordinary sailors to keep sailing faster, and I believe the control comes from the extra length, the rocker, the vee in the hull, and rail shapes. It is just a sensational board and very highly recommended by me.
Thanks Joseph,
James from Nude is no longer making speed and slalom boards. The 46 you have is the first version I did last year. I have one of these, and it was the fastest board in 2010 (actually proven rather than just stated in marketing noise 
).
The 47 is my latest design that extends the lighter wind performance. The 47 is in production with Mistral for 2012.
This year the 42 is the fastest board (1st and 3rd in GP3s. 2nd is my old design from 5 years ago ). It likes lots of wind and a small sail to get the most out of. It can still be used with big sails, but the 47 is better unless its 5.0m weather or you are <80kg.
The 55 is the big speed board (95 litres). It is the longest board with the flattest rocker, and is designed to mow down nasty steep following chop. I designed it for bigger guys wanting to go really fast in crappy conditions. Its very easy to keep on the plane, considering its top end capability. A big guy will easily hit 45kts+ on this board in 30-35kts gusts and squalls, but will still be cruising around on it in the lulls.
The slalom boards are based on a similar concept, but have a different set of design criteria, to account for the different speed range, wind angles and gybing.
- V to double concave centre with panel V on the sides, back to panel V in the tail. I wrote a CAD program to design and balance the boards so that the more complex bottom shape does not cause problems with stability or drag. This was quite tricky. I designed the bottom shape to be as simple as possible for the desired performance. A plain V or simple double concave arrangement works some of the time, but there are always conditions where it will suffer. So I had to design something a little more elaborate.
I'm enjoying my slalom sailing more than ever. I dont fall off as much. I dont get tired as easily, and I'm going faster than I used to, more of the time. I really enjoy sailing in chop now because I can still go fast on these new boards without it being too hard or too dangerous.
So Chris, if James is no longer making the speed and slalom boards, is anyone selling the Mistrals in Perth yet?
Cheers, Sandy
Hi Sandy, unfortunately they are not available in Perth just yet. We are working on it...
Chris, what sizes will the slalom come in?
Also, I'm just under 80kg so wondering how the 55 speed will go for a med weight in 18-23kts Swan river seabreeze compared to a small slalom?
Hi Patrick,
there are 3 slalom sizes.
57cm wide, 91 litres
68cm wide, 112 litres
82cm wide, 137 litres
For your weight I'd recommend the 57cm slalom board for fresh seabreezes in Perth where you are on 7.0m or less most of the time. If the most used sail is bigger, then the 68cm might be worth consideration.
The speed boards really only start to be a benefit when the gusts are hitting high 20s. I haven't used my speed board in Perth for a long time. Long absence of strong wind probably has something to do with that
I'll post a message about availability as soon as its been worked out. We should have some info in a week or so.
Hi any more info on the speed boards interested in the 95lt who can we contact in wa cheers
Which is a real pitty as the new slalom an speed boards look very nice.
Had a go of both the 68cm + 82cm wide Mistral boards,they are both awesome. Both are particularly smooth,sitting quite low in the water.
The 57cm wide board,the tail is way too narrow for it's width,resulting in no bottom end.Yes i hated this board.
I'm sorry, I just couldn't let this go, petermac33, what planet are u on????????????
The 57 is an absolute ripper, especially in the ocean.
Dont think I'd be concerned with the bottom end of a high wind board. i'm guessing the "narrow tail" is for control in the rougher water state in winds 25knts+
The 57cm is probably a great board in high wind and rough water. I can get away with most 90 litre boards in medium wind,with this board i just grovelled. Sailing in the ocean in stronger wind this could well be the board to be on.Sean seems to love his 'free' 57cm Mistral.
Ask Stroppo he seems to be going well in no wind on his 57, look at his gps results.
Great board low an top end , just need to get it to plane then all sweet.
), and the wind was crap.
right on all accounts but come on give me some credit 600g is alot but 4kg is more than a bit of exaggeration, anyway i've decided that you are right the little bit of extra weight does make the board feel a little bit different in the marginal conditions so i'm going to redo the top. should be able to get rid of 300 to 400 grams if i get it right
hmmm yes still need to get my hands on a decent fin though
I didn't say you added the 4kg :) It was heavy when I gave it to you, but I figured with a little bit of elbow grease it would still be better than your other boards despite the weight. If you look closely you might find traces of the original board under all those repairs .
The production ones are tough as nails. First time in 7 years I've had boards that didnt break within days/weeks. Pretty stoked about that.
yeh true your new ones are pretty light
and yep every time i go and try some of my other boards i wonder why i didn't just go out on the mistral
We're not quite there yet. I have no direct influence on production or distribution. I've just been lending out the boards to see what people think. Thanks for trying them guys. They will be available, and I'll inform you as soon as I know anything.
Stoked for Anders. Pretty cool since he said last week he hardly did any sailing for a few months. His sail looks pretty worn out... apparently its a couple of years old.
Cant wait to get some speed boards myself.
