Sailed the 2013 carbon version today in 10-15 knots,averaging 12 with a 7.8m and a 48cm Choco fin.
First time sailing a table-top for a extended period.
Off the plane 3-4 times in a hour and a half sailing.
Yes it planes early but i cannot get it upwind at all.
Windward rail is very difficult to lift for more than a few seconds,resulting in board feeling crap!
Compared to my 10 year-old Fanatic 152 litre,75cm wide by 275cm length,this newer design of really short and wide does not come close in terms of feel or
performance.
Going to have my second and last sail of this monstrosity tomorrow with a 58cm carbon Drake fin.
This board feels like it's made for downwind slalom in light wind as it carves very tight on gybes,but for recreational sailing being able to sail upwind at will is nearly everything.
Hallo Peter,
please accept my warn about the fact you were totally out of the ideal set up for that board.It does need ABSOLUTELY a + 9,2 to be right settled and a VERY GOOD 48 carbon moulded fin.
After first times tests (back in 2008) it was clear that it can't efficiently sailed with a small sail size. You are going to cover all the board range with just 1 sail (and 2 good fins).That's the reason brands have worked hard to develope smaller 80 cm boards. Easier to sail and less demanding in terms of physical effort,leverage,settings,etc .
Lst the 58 at home as well as borrow a good 9,2 and you won't be disappointed.
For a 7.8 sail you'd be better of on a 107 or 117 which will still get you going in 12 knots. This will give you a lively ride with good speed and you should be able to charge upwind with a 42 to 44 fin.
Pete, I hope you persevere a little with it. I have the 2011 wood version and use it mostly with a Talon 48cm fin. I have used it with 10m, 8.8m, 7.8m. I've even had a great session with a 7m + 44cm Canefire on a super gusty Melville day and it was a hoot. I love the board. It seems to go ok upwind for me and I've got a pretty poor upwind technique, I would have thought you'd be fanging upwind on it.
No paddy i'm not persevering with it as it's a piece of.
Had another sail today on it in mostly non-planing 5-10 knots with 58cm fin and board still feels like it rides not straight but sideways. Sort of like when you get a bit of weed tangled around the fin.
Probabably would ride better with a bigger sail but 7.8m is big enough for me.
Had a go of a 82cm wide 132 litre JP pro edition today and the sideways feel[no windward rail lift] was there also,but not as bad.
In small and medium sized boards this short and wide design i like. But start to go much bigger than 80cm wide the boards stay too low in the water,or to be more precise i find it very difficult to trim these boards where by i can maintain windward rail lift.
Not intending to sail the thing again,going very cheap!
My 2 cents mate stick with it. I can't imagine anything designed by remi at starboard being that bad. My own experience with my JP slalom IX 68 wide and especially the JP slalom fins is that the whole setup is designed to function properly at top speed and if you are below top speed for more than a few seconds then you are underpowered. The JP slalom fins are designed to function properly at high speed and as such are a bit of pain until you get going. The same goes for the board, it planes early and all that but it's in a bad mood until it gets going.
when I bought my JP I was eyeing off the carbon Isonic 110 and TBH it was the board I turned up to buy but the assistant kept trying to steer me away from it and he kept saying mate the starboards are very technical to sail... So I went for the JP 68. It had classical lines to it and yet it still had a hard and aggressive look to it. I'm not sorry I took the assistant's advice, the JP has worked out famously.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is slalom boards and Isonics especially seem to be design with specific parameters in mind and if you use them outside of their intended niche they can give you some grief. There has been some suggestion of a bigger rig, that sounds like good advice to me.
Have you tried posting on the starboard forums? despite his busy schedule of testing boards in great sailing locations all over the world( poor bastard I really feel for him), Remi Vila still manages to answer a lot of questions.
A 7.8 with an 85 cm wide board seems like a mismatch. I have the 75 cm iSonic and it works well with the 8.5 plus sizes. If it is strong enough for a 7.8 I'd rather be on a 68 cm wide board with a 40 cm or 42 cm fin.
Another thought - have you used the 48 cm Choco fin on other boards? I've tried multiple fins from multiple brands over the years, and even within the same brand different styles of slalom fins in the same size can feel very different. For example I'm now using the Black Project Type R and RS. The Type R is a very fast allround fin that is good for up and downwind, while the RS is specifically designed to be blisteringly fast on a downwind slalom course at the expense of a little bit of upwind ability.
Tried numerous fins 46cm up to 58cm and still don't like it.
My older design Fanatic 152 litre,it is very hard NOT to sail upwind as that is what it's likely designed for.
The i-127 is probably a winner on a downwind slalom course but i want a light wind board that will point effortlessly upwind.
Only been used for less than 5hours,selling for 1300.
