Board upgrade

Question
Hi!

By the end of this season, ( also thanks to your advice !) I think I'll have improved enough to consider moving to a more advanced board next year . I'm considering  moving down to approx  160 lts ( from my current 190 lts Rio) for less weight and more manoeuverability.(Among other things, at 15 kg, my Rio is far too heavy to lift  fully rigged and  haul it down to the beach for a beach-start ! )

My concerns are two:

1. Weaning from the daggerboard. Most of the surfers strive for  planing, which, they say,  can hardly be done, if at all, upwind.
They do most of their surfing on a reach, so TO THEM the retractable daggerboard is pretty much useless,besides adding unnecessary weight and instability.
This is all well, but unfortunately we are very often  faced with situations where we HAVE to sub-plane  upwind and  I wouldn't want the lack of a daggerboard to  turn into a serious disability. Should I worry about it?

2nd: I weigh 79 kg : what is the maximum I can get down, volume wise, without substantially decreasing the floatability of the board. There ia a brand at  155 lts . Will I notice a substantial difference, in terms of floatability as compared to my 190 lts Rio ?. I know 155-160 lts is not a problem once  the board is moving, but what about when it stands still and you scramble back onto  it, after falling?   I already tried a 160 lt Bic  and it didn't seem too bad, but what about a 155?

3. Quality of board.
It is difficult to extricate facts from fiction, based on manufacturers'advertising and/or on the sellers'claims.
The latter  tend to downrate the brands they don't carry.  One of them ( 2Rad) only carries the very pricey RRD line and claims all the rest is junk, for very subtle technical reasons having to do with poor quality materials, especially the inner core of the board. In the end, he says,  cheaper boards are built to the detriment of durability. We may save  $ 200-300 on the initial purchase, but the board is DESIGNED to last no more than 90 kours or so...
Another distributor pushes AHD this year and he also sells Starboard, which, two years ago, he didn't carry, as he had told me   it was... a piece of junk!

Amidst all this, what do you think of AHD ?. They manufacture a line called FAST FORWARD, which seems to cater to progressuve surfers, is very light, of attractive design and I am seeing quite a few around.

I'd appreciate your comments.

Thank you

Franco  

Answer
Hey Franco,

To consider moving to a smaller board, have these techniques dialed in fairly well;

Hooking into the harness
Getting into the footstraps
Getting on a plane
Uphauling when it's windy
Tacking
Going upwind with and without daggerboard
Beachstarting

As for going up upwind without a daggerboard. It is a combination of sail and foot work and it can be done in light winds as long as the board is floating you. Keep your mast fairly upright while sheeting in and using your feet, put some pressure on your heels to get the windward side of the board to dig into the water. This also tilts the fin in a way that helps going upwind. To practice this, get upwind a ways, retract your daggerboard and go for it. If you get blown downwind too much, put the daggerboard down and get back upwind. With some time and practice, you will find that going upwind without the daggerboard is not too bad. Sometimes a challenge, but challenging ourselves makes us better sailors.

As to what size board to go down to, it depends alot on the conditions you will be sailing the smaller board in and your abilities. If you were able to sail a 160 ok, the 5ltr difference in a 155 won't be noticed. If you have the ability to try a 140-145, do it to see how it feels. If you can uphaul it and still make it go, it may be a better choice as you will grow into the board, where a 160 you may outgrow fairly quickly. It all depends on how much you are able to sail the smaller board. A 140-145 can still carry a fairly large sail for lighter winds but when it gets in the 15+ range, it will perform quite a bit better than a 160.

Quality of boards? To be competitive, ALL board makers are making a decent quality board. The sellers want you to buy their product and will downplay the boards they are not selling. RRD is an excellent quality board but that doesn't mean that they are the only board to buy. AHD and Starboard both make a very good product and just because the price is better, doesn't mean that quality has been sacrificed. With the technology available to board makers, price is based more on what it costs to make their boards. If they weren't making quality boards, they would be out of business fairly quickly as there are way too many quality products to choose from. So, go with what you like and suits your needs.
As for the longevity of boards, the 90 hours statement is bull crap. If you take good care of your board, it will last a very long time. My favorite board to sail is 1992 Mistral Screamer. It has given me many years of excellent riding and will continue to do so for many more. I'm very careful about setting down, especially when around rocks. I don't drop it, handle it carefully and have never had to repair a ding. Treat your board gently and with loving care and it will serve you well for a long time.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover