sizing gear

Question
Howdy, two summers ago I purchased a old used board and learned the basics and now want to upgrade. I would like equipment that is challenging which I can advance into, but not so specialized I can't use it that much. Me: I am male, 135 pounds, athletic, live in Vermont and am eager to get in the water. Thanks in advance for you advice.

Answer
Hey Grant,

There are a few things to consider to help you decide what gear to buy. The first items to consider would be what type of sailing you are going to be doing the most? Are you sailing mainly on a lake, ocean, or both? What are the predominate and average wind speeds where you will be doing most of your sailing? The next items are your sailing abilities and how advanced do you want to be before you need to consider a more advanced board.

Todays gear is wider, shorter, and much more user friendly than the board you learned on. They are also more versitile and work in a wider variety of conditions.

For lake and/or ocean sailing a freeride board would be the most versitile. They are fast, user friendly and could be used for learning wave sailing. As for sails, look for something wihout cambers as they are much easier for intermediate sailors.

Assessing your abilities will help determine board size for you. Are you still rope starting or are you able to do beach starts or water starts? If you are not able to beach or waterstart, you will need something with enough volume to be able to rope start. Also, if your average winds are in the 5-15 kts range, a larger volume board for light winds would be better. If your winds are higher 12-20 kts, then a lower volume board should be considered.

You have a bit of advantage being a lighter weight sailor. You should be able to rope start a board with 135ltrs volume and possibly a 125ltr board if your balance is really good. Any board in these sizes would work for you in light and moderate winds. You could also learn beach and waterstarts fairly easily on boards this size. You would be growing into the boards instead of outgrowing them in a couple of seasons.

If you are able to test ride boards at all, definitely do that so you can get some first hand knowledge of what works for your current abilities. If you are planning to shop for a specific style or brand of board, check out windsurfingmag.com for reviews of boards for the past three years. Also check out the links section for shops and manufacturers websites. If you are shopping on a budget, check out ebay and your local craigslist for used gear.

Hope this helps.
Keep on sailing,
Windlover