Sail size and board selection (Lake Ontario)

Question
Sail size and board selection

Weight: 190lbs
Height: 5?1"
Location: Toronto (Lake Ontario and Toronto area)
Wind:  Mostly 10Mph, some days 10-20Mph.

Skill level to date: Novice: I have done about 15hrs in Cuba, some instructions were given to me.  Everything was done on BIC Techno 293 and BIC FreeStart sail 4.5m.  I can balance on the board and uphaul with no problems and sail away.  I tried beach start with 70% success.  I had problems with going upwind in lighter wind (however I believe 4.5m sail was too small for those light wind days).  I did tacks but I did not do any jibes.  

I am in the process of evaluating board/sail purchase options:

Option 1:
JP Funster board 180L
7.0 Gaastra Pilot or Matrix

Option 2:
Starboard Rio S 175L
7.0 Gaastra Pilot or Matrix

Question 1:
Is Funster better than RIO?  Which board out of the two would you recommend to me?
Too bad I cannot step on both of them to get the feel.

Question 2:
I do not want to buy another board in next two years.  Therefore I do not want outgrow the board too fast.  Is JP Funster 180L good fit or I could go as low as 160L for that board?

Question 3:
I was also told not to go with Sailworks Retro Sail 7.0, but instead use 7.0 Gastra pilot or Matrix.  Do you think Retro is too much for the beginner?


Answer
My good friend weighs 185 lbs. and sails almost always on his 125 liter board.  He can uphaul it and can waterstart it and it can easily support a 7 meter sail.  I think that if you do not want to buy another board in 2 years you should consider a board closer to 130-160 liters. This will eventually become your low wind board when you become more advanced and will want a shorter smaller board for higher winds. Definitely go with the Sailworks retro.  It is definitely not for beginners.  
Good Luck and Good Wind
Patrick