Hey lads what's a good board for an intermediate?
im 73kg, 175cm, can tack, gybe water start etc.
Was looking for an allrounder that's decent for straight line sailing, cruising and then having some fun on waves at coronation beach for example.
how many fins, how many litres etc
i've currently got a 145l jb funster and it's been great, but now i'm using bigger sails i'm finding it's still a bit slow.
i'm thinking a free ride might suit but only coz chatgpt told me haha
cheers lads
Sorry but there’s no way you can jump down from 145 to something for wave use.
get a 120 freeride and once you can get around fine on that (planing) then try a 100L FSW in good winds. Then you can try small waves once planing and gibing well on the FSW
Agree on the 120L freeride but it's never too early to get experience in the waves. Find a smaller fin and you can sail it at Coros as long as you stay on the inside. Get used to the swell and little waves are great to learn to jump on the way out.
What size sails are you using?
Pauly: I started on a 150L freeride in 2008. I was about 70 kg at the time. I was on that for 9 months, then went down to a 115L freeride board. A year later, I was on a 85L free style wave board. But, due to my progression, I probably could have gone straight to a sub 100L board if I wanted to. But, I just took the forum's advice., and went gently, gently etc. A 100L board will end up being your light wind board once you are advanced rider.
Good thing you learnt the basics on the 145. This will increase progression IMO. Depending on your skill level and natural ability, you might be ok on a sub 100L wave board. But keep that big board. It's probably modern, and you can put anything on those JP boards. Ride it with a 5m wave sail will be fine. I think the battleship/small wave sail combo is a hoot, and works for small guys. I got a mate's 135L board going with a 4.2 wave sail once to win an argument. Did a few planing exit gybes around him to really rub it in. If you want to learn heli-tack at some point, then it will be heaps easier to learn on your battle ship, than something that sinks. Good luck 😎
120 isn't a hard number. At your weight something down to 115 won't feel that much different. A board that size will cover a lot of range and with the appropriate fin can go change behavior to suit a lot of different conditions. Having a bit of float will help out a lot on those marginal days.
something versatile like a Starboard Kode, Severne Dyno, fanatic FREEWAVE etc, they are all good board in single fin mode which I'd suggest you start with but as you progress, then switch down to thruster mode, 115 at first will be a struggle but you could get away with it, it might actually be easier to water start as they sink a little more and you can pull it under your body easier. Good luck and keep at it....!!!
Where you sail will have an influence on how small you go. In the mid 80s, I went from a Windsurfer OD to a ~85 litre Wind Action tri fin. But I learnt at a shallow river mouth where you could stand if you stuffed up the gybe. I progressed to small waves in the surf within a couple of months .
Some good tips above but make sure you don't go too small. It'll get very frustrating. There's no point in trying a sub 100L board at this point. I think some people forget how tricky small boards can be when you're new to it. Go gradually, 115L+ now, then 100L+, those are already big steps.
Smaller is not better. A bigger board is more stable, planes earlier and gets your through lulls. You know when it's too big when your completely out of control in strong winds.
