Hi all.
I'm new to this fantastic sport. I always wanted to do it, but never got around to it. At the moment I am borrowing a friends board and sail. I cant believe how much fun I am having, trying to learn to pull the sail up, its just great, a little frustrating, but still nice being active on the ocean.
Anyway, my first question is will need to get a new board soon. At the moment I am borrowing a Wayler YPSI, that a friend had at the back of their garage for years, I think it is a really old board, but still fun to get the feel of uphauling. I have had a look at the Starboard Go and it seems really nice, but will it last me more than one year ?
Alex
Hi Alex,
from the sound of them, a Starboard Go or something similar would be the go. Other brands like Bic and Mistral make similar sorts of boards. You will be able to keep this sort of board even as you get better.
Such a board could have multiple uses. Firstly you could use it with a big sail and big fin as your light wind board. Secondly you could use it as a light wind freestyle platform, playing around with sail flips and spins. Thirdly you could use it to introduce others to windsurfing.
As you keep progressing you probably won't want to use a bigger board in stronger winds however the wind is usually not that strong so having a bigger board will increase your sailing time.
A GO is a great way to start. I have a 155l GO and its been great. Helped me progress reasonably quickly. I wont be selling it either even though I just got a smaller board. I will use the GO for days when there are only light winds and for when friends come down and want to try it out.
hey there alex,
welcome a-board
as moby said any of those wider boards from about 70 cms wide and up should get you a lot of value. ive seen a few pretty good sailors having a lot of fun on boards like the starboard go
im also newish to this and went from an older long board to a new style shorter wider board fairly quickly and have progressed heaps since... not to mention the increased fun factor.
depending on your weight anything from 120 - 160 litres in volume would see plenty of years use.
if your looking second hand... good luck because some of these boards seem to be rare coz people seen to hang on to them for years even as they progress, and cost nearly what a new one does. i gave up looking and ended up buying new, but theres plenty of good second hand rigs available,
speaking of spending money..... be prepared to be addicted and emptying your wallet regularly.... but its fun
hi alex, i learnt on the go, and it is a fantastic board, and it is great on lighter wind days on the river, with bigger sails, and yes it will last you years
but the goya Surf, is also a promising board, it has more of a rocker than the go, making it a bit nicer in the chop, plus it has multipul foot strap options, and a center board/dagger board, the soft eva deck also is a pluss on this design because it has high sections which guids you to where your feet should be for uphauling and sailing and adding extra grip. and besides this its wide enough to use as an SUP board when there really isnt any with.
the plus of the SURf is the cheap price of $1350-1390 for a brand new board!!!! and the resail price will stay high with the starter boards when it does eventualy come down to sellling....
but the GO. the eva deck on them is a bonus, but the really bad thing is that they often find cracks from impacts, and very slowly let water in, but this isnt really a problem if you have added protection on your boom/mast (boom bra's) but ontop of that the price. the second hand ones go for over $1500 and the 2006 2nd hand are even more expensive,
but if you can find a GO. it will last your a long time, but you will need to get anotehr board with in a year because you will out grow it. but if your in WA pop into windshack have a chat to alberto, becuase he will always set you in the rite direction.
here is a link to the surf http://windshack.com/products.php?cat=windsurfing&scat=5&id=104
and dont worry about the site being out of date because of the home page, it is upto dat within the last 2 or 3 weaks. just that the first bit hasnt been changed yet
Keep Sailing
Jordan
windsurfjournal.org (server is being updated so webpage will be working again soon)
i learnt on a go too...gr8 board...
don't fall into the trap of liking it too much,,, once you have learned the basics - move on.
Buy a smaller board, keep the GO for the transitional period, then when ur dialled into ur smaller board you'll probably want to go smaller again...etc etc
all money well spent though
Today was a prime example of why I will be keeping my GO.
Winds were only about 12 - 15kts max. I played for a little while on the 95L Sonic but then spent about over hour having a blast on the GO. Was heaps of fun and was still up and planing when it was near impossible with the Sonic (although that was probably more due to my technique or lack of it anyway 
)
I think it is a good idea to have at least 2 boards. I have a 140 L and a 92 L and the difference in the planing abilities of the 2 boards in light winds is amazing. I can plane in 10-12 kts with a 7m sail on the large board (being 70 kilo helps) and the small board is just out of the question. It is great to blast away on a small board but you need the wind to push it along and the wind isn't always there when you want it to be.
Yeah I have 140 and 105 Tabou Rockets. I liked the 140 so much I bought the little one. However Sydney has such light winds I have not used the 105 yet.
So if you buy something like the Go, it would be a good idea to keep it for at least the three reasons I listed above. Don't listen to the advice of anyone over in WA. The wind is much more variable (code for light) on the east coast. So having a bigger board will get you more time on the water, which is what its all about.
Hi Alex,
Welcome to the Starboard GO forum. 
If you want to look at more options than the GO, GO and GO, then have a look at the step-tail longboards like Kona One, RRD Longrider, and Tabou Windstyler. Basically they are freeride longboards that will glide better than a large GO in sub-planing mode and although won't plane as soon as a large GO, will surely be at least as fast as the GO when they get planing. They generally will stay or go upwind as good in planing mode and better in sub-planing mode. They are more stable in chop when moving and also carve gybe well for their size.
www.exocet-original.com/
www.windsurfingmag.com/kona
www.deepfried.tv/news/default.cfm?id=1558
www.tabou-boards.net/index.php/Boards/Windsurf/Windstyler
www.lbwindsurfing.com/
I three boards. One is a Kona One. If I had to have just one, it would be the Kona.
)
) and I'll try to get there if I can.
My bad, yes Alex has borrowed the board. Perhaps if he really twisted the owners arm he could buy it for $50. I would quite like to see one of these new longboards in action. However I cannot buy one as I don't have much storage in my unit and normally keep all my gear in my van, thus I can't have a board much longer than 2.7 meters.
I saw a Tabou Windstyler at the Gybesports. Its a nice looking board and appears to be very well finished. However you'd have to do a lot to convince me its much better than an old windsurfer or F2 Lightning.
Wow! So many responses, looks like the GO might be the best choice for me although some of the other boards look very nice too. Thanks to everyone who responded to my post, it’s exciting to be getting involved in a sport with such friendly people.
Oh, great, this wekend looks fantastic. Looks like the wind will be light for a beginner like me. Cant wait to get out again. Looks like I will get the Go, just have to wait a few weeks till I save the dollars to buy it. Looks like I'll be dragging the oh' so heavy Wayler Ypsi around tomorrow.
Does anyone know where I can get a replacement centre board and back fin for a wayley ypsi wind surf board which I bought in 1982. Any replies would be much appreciated. Thanks PIERS.
You haven't got Buckley's to find thems bits, mate. Ypsi is old and rather specific.
If you lost your center piece, you can try to fit standard Windsurfer fins and dagger, or at least see how you can build your own from those parts.
Else you can post on various fora and ask for someone who owns a Ypsi to send you the specs, so you can build your own. All in all, not sure it's worth much efforts...
