im wanting to get into some sort of windsurfing ive done alot of sailing and have had a try at an really old board before. Im 17 living on the mornington peninsula in victoria i dont have alot of money id probably be looking at around $1000 preferably less to try and start out. It would be really good if someone could give me an idea about what type of board and sail i should be looking for. or where i could go to buy a fully set up board and sail. I dont no alot about windsurfing so any information would be good.
First, you have to work out what sort of windsurfing you want to do. Where will you sail? Do you want to sail only in medium to strong winds, or do you want to be able to go for a sail in all conditions just like you can in a boat? Do you dream of cruising, or wavesailing, or racing? Do you want simple tough gear or do you want to go high tech?
I think you've got little chance of picking up a Go, fully rigged, for less than 1k.
For budget it's going to be hard to get a shortboard that will go well in light winds. Given the extra cost involved in getting a modern wide shortboard, you may end up doing better getting a really cheap old longboard and a cheap older shortboard.
If you can already sail dinghies, you should be able to sail, tack and gybe on your first day on a board if it's got a small enough sail and the wind is fairly light. From then on, time on the water is the Number One priority, well above all else.
thanks for that now that. I looked at prices it looks as though im not going to get much for less than 1k so ill probably be digging a little deaper into my car savings and hopefully spend closer to 2. Ive gone out on an old longboard a couple of times and could tack and gybe easily in light winds. I was wanting to try and get into some sort of speed windsurfing would it be too hard to go straight onto a short board?
Hey Zacd,
I'm a recent windsurfing convert from dinghy sailing too
I bought an old raceboard (as long as my car, centreboard and weights about 18kg), a old epoxy 9"6' shortboard, two times (boom, mast), 3 sails for $300 used
The gear was crap and falling apart but I learnt enough from it to keep going and starting to not fall off too much (even in crappy gusty/flukey wind) so moving on to gear that is decent now.
Don't buy really good stuff because you're going to fall on it and break stuff guaranteed, even if you're awesome. But don't get crap that will ruin you enjoyment either
Get: I big volume board (prob centreboard so you can get home working when downwind about 140+ litres depending on your weight, if you weight about 70kegs then this will be great, maybe add bout a litre per keg after that), get camless sails (maybe 5-7m not too old cause UV kills monofilm), make sure the mast goes okay in the sail
Good luck, this is addictive and mad fun
Concurred with the good advice above. There is a fair risk that by spending $2k on a one-shot single gear, that you blow it... The Go is a good idea, but for $1k you've got Buckley's...
As dism says, you'll get obsolete, crap old gear, but still more than enough to try things and get a feel for your more final purchases in 2-3 years. For used gear, try http://melbourne.gumtree.com.au/ (and other cities) as well as Craigslist. Also ask sailors around - surprising sometimes that they old gear themselves that they may almost give out.
From buying multiple cheap gear in a package and trying stuff, you may decide that the wind is not great where you are and concentrate on long/med-size gear. Or as you say get into "speed" and buy unique gear to that effect.
Personally I get bored going right and left, so since you may be buying old stuff, do try a few moves for the fun of it, dare we call it freestyle. That may also end up being your kettle'o fish that will drive your "final" (or next) purchase.
Very good advice, not too spend all your savings on your first purchase, even with all the good advice here, the decision on what's best for you after you've progressed a bit, is best made by you, when you know more about the sport and where you want to go with it.
If you have good consistent wind you can go straight to a shortish board, best if it's at least 15 to 20 litres more than your body weight.
Then you can learn to beach start and water start, bypassing the uphaul method.
But it's extremely difficult learning this method by yourself, you really need somebody there telling you what you're doing wrong.
You're first board purchase sucks. You know next to nothing about what you are buying from someone possibly desperate to sell it and then you're going to grow out of it in only a few short months. Yay. Then you've got to try and sell it, which can even be impossible.
But the really good news is you've definitely come to the right place. 
I reckon you're ready for a short, but wide board. Especially if you can already tack and gybe a longboard.
I'm going to stick my neck out here and say the first place you're going to go with windsurfing is "freeriding". That is sailing out and back, fancy gybes etc. You really just have to start there.
I also recommend a Starboard GO, or similar (like what?). Something around 140-150 litres and you can both learn on it and use it for years. Eventually you'll get something smaller to blast around on but you'll still likely pull out the old Go when the wind's light (every 2nd weekend), or you want a platform for freestyle practise, or something to teach another beginner on. I wish I'd bought one.
Something like that might cost a little extra, if you can find one, but you'll absolutely get your money's worth out of it. What's the saying? - don't save a dollar and end up paying twice. Besides, they hold their value well.
You can pick up a decent 2nd hand rig for around $600, even brand new (08 gear) for double that, $200- $300 hundred more for accessories like harness and wetsuit etc. I found a 5.7m sail was perfect for my first year. Remember: you want a "camless freeride" sail.
Watch the buy and sell section on this site like a hawk, occasionally a genuine steal comes on. This is a good buy but I'm concerned you'll bust the deck up learning to get into the straps and harness (catapults), the Starboard GO has a forgiving EVA deck.
www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Windsurfing/Boards/~zxqq/2008-Fanatic-Shark-268-cm-160-litres.aspx?search=iVVAl2umBXmHLC7VP1FIeA%3d%3d
Here's the GO:http://www.star-board.com/2008/pages/products/v_go.php
Again, you've come to the right place. Post a question you'll get a dozen answers.
Oh yeah, and don't be shy to ask someone at the beach if you've rigged properly. 2cm here and there can make sailing 2x as easy. Very important to progressing quickly.
Welcome aboard.
PS If you were on the Gold Coast you could borrow my old soviet tanker of a board and crusty old rig, but I've already lent it out.
Hi Zac,
Opinions here will vary mainly by the person's age, experience and place they live. The wind strength of the area often dictates the gear you'll end up using. Decending order of wind strength probably goes:
WA
SA
TAS
QLD
VIC
NSW
So being in VIC, your going to get a lot of light wind days. If you only have the weekends to play with and waiting for 14 knot winds to plane, your going to spend a lot of time waiting for wind.
There are going to be two opposed schools of thought here about which type of board is best to learn on. One is the longboard which you already have tried, the other is the short wide board like the GO. Both have their pluses and minuses. The GO is going to be more stable at rest and so easier to initially learn on (other than drifting down wind). Once you get moving the longboard is going to be better sub-planing as it is more efficient and will stay upwind better. Once you learn to the point of planing, the GO is going to be more fun to sail.
Like many people who windsurf, if you stick with it, you'll probably end up with many boards and sails for different conditions. Whatever you buy will likely still be useful for something in the future so I wouldn't worry too much about it.
If I could do it all again and was in your situation I'd probably buy an old longboard for a few hundred dollars or less and just have fun on it. By the time you are ready to change you'll have a better idea of what you want next. In VIC a longboard will likely never be a total loss. They are alway good for light wind fun. You can even paddle them (SUP) if there is no wind...
I am also a new one to the whole windsurfing caper, and like everyone here in Sydney, I am getting REALLY frustrated with the lack of wind!
I started out buying a complete setup from a guy on eBay for about $500 an old F2 Xantos 325 with two sails (monofilm 5.3 and 6.5) with a two piece carbon mast and all the other bits and pieces... I have found that it is a VERY forgiving board, quite a large volume and still only weighs 10kg. I have since bought a shorter board for about $100 (another xantos), and depending on the wind I choose between them. I had never been on a windsurfer before this and have taken to it quite well. I certainly dont think you have to go out and spend your entire savings to get out there and have fun. With places like eBay and the buy and sell site here, you should be able to find something fun and cheap without too much effort.
Best of luck! 
hey there zacd,
welcome to the sport and a helpful friendly bunch of people
ive been at it for about 9 months now and started on an old long board and 3 sails and other bits that cost me about $450, an ok kinda deal... and got 6 months out of it and flogged it for $200 after i got some idea of what i was doing and what i wanted to do.
figure i still got good value out of that gear
then went on a spending spree on new and fairly new gear recently, but if your patient and look around alot something like what pirate323i got looks like a ripper of a deal, and im sure other good similar deals will appear...
just dont spend all ya car savings coz you need a good car to transport all your gear..... but thats whole other story
by the way short boards sound a bit intimidating but they arnt too hard to get used to, especially with some sailing experience up your sleeve on boats like moths.
and if you sell that moth you will have heaps of $$$$$ to throw at windsurfing too
> short boards (...) arnt too hard to get used to
That's not the point though: he needs water time to get to know where he's heading.
I think pirate323i summarises the best possibilities for you, zacd. Don't paint yourself in a corner yet.
zacd... you poor bastard. Let the obsession begin 
I was like you about a year & a half ago, sailing background and could sail a long board. I bought a Bic Techno which turned out to be pretty good, fairly easy to use and reasonably comfortable. I had plenty of big stacks and not one scratch unlike some more breakable boards. The Go is like that (tough) only better design, but may cost a bit more. After a season I had figured out exactly what I wanted (with the help of many here) and traded my gear in - I didn't lose heaps because it was reasonable gear to start with, stuff that people always want. If you can stretch the budget a Go would be perfect and you can trade it later without losing much or hang on to it for lighter days and friends who want to give it a Go 
Anyway you look at it you are in for some fun so enjoy it.
