Received: from hplms26.hpl.hp.com by opus.hpl.hp.com with SMTP (1.37.109.8/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1) id AA18943; Sat, 25 Jun 1994 05:25:16 -0700 Return-Path: <James.Paugh@Eng.Sun.COM-DeleteThis> Received: from Sun.COM by hplms26.hpl.hp.com with SMTP (1.36.108.4/15.5+ECS 3.3+HPL1.1S) id AA18895; Sat, 25 Jun 1994 05:27:22 -0700 Received: from Eng.Sun.COM (zigzag.Eng.Sun.COM) by Sun.COM (sun-barr.Sun.COM) id AA05120; Wed, 22 Jun 94 18:00:50 PDT Received: from jurassic.Eng.Sun.COM (camilla) by Eng.Sun.COM (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA16688; Wed, 22 Jun 94 18:03:02 PDT Received: from jalama.eng.sun.com by jurassic.Eng.Sun.COM (5.x/SMI-SVR4) id AA04554; Wed, 22 Jun 1994 18:00:19 -0700 Received: by jalama.eng.sun.com (5.x/SMI-SVR4) id AA21153; Wed, 22 Jun 1994 18:00:22 -0700 Date: Wed, 22 Jun 1994 18:00:22 -0700 From: James.Paugh@Eng.Sun.COM-DeleteThis (Jim Paugh) Message-Id: <9406230100.AA21153@jalama.eng.sun.com-DeleteThis> To: wind_talk@opus.hpl.hp.com-DeleteThis Subject: Re: Board Suggestions X-Sun-Charset: US-ASCII
> From: ShreddinEd@aol.com-DeleteThis
> I'm soliciting suggestions on purchasing my third board. I currently own 2
> Seatrends, both ESII's, one a 9'0" course slalom, and the other a 8'8"
> high-wind slalom (both standard shapes). I've sailed a coupla no-nose
> shapes, but wasn't used to the way they handle (very twitchy). I'm looking
> for something I can use on those really nuclear days around here, a
> bump-and-jump shape, probably either an 8'4" or 8'6" in the 75-85 liter range
> (sail sizes 3.4-5.0). Usually, as occurred last week, I can't demo anything
> in these conditions because the shops are afraid they won't get their
> equipment back in decent shape.
>
> Please give me your thoughts on: 1) shapes; 2) construction (epoxy v.
> polyester/glass); 3) manufacturers; 4) durability; and 5) cost (e.g. is the
> extra cost of epoxy worth the savings in weight/etc. for this type of
> high-wind board). I'd like to give a local outfit my business (e.g. ASD,
> C-FX, Mike's Labs), but don't know if custom or production is the way to go.
I had a conversation with John Forsyth, when he built a custom board
for me, and we both agreed that the no-nose benefit is more for the
light to moderate wind conditions. His light air boards (>9.2) make
full use of the no-nose concept (thinned out nose, wide point aft,
wider tail, etc), but in his smaller size boards, the no-nose concept
becomes less apparent.
Personally, my high wind board is a 8'6", 75l Clam Sandwich, which is
an 13lb, epoxy, bump & jump board. It is a totally clasic design, with
the wide point and volume forward, and a very thinned out tail. I can
throw a powered 5.7 on it, as well as take it down easily to 3.5
conditions, with that thin tail (I'm 6'8", 225lbs). Go with a classic
design for a highwind board, or at most a *very* toned down no-nose.
As far as construction, epoxy is good for manueverability and
*jumping*. Once that Clam gets in the air, it's elevator time! But
this can also be a disadvantage, as the light weight of epoxies can get
squirely and tend to fly away when it's really going off. Glass boards
are popular in high wind, as weight is less of a concern when there's
plenty of wind and can be more stable in high wind. The design of the
board makes a difference too. The Clam doesn't blow out in high wind
because the tail is soo thin, it stays down in the water. That very
thin tail makes it a little difficult to get back in the straps, but
the light weight helps it jump on a plan a bit quicker, which
compensates.
My 9'2" moderate wind board is a no-nose Forsyth, which I love, but one
thing that I definitely notice, and I would be interested in other's
opinions on this, is that the no-nose boards are a bit more difficult
to get up in the air. They jump differently, due to the lack of
forward volume. I found I didn't have to pull the tail up so hard with
my feet to bare off the wind. The first time I jumped the no-nose, I
yanked the tail up under my butt, and landed the board *sideways* which
resulted in a handlebar ride!
Talk to John Forsyth. He will build it exactly the way you want it,
with the construction you want. My 9'2" is bomb proof! Quarter inch
divinicel top and bottom, with a full rail wrap. Divinicel stringers
along both rails, and 6 ounce S-glass (six layers in the foot strap
area). It is made for jumping hard, and still only weighs in at
16lbs. A similiar board in glass would have weighed 25lbs. Note that
this extra reinforcement was at my request, as he doesn't normally use
so many layers of 6 oz glass and divinicel stringers. His boards are
normally 12lbs race weight, and 14lbs jump weight.
As to whether the extra cost of epoxy is worth it, that's for you to
decide. You really should try to ride both types of boards in the
conditions you are shooting for. With my size, I need a very durable
construction (see above), so I opted for epoxy to save weight.
Sorry for the long winded response :-)
~Jim
_____________________________________________________________________
Jim Paugh email: James.Paugh@Eng.Sun.COM-DeleteThis
ONC Technologies phone: (415) 336-4466
SunSoft fax: (415) 336-6015
_____________________________________________________________________
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Dec 10 2001 - 02:27:43 PST