Its about time I got myself some new boards. In the past I have had (or aspired to having) a 3-board quiver along the lines of:

1. 72-75 ltr wave board (25 knots and over with 5m or smaller)
2. 85 ltr wave board (18-25 knots 5-5.7m)
3. 100 ltr (ish) freeridey board (14-20 knots 5.7-6.3m)

I'm thinking of cutting this down to just two boards. I'll stick with a small wave board as thats the type of sailing I prefer to do and everyone needs a small board for sub 5m days. But, I'm hoping to get away with just one board for use in 16-25 knots with my 5.0m, 5.7m and 6.3m sails. I was thinking of something along the lines of a big wave board such as the 2003 JP Wave 92.

Has anyone experience of sailing 90 ltr wave boards? I sail on the coast most of the time so want the wave-style manouvreaboloty, but still like to be able to go for a comfortable cruise when the wind isn't quite strong enough for proper wave-sailing. What are these boards like for general allround freeride sailing with bigger (5.7 & 6.3m) sails.

Has anyone got any comments on my proposed cut down board quiver. I don't want to miss out on TOW due to not having the right equipment, but I reckon I could get away with just those two boards. I don't mind losing out on a couple of knots of early planing as I can kitesurf if the wind is less than 20 knots, but it would be nice to have the choice once the wind gets to Force 5.

Al.

Al , tip no1 theres a boot sale next sun at hayling ,make the effort even just for a look it will suprise you .
2 boards , most of the locals this way end up with something similar to what you had a 100l freestyle type board for around the 6m rig mark , (maui project style) and then a wave board around 80 l . This works well this way .
the wave board i use is 88l but would not want it as my biggest board it carries my 6.1m manic great and gets up and going well , stays well in control even when the guys are digging out the 5m .
as for your wind range suggestions 16-25 , with me Jp can plane in 12+ with the 6m, at 15 get the choice of carry on or if wavey put rig on the wave board , at 18 + its the 5.3m then need to get mad for the 4.5m .
Looking at your pics as we have yet to meet think i,m larger than you so should be ok for your size .

Would like to go to Hayling island, but its just too far away from here... Its a 5-6 hour drive each way and would cost me £60 in diesel.... And as its a bank holiday weekend, those times would probably need to be doubled.

I'm about 12st... As far as wind strengths go, I don't usually bother going out on my 100ltr board with 6.3m until it gets to a steady 14-15 knots, and I don't really need early planing characteristics anyway as I have kites for lighter winds, which is why I though I'd get away with one 90 ltr board rather than an 85 ltr and a 100 ltr... Gotta keep the 70-75 ltr wave board in the quiver though as thats for the board for the 'real' windsurfing days... the others are just practise days for when the wave board comes out.

Al.

i agree with u Justal,
I have a 78 JP wave which i love with a 5.0 and smaller and I have a 93 JP freestyle for the lighter day which will carry a 6.7 and go down to a 5 , but on the 6.7 days and 6 meter days i find i don't need a wave board as it is pretty flat and calm but prefer them . this is also dew to where i sail as it really only big swell when it is windy otherwise i would have a 90ltr wave and a 75ltr because i like the looser fill

Got my eye (and credit card) on the following:

JP Wave 92 (2003)
and
AHD Maui Force 8'1" (2003)

Has anyone got any experience of these, or copies of a test report??

Cheers
Al.

Al,

Its been a while but I have been moving house and working hard sorting out all the summer punters in the shop.

I would recommend a Starboard Evo 92, not disimilar to the one I have and an 80 litre wave board Goya 80 maybe. For me its been the perfect combination this year...

Cheers,

Hans.

PS Kelvin, sorry I missed you at Porthcawl those weels ago. I had a nightmare went out on the aforementioned Evo and somehow the non slip took a big chunk out of my shin and havent been on the water since...

hmmmmmm Goya 80 I like , but not so shure on the evo 92 thats quite big for a wave board, and not quite FAST enough for a freeride .
Hans did you sail Porthcawl after ?

80 ltrs sounds a bit big, but I guess it could be OK. eEo 92 sounds good though as a general allround (but wave orientated) board. And I do like the look of them.. Trouble is I can't afford one!

Probably give the shop a ring tomorrow Hans to see what you have there.

Al.

Al - hope this is of help.

I've been looking at updating my boards too - with 2nd hand ones. I've decided to get a wave board of about 74 ltrs (found a wicked 2002 goya 250 which is a peach and am dead chuffed), and am also getting a freestyle board of about 100l - probably a skate, which I've found up 4 grabs at 350.00.

However, what I really want u to know is that the other little board I was looking at was an RRD H'core wave 74 - which gets really good reviews (see correspondance from boards mag below) - and I found an excellent condition one for £400.00 on Boardseeker. The owner sent me several pics and it's in really good nick (although the graphics are absolutely minging) - his mail address is: Chris Freeman [chrisk97@hotmail.com]



boards tester ian leonard sed....

I reckon that both of these are on the expensive side. However if they are pretty much pristine then its fair enough. The Goya is more of an allround choice - better than the RRD for use with 5.0 - 5.5m and the RRD is a bit smaller (narrower - thinner tail) and more rockered, so better in stronger winds and wilder conditions. Both are great boards really. buy the RRD if you want a high wind board or the Goya if you want more of an all-rounder.

Cheers Shawn.... but as Ian Leonard said, a little too expensive for me..

Think I'm going to go for a 2003 JP Wave 75 and a 2002 Mistral Heat 8'6" (258cm 90ltr). Both of them in 'apparently' good condition with delivery, fins and a double board bag for £585.

Al.

Al,

My Evo will be up for sale soon, not sure of price I'll check with Ian when I get back to work on holiday at present...

Hans.

Cripes Al - what did you do - hold 'em up with a gun - that's a flippin' baragain!!.... I sailed the JP wave 75 last week for a couple of hours at rhosneigr - it was mint, and noticably nicer to ride than my existing board - that's what convinced me I needed a newie.

Al the jp sounds cool , but what swayed you to the heat ?
they never had raving reviews and like many a mistral the last few yrs seemed to be here today , gone tomorro .
Was it just a "price is right " decision ?
On the subject of Mistral where do you think they have gone wrong ? they where the leading brand 10 yrs back with some cracking boards in their ranges . There where,nt many beaches you turned up and never saw a mistral on the water.Now they seem to have lost their way with constant changes (ie the heat/shift/razor) and recently "toy town paint jobs " .

Only went for the Heat as 'the price was right'..... I couldn't actually find any reviews of it anyway, but thought that although it might not excel in any particualr way I'm sure it will generally be OK for blasting and messing around on!

Beggars can't be choosers!

Al.

My new (well 2nd hand) boards arrived yesterday from Funsport. The JP Wave is in really good condition and looks lovely. The fin supplied with it is a little worse for wear though. The Mistral Heat is sound, but does have a few little scratches and dings and one or two little repairs (but that was expected for £200).. I was told it had a powerbox fin fitting though and it has a US Classic Box. I did get a 23cm fin with it, but will need at least one more classic box fin.

It also means that I now have 6 powerbox fins that probably won't be much use to me.

I did get a double board bag with the boards as well which was used to package them up.

I got out on the Heat last night and it felt OK on flat water. It has lots of nose rocker though so is a little slow and not really suited to flat water, but as most of my sailing is in the waves, that was the plan.

Al.

Hey Al, what are you doing with your powerbox fins? I need a couple.....

Haven't decided yet... I still have the Hifly which has a powerbox fitting, but don't use the two wave fins in that, nor the freestyle fin that I have.

I'll have a think about it. What size / type were you after??

Al.

I was after a 22cm for my Max 2 Air, but I think I am about to trade that in for a Fantic Cross. Only decided to do it today, so the only finI'm now after is a 44/45cm for my new F2 Stoke thats on its way......

Sorry Wes... I don't have any fins that big.

Al.

I tried my new (2nd hand) JP Wave 75 out properly yesterday. To start with the winds were a little gusty and although powered up at times, as soon as there was a lull I sunk... Things soon imporved though and I was well-powered up with 1 5m. The board is certainly pretty technical to sail, especially after using all the 'new-fangled' wider boards. At only 52.8cm wide it feels really small, and the tail especially is pretty narrow. It therefore needs quite a bit of power to get it going and keep it going, and once up on the plane it feels really twitchy. The narrow tail also leads to loads of speed, which couple with soe big ramps and a really light board means some BIG air!!

The board really comes into its own on the face of the wave where it's 'twitchiness' is transformed into responsiveness and the board just goes wherever you ask it to.

Gybing it wasn't easy as it isn't particualrly forgiving of poor technique, but get it right and it flies around the corners... It seemed OK in the loop attempts though

All in all I really liked it, it will take a bit of getting used to, will need lots of wind and my technique will have to improve to get the most out of it, but its small, lively feel will certainly add a little adrenalin to those wild sessions.

Al.

yea man just spent few hr on the Jp myself , mines a tad smaller than yrs hence I dont use it so much , but when powered its a peach .

What size is yours Kelvin (if thats not too personal a question!). Apparently mine has 73 litres (despite being called a wave 75), and certainly feels really small. The tail is really narrow which makes it feel really twitchy, and its max width is ony 52.8cm.

I had a nother session on it today in pretty meaty waves, and it just loves to smack the lip really hard.... I'm beginning to enjoy it, but it was only just powered up in 25 knots with a 5m today, so it probably won't get on the water quite as much as the Mistral Heat.

Al.

JP 247 . 71l and 51 cm width , as you say needs loads of wind for my weight basically dont come out of bag unless its 4.5m and maxed out . Board was the result of an Impulse buy one windy weekend .

At least it will last you a while then, and its still good to have just the right board for those conditions anyway.

Al.

Inspired by Als recent spending spree , picked up a F2 8' 2'' last week . Got to use it Sunday and its a little cracker , the reports of "scary fast " that i,d been given by a few owners of them dont ring true ,shure its a fast board as it rides lively on fin , but from my experience so far its great .