I saw our little local club advertising in town the other day but the dinghies sailed are Lasers and Solos and that just isn't my cup of tea (no matter what the exponents of each class say). Membership is buttons in comparison and it is just down the road to my house (instead of 45 min drive). However, they also do board sailing there.

So, I used to do a bit of windsurfing to a very average standard 20 years ago and I was wondering what the deal is currently with these cool new looking wide boards that are available.

Does anyone who "knows" windsurfing have any idea what is good / bad on the board sailing front in terms of boards with daggerboards that will stand up to an 85-90kg lump uphauling a sail while I re-learn what I am doing?

2) don't bother buying beginner kit, you will soon out grow it, but if you can find some stuff to hire it could be worth it for a session or two to get your feet back in the game. Inland you do need to keep the volume higher than a coastal sailor would for your biggest board if you want to extend the use into the marginal conditions, or you'll be like me... buying a Solo for the marginal days instead!!!

I'd recommend a Starboard Carve at around 140L- this is a good all round board.  You will probably need an 8m sail for inland too, partner this with a 6.0m for windy and the first few sessions.  You'll soon get another one even smaller when you're proficient enough to go out when the 'yella wellies' are busying themselves adding more metal, wire, filler and rope to their dinghies.  

One major word of caution... windsurfing inland can be very frustrating.  Is it better than not sailing at all? No, probably not, but you'll be needing something else to do when you've stopped staring at the trees wishing the feckers were moving more.

OK, is 140L enough for a comfortable uphaul at my weight. Seen estimates anywhere from 150 to 200+ litres?

Originally posted by pondmonkey 1)  One major word of caution... windsurfing inland can be very frustrating.  Is it better than not sailing at all? No, probably not, but you'll be needing something else to do when you've stopped staring at the trees wishing the feckers were moving more.

I've got a motorcycle for those days! I was more thinking on those days when I wake up and see wiggling trees out of the window I could nip down on a Saturday morning for a couple of hours of exercise and cruising about and be home in time for elevenses!

Volume = take your weight 85kg, a neutral board would therefore be around 95L (+10kg for wetsuit, rig etc).  Inland +30L on this is really the minimum for a 'big board'.  Although the width that comes with an extra 10L in the 140L category would be advantageous as it offers some extra stability.  

Width - I'd avoid anything much wider than 80cm, once a board goes wider it might be seeming feel more stable to uphaul, but once on the plane it bounces around like a bitch unless you've got your feet in the outboard strap positions (which is just not nice and a bit too much like hard work) 

Freeride/Freestyle/Wave/Formula/Slalom - stick with freeride categories as a beginner, avoid Slalom and Formula as these are too specialised and technical to sail, even if the volume is higher on them.  If you're light enough, then big freestyle boards can make good 'big' boards for coastal sailors.... personally I'd stick with the freeride ranges though.

SDM/RDM - standard/reduced mast thickness, I use Ezzy RDMs on Ezzy Sails, but this is really unique amongst beginner/improvers  and pretty marmite amongst the experienced.  I'd stick with SDM masts on normal 6.0m+ sails.  

Luff Curve / Mast Match - if possible stick with the same brand of sail to mast, it's simpler that way.  I'd recommend Tushingham or North over Pryde purely because of price vs value you'll gain.  Tushy's tend to be very forgiving to poor rigging, which is a good thing.  If I didn't use Ezzy Sails, I'd probably use Tush.

North Naturals are good all-round sails if you fancy spending a bit more, but I've found Prydes and Severnes to be really twitchy, needs loads of rigging time and a bit vulnerable to damage- other folks love them though.   

Harness - seat or waist... hmm, if you've done a lot of trapezing in dinghies the seat will feel more natural at first.  But waist harnesses are simpler in the longer term and more comfortable as you learn to move around the board.

Boom - make sure your boom has a range to cover the sails you've bought.  A 180-230 should cover most 6.0m/8.0m inland quivers, but do check.  

UJ - get standard mast foot pin, and avoid the North Ratchet mast bases... windsurfing is about simplification, not fannying around.

Yes, 140L in a standard freeride board is easily uphaul territory.  I sail a 121L Carve and can uphaul simply enough at 95kg, but I used to have a 140L and 155L and these were more than easy... so 140L for you is no probs.  

200L barn doors... you'll be flogging it and buying a laser before you know it (and you wouldn't be wrong to do so).

As for the Kona in Graeme's suggestion... yep, it's a much bigger volume, but the stepped hull makes a difference to performance over a beginner board.  I loved my brief escapades with one, I think it really is the ultimate board for dinghy sailors without going down the purely beginner route.  But they look ridiculous, suffer from late planing and are a bitch to carry around as they're so heavy.  If you do buy one, do not buy the rig... it's sh*t and goes better with a modern sail on it.

 

It's all pie in the sky at the moment but I am currently looking at about between £120-£200 per use of the dart at the moment!!

Ideally I would swap it for a 140L board as this gives a little more volume for the light winds and restricted access waters (marina setting) to the sea.  I have one sail out there, a 7.5 Natural.  If I could up this to an 8.5 I'd also be happy... but that requires a new mast and boom, so again, not worth the aggro. 

And to keep an eye out for a Kona or similar.

Can the kind of stuff you describe still find its way upwind or is it purely reach-gybe-reach behaviour? 

I've found the Starboard Carve one of the best for upwind work, although my technique has improved enormously, and it's a very forgiving board, so all-in-all, I'm happy with it as a combo for me.  It pays to test them if you can, but Starboard is the 'modern Laser' coveted so often on here as the general recommendation for a newbie.  The will also hold their value reasonable and you can P/Ex them if you want to move into a different direction- maybe a full-on longboard (why oh why, dinghy sailing is superior...) or Freestyle.  Pretty much slalom, speed and formula are out of the picture inland.