Windsurf Sup, how to start

Hi all,

I have 2 Naish Nalu's 11'6"and 10'6'5. I would like to try windsurf with these boards. I currently don't own any windsurf gear.
What would be a good size sail to use for light wind conditions? Does any one have suggestions.?

If you have. It windsurfed before, nothing over 5.0m.
Keep the rig as light as possible. You are not going to plane on a SUP, so no need to go big.

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westozwind said..

If you have. It windsurfed before, nothing over 5.0m.
Keep the rig as light as possible. You are not going to plane on a SUP, so no need to go big.

Really.. .. This was with a 5.7 sail on a 10'10'' sup.. in only about 15 knots of wind..

I agree..You could go as small as 4.5 for learning.

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GizzieNZ said..

Great vid DJ....do all windsurfers use the hook thing on the waist ....or is that more a sup thing?
Some of us are quite unschooled in such matters but would like an education

Harness is necessary if you want to a) go moderately fast and b) do it for more than a few minutes, unless you've got forearms like Popeye ( or maybe we're all a bit soft this side if the ditch )

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Sailhack said..

^^^ Just remember - harness with no footstraps or windsurfing experience and you're a prime candidate for showing onlookers what a catapault looks like!

Oooh yeah been there, back in the 80's my first harness wasn't much more than a PFD with a bar sewn onto it - the basterd thing used to ride up around my ears & a somersault was always just a wrong twitch away.

Picked up a pre-loved rig late last year and bolted it to onto one of my SUPs...it's been somewhere north of 20 years since I'd stepped on a sailboard and ffaaark it felt good, simple & sweet like the good ol' days . Got a nice new modern harness now, like a giant huggies nappy, and I'm a couple of decades worth of pies heavier so I reckon the catapult risk is somewhat reduced

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Kitemaster said..

Hi all,

I have 2 Naish Nalu's 11'6"and 10'6'5. I would like to try windsurf with these boards. I currently don't own any windsurf gear.
What would be a good size sail to use for light wind conditions? Does any one have suggestions.?

Hey Kitemaster, I've just started down this same path. Lots of windsurfers at my local breaks and they are great with the advice and the gear. Real community. The consensus was that around 4.5 to 5.2 metre sail is the way to go and those big boards you have will be perfect. My advice would be to go down the spot where you will be windsurfing and talk to the locals. I've met some really great guys in the last couple of weeks. They will probably have second hand gear that they are happy to give you or sell you at a good price. One guy set me up with stuff, showed me how to put it together and took me for a lesson (thanks Glen!)

got the starboard 10'3 pro with windsurfer attachments

No....screw attachments for fixing windsurfer mast to board :)

We seem to have had an instance in giz where a certain stand up paddle boarder has been very dominant in the waves
rumours say charges have been laid by police after another surfer hit by paddle
Some use the analogy of big silverback dominant gorilla feeling threatened by someone else wanting his banana
Rest assured I don't lust after DJ's banana
I don't think DJ's banana would be particularly big anyway

good info! So I need to start looking for a small rig. Just to explain what I would like to do:
I use my Sup on the North Sea when it's not too windy. When it's windy I go out kiteboarding. We often have a pretty nasty shorebreak. I'm considering using a sail on my SUP in between so between 10-15 knots. I just wonder with a 5m sail if I wouldn't stand still and struggle with the shorebreak. Are there any people with similar conditions?

PS I did windsurf when I was younger but only on lakes(flat water)

Well in my case my first interest is kitesurfing followed by SUP then Longboarding and have a boat for days when the wife likes to go for an overnight in the moon light experience. Also have a Hobie pedal,sail and paddle kayak.

I am lucky as some days the conditions only suit a windsurf so I can do this on one of my 2 SUPs that have the fitting plus no room for any windsurfing boards.

Hi kitemaster I use that same board the naish 11ft6 for light wind wavesailing and usually use a 5m wave sail, any larger sail hardly makes any difference but starts becoming a handful to use. You really wont get planning on that board but if you do you are probably be better swapping down to a smaller board or go kiting. If you are buying kit it would be better to buy a RDM mast to start with and keep away from the nasty shorebreak as much as possible as large sup's are pretty easy to break.

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Timxzim said..

DJ how did you connect your centre board and rig to your SUP?

Hi Timxzim.. There's no centre board.. I was on the Naish 10'10'' Nalu and it has a mast base screw hole on the board.

I did change the swept back dolphin fin for a deeper and more vertical fin off a Naih 14' Glide.

I had no problem going upwind without a centre board.. and no spin-out issues.

Welcome to the breeze..