Had a fantastic afternoon windsurfing today and I have one main question which arose from it. I tried waterstarting but found the rig to be quite heavy (not because the wind was backwinding the sail) and as such couldnt waterstart. Do i just have to man up or is it a technique thing?

It's a technique thing. Use a buoyancy vest - makes it easier to learn.

Flippy has got it right.

I'll give you an extra tip. after you get the sail in the position flippy said, if the nose is pointing down wind simply push the back of the board under the boom and the board will do the lifting for you. The board will also now be pointing in the right direction.

I trust you have one foot on the board as you water start you kick with the other leg.

Just learning to waterstart myself

There are some good videos on YouTube showing the sail handling techniques.

I also purchased the dasher DVD and this gives very detailed guidance

Cheers Jeff

Fair enough, in the video description I describe it as clumsy. If it can be criticised to improve technique then all the better. I threw this in to give a sailor eye view of both a water start failure and success.

No offense taken. I appreciate your comments and advice.

I think the "start at the tip of the mast" advice may be good, but honestly I've never done it. My advice is as below. BUT FIRST always do it in enough wind. Even better .... do it in too much wind.
A waterstart in 20kn is waaayyyy easier than a light wind waterstart on a small board - ask any wavesailor who has been stuck out there in 12kn. If you have to kick like blazes with your front leg to try and get lift then the wind is too light. So:

Good planing wind, verging on overpowered.
First thing - getting waist deep beach starts nailed FIRST will really help. Really help.
For deep waterstarts:
Have mast across the wind so nose of board is pretty much into the wind - about 10 to 20deg downwind is ideal.
Lift mast right where the boom joins on and at same time do a couple of frog kicks, on your back, to pull the mast upwind. It will fly easily.
If it is enough wind, the sail will fly like that without you having to lift it. You will not get tired maintaining that position.
Now - hands on boom, sheet in a little with the back hand and feel the extra lift (due to angle of attack).
Do that and also move mast towards the nose a bit - that will steer the board downwind. Same as on a beginner board when you used rig steering. Once you have the mast into the wind, and nose of board downwind, then start the waterstart with rear foot on centreline.
If you are doing it in enough wind it will be hard to NOT get lifted out of the water.
Remember as you get lifted up and are almost upright you can sheet out to avoid getting thrown over the board. Nothing bad will happen, you need power for it to happen, so stop trying in 8knots.

That is the non tiring method. Most people try to lift the mast tip, requiring treading water furiously and pushing up - not slicing - and they get buggered before they even get to fly the rig. I think working with a mast 90deg to the wind and forcing you to slice it upwind makes people get it quicker.

I found this article helpful, bevhoward.com/waterstarts.htm
I spent a lot of time standing in waist deep water practicing flying the sail then turning it down wind, letting the clew catch the wind and start flipping the sail and flipping my hands to the other side of the boom then bringing it back the other way over and over getting a feel for handling the sail, also pushing and pulling with each hand to get the board to move around and into position.
Then I had the sail drag me around with one foot on the board, you can actually sail and steer this way.
I found very strong winds frustrating and just worked up gradually from lighter winds with bigger sails into deeper water.
First few times you get pulled up out of the water you will go straight over the front then it will click.
Once you learn one direction you will have to learn all over again the other direction but it will be much easier.

Watch this small vidio on the web page, top R/H side of page.
www.easyuphaul.com/