bushfire said...

I have two Lechners in the shed - a '92 model and an '88 model - both in good nick. Both are great fun to sail and a real challenge in 15 knots +.

.....not as challenging as racing an IMCO in 6 knots.
I suspect I may have your sails,..one lady owner?

In a quest of saving what can be saved, I'm cummulating now more than.....10 Div II boards.

Briefly, here in Canada:
- my Croconuts that I'm navigating with since 1988 (the architec and shaper is the French alsacian Pierre Audet), +
- A Lechner A390 recently brought back from Florida (Don't know if it is 88 or 91)
- A Reix Compétition found on the shores of the St Laurence River
- A CRIT 650 (one of the 1st Div II...may be 1981) found under pieces of wood in someone's backyard

In France:
- My initial Hervé Borde (1983) as hollowed as a kayak, that I was using until I jumped on the Croconuts
- A proto Dufour, precursor of the Hervé Borde, (1981-82?)
- A Tornado 39
- An Oceanite Compétition
- A Magnum Plus 390
- A Jaguar Mach 1
- An Alto X1
- A Ligier competition (1982)
- A Magnum One (1984?)...

Others are coming...

We are trying to save them and then, are collecting and repearing them...My friend François (the French Blog about DIV II that you identified) has more than me.
It's unbelievable what we can find...sometime in very bad shape of course.

But Div II are back! Pass the word to others
Pics of them are available if you are interested...

We managed to organize this in May this year..
(the board is a Croconuts)

Hi Toubab,

I had no idea there were different models until I bought the 88 model 6 months ago and lined the two boards up. Checking online I read somewhere that the model for the 92 Barcelona Olympics was modified to make the board a little more high wind friendly. My boards have Olympic stickers on them, clearly identifying their era.

Sailing the 88 model with a 9.5 sail feels like the very forward mast track position is a little too far forward, so I suppose the changes made to the 92 model model work OK, particularly with a sail bigger than what the board was designed for.

I'll try post some photos to show the difference.

I like the sound of a Div2 regatta - sounds like a lot of fun.

Toubab said...

You can see him here again...
It's a Div II...Not a Tornado. What it is?

www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/gallery/picture.php/383-35-wp_champs/category/20-2009_championships

Believe that light blue board (sail # WI 71) is actually a rare Harken Vanguard (Windsurfer) Win. Recall that Harken Vanguard produced a hollow fiberglass version of the Windsurfer (Ten Cate?) Win for a very brief period. The construction is like one of their racing dinghies so it sort of reminds you of a International 470 or similar. Very expensive but already outdated compared to other Division II's at that time. Interesting board with notable history.

www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/gallery/picture.php/161-26-walleye/category/7-2010_walleye_wagatta

just remember that a no div 2 performs like a crit d2!

fjdoug said...

i was wondering if that may be a TC/windsurfer product. the mast foot looks like a TC tee, with the big knob at the front to adjust tension.

Not a bad guess - there was a TC Sprinter or something like that which went very well in the early D2 days in England, I think. It was then modified and went slower, apparently. It could be one of those that had made its way to the USA.

NattyDread said...

Toubab said...

You can see him here again...
It's a Div II...Not a Tornado. What it is?

www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/gallery/picture.php/383-35-wp_champs/category/20-2009_championships

Believe that light blue board (sail # WI 71) is actually a rare Harken Vanguard (Windsurfer) Win. Recall that Harken Vanguard produced a hollow fiberglass version of the Windsurfer (Ten Cate?) Win for a very brief period. The construction is like one of their racing dinghies so it sort of reminds you of a International 470 or similar. Very expensive but already outdated compared to other Division II's at that time. Interesting board with notable history.

www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/gallery/picture.php/161-26-walleye/category/7-2010_walleye_wagatta

Good call, but not correct. I still have the TC Win I bought as an ex demo about '82. It's much deeper and closer to the "ultimate" Div 2 shape than the board in the pic. The keel line, for example, drops down much quicker, making a much deeper and more Veed bow, and the board is much thicker than the board int he pic.

I never realised that Vanguard made a D2, though; that's great info!

Even before the '85 worlds the board was outmoded by the M1 and D2, but it was still competitive in strong winds at that regatta. It was a Georg Lechner design, but had much more volume in bilges and less rocker than the A 390. Because there's so much volume in the bilges, to rail the TC you had to sort of lift the whole board on a pivot on the leeward side. In contrast, the later boards had less volume in the bilges so they would just flop over more naturally.

The TC was also tough as old boots, considering that it was competitive in weight - mine has about one ding.

A Harken Vanguard (Windsurfer) Win...Never heard this name before.
I'll ask our FB group. May be someone recalls it.

Thanks Natty.