hi, I just join the forum, I've been reading the forum and wanting to get a whole set up for intermediate use, If anyone can suggest or recommend a set up it would be good, I'm not into comp ride. MOst of my riding would be out of Bribie.
thanks
wayne
Wayne, start with this site, and work you way throgh his Technique tab.
www.guycribb.com/
Hi hungry6, it really depends on what you want out of your sailing, and also your weight. So if you can provide anymore information that would help people give you a good recommendation.
If you are from bribie I think most of the sailing there is flatwater, assuming you are around 75kg you probably want a freeride board somewhere between 100-120L, and a freeride or maybe a wavesail that is around 6-6.5m depending on the type of sail. I would personally go with the biggest sail you can fit on a 430 size mast (probably about a 6.5m), and that gives you leeway in the future if you want to get smaller sails for the really windy days.
It might also help you to get a better idea if you check out the gear of what the local sailors use, as they will generally have something thats suitable for the conditions and windstrength.
Seconding what Swoosh says, some more info about your weight and genral abiloity would make suggestions more useful.
I'll assume that you want to improve your gybes, as most of us do. It's an eternal quest.
So, a free-ride board that is easy to gybe would be a good suggestion.
If you are 75kg, I would suggest a 100L or so board, cos I dislike big boards. The JP Freestyle Wave boards are very forgiving and easy to gybe. So are the Freestyle boards. Both have a single centre placed rear strap, which makes it easy to get in.
Slalom boards with straps out wider are a bit harder to get your back foot in and the plan and rail shape are not always conducive to easy gybing. Easy to gybe for one person can be nigh on impossible for another too.
However, in order to improve, you need to try things that you have not done before, so it also depends on whether you want to stay in your comfort zone, or if you want to stretch it, and by how much and how quickly.
I would venture that most guys giving sensible advice probably did the opposite when they were learning, buying gear/boards way beyond their skill level, and then digging in and learning how to ride them
I know I did, though not intentionally.
Thanks for the replies peoples,
Ok I"m 80kgs and 180cm fairly good fitness and dont mind attacking waves,
What I want is something that will generate a bit of speed on flat water and also ride out on the surf, if I have to get 2 set up, so be it. If anyone is riding around Bribie or S.E qld and dont mind me looking at what they do please let me know.
Thanks
Wayne
^ This.
I find the JP FreestyleWave easier to gybe than my freeride board, although not as fast off the wind or quick to plane.
The 2009 NeilPryde Alpha 5.4s will also rig on a 430 mast. 5.4 - 6.2 is a nice spread on one mast and will do you for most conditions. You might find some second hand ones online or in a shop. Just note that the Pryde masts and sails have a different curve to the others. You'll be locked in to Pryde (or you could ignore the hype/reasoning).
Get 2 fins to go with, say a 27 and a 31. Fins are often overlooked and can make your board feel and ride radically different.
You could get a go-fast sail and fin combo for some flat-water blasting too, a Pryde Hellcat or KA Koyote, something easy to sail with no cambers.
... hmm, I've just described my exact setup. I must be somewhat happy with it. (The Koyote on X9 skinny is sweet btw, feather light speed.)
P.S. don't mention the wind, oh **** I just did... damn suddenly have to work all weekend. Superstition is bad luck.
if it's any help - and just my 2 bobs worth
2008 NP Alpha 5.4 rigs perfectly on 430 skinny mast with zero extension, like it was made just for it and feels great
2008 NP Alpha 5.8 needs about 5cm extension on a 430 mast and again rigs perfectly on a skinny, and feels great
2009 NP Alpha 5.8 needs approx 10cm extension on a 430 skinny. Personally I didn't like as much as the 2008. It feels heavier and bulkier, and is physically bigger
2010 NP Firefly 5.6 needs approx 5cm extension on a 430 skinny and rigs perfectly. Personally I think overall it is the best of the recent NP wave-esq sails I've had so far for feel and wind range, for a sail this size. Strangely, it's roughly half way between the 2008 and 2009 5.8 alphas in physical size, and weighs less
I think the 2010 firefly has become what the alpha used to be, and the 2010 alpha has changed a little bit, maybe not quite as bottom end grunty as it once was but probably better suited to waveriding than it used to be??
Really useful info coming from everyone.
It's pretty easy to see that wihtin the same brand and model of sail the rigging requirements have changed a bit from year to year, as the cut and design changes luff and boom lengths.
So, it is a lot easier to assemble a meaningful set of sail sizes if you are getting them all from the same make and year. Otherwise you can wind up with a 5.8 that is really like a 5.6, and a 5.4 that is really like a 5.6, or a 5.8 that is moe like 6.0 and a 5.4 that is more like a 5.2, for example.
Wheterh it's Pyde Alpha or Hellcat, or Gaastra Poison etc, is less important than how well the sails complement the board and each other.
^ It's easier to recognise you on the water too 
Select to expand quote
Perhaps a dumb question:
If the bend curve is not right, head is too loose/tight, can't you just compensate with the appropriate inhaul and outhaul? I'm not seeking GPS speed racing performance, just some fun.
Sometimes, but sometimes I think it can make a big difference.
I trialled a Pryde Hellcat 5.7 recently, and I rigged it on my old 400 Tidal WAve std diameter, as the spec called for a 400 mast and that's what I have.
It didn't feel that great, stiff and a bit unforgiving.
I ended up trading it back, as I'd picked up an Alpha 5.8 at the same time.
After taking to Mike at SFX, I think I would have been better to rig it on the 430 skinny, and that it would have felt much better on it. I think it was definitely the way I rigged it that was the cause of how it felt.
I only sail for fun too, but I definitely find that I have more fun when I rig my gear really well.
The most frustrating thing I found when coming back after a few years break was learning how to rig properly again. The difference between well-rigged and just put-together is huge.
I feel I'm getting there again, but it's taken a whole season of rigging and frigging work out each sail and rig them right.
A big trap is to rig soggy in marginal conditions,looking for a bit of extra grunt. I'm guilty of that, but it just makes everything feel like crap.
Good call on the fins too. I like a biggish fin for a FSW type board and run a 31cm upright-ish but swept fin in the Freestyle too, for early planing and better upwind drive. The stock fin is fine when powered up, but then, isn't everything ??
Love the "Translation server error" restuarant joke. That is funny on so many levels.
