Longboard or Shortboard for beginner

[Silvia]

It is too difficult a board for a beginner?

[Meng]

It is too difficult a board for a beginner?

Silvia,

can u tack/jibe decently on a longboard ?
can u sail in 6-10knots of wind with footstraps ?
can u waterstart ?
can u use a harness and plane ?

if none of the above, it's best for u stick to longboard till u are more proficient.

although the mentioned board is old and cheap, it is still quite advance for a <9months old windsurfer who only sails 2-3 hrs per week.

i have seen too many eager novices getting advance gear and suffered.
the advance gear becomes heavily under-utilised.
some who bought it are still sailing in light wind and sit on the beach when it's blowing.

happy sailing

[Silvia]

hi Meng,

thanks for your valuable advice. I can tack/jibe comfortably .... but not in that strong winds ... maybe 5 and below .... what kinda equipment do you recommend then? Coz I figured if I keep renting from PA i might as well use the money and get my own gear and progress with my gear rather then get too used to the mistral prodigys and have problems when I do get my own stuff.

Thanks in advance

[Maui Tim]

Hi

I totalling agree with Meng.  I have seen many beginners get "recommendation" for boards not suitable for them only to be frustrated and in some cases give up.  It is quite sad that they got off to a bad start. 

I think you would be more comfortable on a board such as the Starboard 135 (wide style board) which is also posted on this forum.  It is wide and easy to use.  I have recommended this board to my beginner friends and no regrets.  You could start with a used 6.5 sm sail (no cam).

See you on the water

[Denis Wee]

Sorry, Tim, I don't agree with you.

I own a Starboard Formula 135 and I love it.  It is a formula board designed for planing, not for sailing in less than 5 knots.  My recommendation is that Silvia should continue renting the Prodigy from the club and use the biggest sail she can get.  Once she can sail comfortably in winds of 10 knots or more she can then think of getting her own board.  Don't forget it costs $30 a month to store your board at the club, and another $5 if you want a sail loft.

[kampung]

So.. anyone buying? 

[P.J.]

I think is a good idea too to use and rent the Prodigy with a hard ( monofilm ) sail 6.0 - 7.5m and practice sailing with harness line. Need to pick up the basic and increase TOW before progressing to short board planning.

[Denis Wee]

PJ, yes, you can use a fully battened sail on a Prodigy.  It is easier to control than a soft sail.  But no, don't try using a harness until you have got your basics right.  Many inexperienced sailors think that a harness will help them learn faster.  This is just not true.  They frequently try to hook on when the wind is too light and then try to get into the footstraps.  The board immediately turns into the wind and they fall off.  The harness is to take the strain off your arms when the wind gets too strong.

The reason why I would advise beginners and intermediates against buying a board without a dagger-board is that these boards are designed for planing at speed.  When not planing they are difficult to sail upwind.  The Prodigy is a very good board to learn on and to get your basics right.  After you have learned to handle that board in most conditions and you want to go for speed then you can think of going on to a slalom board/formula board, but not before.

[P.J.]

Glad that we are are seeing the same point to get the beginner to go on long board to get the basic right. Hope by this way we can have them enjoy sailing and keep them coming back. Unfortunately various brand are only seeing this last 2 yrs. It will take another 2-3 yr to see more 2nd hand LB in PA for beginners to take-up. For the time being, seems that the Prodigy is the best with a hard sail to start with.

[blackhawk81]

Hi ,

I agree with Denis that mistral prodigy board indeed is good for beginner to learn on as it is wide (ard 85 cm, same as F135) and also have a dagger board to assist in sailing upwind. I have read articles from Boards magazine that some UK sailing club used them as a standard one design board for club racing with fully battened hard sail of course. Sail sizes used range from 8.5m to 9.5m.

The only downside to renting PA board is the usage of the soft sail which offers little progression for the eager beginner. In wind strength ard 10-15 kts, the soft sail simply bagged up and become a literal parachute which makes it very difficult for the beginner to hold on. It offers no stability and impede progress for beginner seeking to master planning in the board and usage of harness. Unnecessary injuries to the arms maybe resulted as well.

In my humble opinion, PA should be reviewing their training procedures and look into getting fully hard battened sails to train the newbies. If cost is a concern, perhaps they can implement the co-payment option. ie. Allows the super interested beginner to get their own hard sails and allow them to use on the board. Of course, all foot straps must be provided on the board and not just the two straps at the end for the newbies to carry. Only then , they can use the prodigy to advance their windsurfing skill.

This will not only assist the newbies to overcome the steep learning curve, but also retain their interest and generate new blood for this wonderful sports, etc. Further, PA can look forward to organise club level mistral prodigy one design board race just like RSX racing event for future PA competition. More other positive spin offs will naturally follow as well. I leave the rest for others to comment.

Good wind !!
 

[PlaneSailin]

One thing that's been said here which is really important for newcomers, and is worth repeating, is that you need to learn to gybe and tack really well on the gear you're using before you upgrade to more advanced gear!! 

A friend of a friend moved onto smaller boards too soon (and 130-140 litres isn't even really that small) and had huge gybing problems for years...the poor guy is only just now starting to get his act together...many wonderful windsurfing opportunities have been wasted or not fully seized...if only that foolish mortal had waited til he'd mastered things, one step at a time!!! (well, ok, it was me) 

It's VERY hard to learn basic skills on the wrong gear!!  You can practice a gybe 100 times, but if you fall off 100 times, what are you really practicing?  How are you gonna get better that way? 

[P.J.]

10 yr back , The first set of equipment I bought was the Mistral One Design. I used it for 1.5 yrs and move on to short board. 6 mths back when I started my daughter on windsurfing, I used the Gemini Tandem which can be sailed liked a LB with one sail. Then I realize how easy is to plane ( or I should say glide ) hooked in the harness , feet not necessary in the straps. Is quite the same nice planing sensation. More importantly the board can rail upwind effortlessly.  The most common problem faced by beginner is when they tried to move into the straps , the board turn into the wind and stall. The other problem is to sail upwind to where they start.

What get me excited again about windsurfing is to see my kids sailing and discussing with me on sail size, board..... 

A SB sloughing is NOT windsurfing.

[Silvia]

Are we allowed to use a hard sail on the Prodigy boards?

[Denis Wee]

Are we allowed to use a hard sail on the Prodigy boards?

I don't think the club bothers if you use your own sail on the rental board.  You may need to change the mast foot to fit your rig though.

[Silvia]

So you guys were saying I should progress into a full batten sail but remain with the prodigy board ... and rig to reccomend?