2004 FF138 vs 2002 FF138

[TJ Parpan]

Hey Sukhdev,

Thanks for your reply in the Starboard froum re: the 2003 F147, but I've decided instead to get a 2004 FF138. I was thinking the F147 (good deal and all) would be too delicate a board for me and eventually not as fun to sail since I'm just a recreational racer.
I'm upgrading from a 2002 FF138. I'm wondering what the main differences would be(upwindability, reaching, handling) between the old and new Free Formulas?

[sukhdev]

TJ, night and day, and you are making a good choice. The old FF was more "GO" like than formula. The old FF had a cruiser kind of feeling and I never felt that there was a top gear; the design brief at that point didnt call for one i guess. The old FF was so-so upwind, the new one with the right fin could give even formula boards a decent run for their money.

The new board rips, and its easy speed too. I'd say the new board beats it on all points of sail easily. Its a real breakthrough design in many ways, bringing all the advantages of formula boards but in an easy handling package.

One thing that is becoming apparent is the board can have quite a bit more performance squeezed out of it with a fin upgrade.

You may want to check the this thread for commments from some of the first owners locally:

http://www.bluefinz.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=000292

[TJ Parpan]

Checked out the link. They all sound very pleased! Expecting delivery by December and that feels like a long time away! I 've experienced spinning out even with my old FF138's 56cm fin, but it's usually attributed to too little pressure on the rear foot when needed. If the smallest sail I plan to use on it will be a fully powered 6.5 GTR, I assume the stock fin's ok or do I need to go smaller? And if the biggest sail I'll be using is a 9.3 GTX on light days, how much bigger a fin would I need? 62cm seems to be ok. With my budget, I'd be looking at your Select Ultra Production Fin. Thanks!

[TJ Parpan]

You also mentioned before that length is not all that matters with a fin. When seeing the specs of the Select Elite Custom Series for Formula, there are different stiffnesses. How do you know which to choose? I guess the huge jump in price form the Ultra Production fins means there's a major performance gain?

[sukhdev]

TJ, 62 is about all your would need for the 9.3, the Ultra is a pretty powerful fin. For the 6.5, if its flat water you should be ok with the 56, but as an alternate you can consider a 50cm say or maybe even a 48 if its really rough and wild. 50/56/62 might be a good 3 fin spread.

Re stiffness for Elite custom: the general rule of thumb is softer in light air/flat water and stiffer in high wind/rough water. Personal preference does come into it too.

Re jump in performance, to make use of this performance gain all other elements must be at their optimum too (sail,mast, trim settings, sailor). I'd suggest staying with the Ultra, the gain would really matter to a hard core racer or a speed freak.

[TJ Parpan]

Great, thanks for the response Sukhdev! I may just order an Ultra 62 cm fin from you. Are they in stock? I'll probably have my sister pick it up from Ben, like the last time. I guess by the 2nd week of December, since my sister will be coming to visit me late December. Thanks again!

[sukhdev]

TJ, yes 62 is available. If you are going to be biased towards light air sailing for the ff138,play around with the straps and set them in their outermost settings and set the fore/aft positions to taste. This will help with leverage against the fin as well as more sensitive trimming with the feet.