slalom

[tx7]

Hi I have noticed that ya'll have a lot of slalom racing in the East. Would someone like to elaberate on the differences between Sonics and hypersonics as far as racing goes. In "normal" local racing which board performs best? Is rider experience a large part in choice? Does the race coarse have any bearing on board choice?

[sukhdev]

quote:Hi I have noticed that ya'll have a lot of slalom racing in the East.

yes, slalom never died here. most of the asian windsurfing tour is slalom, mostly light to medium wind slalom except for Penghu which is extreme high wind slalom.

 

quote:Would someone like to elaberate on the differences between Sonics and hypersonics as far as racing goes.

Hyper has very large sail range, taking up to 9.8 fairly easily. Sonics run with a lower sail range though the 110 will take up to a 9.0. Sonics have higher reaching speed, hyper has better upwind ability.

 

quote:In "normal" local racing which board performs best?

The sonics would do best when its pure reaching, classic 8 man heat type slalom held in 15knots or more. If its asian windsurfing style slalom, especially in the lower wind register than a hyper with a large sail would be a better bet. We sometimes end up using formula boards in the AWT slalom as the wind limit is planing conditions (8 knots).

We also do mass starts of up to 40 plus sailors per slalom race and in this instance going big to power through the dirty air created by a large fleet matters alot.

 

quote:Is rider experience a large part in choice? Does the race coarse have any bearing on board choice?

Rider experience is everthing. How good are your starts? can you hit the line on the dot on a smaller board or do you need the security of something floatier? Can you get through the gybes ok? Its rare to reach top speed during a slalom race, mostly its about getting a good start and turning well.

for a figure of 8 course a board with good upwind ability matters alot. Even an M course may require some ability to point up out of the crowd (especailly in our races).

There is one board which sort of fits in between really well and its the Sonic 110. I think its one of the most underrated boards in the current range; maybe it merits some consideration?

[<Stuart>]

I have to agree with Sukhdev. After an earlier post for advice on your web site, I bought a Sonic 110. I am 85kg and I find this a truly great slalom board. It is incredibly fast and very easy to sail, particularly gybing.
Thanks to Meng for his input about the board and inclined me to get one!!

[<MichaelM>]

Sukhdev with the current boards available what sail size, board and fin combo would you pick for your slalom need?

[sukhdev]

Michael, interesting question, something I've been thinking about for our year end racing. We do slalom in light air so...

If i could pick one board only it would be the RS75 with 9.8, 8.5, 7.0 &. If its lighter or winder than that then i'm screwed but for most of our racing that would be fine. Alternative would be a Hyper 133.

If i could pick 2 boards it would be RS75/48cm fin and sonic 110/38cm fin or sonic100 (or else rs65 or 60). Sails would be as above.

3 boards and i would throw a formula 158 into them mix. Fin for this would be a 66 for reaching only especially in some of the "torture" slaloms that sometimes get run here in barely planing conditions.

for slalom from say 12knots upwards one 75cm hull with something like a 4x fin and a 60ish cm hull with something like a 36 or 38cm fin should cover a pretty wide range. Ideally I'd run sails 10.5, 9.3, 7.6, 6.3 in nitro V to cover a 3 board quiver. a 3 sail quiver for our conditions could be 9.8, 8.5, 7.0 .. again only for slalom, add a lot more sq m for course. This is also in our hot humid air so size slightly smaller for punchier winds in colder climes.

[<Allan>]

Hi Sukhdev,

What about the HS 133 with Sonic 100, or indeed HS 111 with Sonic 100. Good combination for 9m downwards for a 83kg guy

Regards Allan

[<Dmitry>]

So what do you guys like so much about the 110?

[sukhdev]

Dmitry,

had a good reminder yesterday as to how good the board really is. Did some runs on Meng's 110 with a 36cm tectonics and a nitro 7.0 in fairly windy & choppy conditions. Silky smooth for a slalom hull and it turns very well. The more we sail this hull the more we like it. Like i said before, the most underrated hull in starboard's range.

Allan, 133/100 is ok though I would think 111/100 is quite close. Odd thing to say? Maybe, but the extra volume of the 133 does make it different in feel from the 111 in my book. The thinner 111 hull lends itself to much better control in my 0.0002cents worth. Not had time on the 100 but will remedy that soon.

[P.J.]

Sukhdev

Some Questions on HS 105  vs Sonic 110 on 8.5m

which board planes earlier ?
Takes the 8.5 better ?
Faster on the reach ?
handling on overpowering ?

[sukhdev]

quote: Some Questions on HS 105 vs Sonic 110 on 8.5m

which board planes earlier ?

Not much in it, entirely dependent on setup/sailor skill. The sonic 110 is more conventional in its feel so this is a factor for some sailors. If comparing with say the hyper133 then the higher volume board will have a slight edge here.

 

quote:Takes the 8.5 better ?

8.5 is within the sweet spot for both boards. The sonic110 imho has a sweet spot of say 7.x to 8x but can take up to a 9 max. The 105 can go slightly larger on sails.

 

quote:Faster on the reach ?

sonic 110. this is a very fast board. there are many fast shapes out there but what makes the sonic110 special is that its very easy to get that speed, it has a conventional feel with little to no learning curve or adjustment needed.

 

quote:handling on overpowering ?  

Hyper is smooth through chop but right at the edge it requires careful trim. The 110 really comes alive when pushed to the edge.

other factors:
hyper has better upwind than 110.
110 gybes better than hyper 105.

I'm waiting to see how the rs65 and rs60 compare but right now i intend to "borrow" Meng's 110 as often as i can, setting up a 7.6 nitro V this weekend to try the board further. We've been using it largely with a 36 fin, will be trying other sizes & types.

[<Stuart>]

I have been using a Select Lightning 38cm. fin on the 110. It is a great fin for 6.5 -  7.5m sails.
I weigh 72kg.

[<Ryan>]

REVIEW PLEASE!! There is so little info on the Sonic 110 we would sure appreciate it!

[<Andreas>]

Hi,

I have a Sonic 110 and sailed it with a 7,8 RX2 and a 9,0 Nitro IV. The production 42cm Drake was a lot too big for me (I am 183cm, 78 kg), so I tried a 38 cm fin with the 9,0, even too big, so a 36 Deboichet Upwind, a little too small for early planning conditions, but o.k. in overpowered conditions. The 36 cm with the 7,8 RX2 is really great.
If you sail on a lake with small wind waves, the shortness is not very necessary, but if you sail in choppy ocean conditions, you have a great controll(no jumping over the waves).
I do speedsurfing, so speed is very important for me, but I must say there could be a faster board, perhaps the RS75? I reached 53 km/h with my GPS( with my needle 74 km/h). It is fast, but not the ultimate speed board.
Now I had some problems with the wood construction of the board: the resin of the wood put some tears in the coat, I had to give it back to repair during warranty. But otherwise no problems, it is very stable ,  6,7 kg must be stable.
I saw a Fanatic Falcon Slalom Ltd. which should broke often(only 5,9 kg), a nice board, too.

The Sonic 100 should be the best board in the Sonic line.

Hang loose

Andreas
ISa #31