which board

[max]

I've just had the opportunity to trade my '99 Thommen XL course race 174L 280x72 wide on either a
'04 Free formula 158 D-ram or a
'02 formula 186 wood........... could you advise  which would be more suitable for me, and if they would be better than my old thommen for .........
early planning 8kn and upwind ability
I sail mostly flat water with a 9.5 camless Retro and am 80kg.

[sukhdev]

Max,

the 186 in my opinion remains the all time early planing sub 10knot champ. If thats all you want then   go for it; however, the freeformula will be much more fun to sail overall albeit at the expense of low end relative to the 186. FF158 will turn better, be faster on the reach and generally smoother especially when you encounter liquid lumps.

[max]

Thanx Sukhdev for all your help and effort you put into this forum it's definately one of the best.

[max]

.........must be end of season there's also a few used f147's and the odd f158 for sale.
Would the F147 be better/equal to the F186 for early planning ie.8-12kn??
Anything over 12-15kn I jump on to a smaller board so I would only be using the F boards for that lighter wind range.
Also what fin should I get with it, would a 70cm be too much drag for a 9.5 sail?

[sukhdev]

quote:.........must be end of season there's also a few used f147's and the odd f158 for sale.
Would the F147 be better/equal to the F186 for early planning ie.8-12kn??

186 still wins in the ultra light stuff though 147 is rangier overall, and is definitely more comfortable as the wind gets up. If you can get a 158 used, grab one, its the best of the lot so far, a tad technical downwind but overall a fast crisp hull to sail.

 

quote:
Anything over 12-15kn I jump on to a smaller board so I would only be using the F boards for that lighter wind range.
Also what fin should I get with it, would a 70cm be too much drag for a 9.5 sail?  

70/9.5 works ok in the light stuff, i don't use anything other than a 70 (our conditions are very light). If anything, we use 70s optimised for low end (C3 B 70). If you are just freesailing you can go a tad smaller.