looking to get some feedback on this board. looks pretty nice and shaped by paolo rista. I am looking this as a first race board. i own a sector 52 and love the way it rides. i know that the race boards are going to be much more technical but i want a board that can get that foil effect through the water.

i hear this board is a little less technical to ride relative to some of the other boards out there. i am not in a place to be in a fleet of racers so having the ultimate and newest gear is not a big concern. just looking to advance my skills on this type of board.

please give some advice if you have some to give.

thanks!
Coleman

This board is awesome, it may not be as competitive as Mikes, but it will be better than the Airush you have. If you can ride the Sector, you should be able to ride the Venturi within a few sessions. It will go up wind more than the Sector.

The only problem I have is the gelcoat finish over the the skull graphic sticker.
The stickers are slick, so the clear gelcoat will delaminate from the sticker. It will look ugly and is a pain to fix.

One of the things that I am most interested in is all out speed. I see these racers just hauling ass with the boards almost floating over the chop. I attribute this to the amount of fin and the sector just doesnt have that much fin to get it to foil out of the water.

Do u think this would be a good entry board for what I am after?

I have a 2011 183x59 Cabrinha board. With the original fins (2x26 cm fronts and 2x24 cm rear fins) there wasn't enough fin to keep the board completely flat, even if I put as much weight as possible on my toes.

Recently, I purchased a used set of Rista fins for a 65 cm quad board (2x37.5 cm fronts and 2x33.5 cm rear fins). These fins are a little too big for this board I think, but it is much easier to ride flat now, and the board foils up out of the water much more. With the existing fins on the Naish Venturi, I don't know if you will get the foil effect you are after.

As far as all out speed on a reach, I don't think going to the bigger fins made the board faster on a reach. It definitely points much better upwind, and I can sail with speed at a lower angle downwind (I think), but top speed isn't any better.

I have tried the new sector V2 60, and the Venturi will beat it in a race. I have not tried any other Raceboard. With this board, you will need a race kite with a race bar if you want to go fast. I use the Ozone Edge with the new racebar. Once the board planes, apparent wind kicks in, you will need all the depower you can get.

I have a 9m 2012 edge and an 11m 2010 edge. One of my friends here has told me that it takes a bigger kite for his rrd k race 70 because of the fin size. With the smaller fins on the Venturi what are the wind ranges for a given size kite for u?

C

For a Raceboard, you will definitely want to use smaller size kite. The fins create drags only in the pre planing stage. Once planed, you will wish for smaller kite. My 2013 Ozone Edge 17 goes from 5 knots to 18 Knots wind and I weight 150 lbs. I would prefer to switch to a surfboard when wind goes above 12 knots.

Hawaiis, my typical conditions are 10-17 light days. 15-25 windy days and sometimes 20-30+.
Usually gusty.

What's the sweet spot with a 9m edge and a race board?

In Kailua, Hawaii I have only used the 9M 2011 Cabrinha Nomad like 5 times in one year. and when wind is blowing, I only use the surfboard to surf the waves. I use the Raceboard only when the surfboard will no longer go upwind. I use it as a last resort.