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Please Help me to choose a race board for crusing?

Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 7:01 pm
by Thorbjorn
I'm a super heavy surfers 125kg (275lb)

I have looked at the following boards.

Scetor v4 design one
RRD K-Free
Cabrina Aliases

And what to choose 3 or 4 fine fine?

I will like to have a board that can easily go upwind. And cruse around not so much wave style.
Kite in light wind 10 knots to 24 knots

My kite in use today are the Core riot XR2 19m + 12m.
Board I use today are mako 160 and nobile skim boarding.

Thanks in forehand Thorbjörn



Sorry for my poor english (dyslexia)

Re: Please Help me to choose a race board for crusing?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 1:47 am
by Atte
most race boards today have 3 fins. but if it is only for cruising i will go for a foilboard since it takes less space in your car and a race board is also VERY fragile. the foilboard will really fly above the water and you dont feel the small waves at all, thats cruising for real :-)

second option I will look for is the FlyRacer from flyboards, it goes upwind like a race board and have a adjustable fin so if you kite in Lundåkra JP beach you wont have a problem going back in when it's shallow. the FlyRacer is also more durable then a race board and you don't have to wory about broken finboxes etc. and it will take up less space in your car and no tools to remove the fin.

Re: Please Help me to choose a race board for crusing?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 2:18 pm
by yuko
Go with sector 52 or 54, amazing board, fits perfectly in your trunk, hey I transported two sectors of mine, the 52 and 60 sandwiched one above the other, all in my 4 door sedan with one rear seat folded.
If you're heavyweight, go for 60, otherwise 52 is just perfect.

Re: Please Help me to choose a race board for crusing?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 7:17 pm
by davesails7
yuko wrote:Go with sector 52 or 54, amazing board.
For 125 kg? I think AT LEAST go for the Sector 60. If not the 66.

I've ridden the Sector 52, I think it was the v3 and I wasn't impressed. I much prefer my old 2011 183x59 Cabrinha raceboard. Much faster and better upwind. The nose bounced around all over the place on the sector, and I was in pretty calm water. Very hard to tack and jibe because it is so narrow and footstraps get in the way. Also, I don't think the sector 52 will give much low end for a very heavy rider.

I thought I was going to love the sector 52, really glad I tried it before I bought one. Personal preference I guess. Try before you buy!
Atte wrote:race board is also VERY fragile.
I can't vouch for all raceboards, but I've had the 2011 and 2012 Cabrinha raceboards and didn't think they were especially fragile. More fragile than a twintip, but I think less fragile than a typical surfboard. I had my 2011 183x59 for 1.5 years, riding average 1 time per week. I didn't treat it especially well (no bag) and never had any significant damage. The gelcoat was a little worn on the sides from sliding it in and out of my truck, but overall still in good shape when I sold it. I've treated my surfboard with the same care, and it is in much worse shape after much less use than the raceboard!

As far as 3 fin vs. 4, I think it matters with the big, full raceboards, but with smaller fins (<30cm) 4 fins works fine. I felt much more in control at speed on my older, 4 fin raceboard with 26cm fins than I do now on my tri fin raceboard with 3 fins.

Bottom line: demo if you can!

Re: Please Help me to choose a race board for crusing?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 8:23 pm
by OceanAdventures
Cabrinha Raceboards are on closeout for $499, and if your just cruising it definitely works great.

Re: Please Help me to choose a race board for crusing?

Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:15 pm
by yuko
Oops, I've missed the 125kg part :)
Than defiently the 52 is not for you, 60 or maybe even their biggest model , the 66 might be something to try out. I do believe that they will all be more fun and forgiving than a full blown race board with it's endless razor sharp fins and rear leg burn and stuff.

@Davesails - too bad you did not like the 52, and found it bouncy, something you have probably to dial in , because for me, this board just flys over the chop with minimum effort and accelerates so fast that it get's scary, I have to tell you that i've been riding for two seasons and bonded to it.
Now I also got the 60 to give me some extra going in those 6knts, indeed it does it well, but personally I so much preffer the 52, I just can't tame the 60, I find it needs to be ridden more like a race board than a freeride board/surf. To get going fast you need to really work those fins, push with your toes, while the 52 speeds away no matter how badly you trim it, while the 60 just moves till you find that sweet spot , and then it takes away, but then, it once it get's too chopy, it becames handfull to handle. Maybe I need to practice more. I'm also pretty flawless at jybing the 52 , but believe it or not, fall pretty often trying to do the same on the 60.

Also, smaller sector loves to jump, be it hitting a little kicker or throwing your kite for a big air, off you go and softly land. The 60 lands more like a big windsurfer and that's only on kickers, I would never try a big air with it, just too much weight and volume to bring up. But that's just IMHO
And I'm only 175lb. Bigger guys will probably feel right at home being on the 60 as me on the 52.

Re: Please Help me to choose a race board for crusing?

Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:44 am
by davesails7
I'll definitely have to give the Sector 52 another try sometime. Maybe I was trying to ride the fins too much coming from the raceboards. I know lots of people love the 52, not really sure why it didn't work out for me. Like I said, I thought I would love it.

The day I rode it I was decently powered on 11m Rebel and Mako 140 in relatively flat shallow water and traded off with a friend to try out the 52. I'm 165 lbs. I'd guess about 18 knots knots. I thought I was going to be flying, but I just couldn't get the speed I was expecting. My upwind angle wasn't that great either. Afterwards I jumped on my SP wakesurfer and felt like I had the same if not better upwind angle on the wakesurfer? I had to flip the sector over and check all the fins were in there, haha.

Do you not try to keep the board flat and load the fins at all on the Sector 52? Just ride the board more than the fins?

I hear what you're saying on the back leg burning on the raceboard. You get used to it though with a combination of better technique and stronger legs with practice. At first I could only take a half hour and I'd be sore for days. Now I can do 2-3 hours.

Re: Please Help me to choose a race board for crusing?

Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 1:57 am
by tautologies
Tjena Tobben,

I'm gonna make a case for just going for an olympic sized board with some real fins.

If the idea is to cruise and you do not want to ride waves, then just go for a properly sized board..it will give you the low end..you can, if you choose to, make it an exercise session and get some training out of it. The new boards are easier to ride, and much much easier to handle.

Re: Please Help me to choose a race board for crusing?

Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 2:19 am
by alden
So tautologies what boards are you actually suggesting?

Re: Please Help me to choose a race board for crusing?

Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 3:05 am
by tautologies
alden wrote:So tautologies what boards are you actually suggesting?
well I have not ridden too many of the boards..my board is a Naish 2013 raceboard...for my use it is a great board and it comes with big fins..which means it is priced very competitively.
I use it for casual local races we do..speed runs and exercise. It holds up very well there...

http://www.powerkiteshop.com/naish_venturi.htm
I am sure there are many good boards there, but the idea is that the wide board have the flotation, the fins big to track for apparent wind...and the board wide enough for it to be easy to keep flat.

I've ridden a few of the smaller boards airush, cab, north, and I think their performance is bad enough in waves to warrant not recommending them..if you want a wave board then get that :-)

....obviously the Olympic sized ones suck in waves. The board I ride has quite a bit of nose rocker to make it not go nuts in big chop.

edit: I have tried other raceboards...I would also recommend staying away from quad setups...