How is the racedoor sailed?- Is the big center fin retractable like the centerboard in a small sailboat?
Also, regarding ease of use, wouldn't the flat rocker of the racedoor make it catch chop worse than a directional? The only flat door style board I've ridden is a litewave wing, and that definitely has some chop snagging and spray-in-your-face issues in non-smooth water.
I think that worries about kite entanglement would be a bigger factor for me not wanting to race than worries about jibing and tacking a directional.
d0uglass wrote:How is the racedoor sailed?- Is the big center fin retractable like the centerboard in a small sailboat?
Also, regarding ease of use, wouldn't the flat rocker of the racedoor make it catch chop worse than a directional? The only flat door style board I've ridden is a litewave wing, and that definitely has some chop snagging and spray-in-your-face issues in non-smooth water.
I think that worries about kite entanglement would be a bigger factor for me not wanting to race than worries about jibing and tacking a directional.
The Race twin has a big center fin that is retractable and more rocker than the normal doors.
The whole tangling thing is not that big of an issue, it does not really happen all too much.
I think it might make sense for people that wants to get into this, but don't like the idea of the tack...having seen how some of the better riders tack the boards, it would seem to me that they do it faster and with more speed than a TT ever could.
That said, I think it really nice that people are giving this a shot.
Favorite Beaches: Crandon Beach, Hobbie Beach, Keys, St. Lucia, St. Marteen,
Style: Old School
Gear: Flysurfer15m and 21m Speed3 DLX RealWind Mutant 148 X 40 and Directional 190 X 48, F-One TT 128 X35, Dereck Semi Directional 143 X 38 and 177 X 46.
Does that concept of a "dagger board" really work?
From my 4 year experience riding a Flydoor, even the little fins don't need to be used....I always rode my door without fins, so that the board would be a "low drag
board...and basically the whole edge of the board was used as the "fin". It went upwind better without the drag from even the little fins. The little fins only helped to regain control on landing jumps, and helped a little on the turns.
It looks like "riding the board flat" would only increase the drag, since now you have not only the little fins in the water but also the dagger board.
I assume that you only lower the "dagger board" and "ride the board flat" to get upwind, and then you would pull up the dagger board, and ride it "not flat", but normal for the rest of the course.
The dagger board must really work well to get the kiter upwind, or I'm assuming that you would not put up with it.