Starboard START 2002/2003?
Vince Gonzalez
early 2003. I was just about ready to purchase a used 2002 START that was
used in a school, at a pretty good price.
Do any of you guys/gals have information on the 2003 Starboard STARTs? If
so, can you please post any details about the new boards.
Thank you in advance for replying so quickly.
VG --
Ray Kuntz
Roger Jackson may be the only one around who can begin to answer your
question. The 2000 and 2002 versions have proven to be real sleepers,
they were marketed as "beginner" boards, but users are quickly
discovering that with a good sail and after market fin that they perform
much much better than anyone anticipated.
However for 2003 Starboard has decided to ignore the 100.5 cm maximum
width established for "Formula 3/1" racing boards and are distributing
Go's and Starts that are 110 cm wide and have the same cut outs under
the rear of the board that many true formula boards do. These cutouts
and width in excess of the formula standard coupled with a none formula
class legal 80 or 85 cm fin makes for an interesting combination. A
combination that seems a bit chancy or extreme, but I guess I trust em
they've certainly thought out of the box before and been proven right.
Starboard may have to rein in it's designers or sooner or later they're
going to make an entry level board, whose performance on the course
exceeds that of many full on formula race boards.
My 2c.
Ray
WARDOG
I have posted this before...archived in Google Groups search...
WARDOG
http://www.surfingsports.com
Start - The Future.
The Start is the most innovative and the original wide short board. Even
so, French Wind magazine has tested entry-level boards comparatively and
found that the START is still the Best… Now, the new Start boards will
take another giant step forward in entry-level performance and takes
full advantage of our leading experience.
It's no longer a secret that wider is better for entry level riders. Our
challenge has been to make the boards even more stable while at the same
time allow them to jibe with ease. We have succeeded… and as usual it
took some luck to come up with the best design in this unexplored arena.
We met with Sol Morey, the son of the inventor of body boards. He taught
us a lesson on how those square body boards turn with the help of
concave rails .We transferred that concave rail technology into
windsurfing and refined curve in the tail. At the same time, we reduced
the volume in the rails aft and included Formula style cut-aways. The
result was a 265 x 110 cm board that is super stable, planes early,
feels fun and jibes better than ever!
Without loosing sight of lighter riders (50 kg down), and the demand for
a smaller Start style board, we're also makine one at 255 x 100 cm.
These Start boards keep and improve the popular features of the current
Start. The carrying handle is offset for easier handling, and the front
hole is increased so one (or more) can put a hand inside, in case 2
people wish to carry it. As usual, the full EVA deck makes the Start the
most comfortable board ever.
We have developed a new fin system to make the Starts track well upwind
and glide better than ever in light to moderate conditions. There are 2
fins delivered, a 22cm and 40 cm.
Step one -First time on board, the 22 cm goes in the back so one can
easily change direction, and the 40 cm fin goes in the middle for
tracking and windward performance - better than using a daggerboard.
Step two - Change the 2 fins around so that one can get the power from
the 40 fin to lift the board up on a plane, whereas the 22 cm fin then
lifts up in a way where it does not interfere during planing. When not
planing the 22 cm will provide plenty of stability and tracking.
Step three - Sail with only the 40cm fin in the tail of the board… Plane
early, carry speed, use the foot straps and feel the wonderful sensation
of carving you first jibes.
This is described with drawings on the fins,
Available in Start and Start School construction (extra EVA and glass in
nose area - +800g)
· Start BIG (265 x 110)
· Start SMALL (255 x 100)
Charles Ivey
still was light and responsive. Why? Because I really enjoy crusing on a
Formula board when not racing. I like the occasional trip to places around
the next bend or the next bay. Such a board would have the great upwind and
downwind performance I want. It would be an early planer, and not be as
fragile as the typical all out race boards I usually sail. Oh, and it has
to be just as fast, handle chop well, and jibe smoothly.
I want it to be my fun board for trying new things and going new places --
something I would not mind putting on top of the car and heading out to who
knows where.
So, I am actually considering getting a Small Start for the stable. While
maybe not my perfect dream, it may be the closest thing to it around today.
Put a 70 to 80 cm formula fin on it, and it may be even closer. I want to
hear some actually reports on how it sails and if anyone has tried a deeper
race fin with a sail like a 10.5 Retro or so. When someone has sailed it
this way, please post your opinions.
Ray Kuntz bugged me for some time to put a race fin on the original Start --
it was his urging that lead me to try it. When I did, it was a shock. The
wolf shed its sheep's clothing and turned out to be quite a fun and fast
board that planed very early. It was a huge surprise. Maybe this will be
the case for the new Starts, but even more so.
CI
JEZ HAMMOND
I have been using the Starts in our school for the last two years in
Perth, Western Australia. We have just received the 2003 Starts, and I can
totally recommend them. It is a much wider board(110cm) so is even more
stable at low speeds, but has a more complex shape than the old Starts, so
performs much better in planning conditions. (basically it looks like a Go
board on steroids and with a centre fin). If you can afford it, buy the
2003 board, if not then the 2001/2002 Starts are still excellent.
Hope this helps.
Simon
2nd Wind Sailboards
Perth
WA
www.2ndwind.com.au
Vince Gonzalez <vincent....@sbcglobal.net> wrote in article
<OI_s9.53$cT4.28...@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com>...
Ray Kuntz
Ray
>ntlworld.com
<WINDSURF...@bigpond.com> wrote:
>Hi there Vince,
>I have been using the Starts in our school for the last two years in
>Perth, Western Australia. We have just received the 2003 Starts, and I can
>totally recommend them. It is a much wider board(110cm) so is even more
>stable at low speeds, but has a more complex shape than the old Starts, so
>performs much better in planning conditions. (basically it looks like a Go
>board on steroids and with a centre fin). If you can afford it, buy the
>2003 board, if not then the 2001/2002 Starts are still excellent.
>Hope this helps.
>
>Simon
>
>2nd Wind Sailboards
>Perth
>WA
>www.2ndwind.com.au
Hi,
My Dad who is in his 70's picked up a Start for him and his
grandchildren to use. I've sailed it and not only is it ideal for
beginners but it is also an ideal board for medium to heavy weight
sailors to cruise around with in lighter winds. I weigh 210lbs. My
nephew who was struggling with a 310 150l Comet slalom had no problems
sailing the start - cruising, tacking gybing etc their Dad has now
bought them their own boards a Mistral vision 190cb and a F2 Discovery
190 - I've sailed these also and noted that the retractable
daggerboards do help you get upwind when the wind turns off for a bit
and really you'd have to be Robby Naish on speed at the O'neill
Invitational to notice any negative side effects the daggerboard will
have to early planing and overall velocity.
These boards have got me thinking, they do have a great turn of speed
when the wind picks up and aren't too expensive, we bought ours except
for the discovery 2nd hand off dealers and schools. Maybe it would be
a good idea to have a race class for these boards maybe called Formula
Fun. Even the Start is a great board for this sort of thing.
The Start is 2001 or 2000 model BTW
for more info on the new Start check
cheers,
Peter Watkinson
peter.watkinson1<nospam>@ntlworld.com
remove <nospam> to reply :-)
Vince Gonzalez
"JEZ HAMMOND" <WINDSURF...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
news:01c27a3a$0fea4b60$64f78a90@secwind...
Ellen
check out the Start Windsurfing website for some ideas on getting some
"novice type board" racing going.(
http://www.start-windsurfing.com/fr_race.htm ) talks about using
Starts, but also welcomes any other similar boards with centerboard,
side fins, or removable center fins. The "rules" are minimal, and there
are suggested formats for real beginners, kids as novices, and also for
people using such boards who want to race them.
At the race at Calema, in Merritt Island, Florida, on Nov 9-10,
there will be just such a class. I think it is called the Widestyle
class, and there will be a limit on sail size of 8.5 m2.
We really hope that getting all levels of sailors out on the water
racing will help to improve sailing skills and raise the level of
interest in the sport altogether. It would be nice to provide a means
for less experienced people to get into racing without having to face
off against Kevin Pritchard on the starting line. Friendly and fun
events are easily arranged.
Ellen
>ntlworld.com
wrote:
>Peter,
> check out the Start Windsurfing website for some ideas on getting some
>"novice type board" racing going.(
>http://www.start-windsurfing.com/fr_race.htm ) talks about using
>Starts, but also welcomes any other similar boards with centerboard,
>side fins, or removable center fins. The "rules" are minimal, and there
>are suggested formats for real beginners, kids as novices, and also for
>people using such boards who want to race them.
> At the race at Calema, in Merritt Island, Florida, on Nov 9-10,
>there will be just such a class. I think it is called the Widestyle
>class, and there will be a limit on sail size of 8.5 m2.
> We really hope that getting all levels of sailors out on the water
>racing will help to improve sailing skills and raise the level of
>interest in the sport altogether. It would be nice to provide a means
>for less experienced people to get into racing without having to face
>off against Kevin Pritchard on the starting line. Friendly and fun
>events are easily arranged.
> Ellen
>
Hey Ellen,
I had a look at the link and it looks really good. I think it would
really suit my nephews it means that they can compete without getting
smoked because the rest of the fleet are on Formula 1995 or whatever
and suffer a bit of an unfair disadvantage.
My largest sail is an 8.5 Tushingham Heckler and that suits me just
fine on the Start even in Light airs though I see in the A class you
can use two sails up to 11m.
While we have your ear and knowing that you seem to have the ears of
those of higher Echolons another idea I had maybe for the more
experienced sailors or for when it's windier - how about Formula
Slalom - one board and 2 or 3 sails?
Or maybe a more radical idea for the PWA - the sailors having just 3
boards for Racing, Slalom AND Wave...
I sure fewer boards is the way to go to make Windsurfing more
accessible.
Of course there could still be other Open events where sailors could
use more gear but for the main tour just three boards..
After all look at F1 they're trying to reduce the number of engines
and cars, tyres used by each team. Also look in your own American CART
racing they are using only one engine next brand next year - Ford
Cosworth after all why ask my brother he should know - he designed
it....