Seatrend Boards
Randy Dunn
I'm thinking about buying a Seatrend 8'9" ATV, but I've heard that these
boards are easily damaged. I've done a lot of damage to my current
board, a Bic Rumba. The damage has come from getting launched and
having the boom hit the nose of the board, even with a big thick boom
bra. Now that I'm comfortable using the footstraps, I don't get
launched very often, but it sometimes still happens.
I was wondering what other Seatrend owners thought of the boards. Have
they had problems with this type of damage to their boards, or are the
stronger than their reputation?
Randy
Sailing sites: Hatteras (Emily's), Ft Fisher, Jordan Lake(if it ever
reopens)
gart...@fia.net
Have you thought about using one of those mast deflectors? Any "no
nose" board is subject to a broken nose if you hit it with the mast.
James Calore
> I'm thinking about buying a Seatrend 8'9" ATV, but I've heard that these
> boards are easily damaged. I've done a lot of damage to my current
> board, a Bic Rumba. The damage has come from getting launched and
> having the boom hit the nose of the board, even with a big thick boom
> bra. Now that I'm comfortable using the footstraps, I don't get
> launched very often, but it sometimes still happens.
>
> I was wondering what other Seatrend owners thought of the boards. Have
> they had problems with this type of damage to their boards, or are the
> stronger than their reputation?
>
> Randy
>
> Sailing sites: Hatteras (Emily's), Ft Fisher, Jordan Lake(if it ever
> reopens)
My seatrend has held up fairly well (8'11") this year but there are paint
chips that require an occassional touch up where the epoxy shows thru...
BTW: Emily's was cooking this past Tue (40-60k!)... needed a 2.8 or
smaller to think about it.
-jc
__________________________________________________
STAR*TECH JOURNAL http://www.StarTechJournal.com
Providing Technical & Informational Data to the
Coin-Operated Games Professional & Collector.
MclAlex
I have a 1995 Accellerator. It's a great board on the water, but the
gelcoat is worthless...chips all the time! I had an older seatrend (1990)
that was bulletproof...this board is not. If you're busting your Bic,
Seatrend is probably not for you.
John Tannock
James Calore wrote:
My seatrend has held up fairly well (8'11") this year but there are
paint
chips that require an occassional touch up where the epoxy shows thru...
BTW: Emily's was cooking this past Tue (40-60k!)... needed a 2.8 or
smaller to think about it.
..........And James only sails about a dozen times a year.
I bought one (811 xcellarator) last year and after about 10 sessions it
started to show a bit of wear. I suspect if you broke one open you
would find some clear runny stuff surrounding a yellow blob.
jt
Booker C. Bense
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
In article <jc-121096...@startech.ppp.cyberenet.net>,
James Calore <j...@StarTechJournal.com> wrote:
>In article <326007...@interpath.com>, tr...@interpath.com wrote:
>
>> I'm thinking about buying a Seatrend 8'9" ATV, but I've heard that these
>> boards are easily damaged. I've done a lot of damage to my current
>> board, a Bic Rumba. The damage has come from getting launched and
>> having the boom hit the nose of the board, even with a big thick boom
>> bra. Now that I'm comfortable using the footstraps, I don't get
>> launched very often, but it sometimes still happens.
>>
>> I was wondering what other Seatrend owners thought of the boards. Have
>> they had problems with this type of damage to their boards, or are the
>> stronger than their reputation?
>>
- - Get a no-nose deflector if you're going over the nose alot. Get the seatrend
8'9" you will love this board. It's got alot of range and is a blast to jibe.
- - The boards are pretty strong, I don't worry about the nose thing much. It's
only a problem if you go over the nose hooked in. Once you get to a certain
level of ability this kind of wipeout almost never happens, particularly with
the newer sails. If you have sail older than 92 or 93 your money might be
better spent on new sails. Anyway, the 8'9" is the most fun board I've sailed
in a long time. Unless you're really crashing & burning over the nose on
every other run, this board will last you a long time.
- - Booker C. Bense : bbe...@stanford.edu
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scru...@bnr.ca
I own three Seatrend boards (9'9", 9'2", 8'6"), and I think that they are
pretty fragile. But, I wouldn't give them up for the world. I've damaged the
top sheet around the nose on my 9'2", and my 9'9" more times than I care to
talk about. However, this weekend I finally got to grips with gettting into
the straps, and I'm now rarely getting launched; so I expect to be sailing
more and repairing less.
I'm not sure how fragile the Rumba is in comparison to the Seatrend boards,
however, I know that I've destroyed the nose on one of these boards, when
I was learning how to get into the harness in Aruba a few years ago. This
launch actually cracked the front of the nose. I've never managed to do
that any of my Seatrends. The Seatrend damage has been solely to the top
sheet on the board; nothing that actually has damaged the structural
integrity of the board.
I'd go for it. I've heard a lot of good things about the 8'9".
--
Paul Scrutton - My views may not agree with those
of employer.
Wilzone
In my opinion Seatrend makes the highest end performing production boards.
This performance comes with a price. Seatrend admitts this. Their
boards are more geared toward expert sailors who know not only how to sail
them, but more importantly how to carry them in and out of the water.
That is where you are most likely to damage the board. I think the
Pro-tech deviator is a great product that makes boards like the Seatrend
more accessible to more intermediate sailors, but it doesn't carry the
board over the rocks for you. Consider your sailing sites, expericence,
desire for top performance, and budget when thinking about any non-ASA
skinned board. Good luck and have fun!
NLW TFW NM
Nose damage isn't a Seatrend thing; it's a fact of life thing that's bad
enough with any construction, worse with lighter weight boards, and worse
yet with sandwich construction, which includes Seatrend and many other
excellent brands. PWR testers, experts and lesser guest testers alike,
smashed many noses in their Maui testing last Fall, even on relatively
flat water. Anything that stops the board quicly and unexpectedly,
including the bottom, a reef struck at even slogging speed, a piece of
whitewater of unexpected braking action, catching a rail, nailing your
bud's head, just sailing over your abilities (which is why most of us are
out there), or whatever, can result iin a mast or boom whacking the board
nose. PWR performed accidental, major nose surgery on a couple of
world-class boards before they got sailed 100 yards, because there's a
sandbar (an old, decaying reef you can walk on barefooted) just 90 yards
offshore at one testing location. One or two boards never got repaired in
time to resume testing after the boom sheared the nose off.
Solutions include:
1. Buy tougher boards. If you're tearing up Bics, you shouldn't be on any
lighter type of boards.
2. Hang on to your boom when you crash and pull the hard parts away from
the nose when you go in. The old rag-doll, 270-around-the-falling mast,
spinning wipeout looks silly, but it protects both board and body. You can
also go for a full 360 just to make waterstarting easier.
3. Pad your board nose with footpad material. Hook up a mast to a uni to
see where the mast can hit the nose and pad it. On many 8-7s a boom bra
misses the nose altogether.
4. Slap a mast base pad on your mast just below the boom for xtra energy
absorption. I've not dinged a nose in years now since padding the board
and the mast, yet 1) I crash all the time because sailing in control is
boring, 2) I pay no attention to how I crash, and 3) I sail in winds that
have blown my labrador retriever off her feet.
5. Sail boards with Clark foam cores, so you can at least keep sailing and
fix the ding later, rather than having to get off the water NOW, before
that epoxy marvel is as heavy as .... a polyester board.
At least you're ahead of the schmuck I saw with his first (obviously!) new
epoxy board, which happened to be a Seatrend. I heard this hard, hammering
sound with the unmistakable hue of an epoxy hull, and lookd around to see
this doofus dragging his unltralight World Cup hull from his pickup bed to
the water - by its rear footstrap. This was off the tailgate onto the
ground (river rocks under a veneer of sand), down a sterp rocky-sandy
hill, 100 feet across exposed softball-to-football-sized rocks, and across
milk-crate-sized and -shaped rocks at the water's edge (at Rufus in the
Gorge). Turns out he was accustomed to old plastic longboards, and hadn't
a clue that ultralight epoxy race boards were any more fragile than a shot
putt. At least your board didn't sink before you got a few rides on it!
Pad it.
Mike \m/
Never Leave Wind To Find Wind
Booker C. Bense
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- - Don't judge the 96 by the 95. The 96 gelcoat is MUCH better. On my 95 8'11"
I spent last winter recoating the bottom with epoxy paint, it's much more durable
now. My 96 8'9" has about 40 sessions on it with no mentionable damage at all. 95 is
the nadir of seatrend gelcoat.
- - Booker C. Bense : bbe...@stanford.edu
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Michael T. Wazenski
Randy Dunn wrote:
>
> I'm thinking about buying a Seatrend 8'9" ATV, but I've heard that these
> boards are easily damaged. I've done a lot of damage to my current
> board, a Bic Rumba. The damage has come from getting launched and
> having the boom hit the nose of the board, even with a big thick boom
> bra. Now that I'm comfortable using the footstraps, I don't get
> launched very often, but it sometimes still happens.
>
> I was wondering what other Seatrend owners thought of the boards. Have
> they had problems with this type of damage to their boards, or are the
> stronger than their reputation?
>
>
> Sailing sites: Hatteras (Emily's), Ft Fisher, Jordan Lake(if it ever
> reopens)
Randy,
I've had my 8'9" board since March and have sailed it in 10-25 Knt winds
and from flat water to chest high waves. Actually, I've had two boards.
The first one had a loose footstrap plug and a crack along the nose. I
got a replacement board and now use a Deviator to protect the nose. I
strongly recommend that you to invest a Deviator and board bag if you
purchase one.
While the construction of the board is questionable, the shape of the
board is superior to any convertable I have sailed. Unlike other
convertables, which take a slalom board and give it some turn ability,
the Seatrend is truly a 50/50 wave/slalom hybrid. On the flat waters
and lighter winds, I put a race fin and sail it with a 6.2 3 cam sail.
It has amazing early planing, surprizing pointing ability, and forgiving
turning ability. In the waves, I move the straps forward and put on a
wave fin. The early planing and upwind ability really helps this board
bust through the white wash. The scoop in the nose, while prone to
damage, really helps you pop over wave mush.
In summary, an excellent excellent shape, a less than desirable
durability. My dream would be to get Randy French to shape boards for
say John Parton of Protech (who IMHO unquestionably builds the toughest
boards on the market).
Hope this helps,
Mike
Wolfgang Soergel
Wolfram Pietzsch wrote:
>
> A few years ago I bough a Seatrend 8'8" WC edition with three True
[snip]
> Of course, I have always treated the board like a raw egg, kept it
> well wrapped when not in use, and have NEVER jumped with it. This
> "royal" treatment has paid off with countless hours of fun. Needless
> to say, the board is not for sale despite its somewhat outdated shape.
>
> If you want a board that can stand abuse, buy a HighFly or Tiga and
> suffer from high weight, late planing and mediocre speeds. Sandwich
> boards are high tech instruments that must have, and deserve, careful
> treatment.
No offense to Wolfram or Seatrend but i think that for most
people riding a board as small as an 8'8" includes jumping,
resulting in an occasional bail. Slippery rocks at beaches are
unfortunately not too uncommon as well and after some hours
of cold weather sailing everybody might slip once in a while.
I don't think any board has to stand any abuse. However i know
for sure that it is possible to make a board a bit heavier
(say a pound or less) and get MUCH increased resistance to
nose breakage (the deviator is simply in the way when tacking)
and dings at the rails. Sandwich technology has the potential
for such boards, lighter than poly (which are not necessarily
slow or boring) and better suited for everyday use than
the hightech, superlight racing boards.
Maybe it opens the eyes a bit to realize that many production racers
i met this year did not use the F2 Peter Thommen Edition but
the cheape and havier World Cup edition models of equal shape...
Anyway, have fun !
Wolfgang
--
Wolfgang Soergel
Lehrstuhl fuer Nachrichtentechnik phone: ++49-9131-857781
Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg fax: ++49-9131-303840
Cauerstrasse 7 email:
wsoe...@nt.e-technik.uni-erlangen.de
D-91058 Erlangen
GERMANY
scru...@bnr.ca
In article <3264FF...@nt.e-technik.uni-erlangen.de>, Wolfgang Soergel <wsoe...@nt.e-technik.uni-erlangen.de> writes:
|> Wolfram Pietzsch wrote:
|> >
|> > A few years ago I bough a Seatrend 8'8" WC edition with three True
|> [snip]
|> > Of course, I have always treated the board like a raw egg, kept it
|> > well wrapped when not in use, and have NEVER jumped with it. This
|> > "royal" treatment has paid off with countless hours of fun. Needless
|> > to say, the board is not for sale despite its somewhat outdated shape.
|> >
|> > If you want a board that can stand abuse, buy a HighFly or Tiga and
|> > suffer from high weight, late planing and mediocre speeds. Sandwich
|> > boards are high tech instruments that must have, and deserve, careful
|> > treatment.
|> No offense to Wolfram or Seatrend but i think that for most
|> people riding a board as small as an 8'8" includes jumping,
From Wolfram's description, I took it to mean that the 8'8" that was being
talked about was one of Seatrend's RACE style boards, as opposed to an ATV
style board, and thus was not designed for jumping (they make both kinds).
If I remember correctly, according to the warranty info enclosed with my
'97 8'6", Seatrend doesn't cover race boards for jumping (but I don't have it
in front of me, so I could be wrong!).
Cheers,
Wolfram Pietzsch
>|> No offense to Wolfram or Seatrend but i think that for most
>|> people riding a board as small as an 8'8" includes jumping,
not if you are an intermediate sailor who occasionally flatlands. I
could have bought the heavier version of the same board which was
meant for more rough treatment. I know the pros jump with ultralight
boards (I was told, Dunkerbeck's wave boards weigh about 10 lbs.). But
they have the technique and the rich sponsors!!! I don't and that was
my point.
Wolf
Volker Wedemeier
On Thu, 17 Oct 1996, Wolfram Pietzsch wrote:
> meant for more rough treatment. I know the pros jump with ultralight
> boards (I was told, Dunkerbeck's wave boards weigh about 10 lbs.). But
> they have the technique and the rich sponsors!!!
Yep, that's the point. They _do_ jump ultralight boards, but those boards
only last a few months to a year with them - then they often break into two
pieces (or get otherwise unusable).
Volker
Steve Andriese
My '94 developed blisters in the gelcoat 14 months after purchase.
Seatrend offered to repair it if I paid the 120$(+) shipping costs to get
it to them. I repaired it myself, but will not buy another Seatrend. A
couple dealers I spoke with about this said they had many such customer
complaints and Seatrend acted like each one was the first one they heard
about. Avoid Seatrends, in my opinion.
Kevin Clark
Philip Mizuno wrote:> My Accelerator is a great riding board, and many of the local sailors in
> Colorado feel the same way, but NONE of us who have purchased 1994-1995
> boards would EVER buy another Seatrend.
< snip a long discourse on how easy they ding, how easy noses break,
etc.>
I own a '95 Accelerator, and I love it, but, like any light, sandwich
epoxy board--it's not for everyone. Sure it dings easily. So do
Roberts, Mike's Labs, AHD, and hoards of other light boards. If you
want something that never dings, add a 2-3 pound ABS shell like Bic,
Mistral, etc... and you'll probably never have a ding. OTOH, buy some
Marine Tex and fix a couple of dings a year, and sail a LIGHT, fun
board... If you're getting dozens of dings per year, you're not ready
for such a board and I agree, you should avoid Seatrend and plenty of
others as well.
Bottom line, learn this sport on a durable, heavy board that can take
tons of abuse. Once you're making most your jibes and rarely getting
launched, then consider a lighter board...
Kevin Clark
Dallas, Texas
Michael Schonberg
I own a Seatrend 8'6" ATV, and I had the opportunity to sail most
of their Accelerators and ATV's in Margarita. In my experience they
hold up as well as any epoxy board. You must take care of any board
as light and fragile as the Seatrends. I have not found any other
production boards that perform comparably to the Seatrends.
Michael Schobnerg
m...@ccnet.com
>
> In my opinion, Seatrends need to be avoided as their are plenty of fine
> riding boards on the market that weigh a pound more and ride just as well.
>
> --
Philip Mizuno
My Accelerator is a great riding board, and many of the local sailors in
Colorado feel the same way, but NONE of us who have purchased 1994-1995
boards would EVER buy another Seatrend. The boards chip when you just
look at them, the noses fall off at the first slam (we don't jump that
much cause we don't know how and all we have are lakes), the bottoms of
boards dimple over time, and you always lose that stupid plug in the
middle of the board.
I have been tempted to call Seatrend and ask for may money back, but life
is to short, besides, I made the stupid mistake about not investigating
Seatrend construction prior to purchase, and the Windsurfing magazines are
finally coughing up the truth with ding ratings. The magazines also need
to be a little more truthful about their reviews.
Florence Fillion
Way to go Kevin!
I could not agree more. I own a 7'11 ATV and it is *the best buy I
have ever made in windsurfing* and I really mean it. This board is
total fun on the water. Nothing I have ever sailed comes even close!
Yes, they are fragile, but that is the price you pay for so much fun
on the water. A friend of mine just bought another (he has 6) and I
have never heard him complain about any of his boards. I sailed my
Seatrend at Mosier (in the Gorge) and never put a ding in it.
So, if you don't like to have to worry about your equipment then you
are right, seatrend is not for you. But if you are looking for
ultimate fun on the water and you don't mind taking care of your
windsurfing stuff, then go for a Seatrend!.
--florence
--College Station, TX
Kevin Clark (cl...@aud.alcatel.com) wrote:
: I own a '95 Accelerator, and I love it, but, like any light, sandwich
: epoxy board--it's not for everyone. Sure it dings easily. So do
: Roberts, Mike's Labs, AHD, and hoards of other light boards. If you
: want something that never dings, add a 2-3 pound ABS shell like Bic,
: Mistral, etc... and you'll probably never have a ding. OTOH, buy some
: Marine Tex and fix a couple of dings a year, and sail a LIGHT, fun
: board... If you're getting dozens of dings per year, you're not ready
: for such a board and I agree, you should avoid Seatrend and plenty of
: others as well.
: Bottom line, learn this sport on a durable, heavy board that can take
: tons of abuse. Once you're making most your jibes and rarely getting
: launched, then consider a lighter board...
: Kevin Clark
: Dallas, Texas
----------------
The worst forecast you will ever hear:
"For the next 4 days, as far as the weather pattern is concerned, the
wind will be a non-factor."
Heard on the weather radio while vacationing in Rio Vista, CA.