Is the Mistral Stinger 265 easy to use?

[Don Phillips]

I have still not perfected a carved gybe but am trying to learn on my
Tiga 285 ACR which I am told is not ideal for gybing.

I have just bought an old Mistral Stinger 265 (80 litres). I weigh 76
kgs. I realise that I am not yet ready for a sinker, but it seemed a
good buy and will, I hope, give me more incentive to persevere with my
Tiga and hopefully to improve sufficiently to make use of the Stinger.

I would be most grateful for any views or suggestions on the use of the
Stinger.

Is it a good board and easy to use.
Is it easy to gybe?
Are there any particular difficulties that I may encounter?
What is the maximum size of sail I can use?
What wind speed will I need?

Best wishes
--
Don

[WINDSUMIKE]

Hi
1 Yes
2 Yes
3 Depends on what you have sailed before as its wide point is well forward
4 6.0 at a push
5 15kts+
I had one for my first "small" board, but could not sail it the same day as a
282 Vivace when I swapped my old Screamer as they were so different.
I'm 70kg and they jump nicely.
Mike (K445)

[rds]

Yes to all of your questions. The stinger was a great board (still is).
I've seen people put 6.5's on it coming off of a bigger board down to
4.5's. The only caveat is that the really old ones circa 91 or so had fixed
footstrap positions which were ok for the perfect 5-10 160 lb sailor. Other
than that you should have a ball.
ray in toronto

[BeachAV8R]

I bought a Stinger about 2 years ago and am totally in love with it. Mine is
8' 8" but 88 liters instead of 80..?

It's fast, jibes very well..jumps well. It doesn't turn on waves very
well..but is totally bomb-proof. I usually sail my Shredder up to 18 mph or
so, then hop on the Stinger.

I've found the Stinger to work best on a 5.5 or less..though I have ridden it
on up to a 6.5..it's just a bit tweakish on my back on that large of a sail.
And I figure if I'm riding a 6.5..chances of the wind dying to the point of
uphauling is a possibility..and uphauling a Stinger is never a good thing : )

Good luck with your ride..

Chris
beac...@aol.com

[george reeves]

all stingers bust under the footstraps.. all of them..
----------
>From: beac...@aol.com (BeachAV8R)
In article <19991115135717...@ng-tx1.aol.com>, beac...@aol.com

[BeachAV8R]

<<all stingers bust under the footstraps.. all of them..>>

Except mine..and the one my roommate have owned. Exceptional boards from my
observations.

: )

Chris
beac...@aol.com

[WINDSUMIKE]

Mine is still going too

[dogdo...@yahoo.com]

On Monday, November 8, 1999 12:00:00 AM UTC-8, Don Phillips wrote:
> I have still not perfected a carved gybe but am trying to learn on my
> Tiga 285 ACR which I am told is not ideal for gybing.
>
> I have just bought an old Mistral Stinger 265 (80 litres). I weigh 76
> kgs. I realise that I am not yet ready for a sinker, but it seemed a
> good buy and will, I hope, give me more incentive to persevere with my
> Tiga and hopefully to improve sufficiently to make use of the Stinger.
>
> I would be most grateful for any views or suggestions on the use of the
> Stinger.
>
> Is it a good board and easy to use.
> Is it easy to gybe?
> Are there any particular difficulties that I may encounter?
> What is the maximum size of sail I can use?
> What wind speed will I need?
>
> Best wishes
> --
> Don

I have owned 8 Mistral stingers, I currently have 4 in perfect to sail-able condition plus a beater for parts like the mast track etc. There's a reason I keep buying them. It does everything well. Rode giant waves on the north shore of Oahu and they worked perfect. Stingers are fast and so are the north shore waves. In small waves you can really push the tail around so it works but it's not a wave board. But while a true wave boards are slogging the stringer is on plane and jumps like a dream . Yes the boards will break under the straps after several hundred jumps and landings from 15 feet and the bottom will buckle. It is a design flaw hence the reason I have multiple boards and a busted up board