Starboard Formula 155 for a beginner
Arthur
What are the problems of having this board for a beginner? (not
durable enough, hard to learn, etc)? I am looking at the GO and
Formula and the dimensions are almost the same, so why there is such a
difference in purpose? should I buy it or wait another year? :)
thanks!
Arthur
Dan Weiss
with performance first in mind. It sacrifices durability for weight
reduction, ease of turning for planing and upwind efficiency and speed. The
GO and other boards of its ilk offer more durable construction, a different
volume distribution that makes skill building far less challenging , and a
dimension combination (rocker, scoop and "V") that is a lot more forgiving
to use in a wider range of circumstances.
Think of this basic analogy: Would you rather teach a person to drive in a
car designed for the race course, or in a less demanding vehicle that offers
a much broader design concept. You can teach/learn on just about anything,
but the skill building rate increases dramatically with more appropriate
gear. Avoid Formula boards for instruction.
-Dan
"Arthur" <gsn...@canada.com> wrote in message
news:f19b2bc8.04072...@posting.google.com...
Jack (Sarasota)
handle a Formula board, but they are not a good match for beginners. Too
fragile. They have two speeds (too fast and too slow) until you get used to
them. About the 4th time you fix the nose on the Formula you will wish you
had picked something with a less "high strung" and more durable
construction. Once you are comfortable in the straps and harness and are
looking for more performance rather more time out of the water, then you may
really like a Formula board they are loads of fun and not nearly as hard to
learn to sail as a traditional shortboard, but start with something more
forgiving.
Jack (Sarasota)
"Dan Weiss" <dwu...@comcast.net> wrote in message
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Arthur
Thanks for the reply!
Arthur
"Dan Weiss" <dwu...@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<QKWdnSjAAal...@comcast.com>...
Arthur
thanks for the reply. So if I understand correctly the only problem is
the nose? A beginner would probably have much less speed so when the
mast hits the nose it should not crack, shouldn't it? :) The reason I
was asking is I was getting a nice deal for this board and there is no
doubt GO would be better choice but to pay twice just for the padding
seems too much. Another solution is to protect the nose like this:
http://www.wideopenwest.com/~ub/noseguard_wholeboard.jpg
What do you think? :)
Thanks
Arthur
"Jack \(Sarasota\)" <Jack...@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<BvSdnUzhGMA...@comcast.com>...
Heinz Kiosk
necessarily hold true. Some of my worst hooked in catapults (from the point
of view of board damage) have been at extremely low speeds when caught by
surprise by a gust in swell; in this situation the front of the boom can
SLAM down on the front of the board pulled by your full bodyweight. At
higher speeds the boom tends to get flung to leeward by the speed of your
body rotating round the mast to splash in the water by the windward bow as
the board comes to an adrupt halt.
Tom
JimmySmitsLovesChocolateMilk
The first board I ever owned had a large depression where the boom smashed
into what felt like a solid cement mistral malibu
and I KNOW I never went fast on that board. :)
however, I am a beginner / intermediate and now have a f155 as my only
board,
the board is short enough that when I blow up the front of the boom clears
the nose of the board and so I only have to worry about the mast hitting the
nose,
for whatever reason this does not seem to be as potentially damaging to me
as the boom,
I have had my formula for just over a year now, and have not had to perform
any surgery to it yet even though I am still just learning.
it is light, and fragile, but, its not a " house of cards"
Dave
"Heinz Kiosk" <removethis.t...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:v5wNc.802$bi1...@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net...
Tom - Chicago
out. There is not really a slow speed on Formula gear.
Jack (Sarasota)
How much of a beginner are you? As others point out the slow speed = no
damage theory does not work. Many catapults occur with the board a slow
speed. Learning to use the harness practically guarantees multiple trips
over the handlebars, but some people modestly call themselves beginners when
actually they are pretty good sailors. Give us a little more input. How
much sailing you have done. What kinds of boards have your use where do you
sail, How big, etc, and we can help you a bit more accurately.
Personally, I don't think the Go is a good beginner board either. A Start,
Prodigy or one of the other "true" beginner boards will produce a much
higher success rate in your outings if you are a real beginner. If you are
past the true beginner stage and live in a light wind area, a longboard will
work nicely, but they are too tippy for easy progress in the first stages.
If you stay mostly dry, can tack and jibe reliably (sub-planing), can use
the harness comfortably and "sometimes" plane, then a bigger Go or nose
protected F155 could work out for you as long as the wind is usually over 10
kts. Planing reliably in under 10 kts requires BIG sails, big fins, not too
heavy a body, and good pumping technique. Even with all the right stuff and
technique a long board still rules in under 10 kts IMHO.
Jack (Sarasota)
Arthur
see too many complains about the board. When I had Mistral Vision I
asked how the durability is and many people complained about it too.
So, I guess it is a matter of luck and care. The guy who owned the
board had it for 4 years and the board is almost new! (but he has 24
years of windsurfing experience :)
thanks
Arthur
"Heinz Kiosk" <removethis.t...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message news:<v5wNc.802$bi1...@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net>...
Arthur
I am going to shock you guys.. I am a very beginner! :)
I went sailing probably 6 or 7 times in my life. :)
Please don't beat me so hard! I am learning fast. Initially I was
thinking it would be a pleasure even to fall down every minute from
the board, then I realized I don't have that much time to play with
smaller boards (and it is not that good to fall down and loose all
your strength in a short amount of time). And I don't like these old
boards (although I can sail on them without falling down). So, I tried
to think about something relatively big and not very old. Also I think
Starboard has very good boards (the best?). So, there were not too
many choices - GO or something similar. I live in Canada and we dont
have very high winds where I am sailing (lakes) and I am not planning
to use harness so soon.. Let me first feel the water, sail and the
board, then - then I will proceed with harness. At least I will be
enjoying staying on the water without failing down and when the time
comes - then I am going to break the nose of it. :)
I have 6.5 sail (can upgrade if needed), I am 70 kg...
thanks!
Arthur
"Jack \(Sarasota\)" <Jack...@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<xdOdnUMO5tu...@comcast.com>...
Cliff Frost
> I am going to shock you guys.. I am a very beginner! :)
Not shocking, many of us went through this stage also! ;-)
> I went sailing probably 6 or 7 times in my life. :)
> Please don't beat me so hard! I am learning fast. Initially I was
Your thinking is right on as far as I can tell.
Given your experience level I think a Formula board is likely not
going to last very long for you.
So unless it's really inexpensive I'd advise going with a more robust
board such as a Start or Go or one of their competitors.
The Formula boards aren't only vulnerable at the nose--you are going
to risk damaging the deck with your heels, with rocks, with dock edges,
with your harness hook, with your elbows, knees and possibly other body
parts. Not to mention they probably will have a weaker underside that
you'll damage in all the same ways and more.
I speak from experience. Until you're much more experienced that cheap
Formula board is likely to end up costing you a hell of a lot per ride.
While the good boards built for the less experienced these days will
just keep on trucking and be quite a bit of fun when you're a lot better
as well.
Cheers,
Cliff
John Sitka
Arthur
I see. Well, what is done is done.. I guess it is too late now.
Probably I will upgrade it for GO if I can find a used one.. :)
thanks
Arthur
Cliff Frost <cl...@ack.Berkeley.EDU> wrote in message news:<ce8qr1$1pl2$1...@agate.berkeley.edu>...
Jack (Sarasota)
the good news is that they are not too hard to repair! Get some ding stick
or other epoxy quick repair stuff so you can make quick patches for
protection until you can make nicer repairs. Don't let water stay in the
board where it will cause additional problems. You might want to see if you
can either find a bigger and more durable board still and either trade the
Formula or save it for when you can really enjoy it, rather than sacrificing
it. Of course you might get away with using it as a beginner board. We had
another Canadian a couple of years ago who basically started with a
shortboard and got away with it. Anything is possible :-)
The reason you didn't find many complaints about durability, is that people
realize that a lightweight race board is not expected to have much of it.
Good luck,
Give us some progress reports.
Jack (Sarasota)
"Arthur" <gsn...@canada.com> wrote in message
news:f19b2bc8.04072...@posting.google.com...
sailquik (Roger Jackson)
Unfortunately, I decided not to say this last nite.
A 6.5 on an 85 cm wide Formula 155 is not going to give you much performance, so worrying about
getting into the straps, or even getting the nose of the board up enough for it to plane off isn't
going to happen unless you have well over 15 knots of wind.
Also unfortunately, Formula boards have a very "fast" rockerline, that does not slog very well.
The Go boards can handle smaller sails and are very much less technical to sail.
The F-155 really is a wonderful board, with a 65-70 cm fin, and a drafty 9.0-10.5 m2 free race
rig, it planes nearly as early as a modern 100 cm wide Formula board, but does not go
upwind/downwind quite as well.
I recommend getting a good nose pad, and a larger rig as soon as you can or you aren't going to like
sailing in < 15 knots very much.
Sometimes I wish I had my original F-155 back, as it was a classic board in the same sense as the
original GO WOOD Race board.
Also, the F-155 was built a bit heavier than the latest 100 cm wide Formula race boards, so you can
expect a little better durability than Cliff suggests.
Overall, I agree with everyone. You would have been far happier with a GO board or something as wide
but from another manufacturer.
It will take a bit longer to develop your skills on the F-155, simply because it was designed to be
raced at what was then the highest level, not slogged around on a 6.5 m2 rig in light winds.
Hope this helps,
Roger
Arthur
Is there any information about how to fix the board? I guess I might
need one soon :)
Does somebody wants to trade for a GO board? :)
thanks
Arthur
"Jack \(Sarasota\)" <Jack...@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<jaCdnYLDK6y...@comcast.com>...
Arthur
Yes, this is what I was thinking of. So, now I should be safe. And I
dont believe I will damage the board with my knees too. Where can I
get the nose pad? I would buy it for sure. Can somebody advice?
And I will enjoy my every minute on this board even without the race
speed! :)
Thanks again for the response!
Arthur
"sailquik (Roger Jackson)" <sail...@mindspring.com> wrote in message news:<41089390...@mindspring.com>...
brian
"bought winter 2004 from John Parton himself."
I might could believe you bought it from John.
But come on, "bought winter 2004"
I think you better reset that time machine.
John Sitka
pretty sure though....
Yep first time I rode it was Kitty Hawk Hatteras, week of Windfest this
year.
Wish it didn't have to go but need a small board, finally found a non sinker
Formula Board. ;-) Those Bic 1.4's got scarce fast. Just finallized my vaca
plans,
Avon ~Oct 21 then loop down to St. Pete's if the wind shuts off.
"brian" <fto...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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Arthur
such a beautiful board! it was so easy to do everything! I almost was
able to use straps. No other board I used can compare to this one! I
dont know guys but I just loved it! I was able to run here and there
on the board. So, 85 cm width rules!
Thanks
Arthur
gsn...@canada.com (Arthur) wrote in message news:<f19b2bc8.04072...@posting.google.com>...
Jack (Sarasota)
Jack (Sarasota)
"Arthur" <gsn...@canada.com> wrote in message
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