What happened to Windsurfer
pierre...@gmail.com
know they closed shop end of 80s, an article that interviews the
founders states that it was due to losing a court battle against
Mistral in Switzerland. But I don't see how losing this alone would
bring the company down.
I suppose sales were just dwindling due to a product line that had not
adapted to small boards and all, but still, what happened?
Thanks in advance for light anyone,
PC.
wtrplnet
<pierre...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:17a39129-9ef4-4419...@g25g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
What happened was that Hoyle Schwietzer (sp?) had made his money and no
longer cared. I imagine defending the patent against gobs of European money
was exhausting. Understand that Windsurfer, the manufacturer, was making
rotomolded boards and didn't really have the desire or expertise to compete
with the vastly more advanced thermomolded boards coming out of Europe.
Warren Aitken (now the owner of Cobra Kayaks) was the production manager for
Windsurfer and Warren ended up with the molds for the original boards and
the remaining stock. Warren made boards under the name "Aitken" for a while,
including the 'short' Aitken 99. Aitken also made a very good rotomolded
beginner board named the SuperStar. It was the original Windsurfer shape
with the mold widened about 1' down the middle of the board.
Jim Drake continued his role as an engineer interested in windsurfing and
designed various machines including the Water Spider (I think Hobie made
that, possibley some other maker).
I don't know if Warren still has the original molds (I doubt it) but if
you're interested in taking over production Warren is easily reached at
Cobra Kayaks :)
Alan
Formerly of The Water Planet
Dan Weiss
> <pierrecou...@gmail.com> wrote in message
Windsurfer Class boards are sailed actively in AUS. Here is a link to
an article on Longboard Journal that speaks to current specs of the
Windsurfer: http://www.lbwindsurfing.com/windsurfer-one-design/ws-od-specifications/
You should explore that site for further info in the Windsurfer
Class. You will find a great deal of current stuff and reference to
older information.
Alan, a great summary of the demise of the Windsurfer Class and
possibly Windsurfing Int'l. in the USA
-Dan
pierre...@gmail.com
>
> Windsurfer Class boards are sailed actively in AUS.
Huh, as an Aussie I have a pretty good idea of what's happening here,
but as in elsewhere in the world it's a very small portion of what
once was.
Anyhow, "Hoyle had made enough $", etc., is that from personal
conversation of hearsay? It's rare that someone in business ever, ever
says that. However I also feel it would have been impossible to re-
tool and compete against other shops that started later and righter.
And that the lawsuit thing would have been pretty draining.
Thanks for the info both,
PC.
(PeteCresswell)
>I'm curious, what happened to the company Windsurfer, the original? I
>know they closed shop end of 80s,
Dunno about the inside story, but they lost me big time after I
bought a board they marketed as "The Offshore".
Compared to Mistral's, their dagger board design was just soooo
dysfunctional it was offensive. If the mast swept the deck, the
foot pedal got broken off. Period.... every time.
I called them on it. The guy at the other end was polite enough
to listen to my rant... but I could tell he really didn't care.
For my money, Windsurfer just didn't have what it took to stay
competitive. They were coasting along on the fact that they
developed the original product and gradually became less and less
relevant.
Now... can somebody tell me the story behind Windsurfing Hawaii?
--
PeteCresswell
mo
>Warren made boards under the name "Aitken" for a while,
> including the 'short' Aitken 99. ...
> Alan
> Formerly of The Water Planet
Better yet (for me) the shorter 8' 10" which was available in a lovely
lavender hue. That board combined with a Pat Goodman (now
Cabrinhakites designer) custom-designed sail and an Ampro mast and
WindsurfingHawaii tie-on boom...IIRC, the fin was prone to breaking
away as were the footstraps...brings back fond memories...
mo
Formerly of this planet
:)