The selection of the mast is often overlooked when people start buying their windsurfing gear. However, it is a very important component for the correct performance of the sail. Therefore, when buying a sail you need to keep in mind what mast you are going to use with it, whether you already have it or if you are going to buy one. (more…)
I wrote another article recently on how to buy a windsurf sail. In it I focused on what to keep in mind when buying a new sail. Now however I will focus on the things that you need to look out for when buying a used windsurf sail. There are a few which you might not have thought about or imagined had an impact on the sails performance if you saw them. (more…)
I have already written an article on what to look out for when buying a windsurf board. However, aside from the fact that you will always have more sails than boards at any given time, sails also wear easier and so have to be replaced more often. Therefore, I thought a windsurf sail buying guide might be in order. Here are the things to look out for when buying a sail. (more…)
Buying a board can be pretty confusing, specially if we don’t know what to look out for. Be it in a shop, surf centre, garage sale or some guy on the internet, there will always be a gap between our knowledge on what we need and the seller who wants to get rid of his board. Let’s try to close that gap a little today.
Here I have compiled a checklist for you to know what to take into account when going to buy a new or second hand board.
This is the first question you need to ask yourself. The answer will have a very big impact on what you need to look for. If you are going to windsurf in El Médano you will not be needing the same kind of gear as if you usually sail on Lake Garda. In El Médano we usually have 20-25 knots (and more in the summer) which for my 75 kg means 80 – 100 litres waves board whereas in Torbole (Lake Garda) the average is 15-17 knots where I would need a freestyle or free-ride board in the 100 – 115 litre range. (more…)
Learning how to windsurf with a harness is one of those abilities that opens the door to longer sessions on the water as it save you heaps of energy. At this point you will have to decide on the harness you want to get for yourself. Much like the wetsuit, it is one of those things that you will want to have your own of.
A few times when we have bought mast extensions we have had a problem. The problem is that, for extra resistance, durability, or both, the mast extensions come with a pin that goes through the cylinder at the bottom of the tube. The trouble is that power-joint mast-foots (mast-feet?) that have a long pin will be too long to click in. Most of our mast foots have a long pin since these are more comfortable to fumble into the mast base than the short ones. What you need is a short pin mast foot. Just make sure that when you are buying your mast-foot and extension, they are compatible. It is one of those small details that you don’t think about and only realize when you actually put the two together.
The mastfoot pin is 2cm too long past the pin (und the number 4)
The pin on the left is 3 cm shroter that the one on the right. So it would work for the mast extension.
