Gee I was just considering buying a custom balsawood Marginal Planing Board
made somewhere in the Australian Outback. Wasn't that being hyped up in
here a year ago or so. Now I have to think about wide boards. But I'm torn
between these two board types and saving my money for the next big thing to
come out next year. I read that some obscure board company in the mountains
of Marrakech are building a new concept "windfoil" sailboard. This article
in Scientific American Windsurfer
http://www.sciamerws/windsurfing/bs/morebs/html said it sort of resembled a
miniature catamaran with four fins. The 55 year-old creator who weighs
about 110 lbs., reportedly can plane the board in as little winds as 3 mph
and sail 5.2 times the speed of wind. The article also said he used a "next
generation" Neil Ga'aish prototype 10m2 twin-mini cambered "bi-sail", with
"advanced self-tuning leach" technology (ASTL), oval flex-head design (OFH),
reinforced ultralite carbon-wired luff panels (RUCW), adjusting downhaul
expansion luffsleeve partitions (ADELP), mini-microlite foil guiding battens
system with auto-tension sensors (MMFGBSATS) and rigged it on with two state
of the art 99.9% carbon masts by Fiberex. They said they'll be selling the
board-rig combo for $9,899.99 thru one U.S. dealer worldwide. The
International Olympic committee supposedly is funding the project.
This is going to be great. Next year, I can't wait to be the very first
sailor with one of these showing off in dead calm water.
Quote:
> Hmmmmmm.... Offended?
> I don't think so!
> Why should the sailors out there on the earliest planing, fastest,
> widest range
> of use recreational/race boards currently in existence be offended
> by what the slower sailors on narrow boards call these wonderful new
> wide
> rocket boards?
> They won't be around long enough to even hear such "snide" comments.
> The wide boards will go by so fast and disappear over the horizon so
> quickly
> that these comments won't even be heard.
> You can call them whatever you like.
> But when you finally get to sail one, I think your comments will change,
> very quickly.
> The most common comment I've heard is "Wow, why didn't I try this
> technology
> sooner." "These boards rock!"
> any day of
> the week in any conditions.
> Roger
> > If I mentioned the term "barge sailing", would you be offended?
> > Endo
> > On Thu, 19 Apr 2001 00:16:27 GMT, "Jack \(Sarasota\)"
> > >> What did that guy with the "wharf" say?
> > >> Endo
> > >Actually I prefer the term "Sail powered SUV", something like a Chevy
> > >Suburban with better gas mileage.
> > >Jack (Sarasota)