Older Board Opinions

I am a university student on a budget. I need a smaller board now and am looking at boards around 100 l. Since my cash flow is quite limited, the boards that I have to consider are all older (from mid '90s or so). Are there any particular boards I should look out for? I'd like to start getting into some bump & jump,jibes, etc. I know the screamer was a great board...any others that had a great reputation a few years ago?

Thanks,

Andrew,

I see that John Parton of Pro-Tech Boards has a PT 290 convertible on his site for $295 - I've owned one and it's a great board - very fast and long enough to carry a wide-range of sails and a good jiber and jumper. He's also got a slalom board for $195 - pretty hard to beat that. Call him directly.

I really liked my PT's - had 2 of them - good, solid boards. I have custom's now.

Mike, Speaking of E boards, someone just gave me a Mistral Eruption (78l) to mess around with on our FL high wind days. What do you think? (Besides the name, of course.) Cindy

'flickable' it proved to be, something of a precursor to the twinzer 253SLE. Not great upwind but what board that size is? It wasn't the best planing waveboard I've ever used, but it would tear apart a wave good enough for a government worker. Pretty tough, too. You will like it from 18 or so on

There's certainly a number of boards out to investigate. Probabely everybody will recommend whatever they had back then and maybe many are right when saying that the XYZ abc ripped.. And the idea of investing a bit less in the board and maybe a bit more in the rig isn't bad (sail from 5 years ago weren't really bad either, at least in sizes under 7.5 or so, but they start getting old and prone to failure now). The original Screamer you're ferering to came out in 1988 and was a good board back then, still reasonable a few years later. There was a 'Screamer II' later which never quite reached the popularity of the original one. And it's probabely still to old for you.

One board to investigate could be the Flow 276 from Mistral, basically the predecessor of the Screamer II and very much representing the spirit of the original Screamer with the shape concept (thin rails, lots of vee, relatively flat rocker line,resultinng in good performance, smooth and relatively easy sailing, not too skiddish/loose). Another idea, also with a good compromise between performance and handling, could be the F2 Ride 277, maybe even the newer Ride 274. Or, if it may be a little number smaller and livelier, the Axxis 272. If you like it a bit more slalom / performance oriented, the F2 Axxis 278 or the (newer and a bit friendlier) Fanatic Bee 274/104 could be a good choice. If it has to be really cheap, the Bic Veloce 278 would also be a similar board. There are many more, if you're not sure about a particular board you're getting offered, ask her. Warning: Nearly all of the above mentioned (and many other) boards did have some construction issues, at least in some series or some years. So you need to thoroughly check a board you'll purchase: Are there soft spots in the deck (under the pads, around the mast track) or on the bottom? How do the rails look like, especially the seems of the outer ASA Skin if presen? Are the fin box, mast box and foot strap inserts sound? Did ever water get into the board? May sound drastic but it's needed to check. Otoh., if a board held up fine some years while getting used, chances are good that there is no manufacturing defect present and it will hold up another couple of years.

Extraordinary! What an incredible sense of deduction you have Holmes

I sailed the eruption as my wave board for 3 years. Extremely well balanced and carries a 5.3 with ease(I am 180 lbs.). Very, very turny but slow compared to my current wave board, JP 255 wave 2000. Mistral changed the name of the Eruption to the Wave 257, same board except the Wave 257 didn't have inset footpads. They must have had cracking in the top. The Eruption was the next step past the Estacy(which I also owned and broke jumping at Florence).

Chris

I don't know where you are located, but if in N. America, you could check out http://www.windsurfingclassifieds.com. There are lots of older boards there. Ellen