I have a JP Australia 135 Liters. I really like it, but it is all I have. I wanted to have maybe something smaller to add to my gear
Now some of you know my level. I can:
- waterstart
- plane in the strap and harness
- and that is it.
I am in the process of learning how to carve jibe.
I am 185 lbs roughly (6ft 3), and I was wondering what would be a good additional board ???

THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE right now in my budget are
- 2017 RRD fire storm wood, 112 Liters
- 2018 JP Australia All Ride FWS, 106 Liters
- 2018 Goya Carrera, 116 Liters
- 2017 Simmer Freemove, 110 Liters
- 2016 Fanatic Gecko HRS, 112 Liters
- Fanatic Shark, 120 Liters
- 2015 Starboard Atomic IQ, 120 Liters

Hi Sylvain, I think the boards you mention are too close in their range to your current 135lt JP. Days requiring a 6.0 or smaller you may feel you have too much board under your feet. Considering that you weigh 185 and have all the basic short board skills down i would suggest something like a 95lt or 100lt freestyle wave or free ride board. My 95lt Freestyle wave is my main board and i weigh 190 and sail up to a 6.8 on it. I see alot of used 95lt boards out there. In my opinion buying a used board can be the way to go when looking for a good fit. The less you have into it the more likely you will move onto something else more suited for you. I sailed alot of boards in the 105lt to 120lt range and only liked a couple. I my opinion it's a hard size to shape, it really needs to be the jack of all trades board. Loose in chop and waves, flat enough rocker to plan up fast in lite winds, but not to flat to that your getting beat up and can't turn. After owning and trying friends boards in this range i finally found something i really liked, a Mistral Flow 284 at 115lts. Even though it is close to 20 years old it's works for me, and a friend was willing to trade some other gear in exchange. A local surfboard, windsurf, and paddle board shaper told me once that you can only reinvent a board so many times before you circle back to what works. Anyway, this is what worked for me and would be interested in others opinions.

Width is as important as volume, a lot of variation in the 105-120L category, some 100L almost 70 wide, wider than 115L. The 284 Flow was an awesome board I would totally enjoy sailing now, I have something similar, 16 yo FanaticCross 116L 64 cm wide. If you are using your JP only with 7.5 and smaller sails, you are using it in conditions for a120L board, next step down I agree is 95-100. Larger/wider does help maintain planing in gusty inconsistent wind though.

Look at Exocet Cross. I just think longer narrower easier to sail, schlog better.

I also vote for all-round board between 105 and 115 L and approximately 65 cm width that can be ridden in 3 foot straps configuration. Nothing specialised.
The 106 Allride is a good choice IMO.

Sylvain, I’ve sent you a message. Check your PM box, you may like it.

Sylvain,
I was in the same situation as you a couple of seasons ago but every case is slightly different I guess... Anyway, on top of my 125l, I bought a 100l Naish Starship. I weigh about the same as you (188lb) and I found myself stranded a couple of time 3/4 of a mile out when the wind died on me and I couldn't uphaul the 100l. I switched to a 115l and it made a big difference:
- More occasions to sail it since it can take up to a 7.5. I sail it as soon as there is 16-17kn established. I couldn't take the 100l in less than 20-22kn with the fluky and gusty conditions we tend to have in the midwest. The season I had the 100l, I sailed it 4 or 5 times. With the same board in 115l, I sailed it more than 10 times this year.
- I can now uphaul or schlog if the wind dies and wait till a gust come up or just head back to shore without much effort.
- By the time I have 17-18kn on lake Michigan, heavier shop and swell makes the 125l freeride/freerace more of a hand-full to sail (wider and less rocker). The 115l Bump and Jump is a lot more agile and enjoyable in heavier conditions.

If I had to do this again, I'd get a 110l-115l board I can set either as a freestyle-wave or a blaster setup in single fin/dual back strap config. Something that would let you find your preferred sailing style or just adaptable to different sailing conditions.

I would be very tempted by the Severne Dyno in 115l. Maybe the 105l would just be right for you.
www.severnesails.com/freeride-sails/severne-dyno

SIZE LENGTH WIDTH WEIGHT SAIL RANGE THRUSTER FINS (SUPPLIED) ALTERNATIVE SINGLE FIN
105 228 62 6.8 5.0 - 7.0 2 x 125 + 1 x 220 360
115 229 64.5 7.2 5.3 - 7.5 2 x 125 + 1 x 240 400

Good luck in your search!

Sylvain wrote:
Your current board the JP Australia X-Cite Ride 135 L is 73 cm wide. Like others have said most of the boards in your list are as wide and some are even wider. Volume alone doesn't tell the whole story. Once you're on plane water doesn't know what volume your board is . It only reacts to widths - mid width(widest point) and tail width(30cm up from tail).

The only candidate I can see on your list is the JP Australia All Ride 106 L.

JP Australia All Ride

Length: 240 cm
Width: 63 cm
Tail width: unknown
Volume: 106 L
Weight: 15.4 lbs (wood)
Pads: 10mm dual density

The JP Australia All Ride sits between a Freeride and a full blown Freestyle Wave board. You can still up-haul a 106 L with some practice.





As others have said I would also recommend a full blown Freestyle wave board in the 103 L to 115 L range. Freestyle Wave boards have more rocker and V and smaller tails. They will eat chop better, have softer rides, can handle more wind for same volume and turn circles around freeride boards. I recommend Freestyle Wave boards for 6.9 sail size and down. Intermediate / expert.

See if you can find some Freestyle Wave boards for your list.

Sylvain, the other thing to think about is an overall / future board quiver. I don't know if you're trying to get it with one board. The other thing I should mention is some brands call their Freestyle Wave board "Freewave". One thing you could think about is a Freestyle wave / Freewave 115L to 105L around 65 cm wide. Then later a Freestyle wave / Freewave 95L around 60 cm wide. Those 2 boards would cover a 6.9 to 4.2 quiver. The other nice thing about the bigger Freestyle wave / Freewave boards is you can take them out on Lake Michigan in 6.9 to 5.8 wind. They can handle the Big Lake conditions better than a freeride when the waves / swell builds in 6.9 to 5.8 wind. That's one of the reasons I sold the RRD Firemove(freeride) 110L, 75 cm wide for my RRD 108L Freestyle Wave. Only 2 liters less but a world of difference in performance in 6.9 to 5.8 wind. No problem taking it out on Lake Michigan and it eats Clinton's nasty chop.

My 2 cents.

Very useful tips from everyone. So if I am looking more into 65 cm width that changes everything quite a bit
I was hoping for cyber Monday to be magical but really I have not seen any good deals come up.
The good news is that I have a good 4 months to find something that is a good addition to what I have and that fits my budget.

Thanks Ady for the PM. I responded but my budget might not allow me to get this beauty

Hey Sylvain, they have a Starship 115 with a nose job at Big Winds, which is arguably even better board for your stage then the one that I pm’d you for. They have also a 100L one under 1K in case you like more challenge. Why not throw them some low ball offer and see how they’ll respond. If you can get a free shipping or better it’ll be a good deal. Nothing to loose and you can wait a long time. Finding this kind of board under 1K without damage is like winning the lottery and those are at least professionally repaired. Just a thought.

Something decent popped up here:
2-rad.com/fanatic-hawk-108-2008-b/