From: sca@gese.ge14.mdadv.gv.at (Petzi Schweda)
Subject: Re: BIC Presto and other course slalom boards
Originator: sca@gese0n.ge14.mdadv.gv.at
Keywords: jibes like a brick
Organization: MD-ADV, Vienna, Austria
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 07:02:34 GMT


In article <cgoudie.724442313@Endor>, cgoudie@endor.sim.es.com (Craig Goudie) writes:
|> 
|> 	Hello again,
|> 
|> 	I've got this other buddy who purchased a BIC world cup
|> 	Presto at the end of this season.  We only got to ride it
|> 	a couple of times but, I could tell that I just didn't understand
|> 	this board.  Here's how it went; my bud jumps on his board
|> 	and planes off almost immediatly in 12MPH winds, sails to the other
|> 	side of the lake (blowing by most of the other sailers on the 
|> 	lake who are slogging) jibes a big wide arch jibe, cruises back,
|> 	hands me the boom and says it's the best board he's ever ridden.
|> 
|> 	I jump on the board, slog off, pump heavily to get on a plane,
|> 	dart back and forth in the water with very little control over my
|> 	direction (maybe I could have gone fast if I'd kept it in a straight
|> 	line), have to take about a 100 foot arch to jibe this tank like
|> 	board, dart back and forth back to the beach certain that my bud is
|> 	insane while the incredibly vertical rails catch the chop at funny
|> 	angles and throw me on to slightly different tacks.
|> 
|> 	But no, he grabs the board (having been on it only once) and dusts
|> 	the field again.
|> 
|> 	Are all course slalom boards like this?  I know the industry is
|> 	moving to flatter and flatter boards so people must want'em for
|> 	some reason.
|> 
|> 	All my boards (even the 9'9") have pretty wavey outlines and tend
|> 	to have the rails tucked forward and more vertical aft.  They all
|> 	have a moderate amount of rocker.  And they all plane through a jibe
|> 	in less than a city block, not to mention being fully controlable
|> 	in moderate to heavy chop.  
|> 
|> 	Soooo, how do you ride one of these boards (obviously my bud can
|> 	and he's hasn't been sailing as long as I have).  Usually I don't
|> 	have this much trouble getting comfortable with a board.  An even
|> 	better question, how do you jibe it efficiently?
|> 
|> 
|> 	Craig  

After spending this summer gettin' used to slalomboards (still prefering the BIC Alto and high winds) I tend to share your feelings ...
Yes, slalomboards jibe in their own way ... I would say "like toilet doors" instead of "like bricks" !
Even worse, my good old Astro is planning FAR earlier than the Presto, no kidding !
But: under right conditions you trash all non-slalomboarders into pieces ...
And: after studying videos and a few hard hours on board I learned (more or less) to "racejibe". This is the jibe where you lay your sail almost flat on the water inside the turn (hope you understand, but my english ... 8-]). By doing 
so you get pressure (and therefore grip) on the box-rails allowing you to do sharper turns...  A little bit tricky is to keep planning, cause the timespan where you have to get off the rails, get the board flat on the water, shift the sail and move your weight back to accelerate out off the jibe is very short and has to be timed very exact. This seems to be the main difference to "wave-outlined" boards, where you have lots time to do corrections or kid around ...
have fun, Petzi
PS: flame the Presto, nearly any other slalomboard (F2 Sputnik 285, Mistral Explosion (or so), the Tiga 280) moves far better ...
#
##################################################
Petzi Schweda (sca@gese.ge14.mdadv.gv.at)
MD-ADV, Municipality of the City of Vienna, Austria
 
From: poulton@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com (Ken Poulton)
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 06:48:19 GMT
Subject: Re: Wind Speeds (was Re: More wind tomorrow?)
Organization: HP Labs, High Speed Electronics Dept., Palo Alto, CA