Hi I am relatively new to the sport and have only been doing it for around a year now. I have been using my dads old windsurfing gear but am now looking to upgrade (The gear is from the late 80's to early 90's). I have a new mast and boom but was wondering what I should upgrade first (on a low/second hand budget) the board or the sails. Any advice would be great. Thanks
To give you any sort of a helpful answer we'll need lots more details!
How appropriate each bit of kit you have is to your stage of development, is a big factor in what is best to replace first.
Both boards and sails have improved since the 80s/90s, possibly the sails a little more so, but you'll probably get people arguing both those cases.
An 80s mast isn't going to be much good with modern sails. And modern sails can be mast specific. The most common masts are constant curve, so in your situation it's probably best to look for sails that work well on constant curve masts, that way you're not locked in so tight to a narrow range of choices.
Dear Iaac,
If you need help you must give us some details. (your weight ,age,your ability,sport history). You can buy a second hand board however don't buy second hand sail. Sail life is max. 4-5 years. All the sails are made of monofilm and sun is decaying this material. Bye...
as a general guideline...
1. get lighter gear so you'll use it more
2. get fewer gear ..less rigging decisions and easy to carry/budget
3. lookup for second hand gear as new gear too expensive unless shop gives good deal
4. focus on maximising time on the water and everything will happen naturally
5. if you are not an advanced windsurfer don't worry about the latest board designs (fins/stubby etc) ...any 5 year old board for the conditions will do