The 'What is the 'Windsurfer' OD' article is being discussed here - Go to article

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Depends if you insist on the OD (one-design) label, or the fact that it's a Windsurfer-type old board with all the nostalgia that comes with it, or just a board that happens to allow fun sailing in a wider range of winds.

To me OD is not important 'coz I don't race - haven't in 20 years. Plus that particular vintage seems to be an Aussie-only thing, right?

However I do sail them's boards - the originals. I collect cheap rigs and parts found at yard sales and classifieds. I now have enough to lend friends, for teaching, and freestyle and fun sailing up to about 23 km/h. Useful for inland sailing.

Fun stuff indeed, not nostalgic at all... also good to keep in good shape (no harness).

Hi Pierrec45,

Thanks for starting this thred. I still don't get the Windsurfer OD. I have read the article on the website but is it a single type of board made by one manufacturer. If so who is the manufacturer?

Or is it a design that can be made by any manufacturer. If so when I look on various companies home page they are not mentioned.

Where can you get one as at the price in the article it is a genuine alternative to a beginner starter board.

Cheers

STC

Pierre, no harness, for shame! I still have my old blue dacron and webbing chest harness somewhere, the harness lines of simple rope went over the teak booms with a clove hitch (or if you were fancy a Prusik knot). I started sailing them just as aluminum booms were introduced; it was all downhill after that!

The one manufacturer for Windsurfer OD:
http://www.windgenuity.com.au/windsurf.html

One way the article could be improved is by a including detailed pictures of both top and bottom of the board, something like the photo in Chris' opinion on the Kona: http://cthom249.googlepages.com/longandsimpleisbackinstyle2
I was interested to see what a OD looked like as I have a similar board but couldn't find any bottom of the board pictures around. If people could see detailed photos of the board, OD rig and junior rig, I think it would help them see the value of the Windsurfer OD.

Yup, no harness. I go back-to-sail when I get tired, or I push da rig, which uses triceps and not biceps.

Look at all my clips through the years - no harness ever on a Windsurfer. Two exceptions: when I was racing long time ago, and short boards.

Regarding that OD format, there is one diff with my old, 25-yo pathetic gear: the booms are the shorter format, which the Windsurfer original introduced in 1984.

The old triangular sail is very difficult to hold for a long time - back-heavy. The center of effort is way back from the mast and makes for difficult freestyle. This new rig is the way to go for a one-design.

See http://www.zapiks.com/upside-down-rig-on-the-railr.html for a move you can do with this new rig, that I find impossible on the old triangular sails.

Hi guys.

Just a quick note - the Windsurfer One Design is a circa 1984 update of the original Windsurfer (aka Windsurfer Regatta). The hull shape and construction are the same; the fin is a bit bigger and a lot stiffer; the mast screws into a short track; the mast is stiffer and there's a Mylar sail with one full batten which sets on a shorter boom. The other big improvement is the replacement of the old daggerboard with a centreboard that almost fully retracts; it sticks out of the underside a bit but that means the deck is nice and clean.

The board is a massive improvement on the original, especially in a breeze where board and rig balance much better and you have many more options. Speed seems superior to the modern "long freeriders" up to 10 knots or more and may be better upwind even in big winds.

The board was by Windsurfing Int and licensees in the USA, Australia and I think South Africa and perhaps Italy; some of these (and other countries) may have been supplied with export boards from the USA but Australia had a production line and still does. For the last two seasons the Windsurfer's biggest regatta has been the biggest regatta of the year for windsurfing in Australia, apart from the single-race downwind events in WA.

For some more info, see;

http://cthom249.googlepages.com/information

Good point, Nobody, I will get some more info up there this winter, hopefully. I'm still trying to get some pics in a good wind and sunshine, especially of the Junior One.