|
The early eighties were a very creative and experimental phase for windsurfing. Full batten sails had just been invented and board shapes were going in many directions. It also was an area where many people built their equipment themselves. Our friend Hansi was one of these craftsmen, always a few steps in front of the industry. Amongst our gear was a handmade mast, a handmade boom and this self-cut 3.3 sail. It was full battened, before you could buy full battened sail in a shop. Not surprisingly this prototype had a few things that could be improved. The area above the boom was a bit too large and the 5 battens made the sail very stiff. The balance of the sail definitely could be improved and it had an own, sort of rude character. Wind gusts got merciless transformed in forward forces centred at a high point of the sail, resulting in a lever that made sailing it really hard work.
Boards HAD to be custom made. The Custom Magic had a narrow gun shape stretched out on 285cm. This gave the board really good control and allowed stretched out high speed jibes. The Surfline Munich board was totally different. The shape was years ahead of its time, with a wide tail and narrow nose, thruster fins and concaves. It planned really early and allowed turns on a coin. Just the stretched out high speed jibes weren´t its thing, usually resulting in spin outs.
Wetsuits were stiff and reached their limits at the temperatures beyond 10 degrees in combination with the strong winds. They were the only part of the equipment that could not be improved by building them at home. Still people added a few parts like bathing cups and household gloves.
next page >>>
|
