Carve 111 sail range

[Sailboarder]

Roger,

Next year, I will be looking for a new board and I'm trying to size it properly. I'm 210 lb

The Carve 111 is a contender. The rec sail range for the board 5.0 - 7.5. Does it makes sense to reduce this by 10% to account for my weight: 4.5 - 6.8 ??

Thanks

[Roger]

Hi Sailboarder,
The new (2010/2011/2012) Carve 111 is a terrific little board for a big guy.
I have the 2011 model and like it alot.
It's very easy to sail and jibes like a dream.
As far as using it with a 4.5 m2 rig..... that would depend alot on how big the chop is in your 4.5 m2
conditions.
If you want the extra "float" (I believe you mostly sail on fresh water in lakes and rivers, right?) of the 111
over say a 96-101 liter (better for huge voodoo chop) it can certainly work for you.
You might be able to uphaul and slog on the Carve 111 where a 96-101 liter board would be a definite "sinker".
I would suggest "expanding" your expectations for the Carve 111 to cover 4.5 m2 to 7.5 m2 + as the board has alot of range if you are willing to pump a bit to get it on plane in the lower wind end of it's
range.
On the hgiher wind end of the range (4.5 m2) it's going to seem a little big, but you have the weight to hold it on the water, and going any smaller takes away the uphaul and log possibilites on fresh water.
Hope this helps,
Roger

[Sailboarder]

You are right, I sail in lakes and rivers.

I plan to use my Kona Longboard in 9.5 , 7.5 and 6.0 weather. In 6.0, the chop can get annoying, depending on the spot. So I'd like a board that will be confortable in chop with that sail size, and be able to support an old 5.2. It's nice to hear that the Carve 111 would support my 7.5 in a pinch too. The "uphaulable" aspect is also still important for me.

Do you think a Kode 113 would feel more at home in chop than a Carve, or do I need to consider a smaller board to see an improvement over the Carve?

[Roger]

Hi Sailboarder,
I like the new Carve line of boards because they are a bit narrower and finer in the tail than the Futura
line, but they do not give up as much early planing as the still narrower Kode boards.
Such a huge range is going to be a big compromise on one end (low wind) or the other (higher winds).
Very hard for me at 175 lbs. to fully understand the needs of a 210 lb. sailor.
From the sound of your conditions, I'd stay with a bit more performance on the light wind end of the spectrum.
You have the weight to make up for some board issues in higher winds.
Hope this helps,
Roger

[Sailboarder]

Roger,

It sure helps and makes a lot of sense. The Carve 111 is my board of choice now.

I asked around and most have sub-100 liters to handle the bad chop around here. We call it Stucco, not Voodoo, but I guess it is the same uneven and disorganized water state. Since I have for the kids a Starsurfer S, (115l but a much slower planner that it's sucessor, the Kode Tufskin), the Carve 111 could probably wait for another year and I could buy something smaller instead.

I guess the Kode 94 would be a nice smaller companion to the Carve. The rec sail size is 4.5-6.5. Can I use the same reasoning and hope to use it between 4.0 and 6.5 if I pump it in lower winds? Actual sails would be 4.2, 5.2 and 6.0...

[Roger]

Hi Sailboarder,
Sure, you can get a little extra range from almost any board with some pumping to get going,
But you need to consider the volume and be willing to swim the board and rig back in to the beach(94 liters is going to bea semi-sinker for a 210 lb. (95 Kg.) sailor.) if the wind drops quickly.
Also consider that your smaller higher wind sails don't give you as much "boost onto plane" as do larger sails > 6.0 m2.
Hope this helps,
Roger