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Windsurfing Boards

Windsurfing boards are of similar size and shape to regular surf boards; they just have a few key modifications. The most obvious difference is the 10-15 foot sail sticking out of the center of a board. The sail itself isn’t a modification to the board. It is attached via a universal joint, which is a board modification.

The universal joint on windsurfing boards allows a windsurfer to attach a mast and sail with nearly unlimited movement potential to the board. This free range of movement is essential to the mechanics of sailing. Sailing harnesses the difference in air currents and water currents to allow a vessel to navigate in nearly any direction imaginable.

This gives windsurfing boards a much broader range of motion than regular surf boards. For instance, a windsurfer can sail full tilt directly into a wave and utilize it as a jump. A surfer could only get a slight angular momentum change that may not even carry them up the full face of a wave. Another difference between a regular surf board and windsurfing boards are the dagger boards. A regular board may have 1, possible 2 dagger boards. A windsurfing board on the other hand can have upwards of five, depending on conditions.

 

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