Hi Rob,
I would agree with jamiewa on the size Rio you are looking at.
Depending on your skill level, and the amount of wind you get
to sail in, getting the Rio M would seem a better choice to cover
windspeeds from 10-18 knots.
If you only intend to sail in 14 knots and higher then the Rio S
might be OK, but you'll lose alot of performance in 12 knots and
under.
I have the 2008 Rio M, and I like it alot.
I've sailed it in 6.6 m2 conditons and it's a pretty good planing
board
for something that's so "dual purpose".
I sailed it for 3 days at the Frisco Woods Windfest with 4.2/5.0 m2
Sailworks
Retro Rippers and a 7.5 m2 Retro.
It's truly a dual purpose board. Works good in displacement mode when
there's not enough wind, and rides good as a shortboard when the wind
comes up and you are in planing mode.
Hope this helps,
On Apr 30, 3:04=A0pm, bertbarndoor <bertbarnd...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> I am an advanced beginner, 5'11 185 lbs (for those who haven't been
> following), looking to lock-in harness-use, foot straps, power jibes,
> and possibly (although not caring too much at this point) water
> starts.
>
> I am leaning (way leaning) towards the Rio (small) mostly because it
> is smaller, and I have this feeling that it will be more performance-
> oriented, while not being too difficult to learn what I want to learn.
>
> I am interested in the Kona mostly because of all the people who keep
> going gah gah over it and apparently it would be a fun board to have
> (and useful for my purposes). That said, the damn thing looks and
> sounds huge.
>
> Thoughts and opinions and thanks in advance....
>
> _Rob
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