On Apr 30, 7:26 pm, jamiewa...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
The outline, deck shape, and daggerboard are radically
> different than prior Rios (which were Start clones). Starboard has
> taken a stab at the one-board approach that Exocet so successfully
That is kind of what I was thinking with the Rio....
> but they have different strengths. If you will be in waves, the Kona
> must be your choice, since it does very well there. Are you going to
> race? Kona again, since there seems to be a nice (though regional)
> one design fleet emerging. If you are on a lake, either board will
> work, but the Starboard is likely to be earlier planning by some
I'm going to be on some type of lake almost exclusively. In fact, I
doubt it will ever really
see waves at all (besides some chop on the lakes). I really don't
envision any racing at this point.
> You mentioned size, and with either board this is no small matter.
> But the Rio does have some considerable advantage, in my opinion. I
> often ask myself what I would do if I had no boards, and were to
> purchase only one. The 2 boards you have chosen would be the
> finalists, but I live in the city, so would have to give the nod to
> the Rio, I think, just on the basis of size, since trying to store 12
> ft. boards is a big problem for me.
I also live in the city and I drive a Honda too. The length of the
Kona is just pretty much
a drawback right there by itself. I'd deal with it if, for some
reason, the Kona was just the best board in the world and the Rio and
everything else was total crap in comparison, but that just doesn't
seem to be the case. I think right there, I am getting more feedback
that my general leaning towards the Rio is probably going to be the
right decision for now....
>
> I question your decision to go for the small size, though. I would
> talk to Starboard about their recommendations for your weight. I
> could be wrong, but think you are not likely to notice a big
> difference between the medium and small in higher winds, but will
> definitely notice the difference in light air.
I think I need some more input on this from the group (as well as
Starboard and the retail stores). I'll explain my thinking about why
the Rio Small. First of all, I am not stuck on the small whatsoever.
If I can be shown some compelling reasons (actually it doesn't even
have to be that compelling), for going with the medium Rio or even the
large, then I will consider it. Basically I was thinking the small
because of the flotation. A lot of people in the group (if you read
some of my past posts) had suggested a little lower flotation to
progress to the intermediate stuff. They had said around 150l. The
small Rio comes in at 175l. It is also slimmer and shorter than the
medium or large. The medium and large come in at 195l and 215l
respectively. Granted I don't know much about the differences at this
point (relying on the group and advice) but it is my impression that
people were suggesting something around 150l but if I wanted greater
stability, go with a bit more. I figured the Rio small at 175 would be
a decent compromise. That said, I certainly welcome more input on the
subject. Particularly since it is looking more and more like I'm going
with the Rio. Just a question of which one....
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