Greetings from Las Vegas.

I am going to be replacing my old rig and I was wondering about sail sizes. I know just a little when it comes to sails (larger sail for low wind and smaller for high) so what I am trying to figure out is if I can only buy 3 sails which should I buy for my weight and the different wind conditions I will sail in. I am 160 lbs. and I want to sail in winds from 15-40 knots. Any suggestions on 3 sizes? Thanks for your help. K

Hi Kouly.It depends exacly what size board you have,if you have only one.Each board has own sail sizes by volume you can put on.Id suggest from 4m up to 7.4/8m for lighter winds.Im afraid there you cant find right universal board suitable from smalest to bigest sail.What board do you have?You can read more info on boards.co.uk in section "newbie" about rigs.There you can find out a lot of info for you.Dont forget to change fin sizes along diferent sails.Good luck!

PS.I have JP Excite 110L .Sails suitable for this board are between 5 and 8m.

Thank you very much for the reply,

I am a true newbie even though I have a year or so experience. This was 20 years ago. I had a fire and the board was the only thing to survive and is in exceptionally good shape considering (only had some smoke damage).I have not done anything with it since.
It is a O'Brien Pro Am SL at just about 285 cm in length and 145 liters. It is definitely a begginer board but has kept me entertained because it does flat water free riding rather well. It goes fairly fast after I got rid of the stock fin. Thanks for the info on fins, I did not know that. is there a rule on fin/sails that I should know?

So I will keep this board to keep learning on but I think a smaller lighter board is in my future for sure. Will the sails I buy for this board transition to a smaller board or am I asking for trouble by doing this? If they would not then just getting the smaller board would be the smart thing to do since I do not have money for two sets of sails. What are your thoughts on this?

I will check out the other sections and thanks again for your help, Kouly

Hi Kouly,
My Calculator says you are fairly lightweight. If you are just sailing for fun, which I hope you are, you wont need anything too big, particularly if you are sailing in force 4 +. I have found the lighter the wind, the bigger the gaps between sizes is possible. As the the wind strengthens - you would want smaller increments. This is because as wind speed increases, its power increases exponentially. You could get away with one mast (400) Depending on the brand. If I were you and could only get three sails (and one mast) for 15-40knts they would be 4.0m2 , 4.5m2 and 5.3m2. which should all rig on a 400 mast. I am nearly 200lbs so that would change to 4.2 5.0 and 5.8, I need two masts. 400 and a 430 for the 5.8m. If you are more into flat water speed- get as big as you can handle. Always get as much carbon in the mast as you can afford (sell everything else!) hope this helps.

hey, if you wana sail in anything over 20knts powered up at your wieght, you FOR SURE need a smaller board, especialy if you expect to use it in 40knts!! but as for sails, if you get 15-40knts ffairly often around your area, i wouldnt buy anything too big. if i was you, 6.0-6.5, 5.0, 4.0-4.2 ish. BUT, i am asuming that you can use the straps and harness... onwards to fins, i dont realy have any sudjestions for you if you ceep your 145l board, all the sails you need for the wind your going in are too small for it's range most likely. for me, im about 160 pounds as well, 6.6 anything under 15 knts with 115l and 14.5' pointer fin,15-20knts same sail with 88L and same fin, 20-25 5.8 with 88L and a 10' freeride fin, 25-35 4.8 with same board and fin set up, 30-40 same board and fin and a 3.5, hanging on for dear life (i should probly buy a 75l for this phase;p) if it was me, buy the 3 sails i mentioned up above, and find a cheap used 3.5 ish you wont have to use it much anyways most likely...

Thanks for your suggestions,

I should make it clear that I should have said 20-30 knots. Your right about needing a smaller board in the higher winds. I did take mine out and found it very hard to control. So thanks for all the tips.

ok, for 20-30knts 6.0, 5.0, 4.0. if you dont want to invest in a new board as well, you should use smaller fins as the wind picks up to improve control...

Why would a light weight rider need a 6m sail in 20knts of wind? Maybe for Slalom racing. Also 5m -4m is too big a gap. See my post above.

Buy a 85 litre FSW board and 5.4, 4.7, 4.2 sails.

You will be stoked.

Are you still using the O'Brien after all these years? If so, I would like to learn about your experiences. I just pulle mine out of storage this morning.