The track car on the 06+ Prodigy
By amokaman | June 24, 2008
For near twenty years the Mistral boards I have had used the same steel peg foot in the sliding mast track with the safety bunge cord hooked to a lease spoon on the mast foot. My early 2006 Prodigy is no different. However in 2006 and later the adjustable track changed greatly. The name most people call the new track is the thermometer track because of it’s bulge at the pedal end.
Since I’ve not personally used this track yet I can’t say much about it other than hopefully the engineers knew what they were doing. The mast foot peg used in this track is 1/8″ shorter than most other Mistral pegs people have in their gear bags. After comparing several different older Mistral mast foot pegs from various people I was surprised in the differences. The peg hole in this track car is not bottomless! It ends so you can’t use a mast foot with a long peg. If you do and it fits tight I can tell you that getting it unlocked can be a real struggle.
I have heard that some people have drilled out the bottom of the hole so their current mast feet work. I would be afraid an extra long peg might catch on the track adjust mechanism and that might break the track but good. It probably would be best to just use the supplied mast foot peg that works perfect as is with this track.
Unless someone tells me different the bunge cord and ball you see above is not a safety lease line. A safety lease spoon on a mast foot actually gets in the way of the locking lever operation on this new car and doesn’t fit over the knot above that ball. Once the lever is pushed in the peg is locked in and should not release under pressure thus no safety lease is needed. The tighter the bunge cord is the more friction there is when the car slides in the track. The bunge cord is looped around wheels at the ends of the track. Without the bunge cord the car could move very fast crashing from one end to the other when the pedal is depressed. The cord can be easily tightened by putting a new knot a few inches down in it which makes the car slide harder in the track. As the cord stretches and wears a bit adjusting the cord length is something one will want to do.
Call me “old school” but I would feel better if there was an optional addon for a safety lease and line. When I’m sailing offshore there is some comfort in knowing I have a safety line there if the foot should release or peg come unscrewed somehow.
Topics: Rigging Prodigy | No Comments »
Prodigy Standard Centerboard
By amokaman | June 13, 2008
The Prodigy standard centerboard is constructed of plastic and thus is one third the price of the carbon race version. The standard version weighs about 1/2 pound less than the larger race version. It’s much more durable as the plastic surface is tough to chip and scratch. The other big difference is because it is not as wide it does not go above the deck when in the up position. For beginners this really helps them out as it is one big less thing to not have to stumble across the deck on.
Even if you are an expert racer having the standard centerboard is nice especially if you have friends or family riding your board. I don’t want my racing centerboard to be getting large nicks in it from fun sailing. Thus when fun sailing I’ll use the standard centerboard and if racing in a shallow area with a rock bottom I’ll use it then also.
Below you can see the standard centerboard is the same length but narrower in width. I usually have Prodigy centerboards in my online catalog.
Topics: Rigging Prodigy | No Comments »
Toledo Race - 4th place
By amokaman | June 2, 2008
The 19th annual TABA Windsurf regatta was held here in Toledo Ohio on May 31 - June 1st , 2008. Mother Nature blew hard both days. We had a great turnout of eleven in the Prodigy fleet! We could have had a couple more but they were needed on committee boats. Unfortunately we have a lack of non-sailing club volunteers to do such jobs something we hope to correct for next year. Below A-Fleet approaches the start line.
Prodigy class results in order showing sail number and name.
NATI Nat Siddall
OH10 Chris Barry
MIG Glendon Gardner
H Scott Haas
GL240 David Chapman
1 Rod Clevenger
S1 Scott Fohey
57 Dennis Brengartner
U Gary Smith
X5 James Donahue
9 Frank Murray
36 Philip Dufresne
Of the six races we ran I didn’t have any particularly good starts but then no real bad starts either. The course was a simple two mark course with a just a windward and a leeward mark. That means half the course is downwind which I’ve found out is currently a weak point of sail for me. I’ll be practicing downwind reaching much more in the future.
Topics: Prodigy Racing | 1 Comment »
True Ames Series 2000 54cm fin for the Prodigy
By amokaman | May 30, 2008
The one design 50 cm (20 inches long) Prodigy fin works pretty darn good overall even though it has an usual shape to it. In light winds it more than does the job and in strong winds it performs well. However I don’t always race in the Prodigy One Design class. I can also race in Open Unlimited or Hybrid class. In the Hybrid class you can use a fin up to 70cm in length and a 9.5 square meter sail. Though I’ve not personally seen it happen experts have told me you risk blowing out the powerbox type fin box using fins over 60cm. Luckily with the Prodigy board and the Comp 8.5 sail a better 54 cm (21. 3 inches long) fin is all you need anyway. I’ve used the True Ames Series 2000 54cm fin during several sessions and it performed nicely. The big difference was that I felt I could rail up in much less wind and keep on the rail which is exactly what I had hoped it would do. The other problem the fin solves is that I want to keep my compeitition fin in good shape and nick free so I’d radther not use if for fun sailing.
The Mistral Prodigy 50 cm one design fin runs $129 while the True Ames Series 2000 54 runs $147. The Series 2000 is a slightly longer fin and is raked forward more. You can find the Series 2000 54cm / 21.3″ in my online catalog. It comes with a nice padded fin cover and weighs 1 lbs 14 oz. Visit the True Ames Web site for details.
Topics: Rigging Prodigy | No Comments »
Telltales
By amokaman | May 21, 2008
What is a Telltale? They are little ribbons you fasten to both sides of a sail that indicate how the air is flowing or not over the sail at that point. I’m not going to try to explain the technical side of it all for that you can Google telltales and read up on them. The skinny of it is that these things can help you trim the sail in light wind conditions. What you want is for them to be flowing straight back toward the leech and not hanging down.
I was going to order a 12 pack of telltales which ran $6.95 at everythingyouwantintheworldsailit.com Shipping and handling would add another $8.00. So near $1.25 per tail. That would help keep the ten year old in the Far East employed that made them along with the seaman that pilot the freighters to get them over the ocean, the dock workers that unloaded the container, the truck driver that got it to distribution company, the truck driver that got it from distribution to the retailer, the employees at etywitwsi.com, the ISP people that run the Web site I ordered it from and the UPS driver that delivered it to me. I could probably think of fifty more people involved somewhere along the line like the people that engineered it and the materials it was made of and don’t forget the people that refined the oil that fueled the ships and trucks. Anyway I decided against employing 99% of the world this morning and built my own using ripstop from my kite sewing scraps box.
I used my hole cutter on 2″ wide adhesive backed dacron repair tape to make circles and sewed 12″ ripstop ribbons on them. The ribbons are about 1/2″ wide and I slit them so I guess you would call these Slit Telltales. Ripstop gets all wrinkled laying around so I just iron with a normal iron the little ribbons to flatten them out. Green I believe goes on starboard and red on port. Of course the real test is if I get out in 25mph winds will they shred. If they do no problem as I made spares.
Topics: Rigging Prodigy | No Comments »
Papa Got a New Pair of Shoes
By amokaman | May 15, 2008
I have been wearing the same Teva water shoes for maybe 3 or 4 seasons and they have been great. This Spring I noticed some of the padding back by the heel has worn away so it was time to go shopping. I found the above Teva water shoes at Rei.com and gee they are nice. I also picked up a new pair of neopreme type paddle socks and thus my feet will be in bootie paradise again this season.
Some guys want regular thin booties because they say they want to feel the board? I guess my feet aren’t very sensitive as I don’t remember ever feeling the board when I wore thin booties. I do remember getting sore heels after riding in Lake Erie chop. That made my feet feel pain not the windsurf board.
For any newbies reading this post here are some tips! Water shoes with a good sole on them protect your feet from sharp objects on the bottom. Over the years I’ve seen alot of people come out of the water with small cuts on the bottom of their feet that ruin the rest of the weekend. If you don’t know the launch area then you got to suspect that there could be glass on the bottom. Going barefoot is the easy way to put heal dents in your board’s top deck. Water shoes spread the impact, I’ve never gotten a board dent while wearing shoes. The down side of water shoes is that you will need to set your foot straps extra big. Usually that isn’t a problem as these shoes are somewhat trim width wise in front. So far I’ve not run across a foot strap that I couldn’t make big enough to work nicely. On your next birthday treat your feet and get some new shoes!
Topics: BAF | Comments Off
Helmet Cam - Take a Kite Buggy Ride
By amokaman | May 14, 2008
I put the Sanyo Xacti camera on a helmet and took a kite buggy ride. Follow the ride from my view from takeoff to landing. No loud music or narration just a bit of wind noise. Filmed May 13 2008 at on beach parking lots at Maumee Bay State Park which is located near Oregon Ohio on the shore of Lake Erie. The helmet cam worked pretty well and I’m hoping the next windsurf regatta to capture a whole race!
Topics: Other Interests | Comments Off
Alum Creek 2008 - Another Trophy
By amokaman | May 6, 2008
I‘m hearing that “Always the best man but never the groom.” phrase in my head as I round the course this year. Three regatta’s this year and three 2nd place trophies. What were the chances of that?
I had not been there for several years but the Alum Creek event was great in 2008 with 17 competitors at the start line. I remember being at the 1988 Alum Creek regatta some twenty years ago! How time flies. Now that I’m retired with more time for windsurfing I definitely plan to keep going back as long as I can. It’s a short two hour jaunt from Toledo down US-23 through the farm fields of Northwest Ohio to Columbus. Everything is green here now in Ohio with the smell of Spring in the air so it’s a nice drive this time of year. Below is the marina area at Alum Creek where the regatta takes place.
Four Prodigy racers were there and I sailed not my best and wasn’t prepared with a smaller sail on shore when the wind came up big late Saturday afternoon. From now on I’m rigging a smaller backup sail which usually is my 7.5 Retro. I had a couple bad starts not being at the line at the gun which there was no excuse for. I had a new harness which hooks lower than what I’ve been using in the past. Though it felt weird I was able to really hike out on it well when the wind was up.
The local Toledo regatta is coming up on May 31-June 1 in less than four weeks now and I’ve started training. I try to do two to three hours every day of a combination of walking, biking, rowing or roller blading or windsurfing. The water temperature is finally up there enough in Maumee Bay (above 55) and I’m ready to get some on the water time in. Yahoo … summer is back in Ohio!
Topics: Prodigy Racing | No Comments »
The Favoritism Issue
By amokaman | May 2, 2008
Race Directors need to cater to everyone equally and unfortunately that doesn’t always happen on the water. One example I’ll give is from the 2008 Mid-Winters where there was only a smidgen of a Longboard/Hybrid fleet this year. Just 2 Hybrid boards and about 8 Longboards in A Fleet. Though we showed up and paid the same registration fee we only got to race in the light air as did the Kona fleet. The few hours the wind was up each day the Formula Fleet was doing or trying to do back to back races so they had the start line. Yes I know the event is billed as the Kona and Formula North Americans so I shouldn’t really complain much. Still I think you get the picture of what’s going on and why perhaps the other fleets are dwindling at that event. At the Island Style Classic in Sarasota the last two years there has been two courses, one close to shore and one out farther in deeper water to accommodate the Formula fleet. They have the manpower at the Sailing Squadron to do that and that’s great but most event organizers don’t have the resources to set multiple courses.
Another example I’ll give is the US Windsurfing National Champion title in recent years comes from the Formula Class winner not the Open Class Longboard racers as it did for many years. I race in the Hybrid class so I’d like to know why the 1st place finisher in it can’t be crowned National Champion?
An idea I have to equal things out is that perhaps events should go back to one course for all with twice around legs for A-Fleet, once around for Sport Fleet and a shorter upwind for Workshop Fleet. There may be some new course layouts developed but my idea is everyone in A-Fleet would be going the same distance. In most events everyone in A-Fleet would start together unless you had like fifty on the start line then the race director could divide up the classes into two A starts. In a larger event like the US Windsurfing Nationals the time of the first finisher in each class would be kept. The best average first finisher time of each class would determine which class the 1st place National Champion came from, the class winner of the class with the second best 1st average finishing time would get 2nd place National honors and so forth. That way winners from all classes end up on the final grand title podium. I think that format promotes some good competition between the different groups. Even though you are out in front of your class during a race you still are racing the clock so there is no holding back. Currently when the wind is down the Formula racers don’t go out because they don’t want to scholog around their big course. So going back to a smaller sized course might be beneficial in that it could keep them on the water in lower winds.
Topics: BAF | No Comments »
The Prodigy is coming the Prodigy is coming …
By amokaman | April 28, 2008
I‘m happy to report the Prodigy is coming to Amoka Wind Sports. I’ve hooked up with Mistral and should be receiving some inventory in early May. I’m excited about marketing and selling the Prodigy board. This board can be used by anyone at any age and experience level in any conditions.
Here are things I like about the Prodigy:
- It’s width makes it stable enabling a raw beginner to have fun on this board immediately.
- It’s width makes it stable making it much more fun to race than a tippy long board. This stability is really appreciated by us baby boomers.
- The soft foam covered deck prevents skin scrapes a feature beginners really appreciate.
- The soft foam covered deck provides great grip for your booties which racers need.
- There is great enthusiasm amongst one design racers in the Prodigy One Design Windsurfing class. It’s fun to do things in a group.
- The 8.5 Prodigy Comp sail is a great fit on this board. Unmatched light wind performance yet it powers the board up on a plane without hesitation.
I will have two Prodigy’s on my van this season. One for me and one for demonstration purposes!
Topics: BAF | No Comments »
Remembering NABX 2008
By amokaman | April 25, 2008
I created a little video slideshow about NABX 2008 for You Tube using my new Sanyo camera and the Adobe Premier Elements software that came with it. The video came out pretty nice for my first project. I hope to be creating windsurfing videos this season for the different events I attend.
Topics: Other Interests | No Comments »
NABX 2008 - 8 days of wind !
By amokaman | April 9, 2008
Mother Nature threw the best it had at NABX 2008. I arrived on Sunday morning and left the following week late Sunday afternoon. Temperatures in the high 70’s, wind every day and no rain in the forecast made for a great time in the Mohave Desert. Ivanpah Dry lake lived up to it’s reputation as being a windy spot once again. I used a 2.0 square meter Peter Lynn Pepper II kite a great deal of the week hitting 34 mph on it. I had my Garmin Foretrex 201 along to prove it. On a good afternoon you can get 50 miles of riding time in without even working at it.
The Ivanpah playa is big, like four miles wide and ten miles long. Most don’t stray too far as you could have a very long walk if you broke down far from camp. If you are going to buggy a long distance from camp alone then you better have water, spare tire, air pump, a backup kite and a cell phone!
I can’t wait to get back there again in 2009.
Topics: Other Interests | No Comments »
Hybrid / Raceboard Class
By amokaman | March 24, 2008
Though I’m keen on the Mistral Prodigy there are other Hybrid raceboards being made with similar characteristics. Yes I know the old longboards can go a bit better but believe me the ride is so much nicer on a Hybrid board. Perhaps their best feature is that their width makes them very stable and thus suited for a beginner. These are boards that anyone at any level can go out and have fun with. People that have been riding longboards for years need to remember back when they first started and how many times they fell trying to get that old longboard going. On a recent trip to Florida I believe I was out on the Prodigy some ten different days and raced some 15 races and I never fell in once! The second best thing about the Prodigy is it’s 298cm (9′9″) length allowing it to fit inside my Dodge Grand Caravan. Try that with an old 12′ 6″ longboard!
Here is list of some Hybrid raceboards.
NeilPryde RS-X - the Olympic board
and of course our
Now that you know what a new Hybrid looks like also know there is a Raceboard class with rules. This class is still new and it will take several years for everything to shake out and maybe it won’t catch on and maybe it will. What this class attempts to do is combine the old longboards and the new Hybrid / Raceboards into one racing class. It does that by formulating a few rules on sail and boards sizes. At the Calema Midwinters windsurfers were divided up three ways in A Fleet: Formula, Kona and Longboard/Hybrid and in Sport Fleet: a Sport Formula and a combined Longboard/Hybrid/Kona group. That makes for five starts which means the race committee has to keep on their toes else no one gets much racing in. Also note that now the Formula group is pushing for a Formula/Slalom format. When the wind blows over 20 they want to switch to slalom racing with short boards. Yikes! Note that the Kona is included in the ISAF list of approved raceboards.
Topics: Prodigy Racing | No Comments »
Harness lines with Clamcleat 253
By amokaman | March 20, 2008
Finding the ultimate race harness line set is something that will likely never happen for me. I think I’ve used a dozen different ones over the years. When ever I attend an event I’ll see something new and think I should get that one but usually I don’t. There are somethings windsurfers don’t like to spend money on and one of them is another harness line set. People break them all the time because they try to get like ten years of use out of the same set. Rope and webbing that gets wet and can rot from mildew but more so the 300 pound load from a body hiking out on them while under sail will break the fibers down eventually.
A season ago I started using the Sailworks QuikTune harness lines that have a V-Jam cleat with a roller. A set of these run around $42 and for two seasons they have worked well for me. Adjusting the line length with one hand while racing is easy to do so I really like the V-Jam cleat for that reason. The downside is it can take a couple tries to set the rope in the cleat good. Also now I’ve run across two people who had that little bolt come out on top of the cleat. Probably a little red Locktite needs to be used there.
A type of harness line I’m seeing a bunch of now are ones that use a standard cleat with a roller. Eventually I believe all harness sets will use this setup but the downside now is the cost of the molded cleats. The Chinook Race Lines set runs about $65 and I’ve seen other brands go for much more for near same type of setup.
Having an industrial sewing machine lets me build other things besides kites. It didn’t take long for me to design and build my own cleat based lines. Clamcleat is a company that makes all types of cleats and for this setup I used cleat model 253 from Clamcleat. Below I sew up the 1″ wide polyprolenye webbing and velcro to make a strap.
If these puppies test out ok I’ll probably start building some to sell. For now I made just two sets that I’ll be trying out this spring. My design doesn’t use any bolts as I’ve just sewn the cleat onto the strap. The holes in the cleat are large enough to get two layers of light webbing through so that’s what I did and it worked out well. A really simple design with basically nothing to fail but the thread.
Topics: Rigging Prodigy | No Comments »
Peter Lynn XR+ Long Style
By amokaman | March 12, 2008
I‘m happy to report besides the XR buggy I now have the XR+ kite buggy from Peter Lynn in stock including some spare parts. Frame parts between the XR and XR+ are interchangeable however the XR+ has beefier tubes in the frame and comes with large 20mm axle bolts verses the 15mm bolts on the XR. The old standard Competition Buggy used 12mm axle bolts. The reason the bolts keep getting bigger is that kids are now jumping several feet high in freesytle competitons. Those high jumps result in a hard landing and I believe those 20mm bolts are not going to bend. The old 12mm bolts could be bent just by a big guy getting up on two wheels.
Another change in the XR+ is that the two back plastic wheel rims have a much larger insert in them to hold the 20mm bearings. The front wheel on the XR+ still uses the 12mm bolt and bearings and thus know you can not any longer rotate the front wheel to the back axle by just switching the bearings. The last change in the kit I’ll mention is that the tires on wheels come mounted tubeless. That can make blowing them up via a hand pump a hard task so carrying a couple spare tubes might be wise. The benefit of going tubeless is that patching a small leak is usually easier.
My new Peter Lynn XR+ is modified in that I have the wider 120cm axle option verses the standard 90cm axle in the kit. Also I have the longer siderail set (15cm ) about 6″ longer. That really gives it a bigger foot print and the axle is just able to fit in my hard shell golf case I used to transport it on the airlines. In my online catalog I have the longer axle and siderails set available.
Below is a picture of the standard and my Long Style XR+ back to back. It’s now packed and ready to go to NABX.
Topics: Other Interests | No Comments »
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