A while ago, I bought a RIDE SUP RIG (5.5) to have a little light wind fun with my Ray Air Premium Touring 12'6"X32", as it is sold with a Windsurfing Option.
Last weekend I had the chance to try it and sadly it wasn't that much fun:
First, it is nearly impossible to sail close-hauled without drifting far away. I had a very hard time getting back to where I started. I mean, I am no beginner and this is kinda obvious, because the other Surfing-SUPs have a centre fin, and the Ray Air hasn't. But something like a drift-stopper can not really be the solution here, why sell something that isn' working properly? Maybe a bigger Fin for the windsurfing option would help, but I could not find anything from Fanatic. Can anyone remommend something for this purpose? Perhaps the Fin for the Tandem Air?
Second, fitting the sail to iSUP was not as smooth as I hoped. The base that is delivered with the RIDE SUP RIG is obviously made for a normal windsurfing board. But it is called a SUP RIG, right? It comes with a brass plate that normally is inserted into a mast track. Also, there is a little plastic knob on the base plate, that I guess normally also fits into the mast track as well and keeps the plate from rotating. Of course the iSUP has no mast track. So if i remove the brass plate and screw the base to the board, the plastic knob from the base plate buries itself into the deckpad of the iSUP, which surely is not ideal for an inflatable board. So, I guess I should saw the knob off? Ok, no big deal here, but this being a SUP Rig from Fanatic, I would expect this Product to be be tested and equipped for their own SUPs. It's a little bit annoying, standing on the beach and trying to figure out how to stick the stuff together 😉
C'mon Fanatic, did you guys even try out the windsurfing option?
Cheers,
Ray