DYNO BOARD SETUP WITH SIMON BORNHOFT Part 4 – Super Early Planing For ALL LEVELS

How to get the most out of the Dyno and get planing really quickly!

Over the last few Windwise features we’ve covered setting up your footstraps and fins to best suit your style, location and specific conditions. So now it’s time to get fired up and enjoy the smooth, sweet ride and wicked acceleration that the Dyno offers. Whether you’re new to smaller boards or looking to speed up your acceleration, here’s some wise words to help you fly past your mates.

Efficient early planing helps you get up and away quickly, stay upwind, develop faster gybe exits, and get out through waves and shore break swiftly – plus you don’t have to sail excessively powered up, just to get going. It makes a phenomenal difference to your whole windsurfing experience, so it’s well worth getting great at it! You don’t need to pump like crazy, just follow ‘The System’ and accentuate the key Windwise principles.

First, we need to work out why you might be slower to plane than you might like….

Even when board, sail size and wind strength are plentiful, many people struggle to ‘get going’ and stay planing because their board is NOT flat, the rig is too SHEETED OUT and the back leg is over weighted. All of which is so often due to destroying that precious ‘7’ shape stance; over hunching, excessive pulling on the boom and driving the board down, instead of forward.

Windwise Early Planing Principles

Vision: Look forward, not at the kit, it’s more important than you might realise!

Trim: Initially, both feet MUST be forward, driving through the front foot.

Opposition: Extend your mast arm to get that mast/rig forward, enabling you to get behind it and PUSH!

Stance: To create acceleration, especially in marginal winds, accentuate your ‘Straight 7’ stance; extended body, super tight torso and a very light grip on that boom.

“Feet Forward and Head Upwind First!”

Bring both feet forward (front foot facing forward) and head upwind! This helps to sheet in and will make hooking in easier too and sets you up to LOOK for that gust.

“Rig Forward, Straight 7, Extend, Lift & Lock”

When the gust hits, extend through the leg and mast arm to push the rig forward, forward, forward! Tighten your torso, as if trying to do a ‘plank’ exercise. At this point, you can give the rig a little pump just on the rear arm, keeping the rest of the body and especially the torso locked tight.

“Rig Forward – Body Back – Weight In Harness”

Sheet in and down on the boom as you drive the board onto a broader reach 10-15 degrees off a beam reach. The moment the board really planes and especially when going for the front strap, a common fault is to hunch, pull on the arms and weight the tail. Do all you can to re-establish that ‘7’ and drive through an extending/straight front leg – Toes pointing forwards not sideways.

“Quick Front Strap = Rig Forward – Body Back”

The tail often sinks when going for the front strap, so do all you can to keep the rig forward and weight in the harness line! Once in the front strap, if there is sufficient wind, you can sink in that harness and blast away, but often the board stops and slows at this point, when going for the back strap.

Back Strap = “Rig Back – Body Forward”

So, as soon as the front foot is in the strap, take that rig back slightly, bring the hands forward (narrow SUPER LIGHT grip, rear hand within touching distance of harness line) and throw the upper body forward. This helps to sheet the rig in and keep the board flatter. If you come inboard, stand up or sheet out, (Like the first shot in this feature) it slams the brakes on!

Purposely leaning forward makes it easier to sheet in, punches through lulls and puts more weight onto the mast base (which helps Trim) and makes un-weighting the back foot, to slip into the rear strap, easier = win, win!

For strong wind planing, energetic pumping and faster gybe exits, sink down low into that ‘Sunken 7’ drop & push stance. Lock the hips as still as possible and whip the clew hand in and forward on each pump.

Wise Words 

‘Hips Not Hands’
It’s very common to ‘over pull’ on the arms – so use a finger light grip! 

‘Front foot roll’ 
When leaning forward going upwind or through lulls, roll over the outside edge of the front foot to help to reduce excessive flex in the front leg. 

‘Loving Lulls’
In zephyr winds, use the rig as a counterbalance to lean the body MASSIVELY forward. 

Question: Why do I spin into the wind and lose speed?
Answer: This is so often down to excessively hunching, pulling in on the boom or raking the body and rig back too much, all of which over weights the rear leg and tail.

Simon Says

We hope your sessions will feel easier, quicker and windier if you follow these wise words. Next time, we’ll look at blasting control and check boom height and harness lines to maximize the ease and versatility of the Dyno at speed!

If you want to maximize your level, get the most out of your time on the water and try some Severne kit join us on our Windwise 2020 Technique Tour @ www.windwise.net.

Here’s Windwise client Dave Derry, driving the Dyno through those lulls; Looking, Leaning and Levering that rig back.

If you’ve missed out on our other Dyno board setup guides with Simon Bornhoft, you can find them all here below.