My BIC Dufour Wing and How I started Windsurfing

Hello:

This is/was my first entry on this blogger website. {and is STILL the MOST popular post !!!}

I used to keep an electronic journal of my windsurfing and my "kids" suggested I blog it as well.

First I will give a little history and then go into a discussion about and give credit where it is due -- to the Dufour. 

I grew up near Lake Simcoe, just north of Toronto in Ontario. Most people, who knew or know me, are not sure I ever grew up :-) This lake is supposed to be the largest inland lake in the province. I have fond memories of walking to the beaches, swimming, fishing in the summer, ice fishing, watching ice break up and falling through the ice. We spent time on many boats, but never on a sailboat. Ironically, when windsurfing became popular - early eighties, I was off at school/University of Guelph  and my parents had moved to Montreal.

 

Around 1988 I spent a long weekend on a large wooden sailboat in the Thousand Islands with my boss and his secretary, who is now my wife. This weekend made me wish I could one day afford and own a sailboat of my own. You probably have an idea , as I did later, just how much money this actually requires !! So, that remained a dream and NOT a vision ...

I was always the big guy with the van. Whenever anyone in the families needed something moved, they were sure to call me. About six (6) years later , around 1994 or 1995, my Unca Freddie called and told me the neighbours of Auntie Laura had an old windsurfer they no longer wanted. Freddie asked if I was "interested". I told him I would be there in about 10 minutes - obviously he lived about 15 or 20 minutes away :-)

At that time I knew VERY little about windsurfing and probably nothing about the equipment itself. My mission was to get the stuff and bring it up to "the country", where the chalets were. The extended family had about three (3) chalets all on the same lake, which is about one mile long and a quarter mile wide...

One weekend the whole family tried the windsurfer up at the chalet :-) It was a fine sunny weekend afternoon with a slight breeze. We had NO idea what we were doing, butt we had two (2) engineers in our midst. Yeah, like that was gonna help :-) Some things were obvious like the centre-board and the mast foot going into one of the two (2) holes in the middle of the board.  Those of you in the know, know the boom goes on a special way and the stuff actually included a special cord to perform this properly, butt again, what did we know ? We tied the boom on best as we could and people had turns giving it a go ...

Unca Freddie did well going and was wondering why i was laughing  so much

"Hey Freddie. See ya :-)"

      "HELP"

Well, that was the first tow back to shore with the rowboat and definitely NOT the last.

The equipment had the name BIC on the board and I believe the sail actually had a Niel Pryde/NP marking {double checked - yup - it has a NP logo on the sail}. The bottom of the board has a boat-like hull, not at all like the modern boards of today, which are flat with minor shaping underneath. Although boards like the Serenity and others are changing the ideas of current shapes.  

Currently there actually seems to be a movement back to long-boards. The term long-board seems to imply length obviously, but for many years it also implied a centre-board. Once again, people like Tinho Dornellas in Florida are changing that concept as well. He is building a custom board very much like the AHD ZEN and others, butt without the centre-board. See here for info on Tinho's custom board.

In those days there was less on the internet, forums, no blogs, etc to help me figure out what the heck we had. Eventually I figured out this was a BIC Dufour Wing - all stock equipment. (Actually Dufour Wing is written on the board too )

here's a shot of me on the lake with the original equipment :-)    

Windsurfing was done on weekends and family members started to lose interest as it required practice and work. One weekend Philippe, a family friend, showed us how he attaches the boom tighter - still NOT the correct way - and how he did a beach start. Wind was great for that setup and my level of experience and so, I really overdid it. The next day at work I had chest pains to the point I thought I was having a heart attack. The company nurse laughed at me and was surprised I was using codeine. She did not know we could get this over the counter - only 8 mg per pill. Went home early and had my wife laugh at me too. Went to the doctor and the doctor said," no more monkees ..." Sorry, could not resist. She said it was muscles and gave me muscle relaxants.. That was how I discovered that windsurfing was lots of fun and yet one needed to be in shape and/or have good technique... 

One weekend I managed to break the rubber on the mast foot, which some seem to call the universal joint. For those who do not know, this is the part that allows one to move the sail in any direction and steer the board. Obviously without it, the sail is NOT connected to the board. I had to swim in about half a mile dragging the stuff behind me. Lesson number one: Check your equipment before going out AND do NOT go out with any questionable equipment !!

My brother-in-law and I drove into the nearest town to find a replacement part. There were not many sports shops, so, we went to Sports Experts. {Notice how they managed to put sex in the middle of that name !!} A girl there sent us to a furniture shop. She smiled when we looked confused. She explained the shop owner was an avid windsurfer and sold equipment from the basement. When I presented the shop owner with the broken rubber, he seemed to be in thought. I asked him if everything was all right. He explained that he always had those parts in his truck, but not that day. He would gladly deliver one on Sunday to the chalet, which was about 20 minutes away !! He did deliver the part the next day in the rain and explained that the mystery cord was used to attach the boom to the mast. My wife told him that it was a yucky day to be on the water. In true windsurfer style he smiled and said," Butt it is windy !" :-)
The trick was to align the boom parallel to the mast, attach the cord through the boom head and around the mast. Then swing the boom around to the normal placement. Voilà, now the boom was really tight to the mast ! The mast is obviously the "pole" that holds the sail up and the boom is where the windsurfer holds onto...One day the special cord broke; one of the two (2) plastic holding "balls" came off - guess it was too tight. Made a new cord with another nylon rope tied off at the correct length {after many experiments}.
Yes, there is a lot of terminology in windsurfing...

Here is a document showing the replacement cord and how to attach the boom to the mast with such a setup. Clamp on booms are just so much more practical !!

https://skydrive.live.com/embed?cid=C6DB8ADE6B0C768C&resid=C6DB8ADE6B0C768C!445&authkey=ABus7vnum_wKllU&em=2


Just in case, here is a pic of a windsurf board aka sailboard with its parts - in its simplest form :-)  

 

I think that's enough chatter and now it is time to review the actual BIC Dufour :-) 

Bic Sport, leaders in water sports (as per BIC)

"Established in 1979, Bic Sport has been dedicated to the sea and water sports right from the start. It all began in Brittany, France just a few kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean, our origins are in windsurfing, having acquired a strong reputation all over the planet, Bic Sport has diversified into the other water sports such as surfing, kayaking and kitesurfing over the past 10-years."

From wikipedia under windsurfing: "In 1979, Schweitzer licensed Brittany, France-based company Dufour Wing, which was later merged with Tabur Marine - the precursor of Bic Sport.^[9] Europe was now the largest growing market for windsurfers, and the sub-licensed companies - Tabur, F2, Mistral - wanted to find a way to remove or reduce their royalty payments to Windsurfing International."

The symbol at the left seems to have been the Dufour logo. Some people feel it looks like an old man or an old row boat from the Viking times ...

 

At the left is another logo that seems linked to the BIC Dufour Wing as well. I have NO idea or further information about this logo at this time ...

{just saw a similar logo used with the BIC Beach}

"In the early 80s, more than 186,000 boards were manufactured at Dufour Wing as the factory was called before becoming Bic Sport, with such production numbers we quickly took the lead as the world’s largest producer of windsurfing equipment with an annual production of 15,000 boards in those early days."

1979 | Conté®, French pencils and felt pens, is acquired. BIC acquires boat manufacturer, Tabur Marine, which becomes BIC Marine.     
1981 |  BIC Marine launches the Dufour Wing windsurf board.
1985 | BIC launches its BIC® Mini lighter.  BIC Marine becomes BIC Sport.

One way to tell if your board is a Bic Wing or an original DuFour Wing is to look at the seam around the edge of the board. DuFours had a black seam and Bic had a red seam. My board with the red trim is a BIC Wing. This BIC Wing  is not my board and does not have the old man logo on the sail.

So, what are the specs of these babies ?

Built around 1981

Volume 200 liters or cc

Length 378 cm or 12 feet 5 inches

Width 68 cm or 26.8 inches

Weight 21 kilos or 46.2 lbs !!!

came with stock 6.3 sq m sail - mini-battens

extremely long tie-on boom

small back fin

large centre-board that does NOT fully retract

The first thing one discovers about this "kit" is the sail and boom are really NOT manageable. One fellow called it a sac of potatoes ... Later longboards also had fully retractable centre-boards...

My evaluation and experiences with this classique: The deck is quite slippery. If one is not wearing booties of some sort, one is bound to slip and fall. This can be painful at "high" speeds. This is how people develop the bad habit of placing one foot against the base of the mast and then spreading their legs depending on the speed and wind forces. It is also a byproduct of the fact that there are NO footstraps. Later I applied some anti-slip to the deck. { I read somewhere that Chris Thompson won a race or races on a Ken Winner board, which was a Dufour with footstraps !!}

The fin at the back is quite small and plastic. I have done experiments where I tried to sail without the dagger-board (since it is NOT fully retractable). This did NOT work at all. The dagger-board is quite large, as seen above. In lighter winds it is best completely descended or down. This also applies when you really want to get upwind. I generally tend to run the dagger-board at the half-way mark i.e. at about 45 degrees to the board and water surface. This seems to work well in some situations and okay in others i.e. the best all-round solution. Also, it is already half-way to either extremity :-)

There are two(2) "holes" or mast-base receptacles on the desk. Some say the back is for lighter winds and the front for heavier winds. I tend to run it in the front "hole" since the plastic pins are broken and I now use metal cauter pins. Also, like to push the board and go in "heavier" winds.

The original sail SUCKS as does the boom. The boom is too long and is NOT clamp-on. The sail has no battens, just some tiny half-battens. The first thing I did with this board as an improvement was to get better sails. Even the old-timers that raced the boards said other sails were 100 times better !! Now I use a MauiSails Pursuit 8.5 with no cams. I rig it loose in the sense that the leech at the top is fairly tight. This is how the older sails were and the SailWorks Hucker now is. Some longboard forums are good for recommending sails to use with older longboards. The new sails do NOT have the same centre of effort, etc. I try not to get into too much technical detail. Just to say newer sails donut work as well with the older boards.

Last summer my bro-in-law was working in the basement of the chalet. He thought he heard a train coming and realized where he was. He looked out the garage door facing the lake and there I was flying, approaching the chalet with by Dufour and the MS Pursuit 8.5 :-) Both of us wished he had had a camera of some sort that day !!

This summer in 2011 I intend to try this combination on the St-Lawrence River in the lighter winds of 5 to 12 knots. After that I will jump on my shortboard. Hope to share my experiences of the BIC in bigger waters here :-)

 

Here's some early adverts:

 

Hope you donut mind, slipped an old Windsurfer ad in - Just Do It - sound familiar.

As noted, the sail had no full battens or cams, which lock the sail into shape. The one good thing about the sail was, one could roll it onto the mast and store them together. 

 One fellow on the forum said of racing with BIC Dufours in the day:

For this race, the Dufour boards were as light as possible (18 to 19 kgs instead of the standard 21/22 kgs), and to improve the performance in the sea conditions (3 to 6 feet waves) the boards had more scoop and lift obtained by two cuts, side to side of the deck just in rear of the daggerboard hole.

These two cuts were strongly stiched and glued, leaving two scars on the deck...
 
This gain in rear lift had also the effect to reduce the break effect due of the lack of rigidity of that ABS construction...
 
The only other improvement of these competition boards was a specific fiber or wood daggerboard, and of course the best rigs and sails available.
  No one, in any team, had the idea to work on the skegs...big mistake!

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In about 2002 I purchased an F2 Comet 330 with 2 sails. The idea was to try a more flat bottom board, but it also was about getting fully battened sails. Around here I started doing experiments with the harness as well. I thought I had found a trick where I would lean on the mast when I fell in the water hooked in - until I busted a mast. These masts were epoxy and fibre- glass and not the carbon masts of today. I still use the old replacement epoxy masts today. Also purchased a NP Warp speed 7.0 with 3 cams to get really going with the two (2) boards. Found the Comet unstable compared to the BIC and only use it in mid winds ie no schlogging.

Somewhere around 2003 I changed the original mast base to an F2. This was to better accommodate the more “modern” sails like my Niel Pryde  7.0 WARP. Yvan of AuVentFou says this sail is about 20 years old !!  In 2008 I purchased a full kit with Maui Sails Pursuit 8.5, 490 cm mast and new aluminum boom. Sometimes I think of sailing in light winds on a “longboard”. Well, the BIC Dufour Wing is a full blown longboard. So, I custom fit the F2 mast base so that it would fit into the “generalized” mast extension. It is pictured here. How will the BIC fare with the modern 2006 monofilm sail ? The board also needs some ant-skid Antideslizante work. Where the mast foot goes into the base, there are cracks that need fresh silicon yearly. Also, the red plastic clips are all broken, but one. Use a cauter pin on the other side. Just to show you, this board has had its full usage.

The board is still used today when I go up to the chalet in the summer. It is also used for teaching. It has been redecked with Chinook Re-Dek (which comes with a roller) and the hole I managed to punch with a catapault was fixed with Solar-EZ. This year, 2011, I plan to bring the board down to the city to use on the St. Lawrence River and perhaps even Maine in the ocean. It is a great longboard and I have been using it every year since we got it. AND it runs great with the 2006 MauiSails Pursuit 8.5 !!!

Needless to say, the BIC is mine :-)

- still find pictures on the web of the Dufour ..

http://www.windvisions.com/dufour.jpg

It seems even Micah Buzianis got started with a BIC Dufour Wing :-) 

{had an interview here showing that fact, but Micah is no longer with NP and as such that interview disappeared - need to cut n paste #$%^&*(}

Found this on the Peconic Puffin Blog:

                                                                             Classic Longboards:
                                                   Boards we wish we never sold,swapped,or forgot about.

• Mistral Equipe <= have one of  these now too !!! Equipe I
• Mistral Superlight
• Lechner
• Vassina 390
• Fanatic Ultracat <= have one of  these now too !!!
• Bic Dufour Wing
• Windsurfer One Design
• original Hi Tech 9'8"

Check long board forum for more discussions on longboards...

and ... http://www.raceboard.org.uk/Raceboard_UK0003v01.htm

where they mention AHD Race, F2 Lightening, F2 380, MOD, Mistral Pan Am,

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found on Popular Science Magazine

from http://ortolio.com/windsurf/sport/windsurf/

Through the seventies, Schweitzer aggressively promoted and licensed the Windsurfing International design and licensed the patent to manufacturers worldwide, mainly through competition and the publication of a magazine.[8] As a result, the sport underwent very rapid growth, particularly in Europe after the sale of a sub-license sold to Ten Cate in Holland.[6]

At the same time, Schweitzer also sought to defend his patent rights vigorously against unauthorized manufacturers. This led to a host of predating windsurfer-like devices being presented to courts around the world by companies disputing Windsurfing International’s rights to the invention.[citation needed]

In 1979, Schweitzer licensed Brittany, France-based company Dufour Wing, which was later merged with Tabur Marine – the precursor of Bic Sport.[9] Europe was now the largest growing market for windsurfers, and the sub-licensed companies – Tabur, F2, Mistral – wanted to find a way to remove or reduce their royalty payments to Windsurfing International.

Tabur lawyers found prior art, in a local English newspaper which had published a story with a picture about Peter Chilvers, who as a young boy on Hayling Island on the south coast of England, assembled his first board combined with a sail, in 1958. This Board used a universal joint,one of key parts of the Windsurfing International patent. They also found stories published about the 1964 invention of the Darby Sailboard by Newman Darby in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[10]

In Windsurfing International Inc. v Tabur Marine (GB) Ltd. 1985 RPC 59, with Tabur backed financially by French sailing fanatic Baron Marcel Bich, British courts recognized the prior art of Peter Chilvers. It did not incorporate the curved wishbone booms of the modern windsurfer, but rather a “straight boom” that became curved in use. The courts found that the Schweitzer windsurfer boom was “merely an obvious extension”. It is worthy of note that this court case set a significant precedent for patent law in the United Kingdom, in terms of inventive step and non-obviousness; the court upheld the defendant’s claim that the Schweitzer patent was invalid, based on film footage of Chilvers. Schweitzer then sued the company in Canada, where the opposition team again financially backed by Bic included Chilvers and Jim Drake, and Schweitzer lost again. After the cases, no longer obliged to pay Windsurfing International any royalty payments, the now renamed Bic Sport became the world’s largest producer of windsurfing equipment, with an annual production of 15,000 boards.[9]

In 1983, Schweitzer sued Swiss board manufacturer Mistral, which is today still a major sailboard manufacturer, and lost. Mistral’s defense hinged on the work of US inventor Newman Darby, who in the mid-sixties conceived the “sailboard”: a hand-held square rigged “kite” sail on a floating platform for recreational use. Darby’s published version did not show any connection between the rig and the board (the mast simply rested in a depression on the board) but it did refer to a “more complex swivel step for advanced riders not shown”. He published his “sailboard” design in August 1965 Popular Science magazine. Darby organized Darby Industries Inc in 1964 to build these sailboards.[11][12][13][14] However, the sailboard never gained popularity, and Darby’s company ceased operations by the end of the 1960s.

Eventually US courts recognized the Schweitzer windsurfer as an obvious step from Darby’s prior art.[15] Schweitzer had to reapply for a patent under severely limited terms, and finally it expired in 1987. Shortly thereafter, having lost its license royalty income, Windsurfing International ceased operations.[8]

I still wonder what would or could ever replace my Dufour ? Older longboards are difficult to find. Newer longboards seem all race oriented and $$$. Now there seems to the SUP, KONA and Serenity. Each one of these is slightly different and even they are $$$ new. There is a Serenity near Toronto that I may try this summer. There is a Kona race in Ottawa - also this summer - and they are selling them used out of Toronto. Locally there seems to be a SUP club, butt i donut know if it is purist ie SUP only or are they also doing windsurfing ? 

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There also seems to be some interest in the BIC Samba that I had. I will give the technical specs here and a personal evaluation - i.e. very subjective :-)

Built around 1992

Volume 170 liters or cc

Length 320 cm or 10 feet 6 inches

Width 64 cm or 25.2 inches

Weight 15 kilos or 33 lbs !!!

recommended sail: up to 7.4

Will see if I cannot get some pictures ...

The board was lighter than the BIC Dufour and flatter. When I received it, it had NO centre board. I purchase one that stuck out too much and as such traded it for a smaller one that still stuck out a little bit when inside the sleeve. The board still had proprietary mast foot and that was one reason why it went in the garbage. The other was - it became water - logged. When it was working fine, it was a very good board to learn on in terms of planing, going in bigger waters, etc. I used it as a teaching tool and people seemed to find it more stable than the Dufour. People used to call it the Shark cuz of it's black fin :-) I was gonna write some graffiti on it like ORCA or something even more menacing - perhaps Marilyn Manson ? :-) It was fun while it lasted and did cost me only $40 for the centre board ... For now I stick with the Dufour ...

Just saw an advert for a Mistral Equipe II - man would i love to have one o those $%^&*( Many people are suggesting the KONA as a follow-up to the Dufour !!

Also found this image on an ad in kijiji :-)

One of the the things I always wonder about is which modern sails work with older or even newer longboards like the Phantom from SB??

Read an article in Windsurfing Mag of June 2008 that suggested:

North Prisma - 2 camber sail
Aerotech dagger 7.4 & 9.0
Severne Glide 7.5 "with a punch of a 9.0"

NP V8 Helium - one size ??

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This post seems to be the most "popular" one on this website/blog. I find this a little surprising in that this is a board from over thirty (30) years ago !! Thought i would add some comments on what i do to ensure that it keeps "ticking" :-)

First i had some cracks around the mast base connector. This i tried to fix with silicone the first few times, butt that just came off with time. Now i use Solar-EZ.

Next the clips on the mast base connector broke. At first i just moved them from the least favourite mast base hole to the other. Obviously the clips broke there too. A fellow from Africa offered to send me some, butt that never came through %^&*( So, i analyzed how they worked and now use cauter pins - they cannot break - only get lost - so, i used to have a spare in the van - better check n make sure i still have it !!!

Somewhere i wrote about my misadventure of going too fast on the BIC and getting catapaulted.This put a "crack" in the trim that runs around the board. One again Solar-EZ came to the rescue. This stuff is kinda yucky stuff, butt it does do the job !!! It discolours also and i donut try to make it look beautiful. The board is a thing of function and the beauty is in its function :-)

My buddy who builds boats says next time he will give me a piece of fibreglass cloth. He says this ensures it cannot break AGAIN. My fix is good for water-proofing, butt NOT necessarily for added resistance !!

I also found the deck a little slippery. I had put some Chinook Re-Dek on , butt find it almost impossible to get a good picture to show it properly. One thing i noticed was, mold still forms on the section with the Re-Dek. This seems to imply that water get caught under the material and rots. Once again, this board is NOT meant to be a thing of beauty. I only wish my 2006 board looked less beat up than it does ie newer boards are MUCH more prone to plastic surgery - nose jobs are not uncommon :-(

Follow-up: the black mold has NOTHING to do with the ReDek. It is also forming on the centre board - i believe the issue is MORE cuz i now leave the board outside ALL summer long !!

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While monitoring the stats and hits on this webpage/blog, i noticed there seems to still be an interest in the F2 Comet - especially the F2 Comet 330. I will do a little write-up on this board - since i did some analysis and still actually have one in my possession.


I will put some excerpts  from some data that i collected and hopefully put some pics as well.

"In all, I count 9 different versions of F2 Comets between 1983 & 1994, all around the 330cm to 340cm (except for the Comet 315!) length!

Volumes ranged from 150 to 187, and constructions varied from ASA skin on PU core (1983) @ 17Kgs, thro' ASA on Polystyrene core (1984) 15Kgs, epoxy-carbon version (1986) 14.5Kgs, coming down to 14Kgs for the Epoxy Carbon Lite (ECL) version in '91. Comet Slalom 315 came out in '93 as did the Comet Slalom 340.

Sensible sails would be in the range 5.0m to 7.0m. Usable sails would be 3.5m to 7.5 at an uncomfortable push. These older boards are less sail sensitive than newer ones. Trouble is, with the mast track so far forward on the board, they tend not to work too well with more modern sails (ie less than around 4 years old). This is because the newer sails pull from further forward & this, combined with the forward mast track and low nose lift, will tend to make the nose bury in chop & waves, & make it slow to plane as it's pushing a whole lot of waterline length into the water.

Board                            Len    Vol   Approx year
Comet Slalom               310    157 l.   1989
Comet Slalom               315    149 l.   1992 - 1995
Comet Slalom ECL      315    149 l.   1993 - 1995 (lightweight vers)
Comet                          330    170 l.   1994
Comet Slalom              340    187 l.   1993 - 1995?

I think there were one or two other versions prior to 1989 but I haven't got those cataloged yet. I think the Pro-Lite (if the same as the
Sunsets) would have been the heavier, more robust version compared with the ECL (like Fanatic Ultra vs Pure) and was probably produced 1993/4.

All Comets had a good reputation. Enjoy!

Martin Farrimond
K-62"

http://www.windsurfing-legends.com/windsurfing-boards.html

"In the early 1980s Peter Brockhaus left Mistral and founded F2 Windsurfing. With pro and designer Jürgen Höhnscheid, he introduced the funboard to the world. These were revolutionary windsurfing boards that solved many of the handling problems of existing boards; boards that were stable at high speed, could function in very low winds, could foot steer and jump but still had the necessary volume. f2 sunset slalom All the first models, the Starlit, Sunset, Bullit, Comet and Strato were his designs, and all were planning hulls. The Sunset Slalom retains the record as the longest-serving board design - in production (and popular) for over a decade. "

“I have sailed the Comet in the past, both with an old F2 sail and with modern rigs. It gave me the impression that new sails don't fit it that much, they felt like pulling from the wrong point. From a beginner's point of view, it's a bit wobbly as well.  On the other hand it's pretty fast when not planing, especially if you are relatively light. No need to mention upwind, the thing has a daggerboard!”

This F2 mastfoot pin fits 1985 F2 boards with adjustable mast tracks.

http://www.the-house.com/part-page1.html

In terms of my board ...

F2 Comet ProLite as written on the board

25.5 inches / 64.8 cm ~ 65 cm @ the half way mark and 25.75 / 65.5 cm @ the widest point
possibility of 3 fins !!
129 inches long = 12 feet 9 inches
balance is near half way mark
has a cut out tail
supposed to be about 11.8 kg – seems high, saw 12.8 , but also saw 14 kg !!! on web
so, somewhere between 12 and 14 kg 26.4 and 30.8 lbs – this still seems high
  => AHD is about 22 lbs
1989-1994 ??

129 inches long = 12 feet 9 inches = 327.66 cm which is close enough to 330 cm
which would be an F2 Comet 330 with 170 liters of float – was sold as 160 litres
this model was around 1994 , as was the ProLite version

For my weight of 215 lbs or about 97 kilos this board goes best with an older 7.0 sail. I donut have a 7.5 or 8.0 to see if they are appropriate, but my newer 8.5 did not go well with the board and felt like it was too large for the board and very small fin in the back ...

The F2 Strato is a longer board and larger board, butt looks just like the Comet. I like this pic and pics cuz it has the Kona One beside it !!

 

My Comet has been repaired and has a "new" fin at the back. I will take some fresh pics n publish them here .. 

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TUE 05JUL2011 - went to look at a Mistral Superlight - to see if it could replace my Kona One desire. Non. It was flatter, bigger and lighter than my BIC Dufour, but the shape was not really what i was looking for. The back fin had been changed, the enamel was chipping and i did not like how the mast base holes looked. Will wait for the Kona.

11SEPT11 - Today was a day in history for me. I tossed out the original BIC Dufour sail and boom. It has NOT been used for years, will not be sold , sucks 4 bananas AND i will shirley not take some pics for history. Sorry BIC, it is gone - and not with the wind...   

Actually it was also the 10 year commemoration of 911 and the attack against the Twin Towers in NYC :(

24SEPT2011 - another day in history. I always enjoyed the BIC Dufour, butt always felt it lacked something in performance. On this day I purchased a Fanatic Ultra Cat which was NOT considered a race longboard, but still quite a good performer and VERY capable of planing. Also, since it is heavier, it does NOT bounce off the waves like the AHD or other wide boards. Thus, the BIC will stay in the country and the CAT will be my new go to board. It is a lovely combo with my new MS-2 8-oh. On a later date, I almost planed right across Lake of Two Mountains which looks like about 6 km across. With the AHD i was never comfortable enough to attempt this. After the CAT run, i had enough confidence to almost attempt the same thing with the AHD. The BIC will stay in the country for newbies and my middle son Jerry, who is now nineteen ...

So, forget the KONA and save lotsa $$$ and still have lotsa FUN !!! 

especially in the lite winds

btw this seems to be the MOST popular post on this BLOG !!!!  

The CAT was good, butt when i tried to repair it, i had issues and so ...

TUE 03JULY2012 - could NOT stop myself and purchased a semi-Formula - BIC Techno Formula with a True Ames weed fin of 23 inches/58 cm !!! This has become my light wind kit with the TR-4 10-oh race sail. It goes well once winds are over 10 mph. Definitely planes in 12 knots and people are suggesting i pump in lighter winds to plane even earlier ...

Ironically I am following boards historically. First the Dufour, then the CAT and the BIC Techno Formula after. Now the CAT stays up at the country/chalet for me. Just need  to bring the sail stuff up.

Actually, the CAT is back in the yard in summer of 2013. When winds are too light for the semi-Formula, then they are still good for a longboard like the CAT and Dufour. And once again my 8.x sail has changed. In the winter i managed to rip my MS-2 and now purchased a TR-6 8.4 which is used with the CAT, Techno Formula and the AHD 160 short board. This seems to be my most used size and so far in 2013, the CAT has been my most used board. The semi-Formula is a far second behind ...

Does this mean Formula is next for me ??

In 2013, as mentioned, I have been out on the CAT so much, I look around to see what i would replace it with? The only production longboard that seem logical is the SB Phantom 320 ... People are saying they are not producing them any more, butt Remi Villa says that is not true. In any case, since i am always looking for older, used ones,  I often ask myself which ones are logical choices and why. This page has some of those answers, butt does not list all the longboards of days past. Perhaps that should be my next project ?? ie accumulate info on all the old longboards and how they compare... Sounds like a big adventure ... We'll see..

Anyway, here's that link: http://www.raceboard.org.uk/Raceboard_UK0003v01.htm

Since this is a popular post, i should post some videos - here is all i have for now - i WILL make a descriptive video next summer - going over the details of the board on video. For now here it is in some light winds:

And so ... I did make a descriptive video about the board itself.
The "faster" video has been attempted and a better one will appear SOON - I promise !!



In 2015 found another way to attach GoPro to the Bic Dufour Wing.
Imagine hole was meant for attaching rope for tethering.
Slid a bolt through and attached the tripod base onto the bolt.
Just need to test it now ...

Without the GoPro mount, the bolt is a danger to the sail !!!

After the above discussion and videos I brought the board and discovered the following seam had developed a LEAK. Not sure whether the leak was discovered before the trek home or after ...

And so , after some reading ... I drilled some holes in order to try and "air" the board out...

At first I put the board upside down as suggested on boardlady site and others and then upside right and tried to "wick" out the liquid. Then I started to investigate the "soft area". It was more than I thought and so marked it out - approximately ...

The area was obviously larger than hoped or anticipated and so ... I started to read about expandable foam , windsurf boards, etc. The boardlady uses some kind of marine urethane foam. Others write about a two(2) part foam. In any case, I started to wonder, is it worth the effort ?? Do I ditch the board ?? And do, thought let's cut it open and see what it is made of. If I am going to fiberglass the section, I should remove the top anyway ...

Well, surprise, surprise. The old boards did have the styrofoam centre and some more rigid outside with a harder shell - that does NOT look like fibre glass...

Was wondering whether I ditch the board, repair it and/or purchase another one. Part of the fun will be just to try the repair. Then if and when it is really needed, I will have done the amateur attempts already.

My buddy , Ed, who repaired my FUC board, made a great suggestion - once dry , just epoxy the cut-out back on and cover it all with fibre glass and low density filler. Little cost, effort, etc ...

Had read that the wet styrofoam turns yellow... Was unsure until i put the two(2) beside each other:

It seems quite dry now - opening it up definitely helped... Now to get all the required materials ...

Happened to see this one on kijiji same summer of 2015: Dufour Course ?? with foot straps and adjustable track ?? whoda thunk ??

In  2016 buddy in Ontario was selling this model of the BIC 200S:
straps, but NO centreboard

thrusters and option to attach fin in centre ?

In 2017 I purchased one from Longeuil, South Shore - without the thrusters - like in this photo. Will probably sell all my Dufours and test this one ...

The same year when I first saw the BIC Slalom , 2016,  I sold most of my older stuff - Mistral Equipe I, Fanatic Ultra CAT , etc. I was supposed to fix the busted BIC Dufour and was figuring it would cost me a bit and take some time. I found another one on kijiji for $50 and picked it up. It is quite dirty, but seems robust and water ready. The back flimsy fin  is bent and will be traded out with my original board's.

Maybe now I will be able to make a higher speed video with the board

The dirt was permanent stains which I tried to wash off and cover with white primer, but that did not work. Since I had a can of grey primer, I tried that. And so , it will have the look of a beached whale when not in use :-)

and finally got a decent video of the board in action - music was not added yet at time of embedding



The next day I read about mast extensions in the WindSurfing NOW magazine and suddenly had the flash to exchange the cleat on the BIC mastbase !!

Tried it that day and LOVED it !!

Same video with a bit o' music :



The BAD news is ...
I was hoping to have a FULL kit up at the in-law/out-law chalet/cottage. However, had MAJOR issues with the MS-2 and its battens even with the MS 490/75 mast. Did NOT like it at all and the first aid tape was NOT doing so well either. Was ready to leave my carbon HPL boom and a mast in the "country", but to NO avail.
Maybe I need to leave the TR-6 8.4 there ??
Will try that next time !!
btw the MS-2 is now on the garbage pile
loved that sail for a while, but not happy with how it died ...

Well, in 2017 I purchased a BIC SL200 and sold both my BIC Dufours and a mast base separately.

People use my pics all the time, but this time someone is selling a Mistral using my BIC pic ??

It is incredible the influence this board had on the windsurf world. There were tens of thousands sold and they are still about - even with that flimsy fin, sticky outty dagger board. Luckily most people do change the sail... Chris aka Caveman says his Dufour was purchased in 1984 and the 6-oh sail about four years later, and is still loving this combination over 30 years later. Would like to hear from someone that uses the same shortboard after 30 years !!!

Apparently there were also adverts back in the day when the board was "hot" that worked in Europe, but were controversial  elsewhere - bunch of prudes ?? Here is the Australian "hot" version ...

This "brochure" shows different Dufour models and one seems to imply it was a Division II board ??