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BIC SL200 aka BIC Slalom 200

In July 2017 I purchased this board to become my chalet/lake board.


In the past there were BIC Dufours, Fanatic Ultra CAT, Mistral COMP SST, Mistral Equipes, etc... all tried on the lake.
This board is flatter on the bottom than some and some people are calling it slalom ...


There is an option of thrusters, but I did not receive them when I purchased the board.
Perhaps I will try that option one day ...


That picture was from seabreeze Auzzie forum:
https://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/BIC-200-SL-info-please?page=1

On the web they are saying this is one of the boards that was the demise in the popularity of windsurfing.
Before this there were DIV ones and twos and everyone seemed to be on similar boards.
Now the equipment made all the difference.
In the last few years the KONA One has revisited the idea of one board for all.
In some areas of the world this is helping windsurfing gain popularity again ...

Before we get too sidetracked here ...
What are the specifications of the board:

Year:   1984
Volume: 200 liters
Length: 310 cm
Width:   66 cm
OFO:     39 cm - measured by me
dagger:  54 cm fully retractable - measured by me
fin:        24.5 cm - measured by me
weight:  17 kg/ 37 lbs = HEAVY

Some of the specifications were taken from here:

Clique to enlarge or go to url
https://hitthewave.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/bic-sailboard-range-1984.jpg

Like the BIC Dufour there are two "holes" in the deck where the proprietary mast base can be placed.
There is no mast track and obviously no option to use modern single bolt or other mast base.
This is the mast base that came with the board:


I will use my converted mast base in order to use "modern" sails ...


Previous owner used smaller sails like 4.0 to 6.0 m².
As usual, I plan to use the HotSailsMaui SpeedFreak 8.5.
Previous owner also warned me that one could not really stand on the front of the board - like a modern sailboard. For this reason, I prefer putting the sail in the back "hole" at all times !!!
The rails are quite thick - something like a Mistral Prodigy. Am trying to remember what impact that has on sailing...
All this will be analyzed when I get the board on the water ...

Okay, managed to get the board out a couple of times in the country. mid-July 2017 ...
In very light wind it is NOT as steady as the MEQ2 and some skills are required.
As Gabriel said last week, on his FIRST outing EVER on a windsurfer, windsurfing is MUCH more work when there is NO wind !! He was on the MEQ2 with the GA Flow 3X...

In a little bit more wind, the board went better. As the board is flatter on the bottom than the Dufour, I tend to keep the dagger down. Am curious to see how the board handles a bit more wind or even a bigger sail - was out with the Gaastra Flow 3X cambered sail. Seemed like a good combo.
The board seemed to take on water, but I believe this is the dagger chamber ...

At 17 kg/37 lbs the board is quite heavy. Although it does not feel heavy on the water.
With the dagger the board goes upwind quite well !!!
So far , so good ... May make it as my lake board - not so sure about for others - like newbees.
Need to leave the MS 490 mast ?? Ideally need a boom to leave @ the chalet too ...
If I leave the mast, then I cannot use the TR-6 8.4 back home ...
Left the mast and qwertyjjj may have a cheap boom for me ...
Picked up the "cheap" old boom from qwertyjj and now just need to put it all together.
had no uphaul nor harness lines ... paid more for harness lines and uphaul than for the boom :-(
BUT the 2017 summer season is quickly drawing to a close ...
means i have about 2-3 months NO windsurfing - after that I go on the ice = woohoo
which was NOT a good season this time btw :-(

it seems Ken Winner was involved in the making , testing or trying to popularize the SL210
it was a little longer and wider - probably a little more stable ...


As mentioned earlier, this board at 37 pounds is HEAVY. Since it is marked as SL and wiped out some other boards from the market, I assumed it would be fast. As I am quite heavy at about 240 lbs/105 kilos ... this board does not glide like some of the other older boards I have had - BIC Dufour, REIX D2, Fanatic Ultra Cat and the Mistral Equipes and as such I am a little disappointed ...

As I was thinking of buying another board and replacing this one, I also came to the idea of bringing the Fanatic Shark 145 to the country. If I am planning on having something for me and not to worry about others ... the Shark would always be a good one to practice with !! 

The ideal lake boards so far were the larger longboards - Fanatic CAT and Mistral Equipes ...
The BIC Dufour was okay and fun, but I did beat them up ...

In early 2019 local rivers were flooded in Montreal and so, I went up to the chalet and sailed this board with my GA Flow 3 sail. I had lost some weight - forty (40) pounds actually - in preparation for a hernia operation. The winds were good and the board actually did pretty well. May still get that F2 Lightening for up north just the same :-)

Cleaned the BIC SL200 board and took a pic with a red maple leaf on it in August - early fall ??


Yes, the GoPro mount has been installed and we are just waitin for some wind
in order to make the first BIC SL200 video from joe windsurfer !!!
took a quick vid, but the internet is REALLY, really slow here - 0.6 Mbps upload
that's about 2 hours upload for a 495 MB file - yeah right - probably MUCH longer than that !!
2 comments :

Jumping onto a Plane

Yesterday, in early July 2017, the wind was light - was supposed to be 20-40 kph, but ... As it was light, but hopefully better than 20 kph, I did NOT bring my Mistral Equipe 2 XR longboard. Instead I brought the JP SLW92, but with the HSM SpeedFreak 8.5 and not the TR-4 10-oh. There were times that I managed to plane, but only when there were decent gusts. There were three(3) people that stood out. I saw benwindy give three or four short pumps, jump onto a plane and fly towards me waving and with a smile. There was a fellow with a pony tail who seemed to be constantly planing. He planed past me when I felt I had no chance of planing. As Helmut said, " Once you get going, you can keep going!" I followed the pony tail to see what was his trick. He was not planing in the lighter stuff and when he saw the opportunity, he too pumped to try and plane.
On another occasion skiguy blasted past me when I was nowhere near planing - just waiting for that puff.
All this goes to show a few things. These folks were not all on light wind gear and yet doing fine - better than this old tanker. They also had to squeeze that extra flotation out by doing a few pumps. We are not talking about Olympic racing pumps either.
My whole kit did not feel spot on and I was wondering whether I have been spending too much time on the longboard.
Other issues were, the wind was onshore, water deeper than usual, windshadow closer to shore making beach starting difficult and the kiters took over an important section of the beach.
All in all , it still was a great day out and I chatted with many friends (old and new) !!

That day I pushed myself to NOT bring the longboard. Was a little disappointed in the JP, but still feel something was amiss.  I could have put a longer fin and I definitely felt the boom was not set high enough. Had moved the mast track forward at one point, but perhaps it needed to go back a bit ?? This is all part of the fun of windsurfing. Even those lightweights with 6.6 sails and a 71 cm wide RRD had fun :-)

There are videos and other discussions on the web, but i just wanted to start the subject for now.
and NON, no footstraps since the wind was - well - light n gusty - as usual :-)

Just Pump It ...



and this is what benwindy had to say ... vous parlez francais n'est-ce pas ?? :-)

"Ouais il m'arrive de pomper !
Quand c'est limite, cad, quand on planerait avec le vent réel, mais il en faut un peu plus pour nous faire décoller.
Pour un même volume, une planche plus courte a plus besoin de ce coup de pompe.
Même pour une 160 litres!
J'ai 2 façons.
1- Décroché du harnais, les pieds devant les straps, je place la planche au largue, je rapproche les mains et tire légèrement sur le wish tout en poussant sur la planche, j'augmente progressivement le mouvement.
Si ça part pas après 5 coups, je réfléchis à la beauté du sport et continue de schlogger!
Si ça part, je place le pied avant dans la strap et continue de larguer. 
Puis le pied arrière, c'est là que je reprend du travers.

2- je fais aussi je pumping des freestyleux
Accroché au harnais, les pieds devant les straps, je zigone la voile entre main gauche et main droite.
Je fais cela pour espérer passer un trou de vent, quand je suis au planning.

Quand c'est rafaleux et que je ne plane pas, je remonte toujours le vent tout en schloggant,
Pour me mettre de l'argent en banque, argent que je vais dépenser quand une rafale arrive,
C'esr à dire pouvoir pomper en largant !"

and here is an eight page discussion on iwindsurf (am sure there will be MORE pages coming)

http://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=32572&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=9e160cf686b2de278a25ac05503928e2

On seabreeze forum FrenchToast mentions that he pumps to get going with his Falcon LightWind:

I sail in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. 1h north of Milwaukee; 2:30h north of Chicago. You might be right regarding how little wind there was. Maybe 9-10 knots? I cannot imagine getting this kit on a plane in less than that. I had similar session 2 days ago and it took me at least 8-10 pump to get the board up and going. Once it is on a plane tho, the kit is going through lulls fantastically well. I really tok the wind to die down for the board to come off. 

More impressions:
About a week ago, I went out in 13-14 knots it seemed. The V8 was set to release plenty at the top with medium+ outhaul. Even overpowered in gusts, the sail was balanced; it was tiring but manageable. The board was flying over the chop and swell. I think the Falcon can easily be rigged with a 8 or 8.5 in stronger wind and still provide a controlled ride. The boom length being this short, I even managed to waterstart after a failed jibe (the luff sleeve wasn't yet full of water though). I used a 57cm slalom fin (stock is 50cm). Doesn't seem to make a difference upwind and I haven't had enough TOW to see if it provides more early planing lift compared to the 50cm. I managed to spin out a couple of time upwind with the 57cm though. Maybe putting too much foot pressure... don't know. Fully powered, the Falcon Lightwind is fast but doesn't seem to be as fast as my 124L AtomIQ. I need a gps tracker to verify. Regardless, I've been on the water planing with a smile in conditions I wouldn't have bothered heading out to the beach. The kit is doing exactly what I was hopping for. The 9.4 V8 is delivering substantially more power than my 8.5 Lion3 obviously. 

Next winter, I have to try foiling on rental gear and if conclusive, I might put a foil on the falcon for new lightwind experiments! If anyone has done this on a JP, Fanatic or RRD lightwind, let me know how it went.
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Footstraps

NEVER thought I would be writing about this subject - since I am struggling to get in them. However, I have seen some discussion on the subject and realize there are many different aspects to them. As such, for now I will post a video that seems to cover many things one can consider in terms of foot straps ... (Is it footstraps or foot straps ??)




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Fanatic Shark 145 HRS

For MANY years I have been a longboarder and still am ...

When I started looking at shortboards around 2006, I was always looking at the Fanatic Sharks. Ended up getting a brand new 2007 AHD FastForward 160liter/79cm wide board instead.  Sold it about seven years later at less than half the price. That board was VERY sensitive and I banged it up good. http://joewindsurfer.blogspot.ca/2008/11/how-i-started-shortboarding.html

In 2016 my windsurf buddy  had a Shark 150 LTD for sale, but my windsurf funds were too low for that ...Later that same year ... I saw a 2006 Fanatic Shark HRS 145 for sale. In early 2017 I put a deposit on the 145 and picked it up in April.


Volume: 145 liters
Width: 75 cm or 30 inches
One Foot Forward/OFO: 51 cm or 20.4 inches
Length: 263 cm or 8.75 feet 
Weight: 9.4 kilos or 20.7 lbs
Sail Range: 6.5-9.5 (ideally 7.0-9.0 ?)
Fin Box: Power ie single screw/bolt
Included: Straps, pads and Shark 50 cm Fin

My wife asked ... "Why do I need this board?" 
Now, no reason for me to get upset about being asked that question ...  I do after all have too many boards. Probably about eight. Five that I use. The issue is - I MUST get in those foot straps. The beauty of this board is - it has an extra row of inserts that is NOT as far up as some StarBoard beginner straps, but up enough to make a difference... easier to get in and out - No Fear and No Loathing ...


Those straps should be EASY to get into !!

Some things to note, the board has NO vent screw and has quite rounded rails... It is long by today's standards, but that is okay with me !! Based on previous analyses ... I used to say the ideal sail for a board was its width divided by ten, which suggests 7.5 m² for this board and would NOT surprise me in the least. Since the board originally came with a 50 cm fin, I would be inclined to believe the board was also slated to handle 9 meter sails. This is confirmed both by board specifications and reviews ... The fin needs some minor repairs ... but started that right away !!


Also purchased a 47 cm slalom fin - thought there was NO fin with the board ^*(&*()
Zokay - will be GREAT with 8.x sails !!

This board used to belong to Dave Cadoret - before Ron. He used to be the president of the APVM/ Association de Planche à Voile de Montreal. It was either his or the association's. Dave helps out at 2-rad now at times. Saw him there in 2017 ... (He has died since :-( )

In 2009 the German windsurf magazine did a report on the Shark 145 ...
They marked it as 152 liters and 9.4 kg with same dimensions as the 2006/2007. In their tests they called it the sportiest and yet the longest board of the test. "The board glides very well, is fast and runs freely over the fin..." They say it is less comfortable in chop, which surprises me with the 75 cm narrow width ...

 Here is another German discussion on this board:

In summary and in English ...

 He is discussing the difference between LTD and HRS versions ...
obviously cost ... 400 Euros 
small difference in weight (1.5 kilos) , but HRS is less sensitive to injury/damage
HRS is after all High Resistance Skin
the HRS GFK fin is more flexible and lighter than the LTD G10 fin - surprisingly
Craig Gerntenbach of Fanatic informs me these are just "moulded polyester fins, with good twist characteristics"
better foot pads on the LTD
ironically the LTD has more foot strap positions ie further in for learners ??
with further out positions too obviously
he says you can feel difference between these models - LTD earlier planer and lighter under the feet
however, if you put a G10 fin on the HRS it is just as good a board ...
local buddy had a Shark LTD 150 and said the same thing -- HRS is good enough - NO need to get the LTD ... for regular windsurfers like us

 so some performance differences, but both excellent boards ...

 The Fanatic video of the 2009 Sharks which were still the same sizes says pretty much the same thing: https://vimeo.com/5824456

This is what Tinho Dornellas of calema sports said about the Shark 145 in 2005

Fanatic Shark 145

This board surprised me the most for how easily it planed. I put a 9.8 sail in light winds when no one was out sailing , everyone waiting for winds to build. With the conditions I had, I was expecting a fair amount of schlogging to the windline, but the minute I was on the off the shore, the board surged, wanting to plane. A smooth pump and the board was off on a plane. Frankly I did not expect this from a board that is fairly short, and having compared to boards of similar size in the Exocet, Starboard  and Tabou line.
Once on the plane, the ride is quick and the board is very maneuverable. The Jibe is OK , predictable and very accommodating to different techniques and rider input, always reliable.
The mast track is quite far back, so be careful to place it well forward of halfway.

The footstraps are placed perfectly for different rider stance and weight, as well as skill level and type of sailing to be done on this board. One thing I really like on these new fanatics is the multiple footstrap positions you are offered. Most European boards feature a footstrap width that is so extremely wide (for booties) that sailing barefoot feels like your feet are dancing around constantly. Not with these boards. You can close or widen the attachment position so your foot is either super snug or comfortably loose.

The overall looks of the board are very appealing with a polished and very harmonious outline. I don't usually pay attention to this (other than wincing at some butt ugly noses on some boards out there..) But the fact that the board behaves so well in rough conditions has me looking closer at what the nice outline is doing.
This is the same I found on the Eagle boards.

The Fin supplied is of very good quality and performance, and very light for its size.

I highly recommend this board for those looking for a board in this category, especially if you deal with choppy or wavy conditions. This board deals with rough conditions with total ease.

Heavier weight guys in the 100 kg category should love this board for its high wind abilities. It has the volume for underpowered sailing and it does not become too big when it blows.
This is also the board for light weights and women that seek that first high performance board to advance their skills such as using footstraps carve jibing, and planing.

Sails 9.8 ? 6.0

For 9.8-8.5 sails:
T= 145 cm
Footstraps
FO4, RO2

Intermediate sailing
T = 145 cm
Footstraps
FI 3
RI 2
Stronger winds, sails 8.0 -7.0
T= 142-140 cm
3/6/06 Lately I have tested the LTD with a Meanline B 46 cm and the board became an excellent jibing board. Nice surprise!!!
  
I even found a website that says the 2007 Shark 145 was good for 5-10 m² sails :

with a 50 cm fin coming with the board, 10 m² is for sure the max sail size
would guess it is like my AHD FF 160/79 - best for 6-8 meter sails
Ron used 6.5 @ 135 cm mark in 16-20 winds, but is much lighter
Tinho warned to put bigger sails at 145 cm mark


Here is the sticker from a later year: 6.5 - 9.5 !!


In 2005/6/7 there were the Sharks 135, 145 and 160 with LTD versions of the 135 and 145. These boards already had the rounded noses...

In 2008 the sizes were changed to 130/145/160 still with the two smaller sizes available in LTD.

In 2010 they must have realised the Shark was a popular free-ride board and put some Eagle influence on their shapes and came out with 100/115/125/135/150/165 sizes. It was still the 135 and 150 that were available in LTD.

From 2011 until 2014 Fanatic dropped the number of Sharks down to 105/115/125/135/150/165.

Tinho Dornellas says he loved the Shark 145 most and I hope to do so as well !!!

 Here is the most decent video I found with this board so far and it is Hatteras !!
In light wind with an Ezzy Cheetah 9.5 !! Now marked PRIVATE
---------------------------------------------------
The kid says he is using a 4.3 on a Shark 145 cuz wind is howling @ 30 knots !!!
Now marked PRIVATE

which means there are now NO videos on youtube nor vimeo with this board
guess that means I better get out there !!

So, my plan is as follows: In  the next year or two up my skills to the point where I can make a decent decision on quiver choices... Do I go with JP SLW92, Shark HRS 145 and BEE LTD 124 OR JP SLW92 , AHD SL2 132 and a FreeWave 115 ?? 😊
Of those boards, the only one i don't have yet is the FSW 115 !!

 So far managed to try the board a couple of times ... Both at OKA and neither a true success. Once at the main beach and once at La Crête. As Tinho says, I seemed to like the mast at the 140 mark. However, this seemed to make tacking impossible. The board floats less than I thought - for my big carcass. The AHD  FF 160 was much floatier. The balance point on the board seems to be around the 120 cm mark from the back. Perhaps I should keep mast base back just in order to practice the straps ? For now will wait for water levels to drop before making next attempts. In 2017 Montreal  had floods like many had not seen before. Last one like this was in the early seventies !! Access to many sites was not available. Boats were not put on the water yet ... Time to be more cautious. Will go back to MEQ2 longboard until everything settles down ...

 In early August 2017 I finally got a chance to give the board a run for the money. Winds were SW @ La Crête which mean on-shore and can try stuff without worrying too much. Tried it with the 47 cm slalom fin and HSM SpeedFreak 8.5. Went faster than i ever have on water - even than the AHD SL2 132. Had the mast base at 140. Because the wind picked up, went with the 38 cm slalom fin and NS Duke 6.9 and again flew like the dickens.  Need to investigate why board often tended to go into the wind... That day was a 9 outta 10 session = a rare feat !!

 In 2019 started using this board again... Using the 50 cm fin and HSM SPF 8.5 in winds 20-50 kph.
The combination works well and I am getting quite comfortable with it !!
Feel like mastbase at 140 may be a little off since I am moving back
Will try it more forward next time out ...
Also putting this post in the main page index now !!

Since the last posts in 2019 ... I feel like I have planed faster on this board than I have EVER planed in my life. In 2017 AND in 2020. Went so fast in 2020 that I was afraid to go for the straps ... Was testing a 40 cm weed fin with the HSM SpeedFreak 8.5 in overpowering NW wind conditions @ La Crête. For me I need to get more in the straps, more comfortable in waves and more confident with water starts :-( In my defense, due to covid pan damn it, I went to OKA only once - Labour Day weekend - busiest weekend of all!!

When re-reading some reviews, I agree that I had issues in the waves, but thought it was just me and my inexperience. However, later models like 2008 had adjustments to handle waves better (smoother rocker line)  ... Also, rather than at the 140 cm mark, I was putting my 8.5 at the 135 cm mark ...
In 2021 without looking at my notes, I discovered I was most comfortable with the 8.5 m² sail set at the 140 cm from the tail mark !!
 
and I am still NOT fully in the footstraps - have been in front one occasionally
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