F2 Race 380 Review
March 19, 2008 · Print This Article
In the last few years the windsurfing industry seems to have come back to the joy of longboard windsurfing. There is a whole crop of new longboards including two new Raceboards. The Exocet Warp X and the soon to be available Starboard Phantom 380.
The decision to design and market these boards seems to come from a clear recognition that while the experiment with hybrid boards was interesting, and perhaps essential for the industry, that they are not all that they were made out to be.
F2 Race 380, Exocet Warp-X 380 behind
The arrival of the Warp X and the Phantom 380 brings to an end the “dark ages” for Raceboards when other than the Mistral One Design there were no new boards on the market. One of the last Raceboards produced was the F2 Race 380. The last of this board rolled of the production line in the Thailand Cobra Factory in 2000. Given that it is now 2008 this is obviously not a new board. However, from a raceboard design perspective this is where design evolution ended before the “dark ages”. As such I believe that it is worthy of a little consideration and examination.
F2 Race 380
There can be no doubt about it; the F2 Race 380 is a big board. At 290 litres and 68 cm wide it is one of the biggest Raceboards ever produced. As you can see from the images below it has big thick, square and chunky rails as well as a fair bit of that volume toward the back of the board. I have owned 3 of these boards as well as a handful of other Raceboards and there can be no doubt about it, this is my favourite raceboard. The first of my F2 Race 380’s was burnt to a crisp when the boat shed that it was stored in went up in smoke. The second, I just wore out, although it has gone to a good home where it will be repaired and brought back to life. Luckily I was able to find a third Race 380 second hand which I am presently racing.
F2 Race 380
So why do I like this board I hear you say. Well a lot of the racing that I do at my local sailing club in Sydney, Australia is in light to medium conditions, that is 5-15 knots. When you combine this with my height and weight (190cm and 90kg) the extra volume and width means that I can get on the plane quickly. More often than not this is also quicker than some of my competitors who are on Raceboards with less volume. This is particularly the case with the crucial reaching legs.
Going up wind, the thick square rails combined with the ample centreboard of the F2 Race 380 come into play. The square edge rails easily and bites into the water giving that little bit of extra height that is so crucial in the battle to the top mark.
When the conditions are right and I get the mast track back to the furthest aft position I find that the board has the straps in just the right spot for me to easily and comfortably sit in the back straps. With the extra tail width and volume it also seems to be able to push through the lighter wind patches with me staying at the back.
Now that I have said all the good points let me tell you about some of the down sides to this great board. In strong winds, 20+ knots, it is not a board for the faint hearted. With all that volume you have to be a little forceful to keep her on track. The same thick and boxy rails that were you’re best friend in the light to medium wind range can come back to bite you, particularly if there is a bit of chop with that 20+knots of wind. If you don’t keep your wits about you the rail can dig into the chop and make life a little hard. In short the board does not ride as sweetly in high winds as the Pan Am does with its more traditional outline
F2 Race 380
Interestingly, from looking at the pictures of the Phantom, it appears that the F2 Race 380 has some similar qualities. I guess only time will tell. If you have any stories about a F2 Race 380 or disagree with anything that I have said please write a comment below.
now only if i can find one in canada .
or take a big triangular block of light foam , add a point the bow on it round the rails slightly , vacuum bag it adding in my mastrack and centreboard well from my comp sst ad viola instant 380
man that things a a block!!
Hi There, I have an F2 longboard called F2 Lightning Worldcup Race.I bought this board new but cannot remember what year model it is.
The label says Aramid carbon composite for serious boardsailors and high performance use. This board is in perfect shape except for the dagger board gasket.
Just bought one and I am eager to test it. It has been a long time since I sailed a raceboard …
Wich fin are you using?
Mine came with the fanatic daggerboard adapted …
and the pushbutton to move mast base does not work very well, it does not come back up to lock new position … any tips?
Thanks
Pat – nice and accurate review – definately a board for the bigger guys – i am on my 2nd 380 and it is still a delight to sail – thursday in 10 knotts with a 10.5 demon race sail -in back straps and just shooting along in weymouth harbour on 2 mile reaches – the deck as always is a delicate area and needs looking after – lots of gelcoat work here!
the dagger board gasket has seen better days and will need replacing and locating suitable material will be a challenge – i still have a spare sliding track carriage – re the sticking pedal – regular lubrication is the answer plus the use of the big toe on occasions to lock it up ! love to try the starboard in comparison – the exocet did track up wind probably better than the 380 but got my own back by planning downwind much deeper all the best paul
ps use a 50 mm north shore upright fin for sails from 8 m and the standard 42 mm for below that for the windy days
Hey Paul an Jose,
I agree with Pauls comments on fins 100% and use a similar set up on my F2 Race 380. I however, disagree on its upwind pointing ability compared to the Exocet Warp. I reckon that it it is at least as good if not better. You just have to push it hard.
Cheers
Pat
Nice review. It seems to be an ideal board for the bigger blokes. I love those slab rails.
Pat – can you comment on the tail shape (flyers). I understand they were designed to conform with raceboard rules at the time.
My understanding is that the tail design of the F2 380 is a function of the old Raceboard rules. That is 30cm from the tail the board had to be no wider than 30cm? I think that was it? See the current class rules at http://www.raceboard.org/page0001v01.htm or http://www.sailing.org/293.php
The new rules do not have this restriction. As a consequence the proposed Phantom does not have such cut ins at the tail.
Cheers
Pat
hi pat
interesting article, especially in light of the fact i have just bought one, (should arrive by the weekend). after owning a kona for a year and a half, i’m very interested in how the f2 will perform.
especially when i use my 9m superfreak in that 10-12 knot wind speed where the kona would start to get planing.
i intend to use the f2 on open ocean where my Go170 is not very good and wonder how it will plane up if the wind climbs into that 10-12 knot range…at 80 kg’s can i expect to be in the back straps doing a horizon job
Excellent and very accurate review, thanks. I really love my F2 Race 380!
Hi Pat (or other F2 Race owners)
Very much enjoyed reading the article. I’m in the preliminary stages of building a longboard for the next season and am currently sourcing a blank, glass and so forth.
With respect to the shape of the board, I’m taking guidance from what is past and what is current as you would expect. In this regard, would you be able to provide me with some basic dimensions of the F2 380 Race, including the maximum thickness and also the rocker (or point me to a site where these are documented)?
It turns out that surfboard blank suppliers will do some pre-shaping of a blank, including building in the rocker, which is apparently pretty tough to do by hand.
Many thanks
Martin