I got my Blast at some time during the middle of 2020. I had been sailing my Exocet Link Windsup for a bit, and wanted something smaller and hopefully faster.
My skill level
Previously, I windsurfed for about 1.5-2 years. But, I had a long break of a few years since the last time I windsurfed. The Blast really showed me, over time, how much further I had to take and could take my sailing. I don't think I had ever been fully planing in both straps on my first board, the Bic Nova 160. I was comfortable using a harness and sometimes getting in the front strap, but not the back strap.
I got this board when I weighed about 210lbs (95kg) and have gotten down to about 83kg or so (mostly from spending so much TOW with this board).
Why I got it
The Blast was recommended to me by a local instructor/employee at a shop here who has a lot of experience racing and competing. I said I wanted a short board that could also be used for foiling, because I knew they existed, and he recommended it. It turns out he was right on for what I needed and wanted. I was looking at all kinds of other boards, but really clueless about what I really needed, and I'm glad he suggested the Blast.
Where I took it
Over the second half of 2020, and especially towards the last 2 months, I really pushed everything. I got to where I was comfortably sailing in both front and rear straps in either slapper configuration or in foiling. I've felt the exhilaration of either going fast on a fin or foiling on this board in both straps. It really is a blast to ride, and comfortably floats me.
Blasting
I started out on windy days, really overpowered, and not realizing how overpowered I was. One weekend in particular I was on my 8.0 and 5.8 in winds that were 20-35mph, struggling for control because I was afraid of the straps. The board would go fast, but I didn't understand that I had too much sail for my skill level at the time. I was having a good time, but getting tired extremely quickly.
Foiling
I learned to foil on this board, but it was a lot of error, trial, and maybe some trial and error, but mostly error. I started with the Slingshot Infinity 76 that I bought with the board, but I didn't understand the conditions that well with wind and what I needed to get foiling. Eventually, I rode that foil some with an 8.0 sail and a little overpowered. But I also bought an infinity 99 and finally was able to sail in the fairly light wind that is plentiful here in Florida. Rigged properly, the board handles a foil very well. And, when I found myself overpowered on the foil, I sometimes switched from the I99 to the I76, or even down to a fin and just blasted on a fin instead.
I did find out, however, that for the Slingshot wings I needed the foil in the C position, or the furthest forward, to really get it flying. Slingshot says that you can't use an I99 on anything but their board with track mounts, but I've found that not to be true. The I99 does, however, tend to grab any kind of swell and steer the board. Because the Blast is narrower in the tail than a dedicated foil board like say, the Stingray, I think this means you have less leverage and thus overpowered on a foil like the I99 is really uncomfortable to control. The wing just dominates. I have less flight time on the I76 but it has less leverage than the almost meter wide I99, and I've found it to be more twitchy and easier to steer.
Another note about foiling is that the board is drilled out to 6mm holes for the fin, and I initially used an adapter to use the Slingshot foil, as those are 10mm bolts I believe. On my 3rd ride out I had stripped those adapters out and I just ended up drilling the holes out in the board to 10mm. Fanatic, on their forum, says this is okay as the foil box has a lot of extra material there. Once I did that, I had no more issues with attaching the foil other than some squeakiness from the bolts rubbing on the inside of the board, which I fixed with filing down a little more material in the hole.
For foiling, I've moved the mast base almost all the way back to the track. I haven't had any success flying the board in anything other than the furthest aft position that I can get.
Footstrap adjustments
The same guy that recommended the board also recommended moving both straps to the full outboard position, in the second to the back holes. Apparently, this is where Fanatic designs in the sweet spot for their boards.
He was right. Once I was powered up, this was a great strap position to comfortably ride the board on a fin. I also found it a great place to relax while riding a foil in both straps. It is a little difficult to get in the rear strap in the outboard position while finning, but I find it much easier while foiling. That may just be my experience level, however. I did find it easier to get into the rear single strap on my sinker, but that's not an option on the Blast, being a free ride board.
Fins I've tried
So far I've tried the stock 44 Choco fin and a 47 True Ames weed fin. I don't notice a lot of difference between the two at low speed, except for upwind ability when using my 9.5 Cheetah with the 47. However, at planing speeds I do find the 47 to be slower although more powerful.
I've also got a Select Edge Pro 43, with some time on it and it feels faster but I wasn't in flat water.
Sails I've used
I've used everything from 5.0 to 9.5 on this board without a problem. I haven't moved the mast base that much further than the 130cm mark on the mast track, which is close to the center. On some days when the nose comes up a lot while planing, I kick the base about .5-1cm further forward but that's about it.
Waves
I've been out on a few occasions in waves with the Blast. This has been because I have a sinky 102L board, but I'm not as comfortable being out on a sinker as I am on the Blast, and I hadn't yet bought an intermediate board between the two that will float my 185-190lbs when the wind just isn't there.
That said, the Blast is fun once it's powered up in the waves, but underpowered it is very difficult to keep from digging the nose in and catching a wave in the wrong way. This is especially true with the thick foam protector that I put on the nose, which acts like a spoon and just grabs the wave and causes me to catapult or sometimes barely recover by sinking all of my weight on the tail of the board.
The other issue with waves on this boards is the strap setup for flat water and foiling is just inappropriate for the waves. Another thing is that when you start catching real waves (2-3ft or more) the board feels very nervous and starts wallowing. Part of this may due to using a vertical non-wave fin, but it may have something to do with the board shape as well. I don't know. But, if I'm doing real wave riding I want to be on a board like the Link, my sinker (if it's howling), or my new Dyno. Since that's the only thing I haven't been satisfied with on this board, it really highlights all of the other things that this board does very well.
I've also tried to do some jumps on the board, and have gotten close to getting air when sailing out over waves, and I think the board will do it. However, I just either haven't been powered up enough or my skill level isn't there.
Overall
For a board that got me to learn both planing and foiling, the Blast has been a great value. Really, it does everything well enough except for when waves/swell becomes a factor, and then another board would be suitable.
But, if you are looking into a first short board, not sure about where you want to go, but also want to try foiling (like me), then it seems like a steal.
You might try going with the inboard straps and a small sail to foil in the waves (so long as its deep enough). You don't need to be hiked out/locked in foiling.
Select to expand quoteGrantmac said..
You might try going with the inboard straps and a small sail to foil in the waves (so long as its deep enough). You don't need to be hiked out/locked in foiling.
I forgot to mention that a lot of the Fanatic boards had their screw holes slightly undersized (diameter) from the factory. This was mentioned by Craig on the Fanatic forum. I still need to drill them out as they are currently an incredible pain to change/tighten down without drilling to the proper size. Thus, no experimentation with the straps since then.
Update:
I've since been able to ride the I76 much more cotrolled, even overpowered, in the Slingshot B position. 99 is great in C, but 76 is much much better in the B position.
Outboard straps:
Almost all of my riding has been foiling lately, but I took the Blast out on a fin recently.
Before you say it, I know, the fin is massively undersized. Only 43cm on a 9.5 sail. But, I made it work. All that foil pumping paid off and I figured out how to pump the board on a fin. I definitely have a more aggressive/active planing style now when I'm not completely worn out.
I also had a boom slippage issue, and kept having to move it back up the mast to get good power. This is also probably the furthest out in chop I've had the Blast in, and it starts to beat up on me a bit. I love getting out on long reaches like this though, so I may eventually get a more chop friendly big board like a Fox or maybe even actually an all out slalom board.
This is still a fun and versatile board though.
Still have a ton of fun on this board when it's low tide/don't feel like turning immediately due to shallow waters.
great review. Do you have the desire to move the straps when you switch from fin to foil?
Select to expand quotethedoor said..
great review. Do you have the desire to move the straps when you switch from fin to foil?
Thank you. I don't know if I will mess with the straps that much now. I have my slingshot foil set up with a track mount for use on the Wizard 114L for winging/windfoiling in moderate wind and the IQFoil for lighter stuff. Too much fiddling to swap the tuttle mast top and foil on the Blast, and I'd rather just swap boards at that point.
At some point I moved the straps all the way back and kept them outboard just to see, and I like it better. My rear leg burns less on long sails that way and it seems to ride more freely. I think I foiled once or twice like that and it felt good, but it was in flat water and not waves. I'm currently more comfortable taking the Wizard and foil through light shorebreak than the Blast, because the Wizard is just so much smaller.
Also, I will say I took my first windsurf lesson recently with a pro, and my sail handling has improved but unfortunately conditions didn't hold for planing jibes. I am starting to see the main problem with losing speed at jibe entry and am trying to correct it. This seems like a good board to do it.
Planing gybes on the fin are very difficult to consistently do. I don't think I made one on my slalom gear last season and probably only a couple on my bump and jump gear.
That blast looks like a board that would ride best with outboard straps for the fin. My guess is that you are using it as a more of a flatwater board.
Yeah it's definitely more for flatwater. When the swells get large and not at a good angle to the wind (like when they are from mixture of current and wind in the bay), it really feels like I'm going to lose it in certain directions.
I'm at this weird point, due to mostly foiling, where I don't know where I want my windsurfing to go. I'm close to foil jibing all the way on the IQFoil, but man I love riding the fin, and I fall a lot more jibing on the fin than the race foil gear. I survive most my foil jibe attempts now, just don't stay foiling.
There just aren't a lot of good wind days to ride a fin, even with the Blast and big sails. I like the idea of a smaller fin board, maybe ~120 liters, closer to all-out slalom or freerace, but I don't know if that's where I want to go. I do want to race but the timing of the practices is difficult for me to get to with work. I don't know how much better/faster a more speed oriented board will be than the Blast. I just have pure ignorance on this. And also I don't know how much more I could push a different board in swells/chop when the corresponding wind is too light for a wave/bump and jump board.
I feel like I need to focus more on skills right now than specific equipment.
Sounds like its just right for your conditions, lightish wind and flatish water. In strong wind if the swell gets too big you might find that it tries to break your ankles. But if its flat and windy you should be able to make the 145L work. You may want to pick up an old freestyle or freestyle wave board in the 95-105L range for the few days when it really cranks (anything from late 00's should be fine).
The great thing about foiling is that we can be picky about when we fin.
good work on the IQ foiling gybes, they don't look easy
Select to expand quotethedoor said..
Sounds like its just right for your conditions, lightish wind and flatish water. In strong wind if the swell gets too big you might find that it tries to break your ankles. But if its flat and windy you should be able to make the 145L work. You may want to pick up an old freestyle or freestyle wave board in the 95-105L range for the few days when it really cranks (anything from late 00's should be fine).
The great thing about foiling is that we can be picky about when we fin.
good work on the IQ foiling gybes, they don't look easy
Yes I have a used 102 JP Freestyle Wave or whatever it is, but it rarely comes out vs. the 115 Dyno. I take one or the other out on 5.0-6.6 days.
However, there are a lot of days where it's doable on 8.0-9.0 on a fin but the corresponding swell is tough on a 145 Blast. A lot of it is due to the large fetch in the bay here as well as reflections and current. If a smaller slalom board with a little more float than the 115 Dyno would make that swell manageable, I'd really be thinking hard on it.
Select to expand quoteaeroegnr said..thedoor said..
Sounds like its just right for your conditions, lightish wind and flatish water. In strong wind if the swell gets too big you might find that it tries to break your ankles. But if its flat and windy you should be able to make the 145L work. You may want to pick up an old freestyle or freestyle wave board in the 95-105L range for the few days when it really cranks (anything from late 00's should be fine).
The great thing about foiling is that we can be picky about when we fin.
good work on the IQ foiling gybes, they don't look easy
Yes I have a used 102 JP Freestyle Wave or whatever it is, but it rarely comes out vs. the 115 Dyno. I take one or the other out on 5.0-6.6 days.
However, there are a lot of days where it's doable on 8.0-9.0 on a fin but the corresponding swell is tough on a 145 Blast. A lot of it is due to the large fetch in the bay here as well as reflections and current. If a smaller slalom board with a little more float than the 115 Dyno would make that swell manageable, I'd really be thinking hard on it.
Sounds like you might need an invite to board hoarders annonymous. I am the bay area president.
the 115 dyno and 145 blast should cover most of the bases, but sounds like something smaller might extend your range
I am 75 kg and I started on a 115L slalom board, but quickly bought a 90L slalom board for days with bigger chop. I also have 95L wave board and 93L freestyle board. Just depends on the conditions and what I feel like doing.
I got lots of good advice on the gps/slalom forum when I was interested in dabbling in speed sailing
when going for the back strap extend the front foot down towards the sea so that you are in fixed position before you go for the back strap.
