FREERIDE
Status
Werner Gnigler shapes the
liveliest and sportiest boards in the freeride class. His philosophy is clear
– when experienced sailors use a big board they want to plane early but they
must also have a lively board which offers great jibing characteristics. Thanks
to Werner’s designs the buzz which you used to get in higher winds is now yours
in light to moderate conditions. So you can now spend more time and enjoy much
more action on the water.
What we wanted from Werner
for 2002
Fast boards which get up on
the plane early and which offer excitement with great maneuvering characteristics.
What we got
- Superb designs: For light wind
sailing and great performance combined with great riding sensation when you
reach the planing threshold. - Speed – and more speed: Big boards,
which sit high on the water and speed with minimum contact with the waters.
This ensures really high speeds in light winds. Impressive acceleration and
great speed make these boards perfect for dynamic carving. - “Plane-ability”:
The flat channel area with wider tails and a redesigned entry and outline
in the center section provide boards which plane beautifully. - Maneuverability: Lively
shapes which – despite their size – respond immediately to steering commands.
The Freeride range initiates any type of turn easily and thin rails and channel
rails deliver enormous grip even in fast carving. - Slightly wider nose area to optimise
the flow of outline and rail shape - Parallel outline in the center
of the board - Round rails clearly “Tucked-Under”
- Thin rails
- Thinner hulls with less volume
especially in the rails and from the mast foot forward - Refined rocker line
- Optimized deck shape
- Channel bottom design
Technology:
All 3 models of the 2002
Freeride boards are available in two different technologies:
The Epoxy Sandwich Technology
more or less is the equivalent to the 2001 JP Freeride technology with a High
Density PVC in the deck an bottom.
As special highlight the
Freerides 2002 are available in Full Wood Sandwich Technology with an additional
wood layer in the whole deck area, making the boards stiffer, more durable
and lighter.
FREERIDE
130
The 130 is the smallest
of the JP Freeride shapes and it delivers the finest ride in its class. Compared
to last year’s designs the 2002 Freeride boards are a little wider in the
tail. They feature a slightly more parallel outline in the center area with
a newly designed rocker curve. Thus sailing becomes much more comfortable
and “easy-planing” simpler, without affecting the lively character
of the board. When planing the hull sits high on the water, accelerates rapidly
and runs fast on the small wetted underside area. It also reacts astonishingly
quickly to foot pressure. Throughout carving turns the board offers excellent
grip which means that experienced sailors can carve very hard and tight. When
the wind picks up this shape remains easy to control.
To sum up the Freeride 130
planes extremely fast and jibes outstandingly well in a wide range of conditions.
FREERIDE 145
This new Freeride shape
is a powerful alternative to Freeride-Race boards. In the right conditions
the performance is awesome and sailors at any reasonable level will love the
board’s excellent early planing and speed on all tracks. It is great fun to
sail. Even less experienced sailors will be able to achieve high speeds because
you don’t need a huge sail to get planing, accelerate and go really fast.
More than that, the board is easier to handle and it is significantly more
comfortable at high speeds. The JP Freeride is much more maneuverable than
other boards of the same size.
The 145 is the liveliest
and fastest early planing freeride design yet produced?
FREERIDE
160
How big can a board get,
which still feels lively, challenging and fun to sail?
Last year Werner Gnigler
provided the answer – a 144 liter hull. And now for 2002 Werner has gone a
stage further with a new shape for heavy sailors in light winds whatever their
abilities. The Freeride 160 transfers the power of big light wind sails –
up to 10m2 – into early planing. The width of the 160 is 74cm which makes
it extremely stable. Nevertheless the board ain’t no lazy laggard – it planes
exceptionally early and easily, accelerates quickly and runs freely.
Compared to a formula board,
this freeride can keep up very well: it may not plane that soon or go upwind
in such an extreme angle, but the JP feels much more dynamic on all tracks
and is easier to control in a wider range of conditions. Right, because this
is a clearly more nimble freeride shape for maximum fun and not a pro-riders
workout machine.
The lively 160 fits all
hobby racers who want to plane early and fast even with ‘normal’ sail sizes.
Characteristics Freeride – 2002
A) SHAPE HIGHLIGHTS
B) CHARACTERISTICS
1) “Free Ride”
Turbo & Speed
The shape of the bottom curve
and channels enable the boards to sit high on the water offering a lively ride
for their size. When planing, the wetted area reduces steadily and the boards
take off rapidly to reach high speeds, even in lighter winds.
Lively Feeling
This season the rails are
thinner, especially from the center to the nose. In front of the mast foot the
hulls, too, are thinner. Thinner rails, thinner nose area, less volume and mass
– this causes that the boards feel light and lively despite their width. Some
years ago, shapers had a similar idea, which they realized in No-Nose boards
designs, a totally different and more radical approach. The new Freeride range
offers the feeling of small boards – and yet they are not that small.
Control and Comfort
The Freerides sit high an
the water and plane on short wetted area. Due to the rocker curve they keep
clear of the cop, resulting in a smoother and more comfortable ride with better
control in a wide range of conditions.
Smaller Sails
Average freeride and slalom
boards hit the chop with their nose, hard and more often. This means that the
wetted area increases, the board slows down and more sail power is needed to
push the board through.
JPs don’t – they run free
and therefore gain high speed even with quite small sails.
2) Easy Planing
Early Planing
The new generation of JP Freeride boards is clearly wider! The outline in
the mid section is slightly more parallel. The rocker curve and the ‘entry’
have been refined. The channel makes the flat planing area longer.
Therefore the sporty JP’s
pass the planing barrier much easier -even passively- and plane through lulls
comfortably.
Upwind
Improved planing characteristics
enable the new Freerides to go upwind better and easier. As in the past, the
rails of the channel take some of the leeward pressure and work like an additional
small fin.
3) Maneuver
Initiating Turns
The boards still have enough
curve in the outline to make turning simple. The rails are well ‘tucked under’.
The Freerides have a light Vee, which makes it easier to rail up the board without
affecting the boards’ planing position in the water. The areas beside the channel
have more curve to ensure smooth turns.
“Carving”
The thinner rails and the channel rails of the 2002 Freerides offer excellent
grip when the boards are railed up. Thus the sailors are able to handle a lot
of speed in the turn.
Technologies
For 2002 all three FREERIDE models are available in either
of two technologies – the choice is yours.
The proven sandwich technology with High Density PVC (Sandwich)
in the deck and the bottom.
(Sandwich + Wood)
A full layer of veneered wood in the whole deck makes the
boards stiffer, stronger and about 1 kg lighter.
Board |
Length |
Width |
Volume |
Weight (+/-5%) |
Fin |
Sails |
|||||||||||||||||
cm | Foot/Inch |
cm | Inch |
Inch |
liters |
kg | lbs | name | system | ideal | recomm. | ||||||||||||
Freeride Full Wood Sandwich Technology, Double Heel Pads |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Freeride 130 FWS |
274 | 9′ |
0″ |
66.5 | 26.1” |
130 |
7.5 | 16.5 |
Freeride | 40 | Powerbox | 5,8-8,0 | 5,5-8,5 | ||||||||||
Freeride 145 FWS |
277 | 9′ |
1″ |
70 | 27.6” |
145 |
7.9 | 17.4 |
Freeride | 44 | Powerbox | 6,2-9,0 | 6,0-9,5 | ||||||||||
Freeride 160 FWS |
280 | 9′ |
2” |
74.5 | 29.3” |
160 |
8.5 | 18.7 |
Freeride | 48 | Powerbox | 6,5-10 | 6,2 + |
||||||||||
Freeride Epoxy Sandwich Technology |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Freeride 130 ES |
274 | 9′ |
0″ |
66.5 | 26.1” |
130 |
8.4 | 18.5 |
Freeride | 40 | Powerbox | 5,8-8,0 | 5,5-8,5 | ||||||||||
Freeride 145 ES |
277 | 9′ |
1″ |
70 | 27.6” |
145 |
8.8 | 19.4 |
Freeride | 44 | Powerbox | 6,2-9,0 | 6,0-9,5 | ||||||||||
Freeride 160 ES |
280 | 9′ |
2” |
74.5 | 29.3” |
160 |
9.4 | 20.7 |
Freeride | 48 | Powerbox | 6,5-10 | 6,2 + |