Windsurfing Calculator

The windsurfing calculator will help you estimate the windsurf sail, board, and fin size that you should use. You can also use it in reverse – type in your sail size, and the optimal wind speed will appear. If you're curious about how many calories you burn while windsurfing, check out our calories burned calculator.

This windsurfing calculator is based on the formulas from the windsurf spreadsheet by J. Douglass.

To find the perfect sail size, enter your weight and target wind speed. The windsurf sail size for beginners will be perfect for practicing stability and basic maneuvers. Once you master them, you can start to learn how to plane – where the sails are bigger and the boards smaller. Remember that the windsurf sail size is just a recommendation. Don't feel restricted by it, especially if you're a skilled windsurfer.

There are a couple of different windsurfing styles. Each has its board shape recommendations. Beginner boards and cruising longboards tend to be bigger and have a slot for a daggerboard, which helps with surfing upwind. Then, there are freeride boards for recreational planing, wave boards, best for jumps and breaking waves, and formula boards for races.

While using the windsurf board size calculator, focus on the volume result much more than the dimension fields; the latter is just a loose suggestion.

You might have noticed that, apart from the beginner board and cruising longboard, the board size calculator doesn't work around windsurfing style but flotation. It determines the volume from your weight and desired buoyancy, covered in our buoyancy calculator. Boards with less volume have worse stability but are faster when planing and easier to maneuver when doing tricks and jumps. Choose a board according to your abilities, starting from the top of the list.

A fin is an irreplaceable part of a windsurfing set. It allows you to cut through the water and control the motion of your board. Choose a fin according to the style and conditions in which you will windsurf. Like with boards, there are freeride, wave, formula, and longboard fins. There is also a weed fin – it's tilted backward, so it's easier to windsurf when there is plant matter in the water.

Our windsurfing calculator determines the fin size to go with your sail size. If you wish to know the size of a fin for a different sail, input the sail area directly into the sail size box. Also, if you have some experience, click on the advanced mode button. There you will be able to specify if you're underpowered or powered up – which is if you have too small or too big a sail for your board, abilities, and wind speed. You'll also be able to add if you're a heavy-footed or an efficient windsurfer.

While choosing the windsurf fin size, keep in mind that it shouldn't exceed the board's width under the back footstrap(s), or be shorter than around one-third of that distance. If you're looking for a weed-wave style fin size, the best would be to use the calculated wave fin size.

Can't get enough of water sports? Check out the kiteboarding calculator, next!