Bob,

Sails are in square meters (at least for the last 15 years or so).  There should be a number on the sail (near the bottom).  If there is no number or the numbers is in square feet, then the sail is so old there is no point to worry about it (just use few more times and then replace).  Masts and sails do work together to make a good responsive rig.  In general: smaller sail –> shorter and more flexible mast, larger sail -> longer and stiffer mast.
Typically a 4m to 5m sail will take a 400cm mast, 5m to 6m sail will take about 430cm mast, 6 to 7m will take a 460cm mast.  Manufacturers list the recommended mast on the sail specifications, but for know don’t worry about it.  Just try to get some water time.

The best advice I can give you is to rent a Starboard Start (with the rig) for the weekend from Gene.  Gene can give you few pointers regarding equipment and one weekend on the Start is worth at least 5 weekends on the old board.  

Hope the wind cooperates.  Have fun.

Please advance "thinking about getting girlfriend new sail" to "getting girlfriend new sail". Presumably, there is a chance that this is a woman that you might want to spend the rest of your life with, bear your children and take care of you in your old age.

And you want her to lift a big, heavy sail out of the water, too?

btw, she would dig the Start as well. Women tend to have a much smaller tolerance for doing things the hard way then men do.

Marek ... I'm all about the water time.  I'm perfectly happy using this current setup.  It's free and the house is 30 yds off the water.  However, I've already managed to rip the sail at the top.  It's a short rip at the top running horizontal ... figured some duct tape might work.  GF's Dad is pretty handy (and owns a small sailboat), so maybe he knows of betters ways of mending it.  It's a pretty old setup ... I figure I'll use it all till it breaks and go from there.

Webguy ... I hear you.  But the GF might not actually continue doing this.  She's had the board for years, but just started getting excited about it because I was.  I suspect she'll chill out shortly and stick to the jetski ... which works well for me when I need a tow.

B

Haha ... you must admit that jetskis are fun though ... and they don't require wind.  Now that I've started using the sailboard, I'm not having to wrestle with people for the jetski as much.

BTW, since I can't tell where the wind is coming from when I'm on the board (since I'm distracted with balancing and such), I was going to connect some video tape ribbon to the top of the mast.  I read that somewhere ... and it seems like it'd work.

I can make the board go ... but I'd like to know exactly what affect it's having relative to the wind direction.

B

"since I can't tell where the wind is coming from when I'm on the board (since I'm distracted with balancing and such)"

(ahem... Start) okay, with the editorial out of the way. Simply let the sail "weathervane" by holding it only by the uphaul. The wind will be coming from the opposite direction. At this point, you should be facing the sail. Look 90 degrees left and right, those are the easy directions to sail. Pick a spot on the shoreline and sail towards (or slightly above to give yourself some leeway). Don't look at the sail. Don't look at your feet. Don't look at the board. They all distract you and make it much more difficult to balance. Remember the old saw, "Where you look is where you go" Alternatively, "The eyes lead, the body follows" If you get busy looking at the water, that's where you end up.

We'll give you the benefit of the doubt on this "jetski is fun" thing. Once we see your eyes light up when you've planed on your board we can continue the discussion.  ;D

Thanks webguy.  Good point in the looking where you want to go ... that is so true in all activities that I've done in the past.  I used the "weathervane" start method from the beginning on advice from the GF.  In my sailing thus far, the wind isn't consistent.  I know it changes direction and I feel the board do different things as a result ... but I don't have a good sense of what's going on.  Of course I've only done it twice thus far and in weak wind both times.  It'll probably just develop over time where I'll feel more comfortable and when I have better wind to work with.  I thought the video tape thing might prove useful though.

I know the fun of self conveyance ... one of my other hobbies is mountain biking.  Much prefer it over offroading with powered vehicles.  It's just I'd never ridden a jetski before until this summer and it's an absolute hoot.

I dreamed of sailboarding last night.  I'm not sure I'll be able to contain myself until the Fall for the better winds I read of.

B

I just remembered another reason not to do the video tape thing.  A couple of dunks in the water and it'll be sticking to the sail, not telling you anything.

Lake sailing in light air, especially if you aren't in the wide open can be a tricky thing. Swirls and eddies of wind make it very confusing (ask anyone who's tried to get out of Van Pugh on a SW and gotten backwinded). Moreover, watching your telltales (those yarns or tape) spin in circles probably isn't going to contribute much to your learning curve anyway. In light air, try not to oversheet (pull the sail in too far), it's easy to do.

wf