windsurfing board

Question
I'm wondering if you could guide me on the following.  I just bought a bic core 160d w/ gaastra 6.5m sail.  I weigh roughly 165lbs and I'm curious if this particular board is difficult to water start on.  it's very responsive and maybe too advanced for my novice.  I have trouble even getting my feet far enough back on the board to even use the footstraps.. any thoughts?    could you recommend a good intermediate board?

Answer
This board should be a good choice for you at your weight. I would think this would be a good board to learn waterstarting on.  When learning to waterstart, begin by doing a beach start and gradually move into deeper and deeper water until you nail it.  Getting your feet back into the footstraps will mean that you will have to be planning.  That means going very fast with the dagger board retracted.  You start by increasing your speed and begin to move back on the board as your speed increases. The tricky part is once you are going fast enough to get your feet into the footstraps it means that you  will need to make a quick transition to move your feet into the straps.  Make sure that when you do move your feet into the straps, most of your weight needs to be hanging on the sail.  Don't put your weight down on the side of the board when you put your feet into the straps or it will cause the board to carve upwind.  If possible you should try to take a few lessons on this board before you decide to get another board.