Tabou 3S 96 and 106

Hi

I promised to give some feedback on the Tabou boards we are currently interested in.  I wrote in a previous post about the excellent blasting performance Andy was able to extract from his Tabou 3S 96 with two Select Eagle fins (29 and 31).  Well he screwed a Select S12-33 onto the board and took his high wind performance up significantly.  On this combination (with Gaastra Remedy 6.0) in strong wind, he is virtually unbeatable by any of the really hot local sailors.

I took the 96 out with the S12 fin and my Gaastra Cross 6.4 on a windy day in some quite big rolling chop and it cooked.  The reason you can push the speed so high over rough water is its incredible comfort in these conditions.  Comfort=confidence=speed.  You still feel all the bumps but somehow you are able to maintain control where other boards would be losing it.  I’m not as fast as Andy but on this combination in proper wind I am as fast as I can go with any board/sail combination I can think of.  Very impressive and these revelations have caused me to re-think my ideal board quiver.  I used to think that the Rocket 95 would be my high wind board but now I have no hesitation in recommending the 3S 96 for this slot.  If you want to try a 3S 96 in this role remember to put a fast fin under it, attach all 4 straps as far back and as far out as possible.  Your mast foot should be towards the front of the track.  The plate of the mast foot should completely cover the front of the track.

 

Interestingly, I got to try the 3S 106 on the same day as I took Andy’s 96 out.  This board had been set up with 3 straps inboard and to the front. It also had the standard fin so I rode it accordingly – enjoying the swells and taking it easy.  The board behaved impeccably – relaxed control with awesome support through the gybes.  I would really like to get the 106 out on the water, set up for speed and see how it performs.  I would also really like to ride the 3S 116 in both strap/fin configurations.  I would choose a Select S12-39 for this board.

I'm looking forward to trying the 2013 Rocket 105 with Select S12-35 soon and will report back if I get a chance.  Fabien is one of the current board designers who is really getting his act together.  He embodies the concept of continuous improvement in board design with his evolutionary approach.  Nice work Fabien!      

              

New Fins and Sails

Hi
Since the last post Andy and I have had the opportunity to ride some of the new freeride boards.  We have also been experimenting with Andy's Tabou 3S 96 with an S12 Select fin.  I will devote an entire post to the Tabou stuff.  I will then cover the Lorch Glider, Fanatic Hawk, (and the RRD Firemove if we get to ride it) in another post.  Before all of this I want to discuss some of the new stuff on the market.

Three VMax fins from Select came in the other day and Anthony called me in to have a look at them before they were shipped to their new owner.  The fins are extremely attractive, wrapped completely in carbon fiber weave - light and strong, each fin a work of art.  They are really stiff which is a slight concern for me since we are all falling for the soft compliance of the new S12's.  The rake and shape of the fins is completely different from the S12 so this may impart good control characteristics to the fin.  The feedback from the power sailor who received the fins has been great.  He is stoked but he is also really heavy, really strong and really skilled so I am going to reserve judgement on the VMax until I get to ride one.    

The other new equipment comes from Avanti.  They now have some other sails and masts on their site.  The Poweride is a blasting sail to rival the likes of  Severne's Gator, Gaastra's Cross and North's X-Type.


I would love to take one for a spin.  The construction is both light and strong and I have a feeling that Dan has imbued the thing with some magic.  Aesthetically I would prefer the head of the sail to follow the lines of their Viper wave sail but this is a minor niggle.

The Avanti Viper is a wave sail which looks so right to me.


The weights on this sail are less than any other I can find.  A 5 meter Viper weighs 2.7kg.  Compare this to a Severne Blade 5.0m (one of the lightest sails on the market) which weighs 3.12kg.  Rig your Viper 5.0 on the Avanti Spine RDM mast (1.3kg) and the two weigh only 4kg.  Now add a carbon boom from Powerex weighing in at 1.8kg and your entire rig weighs less than 6kg.  Fantastic!

The Avanti guys are not playing.  The people they use to manufacture their masts, also work on projects for NASA.  Intellect, advanced materials and military tolerances - three of my favorite things!  They do not show their Condor freerace sail yet.  This is a 3 cam model which should be really interesting.  For me they are missing a high performance camless (7 batten) model in the line-up but this may be in the pipeline.

I will talk about the Tabou 3S 96, the 3S 106 and the new Rocket 105 in the next post.

Good winds

2013 Equipment

Hi
I sailed Andy's 3S 96 yesterday and it once again performed faultlessly.  I was on my 6.4 Cross and his 29cm Eagle fin.  A nice combination for trouble-free sailing but not enough grunt from the fin for serious blasting with mates.  Tabou have really nailed it as far as support through the gybes goes.  This goes for their slalom boards too of course.

Andy himself came by in the afternoon, screwed in a 31cm Eagle fin and proceeded to present a master class in high wind speed sailing.  Unbelievable speed over rough water using both his 6.0m Remedy and then his 5.2m Remedy (I think).  The great thing about these boards is that you can sail them briskly over rough water, put in a swept back fin and play in the waves and then get really serious and launch into strong wind with the appropriate fin/sail combo and blow almost everything else off the water.  I'm not sure that the Tabou guys are fully aware of this side of the board.  Granted you need to be a really good power sailor but take it from me the potential is there.

Andy was also testing the new Rocket 105 a while ago and this board is looking impressive.  He had a Select S11 (or S12?) fin under it and his 6.0 Remedy.  This combo easily hung with the race stuff on the runs when he had sufficient wind.  The feeling amongst the guys who rode this board was that either it is slower than the old Rocket 105 or it is so comfortable that it just feels slow.  Well my assessment is that it is a rocket ship.  I have the same feeling about this board that I had about the Manta 71.  A really special piece of equipment.

Several of the new slalom sails are breaking cover.  North's new Warp looks stunning.    

What I like about these sails is the fact that they have 7 battens.  Lighter and simpler.  I also like the fact that they have cut down on the length of the batten overhang above the back of the boom.  Way to go North!

The new Vapors and Phantoms are on the Gaastra site now.  Awesome looking sails as I said before.


I may get the chance to test some freeride boards over the next few weeks (Exocet Cross, RRD Freeride etc) and I will report back if I do.

Talk to you soon
Phil

New Equipment Feedback

Hi
In this post I will give some feedback on the Savage 7.8, the 2012 Falcon 113 and a brief comment on the Tabou 3S 96l but first let me tell you what happened regarding my search for a good waist harness.

As I mentioned last time I have planned to get a decent waist harness.  The hook on my old one rides up and my ribs and back get punished.  Waist harnesses are not generally used by my fellow slalom sailors here.  The local blasters are really seat harness people who give you strange looks if you rock up in anything else.  The upshot is that we know mighty little about waist harnesses.

I did some research and the waist harness I would choose is the Mystic Shadow - a serious and elegant piece of engineering.
 


















Unfortunately the Mystic suppliers here are all kite shops and do not stock windsurfing stuff.  Anyway, I decided to look at some kite harnesses and went into the Kitelab here in Langebaan.  A consignment of Dakine's Pyro waist harnesses had just arrived and the price was excellent.  I decided to buy one and give it a go.





If you decide to try a kiting harness I would avoid this type of hook.  I believe that they refer to it as a hammerhead spreader.  I suspect that it would be difficult for us to unhook quickly from this.







The good price on the Pyro allowed me to take a gamble on the thing.

  



Note that the hook looks a lot like a windsurfing hook and the whole thing is really well made (it is the top of their range).  I have now used the harness quite a few times and must say that on the water it is excellent.  It gives massive lumbar support and is ridiculously comfortable.  Hooking and unhooking is totally trouble free.  I'm stoked!  What a pleasure when a piece of equipment does exactly what it purports to do.  Who would have thought that the dark side could produce something this good for a windsurfer!

I have also had the opportunity to do some sailing with the 7.8 Savage against Gareth on his cammed 7.5m.  I definitely struggle to get going as quickly as he does.  I also battle to stay upwind of him on a run.  We are going to do a lot more sailing with these two sails and I will keep you informed.  The things I have no problem with, are sailing the Savage overpowered at speed, gybing with no rotating problems, easy downhauling etc.

I am getting used to my Falcon 113 and the process is interesting.  The board is nowhere near as quick to plane as my old Falcon 104 so it needs power.  When it gets going it is way more controllable over rough water at speed.  I need to re-set all my equipment combinations for the various wind strengths.  This board is going to be ridden in far greater wind strengths than the 104.  I know that a forward mast foot position is recommended but I go quite nicely with a mid track setting when using the 6.4m Cross.  With the 7.8 Savage it seemed to work well at the front but I'm not totally sure yet.

Andy very kindly suggested that I ride his 3S 96 and give you some feedback.  I took it out today with a Select Eagle 29 fin underneath and my Tushingham Storm 5.0m on top.  A nice combination I think, but the wind was far too strong.  I got flattened so could not give it a fair run.  The few gybes I managed were unbelievably easy however.  The 3S supports you beautifully through every stage of the carve.  A bit of witchcraft right there.  I look forward to doing more on this board and Anthony has said that I can take his 3S 86 out as well for comparison.    Watch this space.

Talk to you soon  

  

Savage 7.8 Feedback

Hi
Sorry for the break but I have been quite busy sailing.  The Savage 7.8m is proving a really nice sail for fully powered blasting.  As previously stated it is not good in really light winds but this should not be an issue for the type of sailor who is going to buy this model.  If you need to go in really light winds use a 9m+ cambered sail on a floaty slalom board.  This 7.8 is for the blasting specialist.  Gareth and I may get the chance to do some back to back comparisons (cammed freerace/Savage) today since the wind is lighter than it has been for the past week.

I discovered that I am able to sail the Savage using a waist harness.  This is interesting because I was never able to do this with my North Ram 7.8m.  I don't seem to have the strength or weight to trim a big cambered race sail with a waist harness.  The fact that I can sail the Savage comfortably with a waist harness indicates how user friendly it is.  This development got me thinking about waist harnesses.  My current harness is not up to scratch so I decided to get something which works properly.  I will cover this over the next few posts and give some feedback on my options, the choice I made and the results.

I have replaced my beloved Falcon 104 with a 2012 Falcon 113 and I will be giving some feedback on this board in the weeks to come.  I rode the 113 yesterday and it really hauls ass in strong wind.  Not as comfortable as the Manta 71 nor as floaty in the gybes but it is going to be a lot of fun getting to grips with it this season.

Talk to you soon

New Falcons and some 7.8m Feedback

Hi

Those of you who watch these things will have noticed that the 2013 Fanatic performance boards have been posted onto the site.  The new Falcons look great as usual and they have included a 152L (90cm wide) board in the line-up.  This is good news and will be something to consider against the Starboard Ultrasonic 147L.  I wish that I could get hold of these two boards for some back to back testing.  Not likely unfortunately.  The small and medium Falcons seem little changed from last year but the bigger boards now have cut-outs under them.


The Falcon teaser video is worth watching and contains some nice gybing footage.

Look out for:

• Entry speed (most of us enter the gybe way too slowly - watch these guys!) 
• Knees bent pointing at the center of the carving circle, arms straight
• Flare/step/flip (in that order!)
• Maintain weight on the inside rail and look out of the gybe in the direction of the exit line.

The other model of interest to me is the Hawk.  I watched them testing the new 97L here last year and it cooked over the chop.  Maybe not as fast as the Rockets but probably more fun.

If you're considering this board please go for the Ltd edition.  Much lighter!



I promised to give feedback on my new Savage 7.8 and a few of you have contacted me asking for details.  The wind has been a bit scarce over the last few weeks so I have only used this sail 3 times - twice in very light wind.  The one decent sail I had was great.  The wind was strong for a 7.8 and I could easily have sailed with my 6.4 Cross but the sailing was fast, easy and comfortable with the extra sail area.  The sail is extremely stable when powered up (solid as a rock) and the low swing weight and instant rotation make gybing a pleasure. 

On the down side I really battled in the light winds.  When off the plane the sail feels heavy and lifeless.  I have to say that there were times when I felt that I could definitely have got going with my old North Ram but just bobbed on the Savage, pumping to no avail and taking major strain to back and legs.

My feeling now is that if you are a heavy sailor you probably need to look at a cammed sail in the big sizes.  If you are a smaller sailor and 7.5 is going to be your biggest sail then also consider cams.  I am totally relaxed since I have 9m and 9.8m sails for light winds, both with cams.  I'm sure that I am going to have a really good season with the Savage.  I may need to hold on to the 9m a bit longer than when I was using the 7.8m Ram.  The wind strengths that I sail it in will be greater than for the Ram.  It is early days however and I will continue to give feedback as soon as Gareth gets here (3 weeks time).  We can then do some direct comparisons on the water between the Savage and his cammed slalom sail.

Talk to you soon     

New Severne Kit

Hi
Severne has uploaded details of most of the 2013 equipment onto its site.  These guys continue to improve and innovate.  The race sails are only due for release in December but everything else seems to be there.  The (non-racing) sails which are of interest to us here in Langebaan are Blade, Gator, NCX, and Turbo.  Each of these sails looks stunning and I look forward to seeing them on the water.

GATOR (SMALL)

GATOR (LARGE)

TURBO

NCX

The new Red Line rdm masts are also out and to my delight appear to be the lightest rdm's on the market.  I thought that North had cracked it with the Aero Platinum mast but Severne leads on weight.  Fantastic!  Severne seems really serious about becoming a one stop, quality shop for all sail and rig components.  Their carbon booms have been re-designed and now incorporate new ergonomic shapes and a cleaver "lock jaw front end".  They have also improved their excellent Grenade carbon wave extension.  All most impressive.
  



Talk to you soon