I have a 2008 89ltre falcon and had a 2008 125 Tabou rocket.
Would modern versions of these boards be any easier to use in chop? Say c 2014 models of both brands v 2008. Have the really improved?

I have the 125 rocket ,2015 @69 wide ,it will charge at any chop in its way .i give it 9/10
this year they have gone to 72 wide ,I don't know if that's a good thing for sharp chop.

my friend has a 2009 105 rocket I have the 2015 ,mine is 63 wide his 61 both are fantastic boards with similar feel .

most board have been through changes ,but I think you would have to go to 2015 or16 to get the change.eg width ,concave .
Im glad I got the 69 wide rather than the 72 .
with the 125 tabou rocket it changed in 2012 then changed this year.
haven't ridden the falcon .
They all seem to be getting wider these days .

mineral1 said...
In short re the Tabou, NO. I had the 125 in a 2009/10 year. sold/traded and went to a 115 and a 135 2013/14 models. A guru gun may well be able to feel the difference. To the average windsurfer, its hardly if at all notable
Regretted selling the 125, should have kept it and just stuck with what I had, and maybe a new 90-105 size Tabou instead.

Yeah.105 and a 125 rocket is perfect .change again

Shifu said..

sboardcrazy said..
Thanks. Be interesting to hear feedback on the fanatic falcon as I've sold my rockets but still have the 89 falcon.

I have the same board, but I haven't sailed it a great deal. My feeling is, though it is very different from the freeride boards I mainly sail, it is pretty good in chop. I did a 120k day on it soon after I got it and it wasn't particularly difficult. Not as sweet as a freeride or FSW in terms of feel and maneuverability, but certainly not punishing and of course it always felt quick and active. Putting the mast base in the middle of the track softens the ride a lot.

I was surprised at how manageable it is, and it could probably be better if I did more tuning, but I prefer sailing my freeride gear too much to really investigate that.

It's easy to become obsessed with searching out the leading edge with gear when in reality we should persist longer with a board, work out what it needs, and tune ourselves to sailing it. I have a friend who has been on that journey and is having the time of his life exploring the envelope of the boards he has. He mixes, matches and runs against conventional wisdom in his setups and is the fastest sailor on our beach by a country mile using a 2008 FSW, a board he at first disliked.

I'd say stick with that board. They were/are good ones, and you probably still have heaps to learn about what it needs so you can eventually become fully unified with it.

How much above your weight is it? It's c 25 above mine. I haven't been able to give it a really good try in chop as I never had a decent fin. When I get healthy enough to sail I'll give it a go if I haven't sold it..I have the 79ltre and find it good although needing greater commitment than my rocket ( although that could be me sailing more powered up with the falcon).

I found the 89 quite a handful but as I said I didn't have a decent fin ( only a gutless weedie that was too small).
I bought a Excocet RS2 to use in the chop hoping it would serve for GPS as well. I love the RS in the chop although once again haven't had a chance to have it powered up in 2-3" chop yet .

I find that compared to the falcon it's slower and boring in the flats . I use it in gusty 12-18kts ( lower end ) with a 7.8 - 7m sail and the best speed I've got out of it so far is only 28kts whereas I've had the falcon up to 31.75 in similar conditions..Maybe I'll get faster as I get used to the RS although i will never be using it in 20kts + as I'll be on smaller stuff.

The only way I could get the Rs was to reduce the number of boards I have so the falcon went on the market but I really don't want to sell.. At least until I've given it a decent go ..problem is I'll be going back into sailing after an ankle op so I will sticking with the RS initially in the chop until I get my confidence back..

Shifu said..
I'm 80 kilos.

It's next to impossible to assess a board if you don't have a decent fin. You're not doing it justice. You'd be so much better of with a nice slalom fin in that board something thin like an S1. I uses all S1s on my FSW/Freeride boards and like the flex and fast acceleration.

I ended up buying a 35cms makani weedie- There's usually weed where I sail.It won't be as good speed wise in the chop but holds well and upwind is good.I'll be interested to see how it goes next season.

I've got falcon 2012 113L ..69cm .in terms of chop its good but narrow boards are better. In my opinion wide boards are not for chop but great as early planning machines, specially out of Gybes. I had a older board (starboard ) that was great for chop but didn't have the early planning as modern slalom ...so I guess its compromise ..depends on wind range , conditions and how many boards u going to have. Marketing modern wide boards as do everything boards is lot of BS.

When the wind gets up best thing you can do is go for smaller fin, I'll go from 41cm to 35cm and that makes the ride better when its 20kts