I have just started riding this board and she is a very interesting concept; short, thick, generally narrow width with pulled in tail...feels like there is no board in front of the mast but she is a fantastic ride
I feel that the board is pretty easy to plane...I have read the boards review and they say it is 'set and forget' type of board and a great easy board to sail...I dont necessarily agree but very quick to get used to for sure. as mentioned the first impression when sailing is the lack of board in front of the mast and if you are groveling and move weight forward it will sink quickly but a quick transformation of weight aft again and it pops out easily. I fell that most of my driving weight is on the forward foot and i dont feel like i am pushing off the back foot until i want to turn tightly..this puts you majority weight closer to max volume hence the ability to easily plane through lulls...this board absolutely rips upwind!!!! its crazy.
the standard fins are pretty big 17cm but i have not yet been overpowered (still early days). The tail is quite tucked and its back hand wave riding is unreal as well as down the line top turn. I am keen to test both this and my 09 84L JP twin against each other for performance as I had a big 'out of water' period between changing boards so hard to compare. I think the JP held in more and potentially had more acceleration in top and bottom turns but thats a shady memory ..I also feel that the Tabou planes faster than the 09 JP twin and is potentially all round faster but that may be my style of sailing...now that i am SUP'ing a huge amount i am more open to pumping.
great jumping board..experienced crew may miss the surface area in the nose to help catch the air but for those of us who are not completely in control when airborne the lack of surface area helps a huge amount. Very easy board to jump and gives you great confidence to boost as high as you want.
usual thing...most of these new boards are easy to jibe etc
so far...big smiles! I live in Jan Juc and sail mostly Point Danger..if anyone sees me wobbling around dont be afraid to ask me for a test drive.
cheers
Nick
sorry more feed back above and below..cheers nick
I should mention a few down points i have experienced so far..my back foot has come out of foot strap twice so far jumping but I think thats just because pads are a little too new..still scary! I nose dived once wave riding coming off a tight top turn in the critical section (ate it on reef in about 2 foot of water) and always thought my JP twin somehow performed incredibly in critical sections of waves..i was often thinking 'how did i survive that?' I can easily slide out the fins top turning which I like but am not sure this will always be fun..I think I will find a balance with this and use more rail when i really want the board to hold and release the fins when I want a bit of a slide. This board throws heaps of spray when tight turning and I LOVE that!
