BOARDSTEST 2004 FISHING IN THE 95L GENE POOL 040>04/04 04/04<041

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1 Board Test (13) 17/3/04 12:42 pm Page 40 The BOARDS Test Team review a wide cross section of L boards, comparing and contrasting the different styles and designs available in this important size... FISHING IN THE 95L GENE POOL STANDARD Being small enough for high winds and big enough to not be sinkers, L boards appeal to a very wide market. Progressors: Most of the freerides or all-rounders tested here would be appropriate to anyone who has learnt to waterstart and sail in the harness on a L freeride and is looking for better high wind control or a smaller more exciting board. The L board will support sailors of up to about 80kg without sinking or luffing violently. If you are heavier than this or if you expect to do a high proportion of your sailing with m sails (inland venues) you should maybe look to the L category. Intermediate to Advanced: Once you have got beyond the stage of still needing clear positive buoyancy your smallest board can purely suit the sail sizes you want to use rather than your weight. You should therefore stop thinking of the L as a stronger wind board. It is instead a board optimised for m sails (medium winds for average weight sailors) that will take smaller sails if necessary. If this is the range you most want to cover then this is the size to buy and all you need to do is choose which style. If you already have a board that covers m nicely, as many typical 1st short boards do, it may well be the m range that is more important to you. In this case you may find an 80-90L all-rounder (as tested last month) more useful. Advanced to Expert: Now it comes right down to sail size and specialism. Heavier sailors (above 83-85kg) will find them an excellent partner to a wave board, doing exactly the same all-round job that last month s 85L boards do for the 70-83kg sailor. This must be the majority useage. However, there are various specialisms requiring hulls suited to m sails for any weight of sailor that might be perfect for any of the more specialist boards on test. These include speed blasting, light wind waveriding or freestyle. This diagram shows the general relationship between the various classes of board in the L range described in the main text of this article. As can be seen, all boards are essentially in either the freeride or all-rounder families, but then either fit into subgroupings within their particular family, or sub-groupings of sub-groupings with the family! STYLES AND ORIENTATIONS The boards for this test were chosen to cover a very broad spectrum of performance. There are no dedicated freestyle boards (though the AHD MX comes very close) but there is just about everything else from wave board to speedslalom and everything in between. The diagram shows how all these different styles inter-relate let s now look at each of these styles in more detail. The Freeride / All-Rounder Split Most of the boards on test fit somewhere into these two broad categories of general purpose recreational boards. The parameters for either category cannot be defined tightly, and there is a wide blurring between them, which centres very much on this L size. General purpose boards above 110L are normally just described as freerides because their ability to jump and waveride is pretty limited due to their bulk, so easy early planing performance, good cruising, control and predictable gybing are the main requirements classic freeride stuff. General purpose boards below 95L will either be pretty good bump-and-jump boards and reasonable for freestyle too and therefore they are automatically all-rounders. So, in this middle ground of L (strictly L for the purposes of this test!) a general purpose board could be called either freeride or all-rounder. In practice freeride boards tend to be slightly bigger in size or more voluminous, have flatter rocker and usually more vee, less jumping ability, less agility, more emphasis on speed, early planing and greater sail carrying ability, and greater ease of sailing for intermediate accessibility. Whereas all-round boards usually have more rocker and a slightly smaller size or feel, better jumping and aerial freestyle, more agility on a wave, less orientation towards speed and comfort going fast. These all-round boards are also sometimes labelled freemove or freestyle-wave. However, just to further complicate matters we will also remind you of the fast-tail term that we introduced last month to distinguish the faster, lower rockered all-rounders from the more wave oriented ones. It is an important distinction despite the fact that the fast-tails are poorly represented in this particular test. ON TEST: AHD Freestyle Wave MX 92 AHD GT Special 88 Exocet Universal Wave 88 F2 Style 255 Fanatic Goya Freewave 95 Fanatic Triple X 99 JP Freestyle Wave 91 JP Supercross 93 Mistral Syncro 90 Mistral Syncro 103 Naish Hybrid 89 Naish Supercross 255 Starboard Carve 99 Starboard Hypercarve 90 Boards in the L size are optimal for m sailing; a very significant size inasmuch as it s the largest at which a rig still feels small enough to be really throwabout. It s also a great size for enjoyable planing sailing, with a board that feels small enough to be truly manouevrable, yet for anyone under 85kg+ still voluminous enough to float you home should the wind die. In theory therefore, this should be a massively popular segment of the market. Yet over the past few years, sales of boards in this size have been frankly sluggish. Why is this? In our view, the primary reason is confusion due to the massive variety of choice. You ll struggle to find any freerides or freestyle boards smaller than 90L, or any wave boards or wave biassed allrounders above 100L. However, if you look inside that 90- TEST TEAM: Gregg Dunnett, Jem Hall, Ian Leonard, Bill Dawes GUEST TESTERS: Tony Atfield, Kate Bradford, Nick Croston, Tom Gibbons, Jim Horsburgh, Jane McCready PIX: GINGERPIX 100L bracket you can find just about any and every specialist or non-specialist type of windsurfer currently made, barring a Formula board! Yes, the L board size happens to be that area of the market with the most variation in choice of styles. Buying in this size might therefore give you the greatest chance of getting exactly what you want, but also brings the danger of ending up with something highly unsuitable. Knowing the types of performance potentially available and which is likely to be most suitable is half the battle, the other half is finding out which product provides it. This test aims to tackle both those questions. However, although it is by any standards a large test, featuring fourteen boards, it still only addresses a relatively small proportion of everything that is actually available in this size range. The breadth of styles that we are covering here means that we simply can t be exhaustive in our coverage of the models for any particular style. Hopefully the test will be able to point you in the right direction as to what s best for you when you ve worked out what type of board you re after, cast your net a bit wider than this test before finalising a purchase. You might get help in this from both last month s and next month s tests. Last month we tried quite a few 85L all-rounders that have very similar 95L siblings not tested here, and next month we hope to be looking at quite a few other all-round 95L boards as well as some slightly bigger, less specialist freestyle boards. The diagram is not intended as a flow-chart or guide to picking your ideal board, although if you have a rough idea which type of board you re after, it will guide you to the nearest related classes, which might also be worth considering /04 04/04<041

2 Board Test (13) 17/3/04 12:42 pm Page 42 So let s now look at each of the main groups we have examples of in this test in more detail. FREERIDE BOARDS Representatives: From this test the Starboard Carve 99 and Fanatic Triple X 99 are the archetypal freerides of this size. Being a bit bigger, more stable and flatter rockered, they are very easy to sail and quick to blast or cruise around on. Both jump reasonably and can provide fun carving on swells but compared to the majority they feel less agile and less keen to get airborne. The Mistral Syncro 103 is a fraction bigger and it too is closer to freeride but it has far more rocker, giving it less speed but a looser more allround feel. (The JP and Naish Supercross boards along with the Starboard Carve 90 are all essentially freeride boards, but as they have a degree of speed specialism we have dealt with them in the Speed section later.) Other boards worthy of consideration in this group might include: AHD Type F 91 (currently under test), BiC Blast 59 (92L) and Exocet Compact Carve 92 (under test). What are they good at? Obviously they are a mixed bag so there are variations, but the main shared characteristic is that they are very easy to sail and mostly very easy to sail fast. They tend to also be very easy to get planing without needing too much power, and they have a wide wind range, are comfortable carrying big sails yet stay controllable with small ones. They are the classic blasting, carving boards, specialists in what the majority of sailors (from early intermediate right through to advanced) do for the vast majority of time i.e; straight lines and gybes. FAST-TAIL ALL-ROUNDERS Representatives: The JP Freestyle Wave 91 is by far the flattest rockered of the all-rounders and the only one from this test which would qualify as a fast-tail (see last month s test for more detail on this). In fact it is so quick and flat rockered that it is not far from being a freeride, the main difference being its lower volume which gives it slightly more agility and response but a bit less user-friendliness than most freerides. Other boards worthy of consideration in this group might include: AHD Type F 91 (currently under test), Tabou Rocket Wave 95, the larger JP Freestyle Wave (98L) and the RRD Freestyle Wave 97 (under test). What are they good at? Fast-tail all-rounders of this size are excellent for making the most of a wide range of m conditions, allowing very early planing and really fast sailing with sprightly manoeuvring and aggressive jumping off wave and chop for classic bump-and-jump performance. They can also give good freestyle performance in both advanced aerial and trick / carving styles, and reasonable waveriding on smaller waves. HIGHER WIND / WAVE ORIENTED ALL-ROUNDERS Representatives: In a group some way behind the JP for speed and early planing performance come the Fanatic Goya Freewave, Exocet Universal Wave and F2 Style 255. They are typical wave or higher wind oriented all-rounders, with much more rocker throughout their length than the freerides or fast-tails. Of the three the F2 Style is the most rockered and therefore the most high wind and control oriented and the Goya slightly closer to the fast-tail group in terms of performance. The Exocet is the lowest in volume and therefore a bit nippier and more responsive but will feel small to heavyweight or less able sailors. Most of this class / style of board that are available on the market are probably represented here but other boards worthy of consideration in this group might include the Starboard Trance 94 (based on previous seasons test findings) What are they good at? They aren t as exciting and sprightly in m weather as the fast-tails, although they are still good fun in these conditions. However, they come into their own with smaller sails, offering more versatility, better control and a less frantic, easier ride in m conditions. They are also looser and easier to turn, particularly on a wave, though whether they are more fun to waveride will depend on whether you want speed in smaller waves and gustier winds (for which a fast-tail is best) or a looser, tighter carving, higher nosed feel for bigger waves and stronger winds (for which these are best). So, in short, they have a wider overall useful wind range than the fast-tails with a slightly slower, more control and turning biassed performance but they are less exciting, dynamic and versatile in the ideal sail range (i.e; m) for L boards. WAVE Representatives: There is only one board in this test that we reckon crosses the line between wave oriented all-rounder and pure wave board and that is the Mistral Syncro 90. While a lot bigger than virtually any other wave board on the market and less nervous and a lot easier in a straight line compared to a smaller wave board, the fact is that this board has a stack of rocker as much as you would find on a full-on wave board. The upshot is that it is considerably slower to get going, particularly with bigger sails, than most of the other boards but is considerably more fun to waveride if you are lucky enough to have good waves. Other boards worthy of consideration in this group might include any wave board of over 57cm wide, like the JP 89 (58.5cm) or Starboard Evo 92 (62cm). There are however surprisingly few production examples. What are they good at? A big wave board for average weight sailors in lighter winds is a very specialist and luxury bit of kit for those rare cross-offshore waveriding days. However, boards like the Synchro 90 can also fulfil a useful role as a heavyweight s stronger wind coastal board with a very different sail range to most of the boards on test. More m than m. It could also be popular as a strong wind board for intermediates as there aren t many boards available to those who want a lot of high wind control allied to high volume and stability. FREESTYLE Representatives: The AHD Freestyle Wave MX is the only real example of this group though the JP Freestyle Wave also has very good freestyle application. The obvious freestyle features on the AHD are the very low vee and drop rails which make the board extremely slidey; able to go backwards almost as easily as forwards. The deck too is very flat and the strap options are both relatively inboard. The AHD itself is a very wave biassed freestyle all-rounder due to being extremely small, low volume and highly rockered. Other boards worthy of consideration in this group might include the F2 Eliminator 105 (currently under test) plus the more all-round of the true freestyles like the Fanatic Skate and Mistral Joker. What are they good at? The AHD is good for high wind, advanced level freestyle and wave / bump-and-jump sailing. There are other freestyle all-rounders with much less of a high wind bias but not in this test. SIZE Ideal Sail Sizes: If you have other larger or smaller boards to complement it, a L board should be used mainly or exclusively with sails in the m range. More towards the bigger sail sizes for flatter rockered and wider boards and the smaller sizes for narrower or more rockered boards. Useable Range: If the L is to be your only board then it is potentially an excellent choice due to the breadth of wind range that it can cater for. Most of those tested will carry up to a 7.0m which is a very sensible moderate wind freeriding size for making the most of all but the lighter planing winds. At the other end of the scale most of these boards can be pressed into service with a 4.5m or even smaller. They may feel a lot bigger and less controllable than is ideal in strong winds but if you look for sheltered water they ll get you out there and having fun in just about anything which couldn t really be said for L boards. In Brief: The exact best sail range will depend on the orientation of the individual board and we give our estimation of ideal sail sizes in the write-up for each one. However the best sailing for most of them will be had with something between 5.5 and 6.7m. If you don t expect most of your usage to be within this range then you aren t looking at the right boards for the job /04 04/04<043

3 Board Test (13) 17/3/04 12:42 pm Page 44 SPEED SLALOM SPEED Welcome back in time to when men were men and a catapult took your wetsuit off rather than the nose of your board! The reason that the nose of your board stayed on was that it barely ventured far enough out of the water to get noticed. Slalom boards were narrow and flat and exhilarating but difficult to turn and felt more than a bit dangerous. Representatives: The AHD GT Special is the only example on test. It is the modern version of the classic slalom board, something we haven t tried for many a year. It is a lot wider and shorter than slalom boards used to be but one thing hasn t changed: The nose is still low, low, low. Where does the speed come from? The main speed ingredient is of course the very flat tail rocker and the very low rocker under the straps and track and this it shares with the freeride speedsters (and fast-tail all-rounders). The main difference is that the rocker doesn t then pull up into a freeride nose but stays down close to the water. This has one main function to keep the board flat at all costs. If the board stays flat to the water the tail won t dig in to create friction, the nose won t lift to create windage and you don t have to worry about controlling pitch at high speeds. Control is therefore greatly enhanced assuming that you don t get into the danger situation of crashing through waves. Vee is also kept to the absolute minimum to give just enough lateral control without any extra drag. What are they really good at? The slalom board is not so much inherently hugely quicker than other fast boards as easier to control at speed and keep tracking, allowing you (in fact begging you) to load it up with bigger, more top end biassed sails to keep squeezing more and more speed out of it. The extra engaged length of waterline allows a more aft C of E (centre of effort) in the sail and therefore more power to be controlled, as well as being efficient and therefore fast in getting upwind. Being flat and light, they plane and accelerate very quickly indeed for their size. What are they less good at? The low nose can make waves interesting! It is generally not the steeper face of the front of a wave or chop that is the problem; the slalom board seems to skip over or punch through them, keeping flat. It is the back of the swell (coming back in) that presents more of a problem. The slowing action of the shallower, longer curve going in the same direction of travel gives greater deceleration and consequent danger of catapult. As for jumping waves on a board designed to hug the water you won t find it a rewarding pastime! You need to be a reasonably good sailor to sail a slalom board. There are no intermediate strap options and the low volume is only the minimum required for a good sailor to not be disadvantaged with the biggest relevant sail sizes. The low nose also made even some of our expert sailors look like novice gybers for a while, but actually the thin, low volume rails grip really well and aren t all that difficult to gybe. You just have to expect to bury the rail further forward and power the board through the turn more actively. Done well, you can fly out of the exit, just allow time for refining your technique and choose flatter water! Verdict: We all enjoyed our time on the slalom board. There is much appeal to taking half a metre bigger sail than most and smoking past people, pulling some seriously fast high-g turns. It is not too technically taxing compared to other specialisms like freestyle and it is extremely exhilarating. We would love to have one in the quiver for when our mood and the conditions dictate, but if it is to be an only board in that size then you would need to be a speed junkie and only sail suitable venues (windy and not too lumpy). Finally, we have the boards orientated primarily towards maximum speed in a straight line.you d think that speed would be simple a board is either fast or it s not. Out of five fast boards of very similar volume your choice should surely be easy pick the fastest. Not so! This test has thrown up three very different approaches to speed, which are worthy of further analysis... FREERIDE SPEED Representatives: There are a lot of boards here that offer good levels of freeride style speed, like the fast all-rounder JP Freestyle Wave and the slightly larger freerides such as the Starboard Carve and Fanatic Triple X. However there are a couple of boards that are just a touch faster still than these that owe their existence to that speed. They are the JP and Naish Supercross boards. The JP more of a big sail carrying speedster and the Naish more of a very fast all-rounder. So why not Supercross Speed? We ve called this section Freeride Speed because there is very little in design terms to distinguish them from fast freerides and although a bit smaller and quicker than most freerides their speed is still ballpark. The last thing we need is more categories! Where does the speed come from? Their rocker lines are a touch flatter than most freerides or all-rounders, they feature slightly less vee and they have deck shape and strap options that can position the sailor in an aggressive driving position on the rail. What are they really good at? They are pretty damned easy to sail and sail very fast. You don t need to be a good sailor to use them and you will still benefit from their speed even if you aren t exploiting all of it. They make speed comfortable. They are good at ironing out the chop and they track well in a straight line. They are also quite versatile, offering more allround performance than most speed vehicles. In the case of the JP, that means good jumping performance. Not top notch wave jumping like an all-rounder but very good chop hopping and good height off waves. The Naish isn t a bad jumper either but shines more in manoeuvrability. Again, not quite like an all-rounder but still very versatile considering the speed. They are also much the easiest gybers of the speed fraternity. What are they less good at? Although you will have the armoury at your disposal to blast most ordinary boards off the water you will probably come unstuck when you meet your match on a slalom or no-nose board. You might be having an easier life and be impressing the onlookers more with your jumps and freestyle tricks but when it comes to the burn up you may be left playing catch up. Verdict: The two Supercross boards seem obvious choices for speed-loving ordinary sailors who put high importance on going quickly but want it as part of an easy, versatile, general purpose sailing package. NO-NOSE SPEED Representatives: The Hypersonic was the first of the new generation of super-short boards only 227cm long and a massive 76cm wide it was quite unlike anything we had yet seen but it proved very capable of burning off just about anything that came near it in the 7.0m+ sail size conditions. This year sees another very intriguing newcomer in the shape of the Naish Hybrid. Whereas the Hypersonic was weird in many ways, the 212cm Hybrid looks much like an ordinary board that has had its nose sawn off. The Starboard Carve 90 is the other board in the line-up that takes a nod towards the no-nose speed concept. However, it s more like a freeride version of a Hypersonic than an out and out speed orientated design, and not different enough to the freerides to really warrant much further discussion, so the comments from here on are based on the Naish. Where does the speed come from? The short length itself must have a positive effect on the speed by reducing windage and wetted area. The Naish has none of the deep concaves of the Hypersonic and yet it is still fast. What is it really good for? The Naish Hybrid proved just the fastest board in our speed trials. It had the edge downwind over the slalom board, although taken over the complete range of broad to tight they came out pretty equal. So it is seriously quick. Its sales pitch, however, deals as much with the feel of having no board in front of you as with the benefits of speed and we can see why. It s the nearest you will come to barefoot windsurfing. The board is incredibly direct and immediate underfoot and you feel unencumbered. Getting back onto an ordinary board makes you feel strapped in to a cruise liner! What is it not so good for? Although it has a great feel that adds a lot to straight line sailing, versatility is low. The board is not a great jumper or waverider and you are generally going too fast to make sudden changes of direction without bouncing violently, so it s not ideal for freestyle. Gybing is technically demanding. The short length also makes you quite vulnerable to the shape of the chop. Flat water is great and certain lengths of swell and chop adapt well to the shape of the board but others will see you bouncing and sacrificing control. It is not always easy to keep the hull flat and going fast, particularly in open sea conditions. Verdict: It feels a bit like a concept car. It is all very different to the normal, there is plenty to enjoy and there are elements that are simply better than you can find elsewhere. However, having now tried a number of no-nose designs it is clear that they are not very accessible boards. They accelerate fast once powered up but they don t have that progressive acceleration that makes planing easy. (For this reason they re not ideal racing boards, as a traditional slalom board will be so much more at home when rapid acceleration is needed; lulls, fluffed gybes etc.) They need more wind to get going than comparable longer boards and they need better technique. They are boards for advanced intermediates and above. The Hybrid is essentially a speed board, albeit way more accessible than speed boards of old. We loved sailing it and would definitely have one in a well stocked theoretical waterside shed for those flatter water days and blasting around. It should knock spots off your mates but if they decide not to drag race you are left only with that extraordinary feeling of immediacy, freedom and speed in a straight line. Definitely a specialist tool if it was your only board for m weather you d probably miss out on a lot of sailing, but if you had it in partnership with something more all-round it d be a great toy to own! OUR FAVOURITES There s hardly a board on test that doesn t merit a buying recommendation for the right sailor but we have tried to limit ourselves to pulling out just those which either have an extra edge of performance or versatility or those that were clearly more popular with the testers and guesters. Larger Freerides: The Fanatic Triple X 99 was extremely popular in this category. An ideal board for progressors and all general purpose sailing for early intermediate to advanced sailors. Fast-Tail All-Rounders and Freerides: We were blessed with some real quality in this area. The JP Freestyle Wave 91 is slightly the smaller and more all-round but less fast of the trio that really shone. It was however fractionally the most popular of the three due to its slightly less speed specific performance and extra edge for wave / bump-and-jump and freestyle. The JP Supercross 93 was clearly bigger, far more of a blaster and quicker and much more comfortable in a straight line, but it too could jump and turn well and attracted a lot of very favourable comment. The Naish Supercross 255 fell between the above two both in apparent size and style of performance. Almost as quick and comfy as the JP 93 and almost as all-round as the JP 91 and a very well liked and versatile board. Higher Wind / Wave Oriented All- Rounders: The Exocet Universal Wave 88 was the most popular in this category; very comfortable, controllable and easy to ride. However, heavier sailors may well prefer the considerable extra volume of either the F2 Style 255 or Goya Freewave 95 both good performers that were well liked. Specialist Recommendations The above recommendation will be the relevant ones to most readers as they are the general purpose recreational boards. But it would be unfair to ignore here the quality offerings that will appeal equally strongly but to smaller, more specialist markets. Most notable was the Naish Hybrid, by far the most innovative board on test that not only has seriously impressive speed but a very unusual feel and a style of performance all of its own. The AHD Special 88 is a very good slalom board, the Mistral Syncro 90 is a very good outsized wave board and, in what may sound like a contradiction in terms, the Starboard Carve 90 is a very good specialised freeride board! Read their individuals write-ups for more info. IN CONCLUSION As we said at the start, the L sector is one of the most important areas of the board market, and the wide spread of boards on test here should contain something for virtually every weight and category of sailor of intermediate level and above. Hopefully this test will help you to isolate what sort of board will suit you best, and point you in the right direction to get a useful shopping list together. Happy sailing! 04404/04 04/04<045

4 Board Test (13) 17/3/04 12:42 pm Page 46 AHD GT SPECIAL 59 Category: Competition slalom board Description: See main text Slalom Speed. Early Planing: The volume is relatively low and the tail is not the widest, so heavier sailors will benefit from plenty of pumping to get the board unstuck, but otherwise it planes very early and accelerates quickly. Freeride: There is only one set of strap options, set right on the rail for blasting this is clearly and purposefully a board designed for high performance fast sailing. Yet, while not quite as user-friendly as less highly tuned boards it s pretty good in a more general freeride role too. Good control (excepting in certain coastal swell conditions when the low nose can be alarming), very good sail carrying ability, comfort at speed and very good upwind ability are its qualities. High speed, wide arc gybes on the thin rails can be terrifying and wet in nasty chop, but can be blistering in flatter water with good (or practised) technique. Indeed, all the characteristics you would expect to find from a full-on slalom board! Freestyle: Not relevant. Waves: Not relevant. Fittings: Comfortable straps and a decent fin. AHD FREESTYLE WAVE MX 61 Category: High wind all-rounder with a strong freestyle bias. Description: Despite having the widest maximum width on test the planing width (the area of the board s bottom in contact with the water when planing) was one of the narrowest due to the DRT ( Dual Rail Technology ) feature, both at wide point and in the tail. The result is a wetted area that is actually no bigger than the smaller MX 57 tested last month! The rocker is high through the tail and moderate in the nose. The deck is very flat in freestyle fashion with relatively inboard strap options. Early Planing: With the small planing surface and substantial tail rocker, the board is very slow to plane considering its volume. Guesters View: Owing to the mainly quite windy conditions we tested it in and the uncompromising nature of its speed or nothing approach the guesters found it a bit full-on. They did appreciate the speed however, and enjoyed its blasting capabilities in the more clement conditions. Sail Range: Ideal m. Sensible useable m Overall: To prevent repeating ourselves we will refer you back to the Slalom Speed section in the main body of this test. We would say that the GT Special is a good quality example of its kind but it is definitely a specialist machine. Nevertheless, it has enough versatility to be both a very exciting flat water recreational blaster and a successful competition slalom machine too. Freeride Performance: It accelerates quickly once planing and is quite fast and fun when well powered, offering pretty good control in stronger winds. However, this isn t a blasting board by nature; it lacks directional stability, is prone to spin out and struggles to get upwind in even quite minor lulls. The straps and deck shape are positioned and shaped far more for freestyle agility than freeride comfort. Freestyle: It definitely needs to be well powered up to fully exploit its potential, since its stability is not that great for lower speed moves, and the pump-and-play quotient for packing in the tricks in moderate winds is particularly low. However, when you do have enough wind it is really excellent for advanced aerial freestyle; perhaps the least prone-to-catching board we have used. It slides beautifully through spocks and vulcans and inspires you to try these difficult moves. Pop is very good in flat water and jumping from chop and waves is also good. Waves: It can be a bit slidey off the top or at any time the rail is not engaged, but it offers great agility in the waves with tight and reliable carving on the rails. Fittings: Nice straps but due to the low vee we found it worked better with bigger (26cm+) more powerful fins. AHD clearly agree they have now changed the supplied fin to the Eagle 29 which is substantially bigger and should certainly improve early planing, ride stability and upwind performance. Guesters View: Only one guest tester really got on with it well, finding its freestyle potential inspiring. The others were put off by the board s reluctance to get planing ( like cycling through soft sand ) and the difficulty of getting it upwind, which really underlines that this is very much an expert s specialist board. Sail Range: Ideal m. Sensible overall m. Overall: It is hard to recommend over the smaller MX 85 tested last month as the performance is more or less the same and it appears to plane no earlier or offer much more support, while the smaller model offers more manoeuverability. The bigger fin that the board is now supplied with will certainly help redress many of the areas of poor performance discussed in this test. However, due to the small planing surface area and tail rocker, the general characteristic will remain as described here. The board is clearly best suited to lighter weight, expert sailors wishing to explore higher wind freestyle, while wanting that little bit of extra deck area to roam around on. Price: 899 with Powerbox fin /04 Price: 899 with 31cm Powerbox fin.

5 Board Test (13) 17/3/04 12:42 pm Page 48 F2 STYLE 255 Category: Larger (99L) all-rounder with clear wave / stronger wind bias. Description: It is above average in both width and length and fairly thick too, so it feels relatively big compared to the rest of the 95L group. It has considerable rocker both through the tail and into the nose. Early Planing: Primarily due to the large amount of tail rocker, it s not the quickest to pick up and release, particularly with bigger sails. Freeride: It s extremely comfortable and easy to sail, making the rider feel immediately at home. The feel is much more cruising than blasting ; the board offers a comfortable, cushioned ride rather than an impression of dynamic speed. It gets upwind reasonably well thanks partly to an excellent fin. In lumpier conditions the high rocker and bulk up front can lead to it lifting and slapping more than most if you re just looking to blast, but turn this to your advantage and go get some airtime this board s forte is in banging out really impressive jumps off the chop when cruising at speed. It has unparallelled lift in the take-off for a board of this size. Gybing is extremely easy as it is very ready and willing to turn, and there is plenty of volume to support you coming out. It s not particularly interested in slalom-style gybes as it will lose speed fairly easily through fast committed turns it much prefers being banged round off a piece of swell. EXOCET UNIVERSAL WAVE 88 Category: Smaller (88L) all-rounder with slight wave / stronger wind bias. Description: This board could equally well have fitted in to last month s 85L test as it spans the two groups, having a volume more akin to the 85L class, while the width puts it fairly and squarely into this 95L group. It is by no means a fast-tail all-rounder, having plenty of rocker throughout its length in a fairly continuous curve, but the width gives it plenty of stability and get up and go. The straps are well inboard and the fin is small, both factors increasing the wave orientation. Early Planing: It s slower than the average, particularly with m rigs in moderate winds, but comfortably quick to get going with a m. A slightly bigger fin would certainly help a bit here. Freeride: Although the inboard straps and bias towards smaller sails don t help the freeride quotient, the ride is extremely comfortable in a wide variety of water conditions. You could be very happy cruising straight lines on this board, going acceptably fast. Gybing is easy and versatile with a very adaptable arc. Upwind performance is average for the group, which is actually rather better than we anticipated considering the rocker and small fin. Overall, much more freeride performance than we d expected to find! Freestyle: When properly powered up (rather than pump-and-play conditions) the board delivers good freestyle suitability. It pops well in flat water, and jumps very well off chop and waves. The width provides plenty of stability and it slides well through spinning manoeuvres, feeling very compact. Freestyle: It s not quite nimble or agile enough for the demanding expert, but for the less experienced sailor it s a really good freestyle platform as it offers so much stability and support, even in well powered conditions. It is excellent for learning heli-tacks, 360s and gybe variations etc, and as it pops really well and has good, controllable slide, it s very suitable for learning vulcans and spocks too. Waves: While it lacks a bit of speed and dynamism simply due to feeling so big, its rocker gives it very pivotal, loose, smooth turning performance that makes it an easy rider. Wave jumping is impressive. Fittings: Excellent. F2 pads, straps and particularly fins are all of the highest quality. Guesters View: It was generally popular with the guesters, attracting comments such as good fun, undemanding and secure and, of course, great jumping. Sail Range: Ideal m. Sensible useable m. Overall: A very predictable large all-rounder, offering good control and particularly impressive jumping. With its large size and emphasis on well behaved performance rather than ultimate agility, it seems clearly best suited to progressors and intermediates looking for a good measure of control and volume in a medium to higher wind board. Price: 999 with 27cm Powerbox fin. Waves: Excellent performance in the waves. Jumping and swell riding is very good for high quality bump-and-jump sailing, while the waveriding is equally impressive with a smooth, loose easy turning, high control feel. Fittings: The small 23.5cm fin worked very well in the m wind range but you ll need something bigger for use with bigger sails. The classic box fin fitting allows easy repositioning of the fin to fine-tune wave performance. The straps were reasonably comfy and easy to adjust but did twist and may have trouble accommodating winter boots on larger feet. Guesters View: The relatively strong winds and predominance of small waves encountered on this test trip certainly helped its cause it was a very popular board indeed, praised for its ease of sailing, ease of gybing and easy waveriding. Sail Range: Ideal m. Sensible useable m. Overall: A board that feels immediately comfortable and will appeal to a lot of different buyers. An ideal strong wind coastal companion to a larger m board in a two board quiver and a really easy introduction to anyone venturing into waves for the first time. It is also an excellent companion to a smaller wave board for sailors who are mainly interested in wave style performance with m sails. Price: 870 with 23.5cm classic box fin /04

6 Board Test (13) 17/3/04 12:42 pm Page 50 FANATIC TRIPLE X 99 Category: Classic small freeride offering crossover into both freestyle and waves. Description: The Triple X take over from previous season s Cross lines. They keep the short, wide, centred volume design but have flattened out the rocker line to make it less of a big allrounder and more of a true freeride design. Early Planing: The Triple X not only takes big sails with ease and accelerates swiftly but it does so without the need for much expert technique everybody found it one of, if not the, easiest to get planing in all conditions. Freeride: It was generally reckoned to be the easiest board to sail for all abilities; very easy indeed to get going and take up to speed. Top speed is comfortably quick and control is excellent, giving a trouble-free ride even in quite awkward strong wind coastal conditions. It goes upwind very well and above all just feels relaxing and comfortable. It takes a very wide range of sail sizes in true freeride manner. Gybing is very forgiving. It turns easily, grips well and exits with good speed. While it certainly prefers the wider arc freeride style gybe, it is quite versatile for its size. FANATIC GOYA FREEWAVE 95 Category: Larger all-rounder with a slight wave / stronger wind bias. Description: With its quite thick domed deck, inboard straps, relatively curved, wave style rocker and classic box fin fitting, the Freewave at first glance looks like a large wave board. In practice it is much more the all-rounder than first appearances might suggest. Early Planing: While not quite in the realms of freeride performance it gets going better than any of the other wave biassed all-rounders, although its happiest getting going with sails smaller than m. Freeride: This board s freeride performance was one of the revelations of the test. Although the strap positions are more inboard than is normal for blasting it still promotes a very comfortable position and the board is not only very directionally stable but also pretty quick too. It will take a wide range of sails, handling power from big rigs and remaining controllable and secure in a wide range of water states. The feel of the board is much more freeride than the appearance and marketing would lead you to assume. Gybing is very freeride in nature. It grips beautifully and is extremely predictable and easy to keep on line, coming out with speed and requiring less input than most. It is however not very loose and slashy in tighter gybes off swell, preferring a slightly wider line. Freestyle: Being so big and so attached to the water is far from ideal for aerial freestyle but it can still perform the advanced moves and is a very suitable platform for starting to learn the less advanced water based ones. Wave: Relatively stiff on a wave but still quite manoeuvrable and a reasonable board to start venturing into them. It jumps pretty well for its size. Fittings: The fin is decent quality and a sensible middle size for all-round use. However, being a freeride board offering such a wide potential sail spread, it will benefit further from fitting a different sized fin at the extremes of its sail sizings. A smaller one will ease the leg burn in stronger winds and a bigger one aid early planing and upwind performance with the biggest sails. The straps are good and basically well positioned but slightly more outboard front options would allow a more comfortable pro blasting stance. Guesters View: They loved it. While some just praised its freeride performance for bigger sails or heavier sailors, most loved its balance and found it flattered their sailing and offered a good measure of all-round performance as well. Sail Range: Ideal m. Sensible useable m. Overall: While a board of this nature will never have a lot to offer the sailor aspiring to do advanced freestyle or maximise wave and air time, it really hits the slot for a very wide range of early intermediate to advanced sailors due to its very wide wind range, great feel and ease of sailing. Intermediate to advanced sailors, particularly medium to heavier ones, will find it a very suitable board for m sailing and progressors even more suitable as an only board or a step down from something considerably bigger. Price: 850 with 32cm Powerbox fin. Freestyle: With reasonable pop, good stability and good slide once unstuck, it lends itself well to both intermediate and advanced freestyle. The deck may be a bit too domed and the board a bit too directionally stable and attached to the water to make it a top freestyler but it is very reliable, slides well through spocks and grubbies and gives decent pump-and-play performance. Waves: While not as loose and lacking a bit of pizazz compared to some other all-rounders, the tail grips very well to give secure carving, and nice lines can be drawn on the waves by sailors of all standards. Jumping off both waves and chop is fine, giving the board a good bumpand-jump rating too. Fittings: The deck pads were slippery in bare feet but we are assured that this is a one off and has been dealt with. The straps are quality, as was the fin. The board has the classic box fin fitting to allow tuning for a wide range of wavesailing conditions by moving the fin around. However, in a board of this size with such good freeride performance a Powerbox might have been more appropriate. Guesters View: Very popular with one guester who rated it very highly for jumping, found it very comfortable and easy to waveride and very confidence inspiring in the gybe. Whilst none of the others contradicted these findings they generally rated it more all-round in both style and quality of performance. Sail Range: Ideal m. Sensible useable m. Overall: The Goya is a very safe, easy and predictable all-rounder that is accomplished in all spheres and a very safe bet for intermediates either coming down a size or two or looking to complement a bigger board. It also has a wide mixture of all-round performance to offer the heavier advanced sailor. It is very versatile and a true 3-style (freeride, freestyle, wave) though its qualities are biassed slightly more to freeride and less to hardcore wave or freestyle than the pedigree led us to expect. Price: 999 with 25cm Powerbox fin /04

7 Board Test (13) 17/3/04 12:42 pm Page 52 JP SUPERCROSS 93 Category: Speed biassed smaller freeride Description: The very flat rocker from the tail to a long way forward makes the freeride / speed intentions of this board very clear, although the nose is pulled up quite sharply to give lift for jumps too. A wide tail gives plenty of support for carrying big sails. There are inboard strap options though we re not sure who will use them! The board simply screams powered up blasting. We couldn t swear that the 93L description is wrong, but it feels in every way (weight carrying and style of performance) like a board with 5L more volume than this. Early Planing: Early planing performance is excellent. You may want a bigger fin if you use the 7.0m that this board is very capable of doing justice to, but you won t find a board of this size that is quicker and easier to get planing on with m sails. Freeride: JP seem to specialise in boards that are not only quick but also extremely comfortable at speed, and the 93 is another scoring very highly on both counts. The flat rocker keeps the board locked down on the water giving excellent pitch control and a very smooth ride while the pulled-up nose keeps you clear of trouble and allows frequent and satisfying jumps from anything that peaks in front of you. And it is quick in all directions, with the edge over every other freeride or all-rounder in this test, and the comfort that comes from a well crafted slalom / blasting deck and strap set up. Due to the speed of entry and width of the tail, gybes can t be initiated by the twitch of a foot; you need to commit and follow a fairly wide arc but it grips well, exits with excellent speed and has plenty of volume to assist less than perfect technique. JP FREESTYLE WAVE 91 Category: Fast-tail all-rounder with freeride leanings Description: The relatively wide tail and nose coupled with the short length gives it a compact freestylesque planshape and appearance (aided by the duck tail bevel at the tail), whereas the rocker line is rather more freeride-orientated, being fairly flat through the tail and only moderate through the nose. Being quite low volume for its width means less float for heavier or less able sailors, but the thinner rails definitely provide extra grip. The deck is a comfortable compromise between freeride and freestyle requirements; moderately domed with a choice of blasting or wave / freestyle inboard straps. Early Planing: One of its main qualities is how quickly it gets going for such a relatively small board. It will take quite large sails if you want to maximise this side of its performance but even with mid range sails it is very quick out of the blocks and fast to accelerate. Freestyle: It has enough width and stability allied to carving agility to let intermediates start taking on the less advanced moves and has just enough pop and slide to allow good sailors to pull off advanced moves in Supercross competition. However, generally the board is too stiff and attached to the water to offer a useful recreational freestyle dimension for practised or advanced freestylers. Waves: It won t stop you having a play and enjoying yourself when waves appear but compared to other boards of its size it is really too fast and flat for good crossover waveriding performance. It gets air very easily off waves or chop due to the speed and turned-up nose for lots of quality airtime, but it jumps quite horizontally and is much better for long floaty jumps rather than vertical or contorted aerial manoeuvres. Fittings: The fin seemed OK and the straps, pads, deck and graphics were all first class. Guesters View: It was a popular board with all the guesters, who relished its speed and comfort. Our heavyweight blasting-oriented guester gave it his number one slot. Freeride: This board s freeride performance is good enough to consider using it solely in this role. It is fast and comfortable with a wide range of sail sizes, delivering good blasting comfort and handling difficult water conditions well. It gybes very nicely, exiting fast and offering a fairly versatile turning arc. Its speed and squat plan shape make for very good chop hopping and jumping off peaking swells. The only weakness seemed to be in the fin which felt a lot less secure than we d have liked and could be responsible for a slightly skaty feel at times. The board s speed and this skatiness could make it feel a bit skittish in stronger conditions, but to a great extent this is the inevitable trade-off for its dynamism in moderate winds. Freestyle: Pump-and-play performance is excellent as it gets going so easily, and quickly accumulates speed and power to pop out of the water. It is also both stable and grippy enough for carving (i.e; non-aerial) freestyle. The deckshape and tail bevel give a real freestyle edge to the design and the board is highly suitable for expert aerial freestyle, yet also sufficiently forgiving for learning less ambitious moves. Pop is pretty good in lighter winds, but not quite as good as more rockered boards in stronger winds. Waves: It is quite fast, skaty and stiff in the waves compared to the more rockered allrounders and thus needs careful handling in bigger surf. Nevertheless, it earned a solid fanbase due to its good carving agility, and its ability to quickly and easily get you to the best section in smaller waves. Jumping is good, more about smaller high frequency air than rocket take-offs, so the bump-and-jump appeal is high. Fittings: On a relatively wide, skaty board you really want the best fin you can get. However, we didn t feel that the fin supplied optimised either control or upwind performance. Otherwise, the straps and pads are excellent. Guesters View: This was the guest testers (equal) favourite. The qualities of fun and excitement that this board offers burst out of their write-ups, and most of the plus points listed seem to emanate from the easily accessible speed fast gybes, frequent jumps and excellent all-round blasting fun. Sail Range: Ideal m. Suitable useable m. Overall: Very suitable as a versatile blasting board for m sails, a fast freestyle biassed bump-and-jump board for m weather, or indeed a mixture of the two. It has a lot to offer both the heavier advanced / expert sailor or any middle to advanced intermediate. Progressors and early intermediates may find it a bit hectic and not quite easy enough in stronger winds while wave biassed experts may find it a bit stiff and flat, but otherwise it deserves to be widely popular. Price: 999 with 27cm Powerbox fin /04 Sail Range: Ideal m. Suitable useable m. Overall: While not exactly a throwabout all-rounder it certainly has a sporty feel and jumps well. If actually used for Supercross competition it will require quite a bit of expert input for the twiddly bits, but will give the sailor his racing acceleration and speed on a plate which is 90% of the battle. After all, a good sailor can spock a plank if it s quick enough! For the 95% of buyers who won t be doing SuperX on it, think of it as the Mercedes Benz of freeride sailing. It combines high speed and acceleration with excellent control and comfort, but without making any awkward technical demands on the driver. Price: 949 Full Wood / 799 Epoxy Sandwich with 29cm Powerbox fin.

8 Board Test (13) 17/3/04 12:42 pm Page 54 MISTRAL SYNCRO 103 Category: Smaller freeride / larger all-rounder crossover. Description: This is the biggest board in this test quoting a believable 103L and at 61.5cm (60cm quoted) also the widest. The Syncro wave / manoeuvre bias is evident in the relatively curved rocker line throughout. Early Planing: Although not as sprightly as the similarly sized pure freerides, it ll take big sails and get going pretty easily. Freeride: While a bit slower and less potent upwind than the pure freerides, it gives a very comfortable and easy ride, and is perfectly good for recreational use. The ride it gives is smooth and comfy, a bit softer and less hectic than a full-on freeride board, although a bit more bouncy over chop and swell in stronger conditions. It is slightly less settled in a straight line but feels more manoeuvrable and ready to footsteer. Gybes are easy to initiate and it will turn on a variety of arcs, although like its little brother it tends to shed speed in the turn fairly easily and will bounce a bit more at high speeds, so is best suited to tighter more slashy turns. Generally speaking it is less dynamic and not quite as easy at speed but feels a little more throwabout than the freerides. Freestyle: Quite big for aerial freestyle and not the most dynamic for carving freestyle but pretty good for learning the basics. MISTRAL SYNCRO 90 Category: Large wave board with all-rounder leanings. Description: More rocker than any other board on test combined with very inboard straps and 25cm classic box fin reveal the wave / stronger wind bias of this design. At 90L it is one of the smaller boards on test here, but its width is still substantially greater than most 85-90L designs, which is why we have included it in this test. Waves: A board of this size isn t naturally suited to the wave environment except for heavier sailors, but having said that it s really not bad for progressors to get into the waves with and a reasonable moderate wind waverider for heavier sailors. It turns nicely on swell and jumps easily off waves or chop. Fittings: Pads and straps are excellent and the fin is good. Guesters View: The guesters found it a bit big and bouncy, largely due to the relatively strong wind conditions (although certain other boards of similar size fared a lot better). The difference in speed and excitement compared to the faster freerides was also noted. However, quite a few picked up on its ease and relatively high fun factor in the waves. Sail Range: Ideal m. Sensible useable m. Early Planing: With all that rocker its pretty slow to plane, and really needs plenty of power to get out of third gear and release. It is little fun with m sails unless the wind is very constant. Freeride: It isn t by nature a freeride board, but having said that, it actually provides a very easy and relaxing ride when well powered, and is much more stable and less luffy (i.e; prone to head up into wind) than most smaller wave boards. It can be a bit bouncy in chop but is well suited to swell and waves. Gybes initiate beautifully, but not surprisingly it prefers a tight slashy turn rather than a drawn-out slalom-style arc, in which it tends to lose a lot of speed on exit. Whereas it s very happy whipping round off a swell line. Freestyle: For Force 5+ aerial freestyle it is hard to beat. When there is plenty of power it pops really well, carves 360s brilliantly, has loads of volume and slides well to give very good freestyle suitability. The power requirement makes it more of an advanced freestyler s board than a learner s. Waves: In small waves and gustier winds it isn t the best at catching waves or getting into the right position on them. However, on well formed waves or if there is plenty of wind it is a real delight to ride; loose but grippy, agile and responsive. Jumping style is very wave biassed. Lovely vertical take-offs and great release but not quite enough speed for top bump-and-jump. Fittings: Pads and straps are all good but the fin snapped for no apparent reason. Guesters View: Despite plenty of good winds and waves the guesters couldn t really get into the Syncro, mainly due to its lack of early planing performance and difficulty in getting upwind with sails with which they felt were properly powered for the conditions. Underlining the fact that this board really does need power to perform. Sail Range: Ideal Sensible useable m. Overall: It s a bit of an enigma. At its best it is a fantastic board one of the very best waveriders of the 24 boards spanning the 85L and L test when the waves were big and the wind up. It is also fantastic fun to jump and do freestyle with when well powered up; it feels loose and controllable, carves really well and releases beautifully on take-off. The trouble is that it does need very solid wind to do all this, and preferably sails below 5.5m. And therein lies the problem because with these smaller sails and constant winds you could be using much smaller boards offering even better jumping, blasting, riding and high wind control. So it is a very big board for stronger winds. It will suit cautious first time or heavyweight wave board buyers but only if they really treat it as a m board and don t regularly try to make it work with bigger ( m) sails. Alternatively it is a joy for more experienced sailors to keep as a high wind freestyle-wave board for doing well powered freestyle on, or proper, crossoffshore waveriding when volume is called for. Price: 859 with 25cm classic box fin /04 Overall: While the Synchro 103 needs plenty of power to perform at its best, in the right conditions it s a very smooth and easy board offering comfortable freeride performance, particularly in more bumpy conditions. It would seem best suited to progressors or intermediates who want a controloriented freeride board for stronger wind coastal sailing, with enough manoeuvring / wave potential to allow forays into those areas of performance when conditions permit. Price: 859 with 32cm Powerbox fin.

9 Board Test (13) 17/3/04 12:42 pm Page 56 NAISH SUPERCROSS 255 (96L) Category: Speed biassed smaller freeride / all-rounder Description: The rocker is relatively flat, suggesting a clear speed and freeride orientation. However, an all-round slant is added by the fairly narrow nose and tail, thinnish rails, the option for relatively inboard strap positions, and quite a small fin. We reckoned it to be about 5L smaller than the quoted 96L. Early Planing: Not quite the quickest of the freerides to get going (particularly with the 26cm fin and bigger sails), but still a very early planing board that accelerates quickly. NAISH HYBRID 89 Category: Small no-nose speed. (For more info refer to No-Nose Speed section of the main text.) Description: The Hybrid concept originates from Robby s desire to create the no board in front of you feeling that you get in kitesurfing. Tiny in length (212cm), and very narrow in width (56cm), the Naish Hybrid looks a bit like a wave board with the nose cut off. The rocker line starts flat at the tail, then pulls up quite early but very slowly and evenly through the length of the board. Due to the short length of the board though, the overall effect is that the nose remains pretty close to the water. It has very little vee. The front strap options are relatively far outboard for comfortable blasting, but the back strap has an inboard central option. Although short, the relatively high volume means it still floats the medium weight sailor as long as they are very careful not to step too far forward! Freeride: The main thrust of this board s performance is in the freeride arena. It offers a fast and exciting ride, yet maintains very good control in chop and goes upwind or downwind comfortably at speed. Gybes can be entered and exited at speed and although basically freeride in its turning style (i.e; preferring a wider arc) it is a versatile gyber that grips well and with the right technique can be turned fast and hard. Freestyle: Impressive freestyle performance for what is basically a freeride design with good suitability for both advanced aerial and less advanced water based freestyle. It feels compact and rotates well in loops and vulcans. Waves: It is an agile board that grips and turns well in the waves but is just a bit too stiff to really excel in this department. (If you do want to use it for extended waveriding, be sure to set it up with an offset back strap.) While not quite offering the same vertical spring and release off waves of the more wave biassed all-rounders, the jumping performance is excellent for a freeride board. Fittings: The straps are reasonable, though not our favourites. The fin supplied works well for all-round use or stronger winds a bigger fin would be a useful accessory to match the bigger sail, freeriding potential of the board. Early Planing: It will take bigger sails and get going in less wind than its size would lead you to expect. However, there is none of the usual easy progression as found on regular freeride boards of gradually gaining speed and lifting effortlessly onto the plane. Instead, this board needs to be bumped straight onto the plane, which requires more technique (bearing away and pumping) and more wind than more conventional boards with the same sails. You can t step forward to level the board off; any weight placed much beyond the footstraps will push the nose underwater almost instantly, until the board is up to speed. Freeride: The speed itself and the riding position are what you would associate with a freeride / slalom design, but there aren t many other similarities. The seeming lack of any board beyond the mastfoot takes quite a bit of getting used to! Although the ride is a bit clattery over certain types of chop and generally quite hairy at speed you soon realise that it s not actually anywhere near as dangerous as it initially seems. Indeed, the nose is noticeably reluctant to lift in gusts always an issue on bigger boards. However, you do have to concentrate to keep the board flat and tracking. It is better downwind than upwind but still flies upwind considering it only has a 28cm fin. Wind range and sail carrying ability is excellent for so small a board; it just about managed to carry and exploit a 6.7m sail without overpowering, and was still pretty happy with a 5.3m. Gybes are exciting, but not actually that difficult to get the hang of if your technique is up to it. It is very keen to turn but twitchy, and it s very easy to lose both lateral and pitch control and lose speed completely. If you get it right and release the rig early it will turn tighter and quicker than any fast board you have ever gybed, but it is a very quick and physical operation requiring a good mastery of the art this is not a board for learning to gybe on! It can help to shed a bit of speed before gybing if the water isn t dead flat, just to make things feel a bit safer. Freestyle: It doesn t jump that well but will pop and being so short it rotates beautifully. Generally though it is very limited for all-round freestyle. Waves: It is too fast and bouncy in the waves and despite its willingness to turn it still feels rather stiff. It is not a satisfying jumper off waves or chop it makes you realise how big a part the nose (or lack of it) plays in guiding a board into the air. Fittings: The straps are fine and the 28cm fin seemed to work very well. Guesters View: It got surprisingly little use from the guesters who we expected would be more curious about it. We suspect that actually most were simply too scared of it to really explore its potential! However, those who did use it were positive in their write-ups and were delighted by its speed, but found it otherwise a bit difficult or limited. Wind Range: Ideal m. Sensible useable m. Overall: We refer you back to our verdict under No-Nose Speed in the main body of text. It is an exciting and in many ways very successful new departure that can t be faulted for speed, excitement or novelty, but it s radical and not that strong on versatility. It wouldn t necessarily be a sensible replacement for a traditional freeride board (unless you only ever sail straight lines on fairly flat water), but as a luxury extra item in the quiver for those days when the conditions are right and some serious speed is on the menu, it d definitely be a great toy to have. Price: 849 with 28cm Powerbox fin /04 Guesters View: With one possibly weight biassed exception (primarily due to the Naish feeling a lot smaller than its quoted 96L) everybody very much liked the 255 and it got one top nomination. Fun, fast, lively, excellent gybing, great control, good jumping. The list of qualities got repetitive! Sail Range: Ideal m. Suitable useable m. Overall: Impressive for its versatility. With a bigger fin and outboard straps it fulfilled the role of m freeride blaster admirably, in the same ballpark as the best of them in every area of freeride performance, and very lively with it. With a smaller fin it s a good all-rounder too; agile with pretty good jumping, always accompanied by good speed and an exciting feel. All in all, a versatile smaller board for the inland sailor or heavier intermediate to advanced coastal sailor. Equally it is a very good larger, fast all-rounder to accompany a smaller board. Overall a very highly regarded board. Price: 849 with 26cm Powerbox fin.

10 Board Test (13) 17/3/04 12:42 pm Page 58 STARBOARD CARVE 99 Category: Classic small freeride. Description: The Starboard Carve range has become synonymous with user-friendly freeride performance, and the Carve 99 remains true to the range s ethos; quite low rocker throughout and particularly in the nose indicates its freeride credentials, as do the outboard outer strap options and Tuttle-box fin. The other significant design element is the very high levels of vee and double concaves through the underside which give high lateral grip increasing ease of tracking and going upwind. Early Planing: It planes early with big and small sails and is also extremely easy to get going. Intermediates particularly will find that they can point high and just stand there and wait to be pushed onto the plane really great for those sailors who haven t fully developed their early planing technique. Once up and running, the acceleration is very respectable, and the top speed is good albeit a tad slower than the very fastest freerides in the test. STARBOARD HYPERCARVE 90 Category: No-nose Freeride Freeride: Good overall performance in this department; it tracks very securely on the deep vee, going upwind easily and keeping very flat in pitch (front to back). There is however a slight lateral twitchiness associated with the vee which can be felt in chop and through the gybe. Speed is good and the ride generally is both easy and comfortable, if a little less sedate than previous Carves. It s happiest gybed on quite a wide and regular arc. The board is very secure in that it follows this dependable line and won t bounce or suddenly go straight on or tighten up. This makes it a very easy and predictable gyber in flatter water, but it has a slight tendency to over tilt and catch the lower shoulders when turning at speed in chop. Freestyle: The board isn t really suited to advanced aerial freestyle as the deep vee and low rocker inhibits both pop and sliding performance. However, its good stability and the flattish deck makes a good platform for freestyle progressor s tack and gybe variations and sail tricks. Waves: It is sticky and slow to turn in real waves due to the very contoured underside shape, but it s fun for carving turns on swell. Due to the low nose and heavy vee jumping is not its forte. Description: The Hypercarve 90 is a new development in the Starboard range for 2004 their thinking being that once you re down to 90L you re looking for a little more than just intermediate freeride performance. So they have shortened the length considerably and given the board very heavy vee and double concaves on the underside which make it look not dissimilar to the Hypersonic. Although it certainly feels larger than the quoted 90L, at 239cm, while far closer to the shorter all-rounders (244cm) than the Naish Hybrid (212cm) this is still a very short board. It is hard to decipher what is going on in the rocker line due to the extremely complex underwater shape. Fittings: The less common Tuttle finbox is used. The fin and straps are fine. Guesters View: Dependable and easy were the words most often used in the guesters description of this board. Although it was in general a bit too sedate for their ability level, they could all see and appreciate the undemanding freeride performance the board offers. Sail Range: Ideal m. Suitable useable m. Early Planing: It takes big sails and gets going reasonably early, but compared to faster freerides it definitely suffers from the same delay in getting planing that we have found on other very short boards with heavy vee and concaves. However, once up and running it glides though the lulls very nicely. Freeride: Although it looks a bit like the Hypersonic underneath, the Hypercarve 90 is not a full-on speedster by nature. It is moderately quick, more nippy than the all-round / freestyle / wave orientated boards on test, and on a par with the medium to slower freerides in the test. It is a very mellow blasting board, extremely flattering to sail. It glides very smoothly across the water, feeling at the same time very attached to the water yet seemingly riding on a cushion of air. It seems to eat up the chop without a worry and considering the tiny classic box fin it tracks very securely and points high upwind. The short length makes it easy to change direction and it feels manoeuvrable and carvy; you can take it round tighter than most freeride boards. It grips very well in the turn and gybes predictably. Freestyle: Although it has poor pop for aerial freestyle, its short length, width and grip make it a good carving freestyler and good for water-based action. Waves: Despite the easy carving and feel of manoeuvrability it is not actually that loose or throwabout in waves. Lift in jumps is also limited by the short nose, so the bump-and-jump performance is relatively limited. Fittings: The design seems to work well with the small classic fin, but the choice of classic box is not our favourite as it inhibits the choice of larger fins available to enhance its bigger sail carrying performance. The straps are OK. Guesters View: All seemed to enjoy the unusually comfortable blasting but some were a bit frustrated by the lack of either outstanding speed or very good jumping. One guester really loved the silky smooth ride and very immediate footsteering. Wind Range: Ideal m. Suitable useable m. Overall: This is a very pleasant board to sail, giving an unusually comfortable, smooth and easy footsteering ride that makes you feel very much in control. It is not however quite as easy as more conventional freerides for progressors, and lacks either an edge of speed or all-round ability to give it a very wide market. Nevertheless, if you like to blast pretty fast in total comfort and control but without too dedicated a freeride / slalom feel then you should definitely try one out. Price: Wood 959 / D Ram 799 with 24cm classic box fin /04 Overall: The 99 is another classic example of the Carve family of boards, aimed squarely at the intermediate progressor. The high vee and low nose aids easy freeride sailing in the learning phases, particularly with bigger sails on flatter water. It is a good board for userfriendly blasting and mastering the essentials of good stance, carve gybes and even some entry-level freestyle tricks. All in all a great intermediate s freeride board. Price: 959 Wood / 799 D Ram with 28cm Tuttle box fin.