2009 Starboard Evo 70 Carbon Wood

Starboard Evo 70 Wood Carbon Construction.
size: 229 cm long by 55cm wide
Shaped by: Legend Scott Mc Kercher, Swen Rasmussen and Tiesda You.
Weight: 5.8 kg with footstraps and fin (on my bathroom scales)

Changes with 2008 Evo wood 70 xtv:
Carbon Wood construction vs Wood,
1 cm shorter overall due to shorter nose.
Pinnier tail than last year
Double foot plug holes for back foot strap
less tail kick, less nose kick
1 kg lighter

Three weeks ago I received an E-mail from the boys at Auswind that my new Evo would be in the local windsurf shop that arvo. So without anyone noticing at work I slipped out, and made my way to the G-spot.

When I entered the shop I was strangely surprised. Tim, the owner had taken the unusual steps to unpack my board from the carton box and it was lying in the main display area next to the new Evil twin Epoxy Wood ready to be taken out for her virgin ride.

Mick, check this out, finally a Starboard under the 6kg with fin and straps, he smiled. So I picked her up and checked her new curves and shapes. Hmm a bit pinnier, a bit shorter and yes, yes, noticeably lighter than my last years Evo Wood… Is this finally the long awaited next step in EVO-lution, just like the time when we all changed from Glass to Epoxy?

Later that day I bounced into the usual windsurf crew at Sunset during a late arvo surf session at Pipeline, and was surprised to hear that most of the familiar faces already had a preview of my board in the shop that morning. So, she is a bit of a flirt, but lucky she came home with me that same evening.

So after 2 weeks of hoax onshore strong wind warnings I decided to take control of the poor weather conditions and lined up a trip to Leos, the Abroholos Islands, to get some classic down the line wave riding. The forecast on Lauries Seabreeze site was looking good with a 4-metre swell expected and up to 35 knots of wind.

Funny enough, once out there, the wind did kick in and how… Gales up to 60 knots and seas up to 8.5 meters!! For 36 hours long we were stuck on our little sailboat in the strongest storm to hit the Midwest coast for many years.

Two days later, we finally woke up in a more comfortable 15 to 20 knots South Easter. The swell and seas also cleaned up and Leos was breaking perfectly with logo to mast high sets. This is the day, I told the boys.

I rigged my 5.3 Severne S1 and made my way to the break. The wind was a bit lighter than I expected, but the Evo Carbon Wood got planing anyway. The fact that this year construction is full one kg lighter, made me think of what the potential is for this board… Sailing in glassy conditions at Hells Gates when everyone is using bigger volume boards, and perhaps rigging a sail size smaller to enjoy the surfing feeling we love a bit more.

After getting away from the wind shadow of Leos Islands the wind filled in a bit more and it was pretty easy to head upwind to prepare for my first wave. In the horizon the first of a three swell set was brewing and by the time I hooked into the bigger second one it was getting serious. The wave itself was a bit higher than logo high and it felt like I had heaps of time to make a proper entry in the wave once it was about to break. You probably know that feeling if you are already an Evo rider. So I laid down my sail and screamed through the Evo’s first bottom turn while accelerating speed!! The result of my extra gained speed was a furious smack of the lip while the board stabilized in preparation for the next section. Note that I have sailed a few sailboards in my time and find it absolutely a must for a good board to maintain its drive in the turn without skipping out. To sail a board that gains speed in the turn is a dream!!

Anyway the next section was a bit more of a vertical top turn followed by a nice size aerial on the end bowl. Wow, what a wave…I wish I had this gear when I was 16.

I had about 20 more empty waves before the wind totally glassed out and absolutely loved it. The turning capability of this Evo reminds me to the Evo of 2 years ago, but somehow it feels like it has more drive.

I will keep you updated on the Evo 70 Carbon Wood. There is a big storm brewing next week to hit the Western Australian coast so it looks like a bit more water time is coming soon. And I cannot wait for my September trip to Gnaraloo…

Happy sailing... Mick

Hi Jens,

Yes, Leos is magic when its on.. But it does not happen all that often unfortunatelly.

I did had a chance to have a crack on the Evil Twin 75 this morning.. Conditions where typically winterish... Onshore 20-25 knots at St Georges, Geraldton. So far I believe that the Evil Twin feels shorter than my Evo 70. The Evil still has a lot of common with the Evo 70, has the same lenght and is also 55 cm wide. I might do a review on this one too at a later date when I had some good side shore conditions. So far I believe that the Evil is a bit snappier than the Evo. I tried some tight turns smacking the wave clue first and the board reacted by a nice tight turn without losing too much speed. It further did managed the strong gusts easy without any spin outs and it has a very comfortable feel as soon as you step on it. At the end of the session I tried some Euro tricks and the board remained nice and stable.


I also formed a better idea of my new EVO Carbon Wood.

I sailed last Sunday morning at Glennies beach with Side shore conditions from the Starboard tack, 5.3, 20 knots.

It seems that my Evo 70 is planning earlier and longer than everyone else. It just felt like I lost 5 kg in weight, but later my bathroom scales disappointed me.
I had a crack at pushing a few sharp turning jibes at the back and each time I pushed it harder and harder around. It feels that the Evo loves to be pushed around hard. It just does not lose any speed...

Then in the inside, in the waves, it surprised me again how much drive this board has out of the turn. Can't wait for the wind to turn South later today.

Mick

Hi,

That is a good question. And if you like a short answer: Yes.

However it is likely going to depend on your budget. I believe that the Carbon is about $500 more than the epoxy, but dont quote me on it. Ask your shop for a price and ask them if you can have a go on one and see for yourself.

If you are a serious sailor and windsurfing is your number one sport, and you want your sailing to progress even faster than the answer is a definate Yes.

I once had the chance to sail on one of the custom made 5.8kg carbon sailboards from a mate of mine here in Gerro. He makes them himself and always planes earlier then everyone else while he uses smaller sails. After the sail I was surpised about the difference. It turned so much easier, got less weight on the straps and boom when doing all kind of moves, but did not have an Evo shape. I asked him to make me a Carbon board in an Evo style. Unfortunally it never happened as he got busy with his work and surfing...

If believe that sailing a lighter Carbon wood board vs Epoxy Wood can be compared as the advancement of:

- Glass construction boards to Epoxy Wood.
- Thick masts to skinnies.
- the traditonal X ply to the Severne E4 material.

Is there anyone else out there that tried the new Carbon versions on the Evo or Evil Twin? What is your feedback?

Note:

For anyone that does not know me, I would like to disclose that I am one of the lucky team riders of Severne and Starboard in Australia.

I am 75 kg and the evo 70 is my favourite board of all time. I have ridden the evil twin 74 on the same day as the new 70 evo.
for your weight the the 74 evil twin will be perfect for high wind. the evil is as fast in feel as the evo 70 and just as controllable in the strong wind.
I did not want to go back to the beach to get the 70 when the strong gusts came through as the evil 74 rode comfortabley enough to stay on it.
My mate is 85 kg and replaced the 80 and 70 evo for the 74 twin and says it sits just right as it is looser then the evos but as good in other aspects.

The guys with more time on the twins seem to be using the 80 evil as a one board option regardless of weight.

You should get more info from other sailors soon as the 80 just arrived in Oz

cheers
Paul

I got a Evo 74 2003 and find that is enough and volume to handle 5.3 and to 40knot +

Still keen on Evil Twin 74, looking at the shape of ET looks quite wide could be a bit bouncy when full on 4.2 - 4.0 specially ET 80, you also don't have the single fin to lean back on..

Some reviews say now that Twin fins performs better and single fins in cross onshore conditions..
and the single fins are better in big waves..

Since Im getting a new board this year I mind as well try the twinser's.

Well it seems that a few other crew have sailed the Twin a bit more than I have, so they are the people to talk to. Just came back from a trip up North and had a great time with the Evo. Looking forward to this weeks swell..