Starboard Quad 82

rider - 86 kg
sail sizes used - 6.0 , 5.3

Long story short:

watched the Windsurfing Movie 2
Saw Levi's section at the end - its freaking awesome -got inspired -got depressed
and then got inspired again.
Time to find some extra looseness in the wave riding department!

Been sailing a kode 80 / acid 80 shape for the last 4 seasons - which i love - especially for big down the line stuff. Fast , great jumping board - does mega aerials at Gnaraloo and Margs with Safety and confidence

But i knew i was giving away some looseness - especially in the small stuff.

Having sailed evos for a couple of years i thought it was time to reinvigorate that side of my sailing - so the Starboard Quad 82 had to be tried

Set up is critical on this board - along with the usual tuning variations of Straps , mastfoot position and boom height combos that make a huge difference on any board - you also throw fin tuning into the mix.

I am not that interested in pulling fins in and out everytime i go sailing (too busy for that) so i set up the board with the down the line (small fins fwd large back) config and intend to leave it there - one day i may get around to trying the twin fin set up.

I have moved lots of stuff around and reckon i am 80% of the way to a perfect tune up.

front strap middle - back strap full rear - i may move the straps all fwd 1 setting.
Mast track middle of track


Whats it do well?

insane turns thats what. Hard grippy whiplash carves or bust the tail for the slide reverse - it feels like you can choose.Or do combos of both
Its a surfboard.
i love it for this. yee har.

solid turns in parts of the waves where the kode wouldnt - the Kode really requires a vert or pitching part of the wave for a good turn - which is ok as it makes you sail the best part of the wave...
The Quad had more options to throw turns in different parts of the wave

Drive - it drives nicely through the bottom turn - i even got a kick out air at onshore scarbs - something that doesnt happen without drive - havent done one of those in years

I cant do takas (yet) - wish i could... but the quad sent me 3/4 the way around a taka - if i had some freestyle skills to balance the rig - i would have nailed it.

The compact shape feels very balanced and open to creativity. safety out of the lip is unmatched - autopilot landing - the short wide shapes have always had this

Jumps -
Speed of the board is a critical factor in jumping ability

the Quad isnt as fast as the Kode (nothing is) - but its still pretty quick (definitely not even slow or moderate - i'd say medium fast)

At 58cm wide - when you hit a ramp you go up - i hit a shoulder high vert ramp and went really high.

the low swing weight meant that low quick pushies came around nicely - and even some autopilot landings on big backies.

The nose is very landing friendly.




Compared to the kode 80:

Not quite as high upwind or fast all round sailing - and maybe gives away a knot or 2 in early planing - but the kode is a Rocket ship to sail - usually giving me more mobility than others on the water.

The Quad brought me back in line with the rest of the crew for sailing around speed - which makes sense no longer being on a missile like flat rocker.


For getting creative in the surf - i absolutely love this board.

Hey Reflex I saw you get some nice waves yesterday (close up too!!! when I was "bobbing" around in the break ) I reckon you are getting tighter and more vertical now on your new board.
After reading your post I watched the WINDSURF 2 movie again. Yep very inspirational I did notice that he was on a twin in that last section and it looked like he was on a quad in Mexico with Kieth(how vert does Kieth get?)
Interestingly I did notice his quad was a silver board with a pin tail and the production quads look like they are either green or orange with a swallow type tail which makes me wonder is he on a custom board. If so after trying out a few quads this year I think bottom shape would have a very big influence on Levi's mobility and agility as well as 4 fins, even though 4 fins definitely changes how a board sails in a better way.
I'm pretty keen to try your quad once you've sussed out the best fin, mast, strap configuration

**note to self ... must change up when Reflex, Leech and Paul change up when wind drops**

getting the board tuned up now

Was match sailing with Ben Arthur at Scarbs - well trying to keep up anyway - as he is so mobile he makes a great benchmark to gauge mobility

Ben was on smoking form yesterday - backies galore, a wave threeo and multiple rooster tail hacks. All in the time it took me to find 2 or 3 good hacks and no jumps.

We compared boards after the session and they were actually quite similar- with the RRD twin 80 ish holding its width further forward and having softer rails . Based on Ben's performance i can see that this is another great shape.

straps all the way forward makes the Quad 82 trim on the slipperiest part of the rocker for quick mobility. I think the mast base 1 cm fwd of centre also compliments the rocker. I was playing with lots of combos and i reckon i had my boom a touch higher than before.

Fin movement makes a big difference - which allows for loose and slidey vs safety and grip tuning.

Another good review.