Tabou 91 Da Curve Quad

Have just spent a week at Gero sailing everyday on the 2011 DC91 TE quad in everything from flat water and onshore at Coro's to mast high DTL at Sunsets'.

I am an experienced sailor, but very much improving my waveriding despite 20 yrs in the sport... am a lardy 90 kgs, 180 cms tall.

I sailed the 91 with 5.0 and 5.7 Gaastra Manics and have only sailed it in the quad-setup and with the normal position for the front straps (there is a new angle available, very interesting but remains to be tried).

Over to the board.

Strengths:
+ Somehow, it really does feel like a very good mix of a single-fin and a twin-fin board. It leans more toward a twin though, which I really, really like. I thought that it would perhaps feel a bit to grippy and stiff in smaller waves, but I now think that it actually is really good even in the small stuff with the quad setup.
+ Surprisingly turny for a four-fin board! You need to move the front fins to slightly behind the middle of the boxes, so the entire fincluster is a bit tighter together. I really prefer this setup.
+ Control. Seems amazing for a 91 litre board. I sailed it with a over-powered 5.0 and it was no problem at all. At Sunsets' in the late arvo it can get quite choppy, but the board didn't seem to slap into the chop as some other boards of this size have dome.
+ Upwind. Well, somehow you would expect a board with four fins to go upwind well, but this board is in a league of its own. This is very addictive and really allows you to position yourself on the waves with much less effort than on other boards.
+ It sails and feels small. I very much like the way the 91 sails and feels like a smaller board, but still has the float for my wieght. The shape is very compact, which amkes tacking tricky, but the shape sure seems nice in the waves. Despite being so short, I have not experienced any problems with control or longer, more drawn-out, turns.
+ The way it accelerates and carries speed on a wave. It is really easy to go from zero to full speed on a wave, and it just goes to the top with a lot of speed without to much rider input (or, as in my case, not the best technique... ). Very nice!

Weaknesses:
- The screws for the slot-box can be improved. I would recommend anyone that sails in places where you know that you will hit the bottom every now and then to upgrade the screws in the slot-boxes to slightly longer and thicker ones, like the ones on the 2011 Starboard 93 quad I rented from GSpot (thanks Tim!).
- It is a very compact shape. I think that many sailors will find it hard to believe that they are sailing a 59 wide 91 litre board when trying this shape. You need to be pretty quick when tacking and it is a bit sensitive, for its size, to where you put your feet and weight. I have no issue with this, quite the opposite! (see above), but believe that others might find this a negative.
- Comparing it with a twin-fin, the top-turn is not as easy to go "slashy" with. On the other hand, it is very easy to bring more speed into the top turn, which in many ways makes up for this.
- Speed. It is not the fastest board, but when powered up it sure goes fast enough.

Overall:
I had the impression that perhaps a big quad would not be that good in smaller, slower waves but it was almost the opposite. All that drive really allowed me to get the most out of less than perfect conditions, and I sure had a lot of fun in my last session last Sat at Sunsets in the bigger stuff, like logo high DTL.

For anyone out there looking for a compact shape that carries volume for a bit more ease and float in lighter winds, but still wants a proper board for riding and allround fun in waves, the Tabou DC 91 TE might very well be the key. It took me three or four sessions to dial it in, but now I know that it sure is for me, and is the best "big" waveboard I have ever had.

I know that there are many team sailors around that have gone for a smaller quad and bigger twin this year, but I must say that it makes a lot of sense to me to have a bigger quad. When the conditions are a bit more up and down, the wind less reliable and fluky, that is when a board that has big (huge) range, is really easy to drive upwind (even when underpowered) and that offers good drive even in not so powerful waves is a great tool to have. Which, by pure coincidence, happens to be what the 2011 Tabou DC91 TE is able to offer!

some other views on the 85 quad:-

www.windsurfingmag.com
tabou-dacurve-85-team-edition-quad-fin-review/

and

www.mauiwindsurfing.net/2011/01/2011-the-year-of-the-quad-fin/