Hi. Considering getting a Rocket+ 133 or 143 for light winds. Is the Team construction for 2021 the same as Carbon Flex in previous years, and is it very fragile?
I've mostly had JP (Pro construction was good), a Fanatic Falcon TE (more fragile but not bad), and Starboards in different constructions, but never had or sailed a Tabou and was just wandering if their more expensive construction (Team/CF) is good.
A friend had JP Gold construction which seemed very fragile and he had several problems with, so I want to avoid this. Thanks for the advice. Best.
Team construction 2021 = Carbon Flex 2020; same, but different name.
I've got three Tabous in Team/CF and find them to be very robust. No dents, no scratches from rubbing the board over sand or grass, design is not flaking. I can recommend them to the fullest. And the Rocket+ is a wonderful board btw.
Mahalo!
I know a few people who have Tabou boards, the Rocketwide, Speedster and Manta slalom board, but nobody with the latest Rocket+. The Rocketwide & Speedster has carbon deck and glass hull. The Manta has a carbon deck & hull.
None of them have had any problems with the carbon boards, apart from a Manta which had a small crack on the nose after a minor catapult but the lightweight slalom board possibly has less reinforcement. He is 100kg, sails 60-80 km a session and sails regularly, whenever its windy really. He keeps his boards 2 years at least, and as far as I know none have gone soft on the deck.
The other 3 sailors are lighter, sail fewer km, but keep their boards longer (4 - 5 years so far) and their boards are still fine as far as I know.
The only issue one of them mentioned was when he bought a secondhand glass (CED construction now called LTD) Rocketwide and he took it to a board repairers to get some paintwork done and they said the board had gone soft on the deck. He took the board back to the shop he bought it from. As it was secondhand, he didnt know the boards history.
They all sail in harbours or sheltered sea spots most of the time, so maybe less hard on their boards than people who launch through a shorebreak all the time.
As far as I can remember, I've only seen 1 Tabou slalom board for sale which has had a deck repair due to it going soft between the straps, they seem quite robust.
I think the JP Gold and the Fanatic Textreme carbon boards (they had for the Blast and Freewave) are very light and thus more fragile. My Exocet carbon boards are built a bit stronger than those. If I was after a new large board I would look at Exocet first (not so sure I like their latest design as its narrower in the tail), then Tabou Rocket+ or maybe Goya after than.
I've just gone from JP to Patrik. So far they're brilliant. P150slalom is my big one. Faster than SB Ultrasonic147
What about the biggest Futura 86, 144L, is this a good replacement for my old JP SLW, for all the reasons I'm using the SLW, early planning with a V8, 8.7? Likely a more fun and faster ride without loosing too much in early planning. Any opinions?
