Customer review of the 2014 Goya 118 litre Quad

Here is my review of the Goya 118, which may be of interest to some of your punters. It is based on a Gearies WA session Saturday 24 August 2013:
The wind was swinging from completely glassy to well-overpowering on a 5.7, but was light most of the time. Wind angle swung from fairly comfortable down the line bear away wave sailing to completely onshore and light. Waves were waist to shoulder high. Compared to my previous light wind boards the Goya 118L seemed to defy physics, and really surprised me. It has got heaps of float, the 66 cm width gives it great stability on windless gybes, and allows you to recover from unbalanced positions which would normally throw you in the water. The wide nose makes it easy to pop over white water, even when you are hardly moving. Despite its volume the board planes easily, gybes really lightly (can turn on a dime), and pops into the air better than my smaller wave boards. On waves it pumps onto the take off much easier than my Exocet Kona MiniTanker, and then feels looser, easier to push vertical than my Mistral Twinzer 92! The grip even on fat onshore waves is extraordinary, and sets up the cutback really well. The cutback is just as fast as my smaller Twinzers (92 & 84), but in comparison to those boards the extra grip means you slide out less on the reo, especially in onshore waves. I had sailed my Twinzer 92 the day before in the same spot in bigger swell with more wind using a 5m sail, but felt that I would have got more out of them with the Goya 118L, even though the conditions were on the wane, and I was using a much bigger, bagged out sail. On that basis this board redefines light wind wave sailing for me. It seems that now you can have the upside of extra buoyancy with no negative effects in the waves.

What's your weight and how much does the 118 weigh? Price?

Hi Stehsegler,

That was my review Mark posted above. I'm about 93-4 kg, but I'm not sure what the Goya weighs. It's carbon-kevlar board which feels about the same weight as my Mistral Twinzers. I got a good deal from Coreboardsports-have a talk to Nick Maloney.

Cheers, Jens

Mark, this one is definitely on my radar for this spring.

Jens, when you have had a day where she planes on the way out in onshore conditions, I would love to know how she feels in a straight line for jumping and blazing out through the shorebreak. Is it more planted like most quads are described these days, or more flying off the tail and exciting like the new Quantum quads are said to ride? Look forward to updates on this one

I have the 104 and would love a 118 for those super light days. Would be good to have in the quiver if I could afford on other board. Looks sweet with new design.

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AJEaster said..

Mark, this one is definitely on my radar for this spring.

Jens, when you have had a day where she planes on the way out in onshore conditions, I would love to know how she feels in a straight line for jumping and blazing out through the shorebreak. Is it more planted like most quads are described these days, or more flying off the tail and exciting like the new Quantum quads are said to ride? Look forward to updates on this one

Hi AJ,

I've only had the one chance to use the board so far, but did get it planing for about 30 mins or so (wind was very up and down). Compared to my Twinzers this board seems to have more pop, probably to due to the extra grip that Quads appear to have. As a result it took to the air very cleanly, and was good fun to jump. Planing speed seemed pretty much the same as my smaller Twinzers, so I reckon it should be pretty good at blasting through shorebreaks. I'll let you know as I get more water time with it.

Cheers, Jens

i have to admit, i didnt get on with the older Goya quads, as they felt too planted and grippy (coming off same mistral twinzers) for my taste

Is the new version more free feeling / looser?
Whats the shape underneath....less vee this year??

Thanks

Northy1

Hi Northy,

Had a good opportunity to test this yesterday as the local winter wave sailing spot was cranking early, giving me an hour with the Mistral Twinzer 84 & 4.7 m sail. Then the wind dropped pretty dramatically forcing an upscale to Goya 118/5.3 m sail. The Goya is amazingly loose; its actually easier to initiate the bottom turn than with the much smaller Twinzer, making it easy to climb vertically on the wave face. When you need to fade down the line to let the wall build up again-which you often do at this slightly onshore sailing spot, the little quad helper fins seem to enable you to track better along the wave face, climbing & maintaining speed a little better than the Twinzer. As a result when its time to do the next cutback, you have more drive to play with. When I 1st started using the Mistral Twinzers I felt that they had a similar grip advantage over single fins like the Evo, that enabled you to stay on the wave face better, and remain in the critical part of the wave more effectively. The difference between the Goya Quad and the Mistral Twinzer feels a little like that again. Not sure how they've done it though.

Cheers, Jens

H Jens,
any further opportunities to test the 118 ? Was wondering how she felt on bigger waves....

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jwd said..

H Jens,
any further opportunities to test the 118 ? Was wondering how she felt on bigger waves....

Hi JWD,

Last week I got the Goya 118 out into mast high waves using a 5.7. The board felt really good, tracked really well and didn't feel large at all, especially in the early part of the session when the wind was light. It handled the drops beautifully, and climbed back up the face really well, just as I was hoping. As the wind picked up it started to feel heavy on the wave, just like any overpowered set up. Was no problem heading back downwind to camp though to grab it's smaller brother, the Quad 94 and change down to a 5.0.

That board got a real workout last week from head high to double mast, and was really, really impressive. At 93 kg the Goya 94 gives me plenty of float in gusty winds, but feels really small and playful. Great fun to attack smallish waves with because it is really responsive, and the grip gets you so nice and high up the face it feels like you can go anywhere. Then when the swell picks up, and your primary concern is survival rather than slashing the wave to pieces, it tracks really well, giving you heaps of confidence. Not once did it trip out on any of the big take-offs last week, no sketchiness in the bottom turn at all. So stable on the bottom turn, it reminded me of the long ago asymmetric days. It's great to have that stability back, but not have to trade off pointing & planing ability, and looseness off the top, that we used to do in those days.

Cheers, Jens

Thanks for the update Jens- sounds very promising !
Big wave, light wind season has already started here so am very stoked to hear you're pleased w/ the 118's performance- I actually am having Pascal send me one- should be hear next Monday - very stoked !

There's a guy here that bought Francisco's (Goya) personal custom 118 at the AWS event at Waddell this past spring and is running it as a twin and is very stoked w/ it (as a twin) as well.

Can't wait to try 'er out hahah

cheers
jd

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jwd said..


There's a guy here that bought Francisco's (Goya) personal custom 118 at the AWS event at Waddell this past spring and is running it as a twin and is very stoked w/ it (as a twin) as well.

hi JD,

That sounds interesting. Actually I was thinking of doing the same when I 1st jumped over from my Mistral Twins. Now that I've used the boards a fair bit I've really gotten used to the quad grip, and love the control it gives you during wave riding. Let us know how you get on with yours.

Cheers, Jens

.

"Let us know how you get on with yours. Cheers, Jens"

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jwd said..

Roger that Jens.... will do...

Well- I had a chance to take the 118 out 4-5 times in the last few weeks and this is what i found-- this being said I am just a mediocre wave sailor though i am fortunate enough get too sail alot in central california wave conditions ...

1st off- the board sure is purdddy- damn it looks good- very light weight & solid construction as well.

It most definately gets me out in lighter wind conditions than i would ever be able to get out on on my jp99 single thruster ( a very awesome board in its own right). In fact, I have to double check myself to be sure that there is enough wind to water start before i go out in case i fall as it's
very easy to beach start in minimal wind-- just don't want to fall & flounder with not enough wind to h20 start-- Maui John has one ( Francisco's old custom 118) and is able to uphaul his-- pretty freakin amazing for a big guy - but unfortunately - i'm unable to do it (yet)...

It sloughs/gags out in minimal wind very well- it pops up going over white water very well - all in minimal wind.

It goes upwind pretty good in very lite wind.

It pumps onto the wave very, very easily in lite wind- feels very lite underfoot while doing so... the board planes up on the wave easily and is fast down the line..

I like how it feels under-powered and in semi-powered up conditions - to the point where i'm in the harness- with my feet on the deck but not yet in the straps-- it glides very nicely in smooth to slightly choppy conditions...
more specifically, I've used it on several occations in super light wind ( ie i could barely hear the wind buzz in my ears and there was none to slight cordorouy texture on the water- and then - in the same session - be way over powered w/ choppy seas- all on a 5.6...

so far- in general- i enjoy the board in underpowered to marginally powered conditions-- I do not enjoy the board being fully powered up on a 5.6 so much in those conditions ( at my 91-93 kg weight the water is rather choppy and i could probably be out on my 93 L board)--this being in general sailing conditions and includes all the time on the water EXCLUDING being on the wave face.. being on a 5.3 or 5.0 in these general conditions would probably reduced the discomfort i was experiencing though...

On the wave face w/ a 5.6 in very lite --> mod lite wind the board felt amazing- it was very easy to pump onto the wave-- very lite underfoot and very responsive both back side ( felt kind of big though compared to my jp 99) and front side- ( felt small and very responsive on the bottom turns and also off the lip for multiple back side front side, etc turns on the same wave) all w/ minimal wind in the sail). in mod- too strong /overpowered wind on the wave face the board still felt good and in control- just had to lean more into the rail to get it to turn- still very aggressive and pleasurable for a big board and nothing to fault the board design for as it still is a very turny board.

My observations are based on my weight - 91-->93KG - at dport and wadell beach conditions ( dport knee --> 2 foot over head somewhat mushy, yet long period swell sideshorish conditions & wadell side onshorish lite wind w/ way more punchy beachy break head high conditions).

So far - i'm very stoked on its' lite --> mod lite wind performance- which- truley- is the reason i bought the board ( like most, I bought it for its' niche purpose- very light--> mod lite wind wave sailing). Also here- in fall & winter- the wind is very light on the inside but stronger on the outside...

your milage may vary....

Hopefully will be able to use it this weekend in way bigger waves !

jd

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Ezzy Sails said..

Customer review of the 2014 Goya 118 litre Quad

Here is my review of the Goya 118, which may be of interest to some of your punters. It is based on a Gearies WA session Saturday 24 August 2013:
The wind was swinging from completely glassy to well-overpowering on a 5.7, but was light most of the time. Wind angle swung from fairly comfortable down the line bear away wave sailing to completely onshore and light. Waves were waist to shoulder high. Compared to my previous light wind boards the Goya 118L seemed to defy physics, and really surprised me. It has got heaps of float, the 66 cm width gives it great stability on windless gybes, and allows you to recover from unbalanced positions which would normally throw you in the water. The wide nose makes it easy to pop over white water, even when you are hardly moving. Despite its volume the board planes easily, gybes really lightly (can turn on a dime), and pops into the air better than my smaller wave boards. On waves it pumps onto the take off much easier than my Exocet Kona MiniTanker, and then feels looser, easier to push vertical than my Mistral Twinzer 92! The grip even on fat onshore waves is extraordinary, and sets up the cutback really well. The cutback is just as fast as my smaller Twinzers (92 & 84), but in comparison to those boards the extra grip means you slide out less on the reo, especially in onshore waves. I had sailed my Twinzer 92 the day before in the same spot in bigger swell with more wind using a 5m sail, but felt that I would have got more out of them with the Goya 118L, even though the conditions were on the wane, and I was using a much bigger, bagged out sail. On that basis this board redefines light wind wave sailing for me. It seems that now you can have the upside of extra buoyancy with no negative effects in the waves.

My review of the 2014 Goya Quad 84

This is my first year on Goya boards as i have been on Quatro up until now.I can highly recomend the Goya 84 quad as a one board dose all.It is mabey not as radical or as as the quatro boards when you want to crank out a top or bottom turn but that being said it makes up for it in every thing else.The board has more of a free playful feel. it is light and fast, planes super quick honks upwind and is very controlled in high winds(40knots).It is a jumping machine if you want to get big air and more importantly lands super soft (mabey due to the slight v in the tail). As for turns it feels a little softer than the Quatros but once the rail is set you can go nuts and trough lots of spray.The fins,and straps are top notch.
The only negative thing i can say is it took me a couple of weeks to get use to the short lenght and sort out my stance so i didnt go over the bars.
If you are thinking or purchasing a quad this year this may be a serious contender!

update all,

lovin the 118 as a twin- using the stock fins that came w/ the board- the board feels slashier and faster down the line w/ 2 fins to me -- feels better fully powered up to me than w/ the extra drag of the side biters as well.. wish this board shape came as a single fin haha

cheers
jd

Hi JD,

That's interesting feedback. We've just had a great sailing summer here, and my spreadsheet tells me I've been wave sailing 40 times on the 94 compared with 11 for the 118, so I'm much more used to the smaller one. Every time I jump on the big one I'm surprised how responsive it is. Certainly a bit slower to get moving than it's smaller brother, but mighty fine nonetheless. I like your tip about removing the quad helper fins and will have a crack at this. I'm guessing by doing this you are losing a bit of grip on the wave face though? Perhaps not as good in onshore conditions?

Cheers, Jens

I bought this board back in November and have to say it's strange. When you read the volume and look at the size you'd expect it to be sluggish. Once you get on the water it all changes.

I bought this board specifically for light wind days and I am using it with super light 5.6 Severn S1. The combo of that specific sail with that board is a dream come true for heavy weight wave sailors.

Firstly, on the way out it gets quick on the plane. Surprisingly quick given it's a wave board. I am putting this down to the volume. Once you are on the plane it jumps well and even rotational jumps are not a problem. The added volume makes it super easy getting over white water when you are sub-planing.

Now onto wave riding. Again I am super surprised how easily the board turns. I have used it in little knee high slappers right up to over head high cross on and down the line waves and haven't found anything to complain. It's like having the flotation of a SUP without the drag. Even in ultra light winds it's quite easy to ride.

I've had a few people with different weights try out the board and sail combo. One of the guys weight about 85 kg. His first remark was: "holy **** that Severne rig is light." His second remark was: "I can't believe I got planing on a wave board in 12 knts and how is it to turn that tanker once you get on a wave?".

Overall I would say this Severne rig with Goya Quad 118 combo I have now is simply awesome for heavier guys that want to get into waves on days they used to sit around on the beach in the past. It's great to see companies like Goya, OES, Starboard etc investing time and money into developing big size wave boards. Not long ago I have heard from a number of shapers that this type of board was impossible to build and that there was no market for it anyway.

Now some particular things of note:
- The foot straps are rubbish. They are hard and difficult to mount onto the board. I ditched the once that came with the board and bought some Fanatic straps. Happy days.

- You really need to play around with foot strap position. It took me a while to get that right. Even now I would probably switch them around a bit depending on how light the wind is.

- Fin position: they have markings in the fin box for different fin positions. Not sure why because both the inside and outside boxs is so short you can't really move around the fins that came with the board.

hey guys, hope all is well...
Jens- i've taken her out as a twin in side/side offish locations in small to well over mast high mushier waves and she just kills it as a twin.maybe not quite as grippy as w/ a quad- but more responsive and quicker to get to the lip than as a quad perhaps...

at another location its 20 /30 * side onshore w/ faster more powerful waves- and w/ almost 100% certainty can say the twin makes it easier to get better/quicker multi lip hits on the pitching bomb waves - i believe- than the quad...

could be wrong though....
cheers
jd

also- i used to hate to ride 'er in powered up conditions as a quad- the extra drag of te quad made it really unpleasant to ride- for me at least.. but since changin 'er to a twin it is soo much more fun to ride when powered - up..
also have to note that i did also change frm a 4 batton 5.6 back to an older 5 batton 5.6 sail which also- i'm sure , made a difference....

JD-makes sense to me. I like the idea of making it a bit faster to climb and I'll give it a go I reckon.

Stehsegler. What do mean about playing with the footstraps as the wind changes? How have you got them set up now?

I'm using the Chinook double screw plate and have it pushed pretty much as far forward as I can in the mast track because I like the flow that this brings. Footstraps are in the medium position at the front, and middle to max rear at the back. I find the board turns comfortably in straps from there.

Cheers, Jens

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Stehsegler. What do mean about playing with the footstraps as the wind changes? How have you got them set up now?

I usually have the strips in the second whole from the front but found in very light wind it's a bit less comfortable being in the straps while riding a wave. For those days I found it more comfortable to shift the straps all the way to the front.

Hope that makes sense.

Hi Stehsegler. That does make sense. Sounds to me like you are also trying to maximize the flow of the board by putting your weight forward and engaging the rail. I might have a play with that too. I note that the reviewers of these Goya Quads seemed to favour a wide stance just like you do.

What did you end up doing with your Fanatic 101? Is this now your light wind board? I must admit that it was your thread about the 101 that got me thinking that it might be feasible to improve on the light wind wave performance of the Mistral 92, which ended up with me moving entirely to Goya; 94 & 118. It's been a great move because the 94 does what the Mistral 84 & 92 did, while the 118 opens up new avenues of ridiculously light wind, wobbly wave sailing.

Cheers, Jens

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Jens said..
What did you end up doing with your Fanatic 101?

I still have and use the Fanatic 101. Awesome board and wouldn't want to miss it. The 118 is essentially my ultra light wind board. The 101 comes out when the wind is steady enough that there are no zero wind lulls. I also have a 93 Fanatic Quad which I use when it's constant 15knts+.

I am currently a bit fatter than I'd like to be but that's another story. Once I am back down to 95 which is my normal weight I'll probably stick with the setup but add an 89 Fanatic Quad or similar.

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stehsegler said..

Jens said..
What did you end up doing with your Fanatic 101?

I still have and use the Fanatic 101. Awesome board and wouldn't want to miss it. The 118 is essentially my ultra light wind board. The 101 comes out when the wind is steady enough that there are no zero wind lulls. I also have a 93 Fanatic Quad which I use when it's constant 15knts+.

I am currently a bit fatter than I'd like to be but that's another story. Once I am back down to 95 which is my normal weight I'll probably stick with the setup but add an 89 Fanatic Quad or similar.

I know the formula is n+1 (n= number of boards you have.) but it sound like you have to many boards (I say this out of jealousy). You must have a van. I have the 104 goya and a 92 pyrimid thruster. I've been looking at selling the 104 and getting the 118. Try and create the biggest gap possible

Have you guys had the 118 out in 20 knots does it become a handful . I can bog around and get waves on my 92 in about 15 knots

I'm going to try my 104 as a twin. Sound like it will be better in light wind.

1 also weigh 98 and 6 foot

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wintortree said..


Have you guys had the 118 out in 20 knots does it become a handful . I can bog around and get waves on my 92 in about 15 knots

I have, with my 5.3
I thought it might be a handful, but it was actually fine.

In fact I purchased this board to compliment my JP 92L quad (I'm 5'11 and 95kgs) and found that I used the 118 probably 85% of the time.

I have the two quads as I was going to try and put in a big effort and get better in the waves ... work and other s**t got in the way and I didnt sail anywhere near as much as i wanted to this season.

Anyway the 118 was a massive surprise and I'm certainly not sorry I purchased it.

Hi Wintortree,

I like the gap between my 94 & 118, and I weigh between 92-94 kg. I find that I can sail the 94 in a really wide range, including very light conditions, so I tend to to do that because I prefer its slightly livelier feel on the wave. When it gets too difficult to pump onto the swells, or no wind gybes are giving me the s hits, I jump onto the 118. Having said that I was out at the Passage the other day in some nice 14 sec period swells the other day with the 118 because there was not enough wind for kites to sail when I 1st got there. While I was out there the wind picked up enough for me to be more or less constantly planing, and since I couldn't be bothered sailing all the way across the lagoon to change boards, I just persevered. The 118 felt fine in the stronger winds, both sailing and wave riding.

How do you go on the 92l thruster. Does this one have a pretty wide wind range for you too?

Cheers, Jens

Yea the 92 is so wild. I can't believe how vertical I can go on it. And it's much faster then the goya on the wave. I can bog around it around pretty light wind so am stoked on that because I love sailing it. The wind range is big for me. We often get light winds here but have powerful waves cross off most of the time so you have only got to get on the wave and your have enough power to sail normally. Then you just bog back out the the waves. Some days we get the sups out to sail which is fun but would prefer to be on the wave board. I'd like to get rid of the sup and only ride a 118 or my pyramid.

The Quatro pyramid thruster has a very different shape to most the others on the market. Quatro really made this for waves and it shows. I've only be out on it a few times and the best thing about it how fast you come out of turns on it. I love it.

Would love to swap my 104 for a 118 then I'll be covered and can only use the sup for supping. Because the sup is not holding up to the abuse I've put it through.

Has anyone around 75kg ridden this board?

comments please

Hi, I am 94 kg and don't have the Goya 118 but I seriously considered it ..but instead I bought the 2014 Quatro Cube 110 on special.

I went for a cost saving but am really happy with the Quatro. I believe both the Goya and Quatro are excellent boards...Keith Taboul and Goya must be the worlds best shaper/design team right now....you can't go wrong...

I draw your attention to:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Review/Goya-Fringe-53-First-look/

There Philn from the US responded to a question I put to him... (apparently he is 80kg..) and he has both the Quatro Cube 110 and the Goya 118.. ! He states:

"I have both. I bought the Goya 118 L to replace my SUP for ultra light wind sailing. The Quattro 110 is almost as loose as the 2012 95 L Quad LS, and sails like a board much smaller than 110 L, except for when the wind dies and then the volume is there. The Goya 118 sails like a 118 L waveboard, which is to say that it is pretty good, but takes much more force and commitment for me to turn tightly. I'm now riding it as a twin fin to loosen it up and I only use the Goya when it is too light to waterstart. I think if the Goya was scaled down to 110 L the Quattro would still be a better board. But the Goya is a lot better light wind wave board than any SUP I tried to sail."

I believe there is quite of bit of information on sea breeze about the Goya 118. Also I have a test on it from Boards windsurfing annual from last year which I would be happy to post....It is by all accounts an excellent board...my decision on the Quatro 110 was based on price and the fact it is my only waveboard now......Cheers