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.

Good review. What board were you on this arvo? Remember that wave you threw buckets on right in front of me and I hooted? Now that was nice! You were flying through the bottom turn, I had to come off the plane so I didnt mess up your wave. You threw it so hard it turned 180 and 5000 buckets of water left the beach hahaha

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**

Select to expand quote

Rider5 said...

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

Or you could stay on a 4.5m like I did and have a fun sesh

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.

I have the 82L & 92L Quads
Used the 92L Quad and 5.4m sail in Half mast high waves today and loved it
Turns just as sharp as my old Evil twin 80L.Great floaty board for a 88kg person.
Still waiting on the right day to use the 82L,

Love my Starboards

Another good review.