Anyone ridden one ?
Interested in feedback on the 85lt and 91lt versions

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WindWarrior said...

Anyone ridden one ?
Interested in feedback on the 85lt and 91lt versions

Wow the outline looks very similar to the quatro quad.

Yeah I have the 85L.
I prefer it as a thruster.
Still waiting to try in mast high gnaraloo but it's the goods I rekon.
So much more user friendly than the 2011 da curve.
Maybe not so good for waves under waist high but turns on hard in over head conditions. Had one of my best Avalon sessions on this girl and a cracking sesh down south too.
If ur looking for a lazy persons board that gets up and boogies with no input elsewhere, but if u want a proper wave board (not a flat rocker FW) that will handle all sorts of conditions that is actually quite forgiving for a wave board give one a try!

Hey Bertie you used to use JP's didn't you ?
Are you able to describe how the ride compares to the JP 84 Twin Fin (2009/2010)

My bro is pretty keen on the DaCurve and is currently on the 84 JP Twin.
The reason I'm asking is I will most likely be using erm 'testing' the board for him in Maui before bringing it back over to him in WA

Size wise how does it feel (IE like it's bigger than its stated volume, smaller or smack on)

How much work is involved getting it up onto the plain ?
What's the biggest sail you have comfortably run on it ?
What's the smallest sail you have comfortably run on it ?

What's your rough weight and height ?

Apologies for the multiple questions, just trying to get a few more details in order to get a clearer understanding of performance and usability

Can drop you a PM if would prefer ?

Cheers

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WindWarrior said...

Hey Bertie you used to use JP's didn't you ?
Yep, still have a 74 quad JP
Are you able to describe how the ride compares to the JP 84 Twin Fin (2009/2010)
Hmm it was a while since i rode my 84 jp twin... maybe the quadster is better than the JP in down the line. JP will be better in onshore coz flatter rocker. the JP 2010 82L quad is still prolly my all time fave board particularly for scabs. The JP twin could be very loose and probably benefited from a fin change. farkit i cant remember enough its been too long!! loving the quadster as a thruster so easy to get vert and snap around. maybe my aerials on it arent as big as my JP but maybe conditions are much better when i'm on it. Quadster seems to plane up at the same time as my mates 85L F2 quad

My bro is pretty keen on the DaCurve and is currently on the 84 JP Twin.
The reason I'm asking is I will most likely be using erm 'testing' the board for him in Maui before bringing it back over to him in WA

Size wise how does it feel (IE like it's bigger than its stated volume, smaller or smack on) I'd say smack on 85.

How much work is involved getting it up onto the plain ? I dont think much but another local guy rekoned he had trouble. its all about how efficient you are.
What's the biggest sail you have comfortably run on it ? 5.4
What's the smallest sail you have comfortably run on it ? 4.8 i think but prolly 5.4

What's your rough weight and height ? 74kg, 179cm

Apologies for the multiple questions, just trying to get a few more details in order to get a clearer understanding of performance and usability

Can drop you a PM if would prefer ?

Cheers

Anything else??

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R1DER said...
Wow the outline looks very similar to the quatro quad.

My thinking too but according to a few reviews I read around the place the 85 Quatro is a touch better allround than the 85 Curve and same size Goya.

But then again is all comes down to how long you have had the board. I think it's rare these days that boards in the 85 to 95 range are complete duds. Probably more a case of what do you sail most... down the line sub-planing or fully powered with a mix of onshore / cross shore and side off.

I've tried the 79 Dacurve 2011 in DDL up to over mast high to a mushy 1 to 2 m and that board was a beast, so radical!! The downside is, in big wave, it is sooo livelly that I had to spread out the fins...but it was still an angry beast!!! I guess a better sailor might be alright but I was always on the edge...fun RIDE!!! In less radical..up to logo and fast down the line I was feeling like I was a PRO(I said, I had the feeling...I'm sure I was not looking as a PRO ), tight turns, longer turns..top turns are rediculous...my favorite board so far, but in the mast high range..I would prefer a bit of stability.

I usually take 75L board, but with that liveliness, 79 was super floaty, was able to tack easily and stay on the board in the no wind section inside and was turning way more than all I have ridden so far!

I bought a JP Quads 82...contradictory isn't it, I guess life is that simple!

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WindWarrior said...

Anyone ridden one ?
Interested in feedback on the 85lt and 91lt versions

I've used the 85 recently in maui in both quad and thruster modes. I have both the 91 and 85 in 2011 models and have ridden many tabous (i quite like them) I found it slower to get planing when compared to my 2011 models, so much so that i think the 11's are better boards for my style. Comparing modes i think it works better as a quad, the cutback is quicker and more fun. In thruster mode the cutback is much more predictable.

Comparing it to say the Goya - on the wave they feel very similar in quad mode, but the goya is faster to plane. if it is choppy the tabou felt more comfortable - maybe as a result of the best pads in the world.

Hope this helps.

Has anyone use this board in side on conditions with lots of current? Thanks!

I was not in a lot of current and side on, but the board was going upwind way better than the Quatro Single Fin.

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rdm said...

Has anyone use this board in side on conditions with lots of current? Thanks!

Here is some initial information I've collected. I hope it is useful.

ncboardrider.blogspot.com/2012/05/first-look-at-tabou-dacurve-quadster.html

Hi guys, i am a Tabou teamrider (and moderator at the Tabou forum...) and i hope i can help out here.
The 2012 quadster planes earlier and more easy then the 2011 da curve quad models because the shape is much more balanced and the volume is distrubited better.
The quadster is all allround a better board, in quad set up it planes really fast , it's very loose and goes upwind like a steamtrain
Altough it's very loose it has lots of drive DTL and you have loads of grip in the turns.
Because that the backfins are so far to the rails in compare to other quads the quadster boards have so much grip and drive in the bottomturn it is insane...
The boards can do it all from onshore to sideshore to... and from small waves to logo high or even... They just love every condition, this must sound like a commercial but they really are so good

In thruster set up it feels even looser and more skatey but it planes a tiny bit slower and goes upwind a bit less but still very good i must say, and i must add that i run them always with very small fins (K4's).

The boards are very playfull and have a big through around factor, like i said ''very playfull''.
Normally on a quad they say take one size bigger (+5 liters) in compare of a single fin board.
It is all on personal likings because the quadsters will plane really early and have lots of ''float'' to them so you can get a same quoted volume as you have on your single fins, but on the other hands they have so much control and feel so playfull that you can easily take a bigger board in higher winds then you used to... so al a bit personal i guess.
Grtz, Martin

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martR said...

Hi guys, i am a Tabou teamrider (and moderator at the Tabou forum...) and i hope i can help out here.

Thanks for the info. I have a question for martR or anyone else. I am looking for a one or two-board quiver:
Weight: 86kg
Conditions: 75% onshore waves, 25% cross/off shore
Most common sail size: 4.8 then 5.3 (range 3.7-5.8)
Level: Advanced

!) What would you recommend as a one board solution 91 or 85?
2) What would you recommend as a two-board solution? 91 + 85 or 91 + 79?

My dilemma stems from the quoted 91l of the larger size vs, say the 95l Quatro LS - giving more light-wind range, and the smaller gap of only 6l between the boards. i.e. are the 85 & 91 too close in size for me? If I go for a 79, will I hardly get on it? (like my old 75 for 4.2 weather and below). How does the 91 compare to other 95 quads?

Thanks for the help!

Been ridding the 2012 quadster 86 for three days now in Maui
Day 1 using 4.7
Day 2 using a 4.4
Day 3 using a 5.4

Great board in super high wind for some one over 90 kilos
Hard to tell how well it planes as the wind has been nuclear and a door would have planned in these winds.
Awesome board to jump.
Currently set up in thruster mode which was a tricky side step as I have been ridding a quad or twin fin of late.
Main difference from other quads or twins I have ridden is that once the back end releases you have to lift the tail and pull it back in other wise it will simply keep on sliding
No such problem with the twin or quad as you just curl your toes upand lift from the ankle and the board comes back under you.

The thruster set up struggled with grip but to be fair it has been crazy windy so can't really say how other boards would have gone ?

As a rig up, get on a go board for some bump and jump it is a pleasure to ride, no nasty habits or dead spots
Very controllable in the air even with the super strong winds
Feels extremely solid on big landings with 90+ kg stomping down on it
The rails feel great when committed to a turn or gybe.. But weight has to be centered over the board or it will cavitate under load
- again this is probably due to higher wind strengths but I did notice a similar feeling on a differen brands thruster when I sailed it earlier in the year

Hope to get it into some more waves in the coming days And set up as a quad

One down side is the fin box set up as used by tabou... The fin boxes have two screws similar to a surfboard FCS fins system... just much larger screws. this means you cant use us style fins that have the pin/ lug at the back.
The actual box is straight on both sides with no wider opening for the back end of a us style fin to slot in
A us style fin box would be the go as it would mean there would be a wider selection of fins that could be used.
Considered grinding down a set of myK4 fins to fit... But then they would be useless for any other board

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One down side is the fin box set up as used by tabou... The fin boxes have two screws similar to a surfboard FCS fins system... just much larger screws. this means you cant use us style fins that have the pin/ lug at the back.
The actual box is straight on both sides with no wider opening for the back end of a us style fin to slot in
A us style fin box would be the go as it would mean there would be a wider selection of fins that could be used.
Considered grinding down a set of myK4 fins to fit... But then they would be useless for any other board

I thinks there's a video on the mfc website of Pio modding a US fin to fit these new boxes. Better still head up to Haiku and get him to show you

Hi Matr,

what's up with the tennis balls ? to keep the straps in shape ? for a better bounce if the board falls ?

Hahaha, the tennisballs are there because my equipment is laying on each other in my shed and this prevents collepsin my footstraps so they stay in the right shape this way... i also keep this explaning to people when i am on the beach hahaha lol.

I must say about the tri-fin set up that i also find it a little to sketchy and i prefer it as a quad, then it is a dream
But i have to say i set it up in the tri fin set up with small and flexie fins.
For my quad set up with the quadster 67 witch has 7-13 fins i used for a while K4 7-12 but now i am back to 8-13 witch are perfect.
For my 74 i use K4 9-13 (8-13 will do also for 4.7 and smaller) and the same for the quadster 79... You can nicely tune the boards with the fin positions from loose to more grip but i always think the looser the better but that's personal.
The back fins are placed far to the outer rail for more grip btw.
In quad set up the board is so good and fast in the turns but always with total control... the board keeps going faster and has lots of grip but still it feels loose in the turns, all this together is a fantastic feeling...
And because of the control you can also let the board go free full throttle (overpowered) and look for that steep wave to get some airtime...

@gwanso, if you have the financial opportunity then i would go for two boards...
Remember the quadsters plane really really fast and you don't want a to big board in my opinion. For example, i plane with my 4.7 on my quadster 67 just as fast then on my 74 or 79 but then again i am only 63 kg.
My friend is 85 kg and have no problem what so ever to get the quadster 79 going so don't be afread that that board will be to small and when you are going to use it it will be windy so i would say go for that one mate.
The 79 is really 81 liters according the german (surf.de) test so i would take that one for sure.
Next to the 79 i would go for the 91 to get a big range out of your quiver and it will be superb with your 4.8 , 5.3 and 5.8 sails in light and medium winds. On the 79 you can use your 3.7 , 4.2 and 4.8 powered up but it also take a 5.3 very well. I think with 5.3 winds tho you would like to sail on the 91 for some extra float.
Like i said the boards really planes very fast and are also very controlable in the high winds and they give lots of float. The turn on a dime without any effort and are super loose.
Trust me you won't regret getting these boards and i am not saying that because i sail Tabou but i really mean that. My (85 kg) friend has two quads from other big brands witch i will not name and he always want to sail my 79 when its windy so i think that said it all... to go to your question about the quatro LS 95 i think it will be a good board too but i haven't sailed it so i can't comment on this one.
I would suggest the quadster 79 and 91 for sure.
Hope this helped.
Grtz, Martin

I bought a tabou quadster 74 and I want to know if anyone has used it with 5.2. My weigh is 64 kg. Someone can tell me something about floating or use expreriences???

I've had a few more seshs on my 85L. I only have the stock fins but I've tried different combinations. I'm surprised that martR says the board is a really early planer. I was wondering if the K4 fins are an improvement over the stock fins?

Also I noticed the foot strap change. I definitely recommend better straps if you run yours more open. If you open the strap enough there is a gap with no padding and that wore a notch on the outside of my foot. I just put different straps on yesterday.

Keeping in mind that I'm new to a pure wave rocker I am still struggling to keep upwind unless the sets are clean enough I can catch them on the outside and use the wave energy to head into the wind. I have 100% of my focus on learning to get this upwind thing- once on the wave I'm loving the feel of the board.

Thanks!

For anyone who would like to know, we have a 79, 85 and 91 litre 2012 Tabou Quadsters available, including a very popular 85l demo board available to demo(if in Vic)

@ Itapaul, a 5.2 is working great on the 74 and especially when you are only 64 kg, no problem there. The boards floats really good for there given sizes.
I personally love K4 9-13 normal flex fins in this board with a 5.2 and this set up makes the board very loose but still in control and with drive, short turns , wide turns and quick to plane.

@RDM, it take a little time to get to know the boards because they are pretty radical but once you get it how they work you will love the boards potential.
About your planing question, i don't know how fast the 85 plane's because i never sailed one but i know the smaller sizes plane pretty fast, but i have to admit and i wrote that in my last post somewere above here in this topic that when i am on my 4.7 Severne S1 i plane just as fast on my 67 then on my 79.
The only reason to get a bigger quadster for me is when i need the board to carry a bigger size sail.
I also think that the 67 is the best shape of all but that is also possible because of my light weight
About the K4 fins, i get the feeling that they give less drag (and more flex) than the standard ones but i am still working out what the best fin sizes are to be honnest, first i started on my 67 with 7-12 then i changed it to 8-12 and now i am on 8-13 so still not 100% sure there... but one thing that is for sure is that i plane faster with the K4's in quad set up then with the standard fins and the K4's are much looser...

I know the Tabou pro's like Jamie Hancock and Peter Gartze love the board in twin fin set up and despite they said at Tabou in the beginning of the 2012 quadster board launch last year that the backfins a to far to the rail to work as a twin fin they appear to work really great this way.
I haven't tried it myself yet but i know Jamie uses on his quadster 67 2 standard 15 cm zingers and he is very stoked about it.

Hope this helped a bit.
Grtz, Martin

I talked to Martin awhile ago about these boards. Ended up going with the 79lt and 91lt versions. I'm about 80kg. As far as being quick to plane, they do take a bit of technique to get going. It seems you need to virtually have your front foot in the strap and give the sail a pump and then your off. This being said they tend to glide through lulls once going fairly well. I'm still getting used to them though, have used them about 8 times so far. Level wise Im probably intermediate wave sailing. Can push loop, aerial etc, but havent hit a wave 360 yet, thats the goal for this season...

On the wave though they are by far the loosest board Ive sailed and definitely rewarding. For my weight, the 79 is my main board for more of a down the line setup, the 91 is used mainly for cross-on beaches with a bit of current where you need to keep your speed up. Sail wise I've been using the 79 with a 4.2, 4.7, and 5.4 depending on wave size, and the 91 with the 5.4, 5.7. Having a big board around 90lt that still turns well is great though since it allows you to waffle out with a smaller sail even in conditions when the wave are a bit larger. The 91 dacurve due to its fairly narrow tail turns like a 80lt board.

Last year up north I jumped on a 93lt board and a 5.4 in a light air big swell day, and i couldnt turn it. It was kind of sketchy since the board had a tendancy to lift out of the wave as your dropping in, mainly I think due to its tail width. This year though I think the tabou will rip in the same condition.

Fins wise im not sure yet. I could go smaller for the 91, but if the winds light you kind of need the drive anyway. Instead of switching fins ive just been moving them for the conditions. Smaller waves, further forward and together, bigger or stronger wind abit further apart for a more drawn turn. I think you can do your head in by switching fins and combos all the time. Just stick with what it comes with, ride it for 6 months or so, and then tweak once you really know how it behaves.

But anyway, I'm still working it all out, but no complaints so far.

I weigh 64 kg. I used the 74 quadster with much satisfaction to the Canary Islands mainly with 3,7-4,2-4,7 ... I thought, when the conditions are very light and onshore to combine a pocket trifin (80 or 85 lt.) to use with 5,2-5,5 sails.
Dear MartR what do you think??

Well ItaPaul i think that the Pocket 85 will be to big for your weight to be honest.
The Pockets are great and really good at onshore and light winds.
There loose and easy to surf and plane very fast, it is very easy to do a full speed bottom turn on these boards. The Pockets will give you a higher level i think and are easier to sail then the Quadsters but won't go to big because they are pretty wide.
When you normally take a 80 liter then take a 75 liter Pocket and when you normaly take a 74 liter then take a Pocket 69 etc etc...
I sail for this year this range and i am 63 kg at the moment:
4.7-5.3: Tabou Pocket 75
4.7-4.2: Tabou Pocket 69
4.2-3.7: Tabou DaCurve Quadster 67

The quadster 67 will plane just as fast (or even faster...) then the 74 with your weight and it feels lots loser and faster and is very direct.
If i were you and you have the cash and want to spend it than i would go for this combo: Tabou Quadster 67 and Tabou Pocket 75...
I have to say that with your weight a 5.3 is max on it i think but maybe with a 17 cm center fin it will works if you want a 5.5 on it but it is on the edge.

If you don't want to sell your 74 and get the 67 then i would go for the Quadster 74 and a Pocket 80.

But without a doubt the quadster 67 will put a big smile on your face and if i would go for a 2 board quiver it will be the DC67 and the P75 for sure...

Hope this helped and if you have more questions please ask (or send me a email or pm)
Grtz, Martin