Test of quad windsurfing board part 2

How quad works in onshore conditions?

I have got questions by mail from some readers who wonder how quads works in onshore conditions. Before I try to give a constructive answer on that, I really recommend you to contact Ocean4Hawii with specific questions. I think I almost have the record there with amount of mails to them about the boards. They are so pro and helpful. For me after a lot of mails about lot of details, they sort of analyzed my windsurfing style, and for sure they really managed to build two boards I now am really starting to Love. The boards are so on my team all the time.

First of all my quad customs is ordered to work good at Kanaha in sideshore waves up to logo and mast high. But ok, I try to imagine how they will work in onshore conditions. When I am back home I usually windsurf in onshore or shoppy small waves conditions. So far I think the quads I have will work extremely well in onshore conditions. Why? If you want to ride small or onshore waves the quad board give you possibility to turn very fast, and you can therefore utilize even small waves or shoppy waves who disappear fast. So about waveriding in onshore conditions, I think quad is absolutely perfect.

But, as written in post 1 I still have a slightly feeling of that MY boards is a bit difficult to go up winded with. And as we know the capacity to stay upwinded is sometimes even more important in onshore conditions. I am now getting better to it with some adjustment on my sailing. And for sure I now know that so much of the reason to end up downwinded is that the boards really want you to go down the line, even if the wave are small. The reason for the feeling of not have the possibility of stay upwinded is maybe because of that my old JP rww 76 Liter had a really fast rocker, and was really easy to hold up in plane and upwinded, but as told the rww was really crappy in waves and now I more and more not anymore not consider it as a waveboard, but more like a freerideboard. My boards now have probable not so fast rocker so I have to work more with the speed and then also work with it to stay upwinded.
Anyway If you order a custom and are going to use the board mostly in onshore condition you just tell that in mail to ocean4 hawaii.

I will later on test out the boards at Sprecks, witch have more onshore conditions. If I experience something new I will for sure write about it.

There will be a part3 about quad later on in some days!

Test of quad windsurfing board part1

I have now been on the water in two days in row with the biggest one of my 2 quatro quad boards. The biggest one is a 95 liter board, built for light wind or up and down conditions. A board you float on and you will be able to go out and catch waves even when the wind is marginal. My weight is around 82-83 kg.
First of all, I had planes for this article to give a full description of how the board works. But then I realized that I have a practical problem. The board work so extremely in the heaven freezing good in the waves so it is hard to describe it. It is also hard to describe for me since I in 2007 and 2008 at Maui mostly have been windsurfing with my 2006 model jp rww. And now even more, I know thet the jp rww is a really shitty board for waves. As I have heard that later models of rww is better. I have now and then been testing some real waveboard, from ocean4 hawaii, or from the nice people at goyanorge.no But my run on really good wave boards as Goya boards have not been enough for really good comparison of single fin and quads. The new board is in fact a dream for me, but I don’t know exactly, Is it because of the 4 fins or is it simply because of it is a extremely good waveboard, made for me.
Anyway I give the description of the board a try even with the limitations in mind.

How quad works in waves?

It is here my words get few. The the description of it leads ot be sort of poetic or kind of fantasy. The board seams to have a magnet and search for waves. It seams to have a kind of a radar. Now it is suddenly my turn to get on the right spot on a wave. In this two days with small waves up to knee high sideshore waves the board sort of help me out to be ate spot in the waves it is best to be. When other loose the wave, in meaning the wave go away after a cutback trial, or you stand in middle of two waves, this board, I don’t know why, lead you to don t miss the wave and force you to be on the right spot. The board kind of search to go down the line, and when the wave rise the board sort of tell me here is it fun to be, let us stay here. (compared to my rww who told to me: “let us go away from here”) So far in small waves I have had a feeling of a cind of positive strange drive. It is kind of a new language from the board, trying to tell me something, witch lead me to go in the waves to find out what the board want to tell me! ☺

How quad works in small shoppy waves?

This is maybe the best part for all over the worlds sailers. I tested to do some short bottom turn/cutback at shoppy wave inside the reef at Kanaha, and still side, but small waves, and the board really had a search to go in the small waves as well

How quad work when going straight forward?

Short description here. I was in fact a bit afraid of that the board should be kind of too lose when going straight forward. But it is going extremely controlled fast forward.
To day at kanaha the wind was really up and down, therefore it was nice to go on with the big board. But even when it was blowing around 12 m7s in the gusts, and with 5,3m2 sail, the board never felt bigg

How quad work to stay up winded?

Ok here maybe a negative part. And as announced, my goal with this article is to give my honest experience. So far it is a bit hard to stay up winded. To day and yesterday I had to have an extra attention of the highness in the wind. Maybe I will sort out this problem later on with staying in a different position or how I keep the board. Is it the board or is I the sailor, or is it an another way to keep up in the wind. Maybe it is some tuning thing.
But there are 2 reasons as well why I have had this problem. First of all the board, even if the wave is small it really searched for go down the line. Several times when I forced my selves to go more up winded, and when I was sailing to the beach over the braking zone at the reef, even if the wave was small it just wane to go down the line, And almost every time I ended up down to kite beach. The second reason for problem to stay up winded was that the wind specially to day was really up and down. In the afternoon it came a rain cloud, and together with the rain the wind got week.


keep up following the blog, more reports on quad boards later on.
If some readers have some particular questions or some advices consider quads, feal free to write a comment, or mail me by the contact formula et the topp the page

Classical Kanaha picture

Quad fin, pick up boards at ocean4hawaii

Picked up my two new boards today at ocean4hawaii. I must say again they are so extremely professional. Of course they run a business, but in my opinion it is not only a business, they are all water addicted persons like everybody else and just love the sport so much and love to share their experience with everybody else. So I say it again if you are thinking of by a custom , you should give it a try and make them an e-mail. (you find contact formula on their sites.)All of them was involved when I was at the shop today, first of all Pascal who joked about all the e-mails I have sent about this, and Pio, kieth Lalo and Francisco Goya . Everybody wants me to have fun with the boards. I was in the start with ordering so nice boards thinking that this is to much for me and probable only suitable for more pro windsurfer. But I think that my communication about my intermediate happy going windsurfing style, maybe typical Kanaha in logo up to mast high really was projected in to the boards, and I really feel this boards is made for me and fit for me. The two board I ordered is for typical 4,2-5,3 conditions. My weight is around 83 kg (183 pound) and the big board is 95 liter big. I was a bit afraid that the 95 should be a bit big. But when I look at it just not look big at all. The smallest one is 80 liter big. Typical sailsize for the big board is 5,3 and for the small boards typical sail size 4,2-4,7. The thought about the 95 litre board is to use it in light winds and the big volume will make me able to go out in the brake, even when the wind is really week. Ok, so this was the pick up situation who came out with an extremely positive feeling. But the most important part is still to test it out on the water. Not mush wind here today, hope for more wind tomorrow and I Can test out how its really works. As said I am not a pro windsurfer, and I will by this labeled article in the blog reflect an "ordinary" windsurfer point of view on quads, and how it work for me. In the shop today they said that “everybody” is going on quad now. I will for sure later on come with more info and reports when I have tested the boards.
So far, here we then have some pictures from the pick up/mounting. situation:

Quad fin versus twin fin versus single fin post 1

Ok, I have done it, my first time of order custom board. The custom boards, two of them is orderdered from ocean4hawaii So then after a lot of mail the boards is finished. Ocean4hawaii is really professional with lots of advices. If you want a custom board or wonder about something else I really recommend you to contact them.

I am not a pro sailor, more a ordinary windsurfer who try to be at the water as much as possible catch some waves and “talk” with the nature. I don’t change my board every year, and if some new things arrive, I don’t have to run and by it right away. So as the name of my blog reflect the most important is to be happy out in the water, and the coolness factor have almost no importance for me. The decision of new board was taken last year on this day: testing Goya 90L


One of the hardest decisions on the new custom boards was: shall I go for single fin, twin fin, or quad. The best thing would be if I could have tested them first. But I want a new board before I arrive Maui this year so I had to do the decision by info in mail. I don’t either want to spend to mush time with testing out different board. I want a good board and become familiar with it as fast as possible. It was also important for me that ocean4hawaii understood that I am a sort of intermediate sailor and then the boards is shaped for typical Kanaha logo until mast high waves.

First evaluation: Single fin or twin fin?
A sum up from info: Twin fin shapes with looser tail than single fin are not only for the advance sailors, they are also good for intermediate sailors, but have the only drawbacks that twin fins plane a tiny bit later.
Ok if I had to choose between loose tail or early planning, I must admit that loose tail sounds nice but early plane is even more important. So then the choice here would have been single fin.

Second evaluation: Single fin or quad?
A sum up from info:
Quad (4 fins), those boards are nearly as fast as single fin boards and are very loose like twin fins. If you then go with a quad with a fast rocker - best of both worlds, loose and fast. Fast and loose sounds nice to me so then the choice here would have been quad.

And quad was the final choice, and the board is shaped with the fastest rocker of 3 different rocker, ref:

We currently offer 3 different models which are differentiated by rockers and their respective curves: (rocker #6, rocker #4 and FW rocker).
# 6 being the most turny rocker. 80% BACK FOOT.
# 4 being faster and most widely used as it is the most versatile for all around wave sailing. 80% FRONT FOOT.
FW rocker being the fastest rocker - for windsurfers who sail mostly in onshore and/or conditions with a lot of currents.

And about rocker if I had chosen a single fin it would have been with a # 4, so then with a quad and FW rocker they probable plane about equally.

With the assessment of the election of the quad is its possibility it will provide of manoeuvre qualities in waves. I hope therefore I with quad shall be even better to ride waves. The riding waves is the ultimate I can do compared to everything. As I understand by reading about it the fastness of quad fin is also given by the channel the four fins make in the water. The fins is smaller then ordinary fins, and the fin brackets is lighter, so the board is not much heavier then single fin. The quad should also work well upwind and therefore good for onshore conditions. In my opinion I think the quad is the next step after twinfin, so the quad to day is sort of developed from twin fin, and then maybe the only real alternative is quad or single.

The choice of twin fin and order custom from ocean4hawaii is also done because the boards is then shaped by Keith Teboul. I think he is probable one of the top 5 best shapers in the world, maybe the best, always out at Ho’okipa and testing out new things. I have also met him several times at Maui, and I hope and think he then have a bit knowledge of what kind of windsurfer I am…a happy one :-)

I look forward to come to Maui in a few weeks from now and test out my new boards. Keep up following the blog, I will later on ad post here about the testing of quad. All post about quad will be found under the articles tag on the top of the page.

I then hope this short quad versus twin fin versus single fin discussion would be useful for someone.