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First time on a quad - It stunk?
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d0uglass



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Bonita Springs, Florida

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2022 8:31 am    Post subject: First time on a quad - It stunk? Reply with quote

Somehow I got to this point in my life having never tried a quad waveboard, but yesterday I tried a friend's 92 liter Starboard Quad with a 5.7 in 20ish knots side-onshore wind.

I'd been going fine with the same sail on my single fin Starboard Evo 83- No problem getting planing, staying upwind, going fast, etc. So it was a little disheartening to note that all those things became much harder to do on the quad.

It was like I had all the drag of a huge fin but none of the lift or drive of a huge fin. Lulls were deadly because you couldn't coast through them to connect the gusts. That combined with the overall slowness of the board made for poor upwind VMG and having a really hard time fighting the longshore current. With all that time struggling to stay upwind I couldn't experiment much with the maneuverability potential of the board on swells and waves. The only positive I did note was that it tracked nicely when jibing down a swell.

It was my buddy's first time trying this secondhand board, too, and we both gave it a thumbs down for now.

Not sure if it's something with particular board model, or the stock fin setup, or if's a general flaw of quads.

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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2022 11:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe not a flaw, but a different style.
You need to be able to ride a freestyle board that runs a 18 cm fin.
That means, really high booms, very long harness lines, and mast base very near your front straps.
Your main goal once there is planing wind is to keep the nose down with body weight when in the straps. That means weight is more on front foot than on rear foot.
Your board sorta pivots off this weighted front foot, and while you are planing upwind, your windward rail is fully engaged, weight on arch near your heel.
It's the style for rec windfoil also.
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NOVAAN



Joined: 28 Sep 1994
Posts: 1544

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2022 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

More is not always better...just sayin
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2022 12:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I still ride a narrow single fin board for waves and high winds.
But I also freeride, slalom, and USED to course race.
Almost all Quad and Freestyle sailors stick with Q and F boards.
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boardsurfr



Joined: 23 Aug 2001
Posts: 1266

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2022 1:32 pm    Post subject: Re: First time on a quad - It stunk? Reply with quote

d0uglass wrote:
Not sure if it's something with particular board model, or the stock fin setup, or if's a general flaw of quads.

Judging from what I read, not personal experience, what you experienced was a general thing about quads. The style of wave sailing they are made for is like what we saw at the PWA in Cape Verde a few weeks ago: shlog out and while waiting for a wave, power only on the wave.
dllee wrote:
Maybe not a flaw, but a different style.
You need to be able to ride a freestyle board that runs a 18 cm fin.

That certainly helps, but there some big additional differences. A freestyle board has a flat underwater shape and bulky rails very much like a slalom board, so the board shape will help it to plane easily. On a quad of similar volume, you'll instead have a lot of rocker and soft, thinner rails, which makes planing without waves much harder.
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2022 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've only ridden 2 quads.
My own 76, and a 3 run quickie on a 86.
Both similar. 75 had 15-10's. 86 had 8-14,s.
Just do not stand on backfoot and try to flatten it upwind.
Of course, had tris since 1984.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2022 2:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To repeat ... I asked a big Gorge shop's coast sailing expert about quads. His answer was quick and specific: "You'll absolutely LOVE the right quad in the Gorge or on the coast, but only if you're willing to completely re-learn your entire sailing style."

I responded that I'm in my mid-70s, and have been sailing for 40 years, mostly full time. No way do I want to:
1. Relearn WSing.
2. Have to look down to see what kind of board I'm on every time I depart from a straight line.

He concurred in my case, and added that 2s and 4s sail one way, 1s/3s/5s sail another way. I've owned scores of the latter group, but only tested 2s and 4s. I don't own any of the latter because of reasons 1 and 2 above.

I bought a 3 ... a tri-fin ... and instantly loved it so much that I bought two more in different sizes. No assembly, no batteries, no compromises, no relearning required.

Corvettes, new boards, electric cars and cigarettes, quads, and bell bottom pants aren't inherently better (or worse) ... they're just different.
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2022 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seems quad wave board owners also use freestyle boards for lighter wind. They do not like freeride or slalom. And they transition right into rec windfoilng easily.
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cgoudie1



Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2597
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2022 4:34 pm    Post subject: Re: First time on a quad - It stunk? Reply with quote

I've been on a number of Quads and owned the Starboard Quad 76 for a
year. I disliked all of them except a custom North Pacific Quad, which sailed
like a single or tri. The cool thing about my whole quad experience was that
at the time, selling the Quads was easy (they were oh so fashionable). Not
sure it's all that easy to get rid of them now, because a lot of people
(including you) really disliked the feel. For a few years Quads were
everywhere in the Gorge. Now it's all trifins (which I'm fond of). If I were
always in big waves a Quad would be sweet, but the only time I liked my
Starboard Quad was one pretty big day at The Wall when the swells were
large and nicely spaced, then it was heaven, but that really isn't typical.

just my opinion,

-Craig

p.s. bell bottoms ruled!

d0uglass wrote:
Somehow I got to this point in my life having never tried a quad waveboard, but yesterday I tried a friend's 92 liter Starboard Quad with a 5.7 in 20ish knots side-onshore wind.

I'd been going fine with the same sail on my single fin Starboard Evo 83- No problem getting planing, staying upwind, going fast, etc. So it was a little disheartening to note that all those things became much harder to do on the quad.

It was like I had all the drag of a huge fin but none of the lift or drive of a huge fin. Lulls were deadly because you couldn't coast through them to connect the gusts. That combined with the overall slowness of the board made for poor upwind VMG and having a really hard time fighting the longshore current. With all that time struggling to stay upwind I couldn't experiment much with the maneuverability potential of the board on swells and waves. The only positive I did note was that it tracked nicely when jibing down a swell.

It was my buddy's first time trying this secondhand board, too, and we both gave it a thumbs down for now.

Not sure if it's something with particular board model, or the stock fin setup, or if's a general flaw of quads.
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Sun Mar 13, 2022 5:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Look at the upside, you didn't have to buy a quad to find out it wasn't quite your style. While I've never ridden a quad, I think that the design favors more front foot oriented sailors, or a more "new" school approach to stance and drive.
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