VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Any experiences with a Starboard Kombat 105L?

Eastside had that exact board I believe. Was under the impression he liked it...or was that just because he kept it longer than some of his more recent purchases? Was tempted by it myself but still had my old 104 S-Type. Then bought eastside's 2010 98 ltr F2 Rodeo. At 70 kgs I can up haul that pretty easy. My for the most part two board quiver of 84 ltr FSW and the Rodeo works 90% of the time or more. There are times when I pull out the 74 ltr Evo when it gets crazy. Still think I would rather have a FSW around 105 Myself but I am still learning lots on the freestyle board. Like Hiyosilver I would prefer to sail places other than Nitnat but what a great place to just get consistent days on the water with great wind and no seaweed!

I have had a chance to try a few boards...

We have a 105L (242x63.5) Fanatic FreeWave Tri fin and a 116L Fanatic FreeWave 116L single fin (238x66). Both are Team Editions (light). The 105 is a 2013 and the 116 a 2015. Both set up with single center back strap and inboard front straps. We have two large FreeWaves....105L for Rika and 116L for me in light winds.

Rec range on 105L is 4.7-7.0

Rec range on 116L is 5.0-7.3

I regularly use the 105L with a 4.8M in around 20. Super easy and fun to sail a small sail and big board combo.

The 116L with a 5.4M goes in almost nothing (well <20). So much so that 5.4 is my biggest sail now.

At 77kg (170 lbs) I can uphaul the 105L no probs, 116L very easy to uphaul.

The 2015 116L FreeWave is shorter than the 105L and does
not feel that much bigger.

Gecko was a fast great board but the FreeWaves feel better when riding. 66 should be the max width....versus the Gecko at 77.

Better light wind option: Kite.

Hiyo:

Lots of great advice here. A couple of points to add to the mix.

• I think you are on the right track
• Try as many boards as you can before you buy - you will quickly feel what you like and what you don't
• 100+ litre FSW wave boards can be very versatile especially when paired with 5.3 and smaller wave fin (22/23)
• With your wave bias, you may want to consider FreeWave over FSW (as Keith has suggested)

¸
My experience. At 170 lbs I sailed a 2005 FSW 110 for over hundreds of sessions over 10 years. I tried many other boards but struggled to find one I liked more, but recently I was finding the thicker rails in the tail were not griping the waves (when used in waves) as much as I would like. Solution: 2012 Fanatic FreeWave 115. For a larger board it is very well mannered and rangy - example last Thurs at 'the lake' I sailed it well overpowered on 6.1/FreeWave 115/23 until I could size down directly to 4.5/Quad 92. Some related comments here.

You are more than welcome to take mine for a spin anytime we are sailing together.

not to be a smartass but i think you are splitting hairs. the Fanatic 'Freewave' is listed on their own website as a freestyle/wave board, granted a 7 year newer shape from a different manufacturer.
http://www.fanatic.com/product_categori ... ng-boards/

nanmoo wrote:Better light wind option: Interpretive Dance.

Edited for accuracy.

I had the 2008 Kode 105. Mark from Parksville bought it . He loves it. It is a great board. Planes up fast and turny. No problem to up haul. At Long Beach in a steeper wave, or say bigger than 3-4 feet it tended to pearl or get harder to bottom turn. So just get 'yer weight back fast and/ or get a smaller fin as C36 suggests. What makes a good wave board, rocker, thin rails, etc makes a poor early planer. My JP Single Thruster 106, a wave board, is slow to plane, but great at Long Beach slog and ride.

Some brands bigger FSWs are more like freeride boards. I rented a 110ish Starboard in Hawaii on a light wind day and I could barely sink the rail enough to turn it. A smaller Kode wave I rented was great though.

My 2014 111 JP FSW is awesome. Ticks most of the boxes for Pipers and CB. It performs more like a 95 litre. Hard to believe for such a "big" board but true. It planes up fast, not as early as the Skate 109 though. Great at Pipers in swell and in CB waves. The JP 106 is still better at LB. The 111 works well from 15 to 25 knots, well into small board territory.

Thanks for all the feedback

I'll sure like to take you up on your offer, C36! Thanks!

In my totally unbiased opinion, the 2012 92l JP FSW with thrusters is really what you want

On a serious note though, with a big upright fin and your 5.8m you could get it smoking in 16+ knots. I remember borrowing a proper fin from Dave/C36, as opposed to my chopped freestyle bastardization, and what a difference it made.

HiyoSilver wrote:Thanks for all the feedback

I'll sure like to take you up on your offer, C36! Thanks!

Hajo:

I'm curious to hear your impressions of the five boards (and there might have been more) that you rode on the weekend past:

• 115 Fanatic Freewave TE
• ~100 Starboard Carve
• XX Playboard
• 92 Goya Custom Quad 92
• 80 Starboard Evo

2013 Fanatic Freewave TE 115 (shown centre)


XXXX Playboard XX


2012 Qoya Custom Quad 92


XXXX Starboard Evo 80

C36 wrote:curious to hear your impressions of the five boards (and there might have been more) that you rode on the weekend past:

• 115 Fanatic Freewave TE
• ~100 Starboard Carve
• XX Playboard
• 92 Goya Custom Quad 92
• 80 Starboard Evo

let me try, let me try, this is like a game show given some parameters....

ok,
-115 probably the best of the bunch until it got windy, a little big feeling and kinda sluggish but fun enough, still I don't think I need that much volume and something a bit snappier
-Carve....bounced out of every wave but planed up like a hot damn....not the right board for this place but at least it got out
-Playboard, hell, feels like home, I can sit back and backside ride all day, front side another story....I love it but I need somethin' ....somethin'....lighter, faster, quicker, bottom turnier?
-Goya was great when it got windy but felt weird....tail spinning out all the time....can't figure it out quickly but has potential...like me and LB
-Evo when windy was pretty fun, bounced out of turns a bit less than the Carve but didn't quite slice n dice it, close but needs loads of wind and a smaller fin than is in there not a session saver or tremendous but a decent board

Wish I had a Goya 86 or 94 Quad, I bet I could figure it out in a few days Shouldda tried Moo's 85

What's my score, Hihojoe

Pretty good, You must have smoked some and transcended
... and sailed the 115 freewave and 99 Carve more than I did
... I shoulda tried Moo's 85 ;)

Here goes:
115 Freewave: tried it in light wind at N chestermans; lots of float, planes quick and very loose on the small waves
99 carve just wanted to turn upwind. not a wave board
90-ish Playboard: I'm just used to it ;) easy to control in air, rides waves okay but indeed not as loose as I'd like...
92 Goya Quad: sweet board very loose on wave. need some getting used to in air (improved when I moved mast track forward for my 5.3) and slog-jibing (I tended to over rotate) Also found it slipping when trying to pinch upwind.
80 Evo; fast on a plane, a little jumpy (need to have mast a little more forward to keep it down in chop), loose on the wave but haven't tried it's extremes ie lipsmacks, off the lip (as I haven't with the Goya either) Not as tight in the bottom turn as the Goya for sure! Slogs pretty good actually, but that was in the Gorge.
BTW I don't think that's me in the foto on the Evo, but Travis (?) who forgot his gear and I let him take my kit out for a rip after I was decommissioned by cramping right leg

The evo is my old board, and it's a 2005. The stock fin was 1.5 or 2 cm shorter and washed out too much for me, but probably would come into its own in waves and descent wind. Can't remember if I gave it to Hajo or not but the board might have been over finned. Great design though, to be a contender 10 years on.