As I may have said before, I've been after this board for a little while now - they are bloody hard to get hold of, so what I need to find out now is if it was worth the wait. Initial impressions I would say it is and I bloody hope so as it is not as if I can give it back!!
Premise
95 litres, 60.6 wide it is quite a big board for a waveboard, however it is only 230 long and apparently the new quad shapes can be pretty big!
So why get a full on waveboard at 95 litres is the main question?I reasoned that the places I get to sail in waves the most: Southbourne, Boscombe, Highcliffe and when moons coincide, Broad Bench at Kimmeridge bay can often have good waves, but be quite gusty or a bit lighter on the inside, even with 5.3 or 5.0 weather.
Traditionally I have gone with FSW boards in this 95l size, Fanatics and more recently a Mistral. These have always been a bit of a compromise though, sure they get you going early and you can use them when its light and are fantastic fun, but limited when wave-riding. My most recent Mistral Joker Wave actually had a fantastic bottom turn considering, however you had to be really measured on the top turn. The fins on FSW's are huge in comparison.
I also tried out a few smaller FSW's because I had a bit of a love affair with my old Fanatic Freewave 86 back in the day. I also tried out a more modern shape JP freestyle wave 85. These boards were fun, but it only took one or two sails to realise that they have no relevance to the type of windsurfing I do. They actually didn't really have that much over my Mistral Twinser 82 in terms of get up and go - especially with modern Simmer Black Tip 4 batten sails. FSW idea completely out the window!
The other option would be to maybe try the Simmer Tri Fin Freewave 95, but I thought about it and then decided that it was going to be a full on wave board or nothing!
One of the other things that you need in gustier, lighter and tidal places is good upwind ability, especially when only marginally powered up. FSW's with the big single fin, get you planing early and you get upwind in the old fashioned way - free and fast. However, Quad fins boards have tremendous grip and you can actually truck upwind at relatively slow speeds. This is also appealing, and why I went for a quad over a twin or even single fin waveboard in this size. There is also an option to free it off and loosen it up by sailing just as a twinnie.
I had also sailed a few quads and really enjoyed them. Quatro 75' 85 and the enourmous 110 which was a bit of an eye opener of what large quad wave boards are capable of and also the Goya 92 which was really good.
Decision made, I waited and waited for the Simmer Quantum Quad 95, then one day it arrived in the country, took an age to get through customs and finally landed on my door step!
So How is it?
Well too be fair I have only sailed it on two occasions, so can't give too much insight. The first time was very marginal with a 5.3 and some half decent waves. I thought it was pretty amazing. I got some really solid turns and cut backs in, so was impressed. Then the next couple of waves, I tripped up, missed the cut back and kept carving - so then thought, actually these quads do get a bit of getting used to - especially compared to a twin where you can just change your direction at an instant and the board instantly responds. Surprisingly it felt more spritely than I anticipated, I didn't lose that much out to people on same size FSW's that day. The important thing though is that I felt and had the attitude I was on a waveboard and by the end of the session could start to throw it about like a smaller board. I really noticed the drive the fins give and also the tighter cut back.
The other sail I had started out marginal on a 5.0, then hugely overpowered and stacked. Coxy was on a 4.7 and a 20 litre smaller board than me. The waves were really good. When it was lighter, it was really in it's element, when it was overpowered it coped really well, and I got some fantastic turns and cut backs. Admittedly, I had so much fin area that I would say the board had more control over me than the other way round, I just held on for the ride. Interestingly though, it felt more attached to the water than the previous lighter session. The range and control was quite incredible, both Cox and Dunnett were a little amazed I was still on a 95. A Freewave of similar size, would have really struggled.
So far, so good then. Compared to the Goya or the Quatro, it has the same grippy and more attached feel. I would say that the straps are more comfy as are the pads, there is also a lot more dome in the deck, so it maybe doesn't feel as stable tacking etc. It is definitely more attached to the water than an equivalent sized freewave, and you don't get so much of that free and fast sensation, but for a large waveboard it's not too bad at all. It's also worth noting that when I put it smaller 23cm wave fin in my Joker wave (freewave) it became really sticky, and didn't get upwind too well.
I can't wait to use it at places like the Bench and Gwithian on those good wave/blogging out days.
Future
Well, I'm going to put some K'4s in it and try a few different sizes. I think G10's are too stiff personally. I'm also going to try it as a twin. The other thing is that there is so much room for moving the fins with the slot boxes. At the moment all four fins are just in the middle.
Happy Sailing.
Premise
95 litres, 60.6 wide it is quite a big board for a waveboard, however it is only 230 long and apparently the new quad shapes can be pretty big!
So why get a full on waveboard at 95 litres is the main question?I reasoned that the places I get to sail in waves the most: Southbourne, Boscombe, Highcliffe and when moons coincide, Broad Bench at Kimmeridge bay can often have good waves, but be quite gusty or a bit lighter on the inside, even with 5.3 or 5.0 weather.
Traditionally I have gone with FSW boards in this 95l size, Fanatics and more recently a Mistral. These have always been a bit of a compromise though, sure they get you going early and you can use them when its light and are fantastic fun, but limited when wave-riding. My most recent Mistral Joker Wave actually had a fantastic bottom turn considering, however you had to be really measured on the top turn. The fins on FSW's are huge in comparison.
I also tried out a few smaller FSW's because I had a bit of a love affair with my old Fanatic Freewave 86 back in the day. I also tried out a more modern shape JP freestyle wave 85. These boards were fun, but it only took one or two sails to realise that they have no relevance to the type of windsurfing I do. They actually didn't really have that much over my Mistral Twinser 82 in terms of get up and go - especially with modern Simmer Black Tip 4 batten sails. FSW idea completely out the window!
The other option would be to maybe try the Simmer Tri Fin Freewave 95, but I thought about it and then decided that it was going to be a full on wave board or nothing!
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| You have to match colours for maximum potential |
I had also sailed a few quads and really enjoyed them. Quatro 75' 85 and the enourmous 110 which was a bit of an eye opener of what large quad wave boards are capable of and also the Goya 92 which was really good.
Decision made, I waited and waited for the Simmer Quantum Quad 95, then one day it arrived in the country, took an age to get through customs and finally landed on my door step!
So How is it?
Well too be fair I have only sailed it on two occasions, so can't give too much insight. The first time was very marginal with a 5.3 and some half decent waves. I thought it was pretty amazing. I got some really solid turns and cut backs in, so was impressed. Then the next couple of waves, I tripped up, missed the cut back and kept carving - so then thought, actually these quads do get a bit of getting used to - especially compared to a twin where you can just change your direction at an instant and the board instantly responds. Surprisingly it felt more spritely than I anticipated, I didn't lose that much out to people on same size FSW's that day. The important thing though is that I felt and had the attitude I was on a waveboard and by the end of the session could start to throw it about like a smaller board. I really noticed the drive the fins give and also the tighter cut back.
The other sail I had started out marginal on a 5.0, then hugely overpowered and stacked. Coxy was on a 4.7 and a 20 litre smaller board than me. The waves were really good. When it was lighter, it was really in it's element, when it was overpowered it coped really well, and I got some fantastic turns and cut backs. Admittedly, I had so much fin area that I would say the board had more control over me than the other way round, I just held on for the ride. Interestingly though, it felt more attached to the water than the previous lighter session. The range and control was quite incredible, both Cox and Dunnett were a little amazed I was still on a 95. A Freewave of similar size, would have really struggled.
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| Fair amount of fin area and a widish swallow tail |
So far, so good then. Compared to the Goya or the Quatro, it has the same grippy and more attached feel. I would say that the straps are more comfy as are the pads, there is also a lot more dome in the deck, so it maybe doesn't feel as stable tacking etc. It is definitely more attached to the water than an equivalent sized freewave, and you don't get so much of that free and fast sensation, but for a large waveboard it's not too bad at all. It's also worth noting that when I put it smaller 23cm wave fin in my Joker wave (freewave) it became really sticky, and didn't get upwind too well.
I can't wait to use it at places like the Bench and Gwithian on those good wave/blogging out days.
Future
Well, I'm going to put some K'4s in it and try a few different sizes. I think G10's are too stiff personally. I'm also going to try it as a twin. The other thing is that there is so much room for moving the fins with the slot boxes. At the moment all four fins are just in the middle.
Happy Sailing.
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| Wide boy - not me, that's just Xmas - the board of course |
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| Not too bad for a bit of jumping either. |
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