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AHD
The AHDs didn’t show up until the fourth week of the five-week test, and when they did, there was no information with them. After the test, we called the distributor to belatedly learn more about what we had briefly tested. To our surprise Frank-Yves Nicolas, the head of AHD dropped in at our office in New Hampshire.
Advanced Hull Dynamics is a company with many innovative firsts in its 12-year history. For its first six years, it was a U.S. company. Now it’s Swiss, with the boards being made there, leading AHD to boast of Swiss quality. Ten percent of the claimed 8200 boards per year are sold in the U.S. Surprisingly, only 10 percent are sold in Germany; France buys the most, at 32 percent.
FREE DIAMOND 65 & 70
The Free Diamond 65 and 70 are freeride versions of the Diamond Race 62 and 67. The bottoms keep the concave shape, but there are a number of significant differences, including in the outlines, noses, tails and footstrap locations. But mostly it’s in the rails: The freeride boards have thin rails with considerable tuck for easy turning and jibing. The tails are also narrow, for control in rough water. At only 272 and 280 cm long, the widths are key to the volumes of 122 and 140 liters.
It’s a creative blend of shapes that don’t normally go together, to achieve a new range of performance, not unlike the RRD AvantRide 70. But it’s a good thing AHD doesn’t make watches; if they did, the Swiss reputation might be chinked. The fin of the Free Diamond 65 ripped through the first time it was sailed, and the Free Diamond 70 ripped shortly thereafter; in addition, on the Maxxride 62, the Power box fin screw also ripped through the deck. In all three cases, good sailors hit the reef, and we believe them when they say the hits were not that hard. The reef was a chronic problem for fins, but it was also a good strength test. Some boards survived horrific hits—the HiFly 272, for example, which also uses a Power box—and only the AHDs broke on impact. AHD is using a brand new construction method with these boards, which they call Protec Sandwich, basically a plastic laminate over the sandwich. (When told of our experience, AHD acknowledged that there was an inconsistent batch of high density foam used in early models and that steps have been taken to rectify the problem.)
Three AW staff members, Mark Archer, Glenn Fuller and Andy Gurtner, all got on the 70 before it blew. Together, they gave it 4.1 in Upwind, 4.4 in Planing, 4.1 in speed, 3.7 in Handling (Mark and Andy gave 3’s, Glenn a 5) and 3.7 in Jibe (ditto). The differing opinions over maneuverability only show, once again, that styles and tastes are everything. Still, to live up to AHD’s claims, Handling and Jibe probably should have been more impressive, despite the width. Glenn wrote, “I found the tail more comfortable to jump into whereas I didn’t have to fumble on the outside of the board as much.” For the translation, we reached him on Maui. He stayed there after the test, got a job at Extreme Sports Maui. He was in the process of installing a window in the storage container he was moving into. Don’t laugh, he said, it beats New Hampshire winters—cozy fireplaces and all. He told us he had recently saved the life of a sailor who had lost his rig way outside on a big day at Kanaha. Towed him back in, before a wave snapped his mast and swallowed them both. Glenn swam, the Coast Guard had arrived by then to complete the rescue of the other fellow. Who bought Glenn a new mast. He explained his cryptic comment on the AHD 70. It means that he liked the rear footstrap position, located farther inward than on many wide boards, whose straps are out on the rails and are challenging to get into. Of course, the tail on the 70 is not so wide, and there are four rear strap positions; presumably, the straps were mounted inward for him. But maybe not.
AHD POWER WAVE 257
The Power Wave line, including a 253, 257 and 262, is new for 2000. The design focus was on acceleration and handling. AHD describes these boards as a “no-compromise design for top-level wave riding,” which to us says “expert.” Of course, AHD also says the boards will ‘’extend performance beyond existing limits in any type of wave condition.’’ How you can shape for any condition without compromising the design is beyond us. We tested the 257 and 262, and found them to be fairly different animals, which is unusual for sailboard siblings—like close brothers or sisters with different personalities (but surely sailboards are feminine, like ships). In this case, the little sister is the fast and loose one, which made her more popular. Maybe that was because she’s the slim one, with stiletto-like features. Her concave bottom probably has something to do with it, too, although that trait runs in the family. (AHDs were the only concave wave boards in our test.) She was also more challenging to come to grips with. We’ll stop stetching metaphors here, and not wander toward gripping girls’ bottoms, not to mention stiletto features.
SCORE: (10 ratings)
Upwind 3.90 Planing 3.90 Speed 3.90 Handling 4.20 Jibe 4.20 Overall 4.06
COMMENTS:
“Comfortable! The footstraps & fin complement the board.”
From our very technical and discriminating lightweight sailor, “Outstanding. So easy to sail, and great all-around performance. Underpowered or overpowered, it was a blast.”
From a non-lightweight, non-expert woman, “In light wind I was still able to get on a plane with this board. It seemed very smooth, and the footstraps were really easy to get into. Definitely a possible purchase choice for me.”
Two similar, surprising comments came from expert medium-weight sailors. “It seemed slow, very slow, but had good control,” said the first. The other: “The board turned well, but was SLOW to get planing, and sluggish upwind (pushed water).”
For some reason, this board had more varying opinions about its speed than any other. Remember, the Speed rating number is merely an average.
“In overpowered conditions, it handles as well as anything. Would be a great Gorge bump-and-jump board.” This is a stunning comment, considering it came from a dealer in the Gorge whose competition across the street sells AHDs.
To those who said this test would be totally tainted by having dealers as testers, we say: Take that!
STAFF:
Upwind 3.33, Planing 3.33, Speed 4.0, Handling 3.67 Jibe 3.33, Overall 3.53
COMMENTS:
“Very loose and lively, good for surf but not flat water,” said Mark Archer.
“The footstraps are too big for small feet, and the fin is too big for lighter people,” said Hedy Gurtner, our light staffer with small feet.
Hedy gave it a 5 in Speed; Mark gave it a 3. Which doesn’t really state the obvious, that any vehicle is faster carrying less weight. Testers are supposed to factor relativity. Presumably, Mark did. So, like with any single rating, it doesn’t really state much.
POWER WAVE 262
Even though the 262 is only 5 cm longer than the 257, it’s 3.2 cm wider, with a nose and tail that are 2 and 2.5 mm wider. The rails are rounder, and it carries a solid 94 liters of volume. You can clearly see the difference in the outline, and the 262 doesn’t catch your eye as the 257 does. You might say it’s a matter of new shape versus old, although classic might be a better word than old. And our testers liked the performance of the classic shape slightly more. It was certainly more exciting. As for comparing sisters, if the 257 was fast and loose, the 262 was consistently described as giving a “nice ride.” Like all the AHD boards, the 262 comes in ‘63 Corvette Sting Ray steel blue. AHD wins the Best Paint award, hands down. The only problem is, you might have to take your board to an auto body shop for ding repair, to get a correct match for the touch-up.
SCORE: (6 ratings)
Upwind 4.0 Planing 4.33 Speed 4.00 Handling 3.83 Jibe 3.50 Overall 3.97
COMMENTS:
“FAST, smooth. Jumps like Michael Jordan. Capable of King Kong air. But not very wave-oriented. To my mind, it felt like a turny slalom board.”
“Very nice ride, very loose.”
“Fast and easy to use. I sailed in high wind with a lot of control, and it still worked great when the wind got light.”
From the guy who thought the 257 was slow to plane and sluggish upwind, “This board went upwind pretty well and was reasonably fast. Jibing was very easy. Very floaty. Overall, a smooth ride. Good big-guy wave board. Cool color. Good footstraps, pads and non-skid.”
STAFF:
Upwind 3.00 Planing 3.50 Speed 3.50
Handling 3.5 0 Jibe 3.50 Overall 3.40
COMMENTS:
“Very nice and smooth, easy to ride and undemanding,” said Mark Archer, adding, “Will deliver the goods in both onshore and sideshore surf.”
MAXXRIDE 62
Elsewhere in this test report we tweaked Kinetic for its hype. But listen to AHD’s description of this board: “A totally new board concept aiming at total versatility, for maximum sensation, fun and performance over the widest range of conditions. Beyond current board categories of freeride, freestyle, wave or convertible, the new Maxxride 62 can do it all, and much more.” There you go. You’re set for life, board-wise. At least they didn’t say it was incredible. But who needs “incredible” when you have “much more than all?” Ah, but the intrigue comes in the next line: “The Maxxride offers unknown sensations.” Sounds like every other sailboard we know. But seriously, it is a revolutionary shape. The Starboard Starfish 90 is the only other board of its kind we know of. The Maxx is a touch longer (250 cm to 242) and wider (62.5 cm to 60), and has 104 vs. 90 liters with a concave bottom versus the Starfish vee. What we’re talking about here is a very short, round board. Apparently it’s the AHD definition of perfection, if not the Swiss definition of beauty. Good thing about the latter. If it were, all Swiss girls would be dumpy. The three main goals of the shape are planing, maneuverability and acceleration (“Speed is the result of acceleration,” AHD, duh, tells us). “The Maxxride will particularly shine in onshore wave conditions.” If only AHD had told us of that alleged strength beforehand. We would have especially sent our testers out in our Maui onshore waves to find out. But here’s what we did learn.
SCORE: (5 ratings)
Upwind 4.00 Planing 4.40 Speed 4.50 Handling 3.75 Jibe 4.33 Overall 4.04
STAFF:
Upwind 3.50, Planing 4.50, Speed 3.50, Handling 2.50 Jibe 4.00, Overall 3.60
Andy Gurtner, who is Swiss, thought the handling was poor. His wife Hedy is not dumpy.
COMMENTS:
From the sailor who hit the reef: “Not hard, did not get pulled over, yet the screw pulled through the deck.”
One basic intermediate found that “the famous gnarly North Shore break is actually easier to sail than on Lake Michigan waves. I found the Maxxride to be stable and easy to get planing.”
“The Maxx is fast, and it flew off the small inside break. It was a little squirrelly in the jibes, but with strong rail pressure it settled down. It’s not as user-friendly as the Starfish, but fast and fun nevertheless.”
“Non-skid good, pads good, fins good, straps bad—uncomfortable, thin, light, roll hard”
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