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SAILBOARDS MAUI
Like North Shore Maui, Sailboards Maui is a boardmaker that, after many successful years making only custom boards, is now entering the mass market with semi-custom boards built in Asia, bringing a high level of standards and experience that comes from years of working with top sailors. And Dave Mel, Sailboards Maui’s owner and shaper for the last 10 years, is hitting the market full tilt. The 8-4 and 8-8 wave boards had just rolled off the Cobra line in time for this test, and the 8-2 and 8-6 should be ready by spring. More will come after that; Mel is now working on the shaping of 8-4 and 8-8 freestyle boards, which he says will be slanted 70-30 toward speed and tricks, respectively.
The reason these two companies, and others, are suddenly mass-producing boards is that they now can. The capabilities of the Cobra factory in Thailand, and Kinetic in Taiwan for North Shore Maui, have grown to the point where high quality is possible, and the cost of producing boards in the U.S., especially Maui, has become prohibitive. It’s all good news for sailors, who are exposed to more great boards now.
The Sailboards Maui double-sandwich epoxy boards have wood reinforcement under the heels of the laminated skin, with additional fiberglass for strength in critical spots. Shape-wise, Mel says, “They’re a pretty exact replica of what we ride every day here on Maui. It’s a design that we’ve grown toward over the years. I didn’t want to compromise it by trying to make it faster. These are not bump-and-jump boards, these are wave boards. In flat water and light wind, they’re not going to work as well. They’re made for high performance and tricks.”
Still, he adds, “The intermediate or new wave rider is going to have a lot of success with these boards, because they do a lot of things. It’s not a hard board to ride. I’ve been to all the wavesailing places-California coast, Baja, the Gorge, Japan-and have an idea of the kinds of qualities a versatile wave board needs.”
The shape of these boards is unique. They have fairly average widths but relatively narrow noses, with a lot of kick. But it’s the bottoms that are creative. The most vee is forward of the front straps, flowing into a double concave at the front straps and single concave at the rear. Mel explains that this increases tail rocker without affecting rocker at the rails. He says that allows the board to carve nicely, as it throws a lot of water off the rails. It also creates a lot of lift under the stance.
A handful of testers found the 8-8 slow to plane, however. And it was interesting that the impressions among testers differed widely with both boards, even from sailors with similar skill levels. Evidently, the boards are pretty sensitive to sailing styles.
8-4 WAVE
SCORES: (16 ratings)
Upwind 3.75 Planing 3.75 Speed 4.0 Handling 4.31 Jibe 4.44 Overall 4.05
COMMENTS:
“Easy to sail. Crisp, light feel. Did everything well.”
“Excellent to jump and land. Very capable and responsive.”
“I was flying off the waves,” said our woman whose spirit had wings. “It could use a better fin. The fin that’s there now isn’t very responsive.” The 8-4 comes with an 8” wave fin.
“A very sweet board,” said a guy who needed a lot of sweetener before he praised anything. “Smooth in everything it does. A solid ride. Not wiry like some wave boards out there. Good jump board.”
“It seemed a bit nervous. I liked it the least of the boards I sailed today.” Among the North Shore Maui 264, Kinetic 8-6 (the next least liked), Starboard 88 (259 cm) and RRD Cult 250.
“I haven’t sailed many wave boards, but this was good for a wave board. I was able to pivot jibe it.”
STAFF:
Upwind 3.5, Planing 4.5, Speed 4.0 Handling 4.5, Jibe 4.5, Overall 4.2
COMMENTS:
“Seems pretty stiff and hard. Not very forgiving in jibes. It starts to jump in the curve, if you don’t apply enough pressure,” said Hedy, who nonetheless gave it a 4 in Jibe.
“It carves very well,” disagreed Stein Erik Gabrielsen.
“I loved it, especially on a wave,” said Nevin Sayre.
8-8 WAVE
SCORES: (12 ratings)
Upwind 3.67 Planing 3.23 Speed 3.5 Handling 4.46 Jibe 4.14 Overall 3.83
COMMENTS:
“Truly exceptional. It was incredibly stable and easy to jibe, and it handled really well in the waves,” said a non-technical sailor with a measure of natural ability.
“I loved it,” said a young sailor with almost no wave experience.
“In light conditions, it felt a little slow to accelerate and was difficult to stay upwind. But the fin was quite small.” This came from the same sailor who found the 8-4 capable and responsive. He was highly efficient, so his comment about the fin is relevant. The 8-8 comes with an 8” wave fin.
“Good turning in wave faces, but the construction seemed heavy. Very sluggish, very plowy.” This from the guy who thought the 8-4 was sweet. Reverting to his sour form, he gave it a 1 in Planing.
At least one other sailor found planing problematic on this board. Two commented on the width of the footstrap spread, which might have had something to do with it.
STAFF COMMENTS:
“An exceptional production board on a wave,” said Nevin. “The only weakness I could find is that it was a little sticky (slow) in the jibes, and sluggish to accelerate out of them.”
“Nonskid good, pads thin and peel off, straps good, fin too soft for non-experts,” said Mark Archer.
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