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Klistrar in en recension jag skrivit på engelska om denna planka:
e: 190 cm tall, 79 kgs. Experienced, 25 yrs windsurfing, of which about the last 12 more towards wavesailing. Decent wavesailor, but very much still improving my front-side sailing, wave-selection and turns. Sail different spots in Sweden and visit Guincho in Portugal for 2-3 weeks almost every year, if possible.
Reference boards (last couple of seasons) : RRD Twin 90 and 82, WaveCult HC 75, 70, WaveCult 90, 85 and 84 and a few others, Fanatic Twin 93, NewWave 81, FreeWave 98 and 78
Sails used: Gaastra Manic 2010 5.3, 4.7, 4.2 and 3.7
Spot sailed: Guincho, Portugal, everything from waist-sized 5.3 cross-on to full on, mast-high 3.7 and side-shore. Most used sail and conditions has been 4.7 in 2-3 metre waves, cross-on to side. About 12 sessions.
I was very much planning to have a 56~ish, 78-80 litre twin custom built by a friend, but for various reasons it did unfortunately not happen (still have that custom dream, though...) this time. With a three-week trip to Portugal coming up, I was given the opportunity to lay my hands on the 2010 Tabou Da Curve TE 79 in my local store. Hmmm, in many ways it looked a lot like the custom design I had in mind - 56 wide, 79 litres, twin, nice, full rails, similar bottom shape... interesting! So, I brought it home with me...
Somehow, I was just happy to have solved my "small board" problem so smoothly just a few days before my trip (I also brought a Fanatic 93 twin with me), and even if it seemed as if the DC 79 could be what I had looked for, I actually did not have any particular expectations on the board other than it would hopefully be able to offer a nice, controlled and easy ride.
But what a pleasant surprise I was in for! My theories (a favourite area of mine...) and thoughts that a slightly larger twin, with the right shape, should be able to offer a bit more float on the inside and at the same time offer control and ease on the windier and rougher outside at spots like Guincho (where I ended up having 16 sessions in 19 days...) and my main local brake here in Sweden was just right on the money. It felt as if I had found the perfect "Guincho-board" after a number of visits to Portugal.
It is very easy to sail and feels very well balanced, both off and on the water. Actually, the volume distribution makes it very easy for a board of this to get out even when it is quite light on the inside. I found myself using the 79 a few times during the end of my trip when my 93 twin would have been a better choice for going out, but I got more addicted to sailing the 79 than I had expected...
The main strengths of the DC 79 TE is, in my view, it's amazing control, the ease of initiating and adjusting your bottom and top turns and sail range. That a board that takes a 5.3 with such ease is able to offer this amount of control with a 3.7 is almost amazing. I thought that my previous RRD WaveCult HC75 was really good when it came to control with smaller sails, and that a 1.5 cms wider and 4 litres larger board (the 79) would be even better... nice!
Something that says a lot about the DC TE 79 in my book is the fact that it never, not once, bounced out, tripped or failed to deliver in the bottom turns. Even in mast-high+ waves (see below, my sail at the very left part of the picture) with rough faces I have never sailed such a reliable board that just gives you so much confidence going for it in the bottom turns. My bottom turns still need quite a bit of improvement, to say the least (not Levi Siver's standard, exactly... ), but the 79 really has allowed me to push this part of my sailing further than ever before.
Comparing it with other boards I have sailed, I would say that the 79 delivers more and more the better the conditions get. My best sessions on it was in proper waves and a bit more side-shore in the wind. From my experience, a board like the RRD WaveTwin 82 is better in cross-on, but it is also a bit larger and comes with a slightly faster rocker (as far as I can tell). But as soon as the conditions allows you to go for a bit more proper bottom-turns, the 79 is such a nice tool to have under your feet. The extra volume is so nice to have there when it is light on the inside (and the shore brake is nasty...), but it almost magically disappears going in where the boards feels and acts at least one size smaller than it actually is.
The 16 fins that come with the board are a bit softer than most MFC fins I have used (KT, VF, KS) and suited the board really well. Even with the 3.7, I felt no need at all to change the fins. The only time I contemplated using a slighly larger/more powerful set was when I was lightly powered on my 5.3, but that was the only time that I felt the need for a bit more grip. I used the fins mostly about 2.5 cms (OK, I measured it... ) from the front part of the boxes, and slid them a bit further back when conditions got bigger for more directional stability which worked quite well. I tried putting the fins even more forward, but ended up sliding them back about a cm again. I had the mast base in the middle of the box in the beginning, and then had it a bit further back as well.
It is not the earliest planning board out there, but having read German Surf Magazin's (issue 1-2 2010) test (the only test of the DC TE 79 that I have found) where it gets a comment on being slower than almost all of the other boards on test to get going I can only say that I did not find this to be an issue at all. Sure, it isn't an early-planning rocket, but gets going early enough for it's intended use and with similar ability as almost all other twin/single fin waveboards I have owned, used or tried.
The word that sums the 2010 DC TE 79 up for me is "reliability". It just delivers with such ease and balance and is very forgettable when sailing, which is more or less exactly what I look for in a good wave-board. It is the best wave-board I have ever owned for my kind of sailing and ability, and I am so much looking forward to try it in my local wave-spot later this year...
So - if you are in the market for a balanced, reliable, controlled and just fun wave-board with a very broad sail range to explore you wave-sailing when conditions are up for it, the 2010 DaCurve TE 79 is in my book certainly worth a look. For me, it is perfect.
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