Tabou 3S

mpighini · Joined: 14 Jul 2000 Posts: 9 Location: Laguna Niguel

I am looking to get my wife a Tabou 86L 3S. She is currently sailing a JP Freestyle Wave 84L and loves it. Has anyone tried the Tabou 3S? My wife is an intermediate sailor just starting to make her jibes, but she can short board tack in no wind. She 5'2" and 100lbs soaking wet.

geffert · Joined: 09 Oct 2007 Posts: 123

For what it's worth....I highly recommend the 3s and think it's a stellar board for intermediates and advanced sailors alike.

I just got done demoing a bunch of boards in Maui for our school/shop. If your wife can handle a smaller board, Tabou is now making a 76l 3s that is sweet! The 3s are really easy to ride boards that carve well into a jibe and provide nice pop. I am 5'2" and anywhere between 115-120. One issue I find with being smaller is that longer more narrow boards tend to be more bouncy in higher winds (if you really want to know my theory of why this happens for smaller riders, PM me). The three boards that worked really, really in "sticking" to the water in overpowered conditions were the Tabou Pocket, the Tabou 3s and the Naish Global Wave.

The Pocket is very much a wave shaped board, but the Global Wave and the 3s are more versatile. The Global Wave is a solid bump and jump board that is very quick to plane and fast, but not quite as easy to carve as the 3s. The 3s is slightly slower to plan up, but it carves beautifully and has decent volume in the middle/nose to be able to fast tack nicely.

Finally, quality/price point is tough to match on the Tabous.

If you want to chat more about these boards or others (we carry Tabou, Naish, Quatro, Bic, Mistral, Starboard and Exocet), feel free to call or email me.

All the best,
-Rebecca
Boardsports School & Shop
415.385.1224
info@boardsportsschool.com
www.BoardsportsSchool.com

Kevinmc · Joined: 05 May 1998 Posts: 77

The 3S sounds like a great board for her, especially if she's an intermediate that will be looking to dabble in different types of sailing. I have a 97L (I'm 6'2 and 170) and love it. It's VERY comfortable board.

Primarily, I am a wave sailor and when it's super light wind, but good waves, I opt for my floaty 3S. With a wave fin in it, it is surprisingly turny in the waves for what is a "big" board for me. AND it's the perfect board for free ride, bump and jump conditions. I ALWAYS take this board on my trips to the Caribbean where there's a mix of flat water (for the lame attempts I do at freestyle,) medium sized waves on the reefs, and plenty of bump and jump blasting around.

I recently took out some intermediate sailors after they had been using much bigger boards. It took a lot of convincing because they didn't believe they would be able to sail it. Once they got on, they wanted to buy it by the time I left. Floated them, planed quick and jibed great. No problem.

If you get it for her, make sure that part of the deal is that you get to use it!

-kmc

pthorner · Joined: 29 Mar 1994 Posts: 164

I sail JP FSW at (85,91,102) home in the Bay Area and last time we were in Maui we rented at Kanaha Kai (Hot Sails) and I went through the whole line of Starboards without finding a board that made me happy. Then I laid my hands on a 3S and had a great time. It is a great board and similar in style and rideability to the JP FSW.

Peter

benpfree1 · Joined: 17 Apr 2004 Posts: 126

I have a 2008 3s ltd edition. I really like the board for free-ride on sf bay. I haven't tried it at the coast yet as I think I need a smaller fin.
KevinMC what fin do you recommend to make it more of a wave board? it has a powerbox.
thanks

windsurfer7 · Joined: 27 Jun 2000 Posts: 40

My wife has big boobs and she loves the 3S

sinusoidal · Joined: 23 Feb 2009 Posts: 37

Kevinmc · Joined: 05 May 1998 Posts: 77

Hi Ben,

I've been getting my fins direct from Gsport (gsport.com but the site hasn't been updated in quite a while.) I first used a Surf 23.5cm and then a design called Flip Tip. Right now I have a Best Bet (23.5cm for my 97L) which is still good in the waves, but I do like the Surf and Flip Tip better. They were just more of a true wave design which is pretty much 99% of my sailing. Power Box wave fins do seem hard to come by, though. I wish the board companies would just stick to the Standard boxes for all boards.

windsurfer7 - Glad to hear it and glad to hear it.

-Kevinmc

mpighini · Joined: 14 Jul 2000 Posts: 9 Location: Laguna Niguel

FredFX · Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:44 pm Post subject: