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NCW windsurfing team rider Dave Ludgate: Tahe Techno/Nautix Windsurfing 148L board & 6m sail feedback.
NCW’s windsurfing team rider Dave Ludgate took delivery of his brand new Tahe Techno windsurfing board and Nautix Windsurfing freeride sail a few weeks back. He’s been putting it to good use ever since.
We caught up with Dave to get his thoughts on the kit to date. Over to Dave.
First impressions: it’s a lovely looking board – the colour goes well with the Nautix sail! It’s solid, robust – the construction allows this and although the weight is a little higher than that of a carbon/kevlar featherlight board – you don’t have to sweat every time you place the board down on any surface! The fin is great. I added some footstraps but do need to get hold fo some Tahe Techno ones (which are coming I believe).
Tahe Techno 148L ACE-TEC freeride windsurfing board.
We know this board well, as do many other long standing windsurfers. The name Techno is written into windsurfing history as a classic. Although Tahe’s newer range of Techno windsurfing boards are improvements on the still highly regarded old school design.
The Tahe Techno 148L windsurfing board is a great freeride sled for light to medium winds. It’s a fun, easy to use windsurf board that forgives dodgy technique if you’re still progressing. Smaller boned individuals can use this as a beginner board, that’ll then last right through to late intermediate stages, whilst heavier sailors will enjoy a spot of blasting when the breeze picks up. It’s also not too shabby should a few small lumps materialize, being able to jump and pop admirably.
Tahe’s ACE-TEC construction ensures the Techno 148L is bomb proof but without sacrificing performance. If you’re looking for a fun freeride board, that’s more diverse than you’d imagine, then look no further. Check out the Tahe Techno 148L’s full spec below.
- Length: 8’8″ / 264cm.
- Width: 29.50″ / 75cm.
- Volume: 148L.
- Fin box: Deep Tuttle.
- Supplied fin(s): Select Ride 46cm.
- Daggerboard: No.
- Foil Reinforcement: No.
- Masttrack: US Box 17cm.
- Ideal Sail Size: 6.0m- 8.5m.
- Footstraps: 4 positions: Inner and outer 3x position inserts. 1x central rear strap.
- Pads: 4 pads, 5 mm thickness, diamond groove grip.
- Product Type: Rigid – Composite.
- Technology: ACE-TEC.
Give us a shout with any questions.
Note: accompanying action pics show the older BIC Windsurfing graphics. The Tahe Techno 148L board shape, however, is exactly the same.
These boards are shipped direct from the UK distributor direct to you the customer.
Check out the Windsurfing UK magazine review/test of the Tahe Techno 148L windsurfing board here (download the review as well).
BIC Techno 148 Windsurfing UK review –
Want to read our fair returns policy first?£1,225.00
On the water the 148L is plenty buoyant, even for my 90kg (after breakfast!). Beach starts, water starts and uphauling are no problem. But this is where the board is pleasantly deceptive – for its dimensions and volume, it’s bloody quick! According to my Garmin watch (which may not be totally reliable) I maxed out at nearly 38 knots. The little bit of extra weight due to the tougher construction means you have to help it up on to the plane but don’t get me wrong it wants to plane and will hold your hand the whole way. When it gets up on the plane it feels and acts like a much smaller board. It responds well to foot pressure, turns great and even though I didn’t get it out of the water (jumping) it feels like it will hop well – next time! Fast tacks are a cinch with the extra volume in the nose and the extra length when compared to similar boards.
Nautix windsurfing freeride 6m sail.
First impressions: it is beautiful, I love the deep red colour and the black contrast. The reinforced monofilm is very reassuring and the sail is very well made, with great fittings. I love that the mast top slides into the bottom, this makes storage much easier. The boom is great, easy to attach to the mast and the wider front end makes transitions simpler. I love the smaller diameter tube as well – I inherited my mother’s hands! The extension works well with the downhaul fitting, making it really easy to apply as much downhaul as you like. The graduations on the extension suit the sail well also. To be honest, I was a little worried about using a mechanical UJ, I thought that it may inhibit rotation and transitions but when I used it on the water but I honestly can’t tell the difference. The bonus to that is that I don’t have to worry about my UJ snapping hundreds of metres from shore – I have first hand experience of this!
Rigging: this is where the whole setup shines – it is so easy to rig, it may be worth noting here that never before have I had an entire rig that was brand spanking new! The mast slides effortlessly into the luff tube and finds the mast cap with a small bit of help. Once the right length of extension is chosen and the downhaul line is put in the right position – the downhaul is effortless, giving the user a lot of options. The boom attaches onto the mast well – one point of concern here for me, at 6’2”, is that the boom cut out on the luff is a little low, but that might just be me – I like a higher boom.
Nautix Windsurfing windsurf sails: 3.5m, 4.5m, 5.2m, 6.0m, 6.7m.
Designed by renowned custom/semi-custom French sail brand Teiva Sails the new Nautix Windsurfing freeride windsurf sails are posied to get you having maximum fun whatever the conditions.
With smaller sails aimed at more maneuver orientated windsurfing and bigger types slalom inspired Nautix Windsurfing’s freeride sails are applicable to a wide range of disciplines across the whole spectrum of windsurfing.
Flicky for moves, powerful enough to plane in light airs, fast enough for racing your mates and efficient enough for windsurf foiling they’re a one stop shop for all your windsurfing wants/needs. We’ve been testing the Nautix Windsurfing sails range extensively and simply love what they offer. And being new to the UK market it’s fun to be riding something different. We guarantee you’ll love them too!
Freeride sails size range:
– 3.5m: 4 batten – £440
– 4.5m: 4 batten – £540
– 5.2m: 4 batten – £620
– 6.0m: 6 batten – £705
– 6.7m: 6 batten – £785
*** Note: all Nautix Windsurfing windsurf sails are plus £20 delivery ***
Nautix freeride sail technical spec:
– Compatible RDM/ SDM constant curve
– Grid Monofilm for higher resistance, very good longevity, and weight gain
– X-Ply 100 microns grid monofilm
– X-Ply 150 microns specific drop and edge reinforcements
– Battens in tubular carbon or fibre rod
– Razor-proof batten end cap
– Vario top cap
– High visibility surfaces marking
– Individual boom length indication
To order your own single or quiver of Nautix Windsurfing windsurf sails hit the link here.
All Nautix Windsurfing windsurf sails are shipped directly from the manufacturer to you.
Pics: Oli Lane-Peirce.
Want to read our fair returns policy first?£440.00
On the water, as noted above, the whole set up is surprisingly and pleasantly fast! The rig is very lightweight (even with a C30 mast and aluminium boom) which makes it very comfortable in hand. It rotates effortlessly and is very forgiving. Even when overpowered, I never felt like the rig wanted to kill me. It’s a robust setup too, for scientific purposes only, I initiated a few planned wipeouts!!! I never feared for the rig and knew it would be back up again looking to go fast. What I really liked about this rig was its range. To start off I rigged it conservatively, max downhaul and outhaul. I wasn’t getting enough power so, on the water, I tweaked the outhaul first by letting it out a bit and WOW, it made a big difference, it was like a new sail. This great because it means the wind range for this sail is very impressive. I tweaked the downhaul a bit but I found that setting that at the recommended level gave the best results. Where we were sailing was (and always is) very gusty – the sail reacted well to the gusts – it doesn’t spill as much of the gusts as a sail with a big floppy leech – but the light-in-the-hand feel of the rig makes it more forgiving in the big gusts.
I’m absolutely delighted with this setup and have found myself watching the forecast daily for suitable sessions – just like the good old days!
Check out more about NCW windsurfing via the link below –