Hej!
I have had the Quatro Tempo 76 for about a month and have sailed the board in a wide range of conditions, from underpowered 5.0m2 to fully loaded 4.1, in dead-onshore to side shore and from 1m mushy, crap waves to 3m clean waves. My verdict: An amazing board!
My background: 74kg, competent wave sailor sailing mostly in x-on 1-3m conditions where the waves in general are quite powerless (wind generated) meaning that a large portion of the drive is generated not from the wave itself but from the board/sail. I love sailing front side and I have the last 5 years sailed Starboard Evo's and have been quite sceptical in the multifin hysteria and was on the verge of buying a 2009 version of the Evo instead of a twin. However, due to differnt reasons I decided to go for a Twin and Quatro specifically since Keith T is considered without doubt on of the best twin shapers out there.
Concerning my impressions of the board I am in most parts in complete agreement with The Boardseeker-team conclusions (have you read the test?); it is very controlled in a straight line, is very "lively" and gives lots of feedback compared to other twins (e.g. Goya) and has a very nice top end speed giving great jumps. It is very comfortable to sail remembering that this was my very first impression; it felt as I had sailed the board for years. It is extremely easy to gybe, in fact I have never sailed a waveboard which is so easy to keep the speed throughout the gybe and in general in a bump&jump mode it feels much like a freewave.
On the wave it completely blows me away. I did however need some time to adjust my technique compared to sailing the highly rockered Evo. The main difference compared to my Evo was that the board seems to need more rail initially in the turn which requires you to adjust your stance and apply more pressure to the front foot and mast. However, once the rail is engaged you are completely free to do pretty much what you want with the board sailing either front or back foot, tight or drawn out turns etc. It is easy to keep speed in the bottom turn, in fact as easy as the Evo´s which were easily some of the best boards for front side riding in x-on conditions. The main advantage of the Tempo is the top-turn; so tight and loose! Awesome!
I have done quite some tuning with fin and mast position and this has a huge impact on the board. So far I have found the following setup to perform nicely in x-on wave conditions:
1. Mast position: spot-on in the middle of the complete length of the track (i.e. including the larger part where you insert the mast foot). This is approx 8.5cm from the front edge of the mast track.
2. Fins: leading edge of the fins to be positioned approx between the fourth and fifth line counting from the front edge of the fin box. This places most of the fin area directly under your rear foot if you have it positioned as stated in point 3.
3. Foot strap position: front straps in the middle position, rear foot strap in the third hole from the front.
This setup makes the board very loose and can feel somewhat insecure in a straight line, especially if going at max speed in choppy conditions. For more blasting and jumping, move the fins slightly back and the mast forward which will make the board stiffer but much more directionally stable. The board, both when gibing and wave riding needs some rail in the water and therefore you need to apply more pressure on rail and mast initially. This can be done by widening your grip on the boom (move that back hand way back!) and also move the front hand slightly backwards when going into the bottom turn. This will automatically move the rig forward into the turn thus generating pressure on the rail. Secondly, bend those knees as much as possible giving a lower centre of gravity (exaggerate this part, compare to a surfer), lean forward/inwards and get some pressure on the front foot. This will engage the rail in the turn and will help in taking away the spin-out effect you are referring to. To much back foot pressure will not work. Hope this helps and don´t sell the board yet! It is really fantastic!
