Levi Siver is one of the stand out wavesailors of his generation, known for his fluid ridng and full tweaked aerials. With his two signature boards, the LS Quad and Thruster fresh on the market, alongside his favoured sail the Banzai, Boards wanted to find out more from the developers of Levi’s chosen set up.
Catch up with Levi on video (development chat plus insane action) plus further words from Keith Teboul and Jason Diffin.
Check out the video with Levi:
sequence 06 1280×720 from Ocean4Hawaii on Vimeo.
Quatro designer Keith Teboul shares his insight into the two boards and the Banzai:
The Thruster
“This board was developed here on MAUI with myself and input from team riders…..and customers as well. We have a demo programme here at the shop in Maui and I like to put the potential new plugs in to the rotation to see the feedback from our clientele…this really gives me a real world look at how the boards feel.
For me the Thruster was designed to replace the single fin board of our range. I believe it is fast, stable, quick planing with a smooth turn to it, it has the option to be used as a single for those who want to go between single and thruster.
I believe this board is a great transition board to go from single fin to multi fin…it still has some single fin characteristics that make it comfortable to jump on coming from the single fin world.”
The Quad
“We have put so much R and D in the quad boards it was really just a matter of sitting down and fine tuning. Getting this new quad to plane quicker with a smoother flow from turn to turn, so I really worked on rocker and foam flow to achieve this.
This quad is ideal for side to side onshore conditions, I think it can suit any rider looking to improve their wave sailing skills in varied conditions. The quad has a more spontaneous feel than the thruster, where the thruster has a more solid even flow than the quad.”
The Banzai
“From what I saw on the Banzai there was many of us involved in development, the main person being Marcilio Browne. Coming from North Sails Marcilio had a certain feeling he was looking for. He spent time with Jason to achieve some of those feelings (good for jumping, broader range but still low end power). I think what he brought to the sails improved the overall performance, as always around here Jason likes to get input from everyone. tend to test most of the smaller sizes being a smaller sailor and usually using smaller sails than anyone (this year alone I used a 3.3 17 times) but I’M usually on a 3.7 or 4.0….
For me the Banzai is a good balance of low end power, it has a bigger wind range than last year, it’s easier to control in higher winds, has a more stable feeling and yet still has drive and a neutral feeling that is at your fingertips when you are wave riding.”
Jason Diffin, Goya sail designer on the Banzai:
“Me, Marcilio Browne, Keith Teboul, Levi Siver, Francisco Goya and Bernd Roediger were involved in the development.
Compared to last year the sail has a lower, more forward and locked center of effort. Also a much better high wind range and increased durability through stronger perimeter materials.
The ’13 Banzai has a more stable draft that allows you to feel comfortable in a wider range of wind strengths, particularly powered up conditions. The power delivery in the mid 4m and up sizes is very robust and direct, it is a sail to get you moving. The smaller sizes are cut to be more forgiving in higher wind, and to manage power well.
Power, speed, and easy handling/control- that’s what we are all looking for- no matter if you are Brawzinho or a part time windsurf enthusiast. Banzai ’13 delivers the key elements- early planing, smooth handling, and great high wind control. Quick power, easy speed, controlled jumps, and effortless maneuvers are the performance characteristics of the ’13 Banzai.”
For more on Quatro and Goya in the UK head to the Zero Gravity website here.
