Last year Jason Polakow and his shaper Richard Greene designed a range of high performance wave boards which are exceptionally fast and great on the plane. They do all that a good wave rider will ask for – and more. The 2001 shapes are great ‘down-the-line’ wave designs with radical characteristics, which were winning many international wave tests thanks to their superb waveriding and free-riding qualities. But some sailors found the boards are a little technical to sail and therefore more demanding.

By Richard Greene:

A hard carving, high wind wave board. With a volume of 66 liters it is designed
for use by lightweight and/or hardcore wave sailors. The board is designed for
power and when the wind is strong it works well in all surf conditions. Its
thin rails enable easy hard carving turns and it offers fantastic performance
in driving bottom turns – beating the opposition to bits. The small 66 is unique.
Compared to other boards of this size it is amazingly easy to sail and it is
a design which Jason uses on big days.

By Richard Greene:

This is the design which Mr. Polakow prefers to any other. He spends most of
his time sailing in Ho’okipa and the board is ideal for the local conditions.
Its shape is adapted to Jason’s radical riding style and he describes the board
as "fast and fun to sail". It is very small and aggressive and it
will please any competent wave sailor with its ultra responsive feel. It has
a little more volume so that it is less dependent on constantly high winds as
the smallest JP wave board. The 72 not only performs superbly in down the line
surf conditions but also in side onshore waves.

By Richard Greene:

The Wave 78 is Jason’s allround wave board and is a firm favorite among the
professional Ho’okipa testers. Sailors like Diony Guadagnino and Greg Allaway
describe the 78 as a "magic board". In side shore and onshore conditions
it can do everything: long and smooth, or short and snappy wave turns. It is
very responsive and its speed and performance gives the good rider the confidence
to extend his limits

Other tester’s comments were "smooth and almost unreal". One reason
why the board is so popular with everybody is because of its new shape – but
especially its size. It is a small and aggressive design offering just enough
floatation. To sum up the 78 will enable everybody to become an even better
wave sailor by allowing him or her to concentrate on the wave and their technique
because the 78 almost wave-sails itself.

Josh Stone’s comment, "We should call this board the "Cat" –
you’ll always land on your feet!"

By Richard Greene:

The size and volume of the 84 makes it THE allround wave board for 2002. It
provides an unparalleled performance range to suit all conditions for almost
all sailors who will find themselves equally at home in both side and onshore
conditions, small and big waves. There is no doubt that the versatile 84 is
the most important board in the JP wave range.

Jason and I designed this board to be both "hardcore and moderate".
This means that like last year’s Wave 255 the new 84 is still quick to plane
and very fast but is easier to handle and control. Thus it has the performance
to deal with all conditions – even flat water. Like all JP Waves 2002, the thinner
rails and modern profile help the sailor to initiate turns easily and allow
the rider to feel part of both his board and the wave. The 84 is super responsive
and predictable – significantly better than last year’s 255. Super positive
carving and maneuverability make this a pure-bred wave machine, which absolutely
rips and is a real confidence booster.

By Richard Greene:

This is the big JP Wave board which doesn’t feel big. Designed for moderate
winds or bigger sailors, the 90 planes beautifully and is fast with good acceleration.
I have given extra attention to the Vee and the rail release to keep the 90
loose and turny, resulting from a lively ride. The size makes this a classic
"more waves per hour" board. You’ll be able to rip the best waves,
while others are struggling to catch any wave at all. It is also lot’s of fun
in smaller surf and in flatter, less than ideal conditions. But the 90 really
comes alive with its great wave performance ability when conditions are good.
Therefore the 90 is the ultimate coastal board, because it performs in the widest
range of conditions, from small waves to big, from less then ideal onshore waves
to true down the line side off shore.

First of all, there are few boards on the market that are really able to rip
hard in light to moderate winds. The 96 is a full-on down the line wave board.
Of course I tried to optimize the freeride range of use of this board without
sacrificing "wave-ability". Like all JP Waves, the precise carving
characteristics help you to hold your speed through your turns resulting in
bigger and more explosive moves off the top of the wave.

Secondly, heavier sailors need more volume and they will love the 96 – it is
a great light wind performer covering a big range of wave riding conditions.
It is not too wide, so it bottom turns and cuts back easily. It is not too straight
either for smooth carving all the way through the turns. By adding a squash
tail carrying width aft past the fin we found a good balance between lift and
turning ability. Many of the testers, even lighter ones, couldn’t believe that
such a ‘big’ board could wave ride so smooth and easy.

Shape comparisons between the 2001 and the new range of 2002 Wave boards.

Compared to the 2001 boards the new Wave’s are generally wider. This is about
1/2 cm at the maximum wide point (max WP) and between 1/2 to 1 cm in the nose
area. In general the tail widths have not changed.

The rails are thinner and the overall thickness of the boards is less, too.
From the side, in the profile, the boards look sleeker. In general, the boards
are thinner everywhere. The rails have lost at least 3 mm in the high section
of the rail. Thus, the new production shapes look and perform even more like
custom boards.

This year we’ve added about 2-3 mm of tail rocker from 90 to 100 cm and back.
It is added gradually over that length. The boards are fast, but I have given
up a minor percentage in points for acceleration and top end speed in exchange
for clearly improved wave riding, carving and responsiveness. The JP Wave’s
will turn quicker and easier. At lower speeds the boards will respond to every
command without losing speed and stalling. At higher speeds the boards will
turn and carve quickly and precisely, but won’t over-respond.

All boards have at least some Vee in the bottom everywhere and there are no
flat areas in the bottom cross section (x-section). The smallest wave board
has a little bit more Vee now for better control and the two larger wave boards
feature a little less Vee for more performance.

X-section usually means the cross section along the board, but in this case
I’m referring to the deck shape from the tail to the mast track. Here the deck
is a little flatter. It is easier to get in and out of the rear strap and the
rider will feel more connected to the board. The flatter deck shape is not so
noticeable forward of the front straps. This improves the board’s appearance
and makes them thinner and a little "surfier"

The most outstanding and obvious feature of all JP boards is the Channel Bottom.
It allows to design a well ‘rockered’ board providing great wave performance
and yet is still fast and quick to plane. This design was quite successful and
therefore the Channels of the new boards have the same length and depth.

The only change is that they are radiused into the bottom. So, as in the past,
the Channel increases the Vee angle in the middle of the board and straightens
the rocker line without changing the rail line. This combination gives a number
of benefits: better stability, greater sailing speed, improved upwind performance,
good down the line speed and the ability to carve the board hard.

By Richard Greene:

"The 2002 wave line is better than ever. We’ve had lots of feedback on
the 2001 models and made refinements to the entire line.

Our primary goal in designing the JP Wave line was to improve
the wave riding performance without sacrificing the ease of use, versatility
or performance in poor conditions. But we felt that we could sacrifice a minor
part of aggressive acceleration and top end speed.

We were especially conscious of maintaining volume and light
air performance. It is important to be able to wave ride in a precise, predictable
and responsive manner. A lot of people think that you can’t have all these in
one board – but JP 2002 wave line proves that you can".

JP wave boards are firmly established as top performers in all surf conditions
for the best wave sailors. This year we have improved the boards by increasing
the overall wave performance without sacrificing the planing performance. Being
looser and snappier, the new designs will wave ride better and easier.

The width makes the boards less tippy when slogging out. Most (if not all)
riders will prefer the thinner flatter decks and they will feel part of the
board while surfing. It puts your ankle in a more relaxed, natural position
– especially the rear foot.

Wave sailors will push JP Wave’s to the limit – but JP boards won’t limit the
sailor.