Now that F2 possibly face a closure you can only welcome that Gaastra/Tabou surprisingly has come up with a formula board for the 2008-09 (no new models allowed until 2010). Of course you can wonder why the board is a "Gaastra" and not a "Tabou", but perhaps the reason is that Fabien Vollenveider (according to an unconfirmed, but persistent rumour) is more focused on designing wave, freestyle and freeride boards than on designing race boards. That the board is developed by Gaastra sailor Steve Allen and his training partner, Hubert Mokrzyski, perhaps also has influenced the choice of family name ...?

Of course, the various formula boards have changed shapes the last few years (for instance the One-Foot-Off has grown wider)., but nevertheless it has been in issue, if all the changes have been genuine progresses. At least it's worth noting that some (very good) formula sailors have preferred e.g. the F2 III above the F2 IV, just as many Starboard sailors have been just as competitive with the 160s as with the 161s and 162s. And exactly Steve Allen has preferred the SB 160 over the later Starboards, and the 160 is also said to have been the starting point for developing the Vapor. However, it's pretty obvious that the development has moved in the same direction as the new SB 162 (for instance the very wide stern and nose).

If you want to know about the performance of the Vapor it's very much recommendable to read Sean O'Brians valuation on http://www.carbonsugar.com/design/the-new-gaastra-vapor-fw-board.

If you're not a competitive sailor you might also find some useful details in the following valuation, based on a few hours with the board this early summer. Of course the performance of a board's very dependent of the setup, rig and fin, so these have to be mentioned:

Straps: Forward straps in the rear holes, the back straps in the forward holes.

Mast foot: 135 from stern (i.e. about the middle position).

Rig: NP RSR 10.7 with a North Platinum 550 mast (that is both too top-stiff and too overall stiff compared to the unreliable NP X9).

Fin: Select Elite R07 Wing Soft 70 cm 3.5 degree.

The board performs very "rounded" and without special whims. It sail somewhat more freely than the SB 161, almost as the F2 IV and V, but luckily without their somewhat tricky way to "limp" onto the plane. The board sail very soft in chop, and on a reach (perhaps irrelevant in competition, but important in long distance sailing) it seems very fast.

Also in downwind sailing the Vapor performs well, but for one or another reason it might feel somewhat uncomfortable (almost scary) to sail overpowered very deep in chop. The cause for this experience possibly lie in the a little too stiff CC mast and/or the Select fin rather than in the board - but anyway the temptation to seek a little higher in the wind can be very hard to neglect. Probably the nose shall not catch the back of the chop, but you don't feel quite safe. Most often I don't fit a chicken strap on my formula boards, because the center placement kill the speed - but just to have a little peace in mind I'm planning to fit two chicken straps as a compromise between the need for speed and control (see the picture).

At my place there's lots of weed in the rather choppy waters, and with the Select fin the Vapor seem to be more prone to spin out when under pressure, than I remember from the SB 161. In fact the distance from the fin box to the stern is identical to that of the SB 161 (approx. 9 cm), so perhaps the reason for the spin out tendency is caused by the pretty wide fin with a very rear trailing edge, that too easily suck air from behind the stern. For the time being the problem has been reduced by moving the back strap one hole forward, but I've also prepared for days with large quantities of weed by making a detachable flap (see the pictures). 

To sum up, the Vapor generally is a wonderful and harmonic board to sail, and it's probably very competitive around a race course with a good pilot. The mentioned doubts (control downwind in a heavy gusts and the tendency to spin out in areas with weed/chop) shall perhaps be non-existing with another rig/fin and for the good sailor.

P. s.: There may be a shortage problem with the board(?). My board has serial No. ..00002, and according to the local importer we shall not expect to have more Vapors than this one in my country (Denmark).

As always, when I try to trim new equipment, some chaotic thoughts about possible solutions of (often imaginary) problems fill my head. Mostly the solutions end up with being simple and straightforward (mast foot placement, strap placement, boom height, getting accustomed to... etc.), and luckily it's seldom necessary with more radical actions.

However, some of us have a tendency to think in worst case, that is the solution of the problem imply things like new fin, new plugs for the straps, fitting of a flap ... etc. For 90% of the cases it ends up with a lot of work in vain, but for your own peace of mind you might as well use a couple of calm days to prepare for the improbability.

To the left a couple of pictures illustrate some more troublesome solutions on some early and minor problems with the performance of the Vapor - solutions that shall probably not be necessary in the longer run.

As can be seen from the two first pictures, consequently the flap is made to be detachable.

In the lower picture the classic placement of the single chicken strap is indicated with blue arrows. This placement means great control - but bad speed.

The red arrows show the choice for placement of the two alternative chicken straps as a (hopefully) better compromise of speed and control. If the need for control isn't satisfied with this placement, you can always use the most distant chicken strap.