Goya Custom Twin 74

“Takes more effort to get it going as the tail feels so small”

“Dubious about its onshore credentials, but awesome in down the line conditions”

“The grippiest, most reliable bottom turn of any twin fin”

“Always feels like you need a better wave and more wind to get the best out of it”

Goya may have been one of the last brands to introduce twin fins to their range, but even Ex-Wave World Champion Francisco Goya has decided it’s time to introduce a two fin set-up to his premier wave line - the Custom. The Custom Twin sits in the range alongside a single fin Custom range and is targeted at offering a more ‘surfy feel’ and good onshore performance.

The Goya feels small and narrow underfoot with a short, relatively wide nose outline. It feels the smallest board in this test and its maximum width (54.5) reflects this. The first thing you will notice when you sail it is that it doesn't feel like an onshore board. In fact, it is almost the complete opposite end of the spectrum to a board like the Quatro Tempo.

It takes more effort than the other boards to get going. It's not necessarily draggy in anyway, its just feels small. Once going, however, it has a very stable and comfortable ride. It sits low in the water which gives it great control (we sailed it completely overpowered on 3.7 with no control issues at all), but does make it a little less exciting for burning around in cross-on, lighter conditions.

For cross-on riding the Goya has amazing grip through the bottom turn (we haven't sailed another twin fin that comes close) and in the top turn prefers to grip and carve its way through the turn rather than slide. It's not to say it doesn't slide, but because it sits low and buries its rail through the turn, it prefers a tight grippy carve to a sliding turn, which is nice particularly as the waves get bigger.

The down side of the Goya is that it doesn't hold speed very well through the turns. It carves and grips, but all this grip comes at a price and in smaller softer waves it's noticeably harder to string several turns together than some of the other boards due to the loss of speed on each turn. You continually find yourself wanting a bigger and faster wave to make the most of the boards abilities. In smaller UK conditions, it feels something like driving an F1 car around a go-kart track...it's out of its comfort zone and you just don’t get a chance to realise the full potential.

In sideshore conditions, the Goya starts to shine. And the bigger the better! In smaller conditions or with less than perfect technique, the board doesn't hold speed like the others. However, as the waves get bigger and in the hands of a skilled rider, the Custom Twin is probably the best board in this test. It’s grippy, smooth, loose and reliable. Everything you could ask from a proper down the line wave board.

Summary

Our feeling is that the Custom Twin should be looked upon as a down-the-line wave riding board. In that purpose, it is arguably the best board in test. For cross-on conditions, it's fun in the turn and comfortable at speed, but is harder work than the other boards to get going and to maintain speed in the turns on softer, slower waves.