In reference to the fleabay thread that has become the Tiga Hall of fame!
Thought it may be time for other Tiga fans to come out!
Catch the last few posts on this forum to get the drift..
Perhaps the plastic bomboras or HiFlyscould squeeze a mention or pic also!
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/flea-bay-the-bargains-keep-on-coming/?page=2
I purchased my first board a 295 Tiga after much research, flew it up from Melbourne to NQ and was the best decission ever, due to its bomb proof construction, I found the board was actually performed well against other boards that were around in that era.
And to clarify Bomb Proof..I mean hitting coral bombies at full speed smashing fins to bits, no fin box damage, stupendouse amounts of boom hits to the nose, no problems, thrown on and off boats, jettys, roof racks with no padding, smashed against rocky headlands..left in the tropical sun for days, I'm sure I lost it on the Bruce highway once due to a roof rack misshap! Just a few scratches and nicks.
Certainly wouldn't suggest for a moment that they compare with todays gear, but for getting people on the water for less$ and being robust,reliable and quite quick and easy to sail, they certainly got me and I'm sure many others hooked.
I'd been sailing Bic Calypso's, Melody's, Rocks and various Bombora and original windsurfers before making this jump, and the Tiga was a like a Porsche in comparsion!
Love robhow's comparisons between the 2 tiga models about 10 years apart, and the reference to Tom Luedecke, havn't heard that name for years! Any info on him these days?
and that awesome video again!
Copied Fj's post on fleabay thread here(hope thats ok?!)...as its an interesting summary of history on the old Tigas..
didnt realize that they were so big in their day!
(from Fj's post in Fleabay)..
in '85 i had an epoxy Tiga Pro raceboard, and before that a hollow Tiga Race.
Tiga were one of the first companies to put World Cup shapes into production and with Bringdal, Luedecke, Salles, Thieme, Aguera etc were the strongest team on the World Cup in the mid to late eighties.
Tiga boards were 1st, 2nd and 3rd at the production worlds in '86 and held the speed record for production boards.
i guess they were better known later for pumping out plastic boards and then i think Neil Pryde bought them.
yes they were a great board fast and bulletproof board i had the 275, rails were a bit boxy and not easy to jibe , a good thing about those boards is you could stick some black plastic on the nose and leave it in the sun and bend a bit of nose rocker, still not ideal wave board but great for bay blasting
Glad you enjoyed the comments I made in the flea bay post. I nearly started a new topic (Tiga Fan Club) but you beat me to it 
I haven't seen or heard from Tom since the late 1980's. It would be interesting to know his whereabouts and if he still held any interest in windsurfing at the moment.
FJ mentioned having a pro model Tiga raceboard back in 1985. The attached photos are from the SONY 1984/1985 event at Dee Why, attended by some of the worlds great sailors. One of the raceboards is Gary Kemper's while the other is Tom's.
What's interesting is the similarity to to-days raceboards. Probably less volume,
but I'm sure would still be competitive in the right hands.
Skinny buggers for the length of board, when you consider the width we pack into boards these days..
my tiga 250 was my favourite board ever.. easy to jibe, smooth through the chop.. weight wasnt really a big issue, and pretty near indestructible,, yep, a pretty fantastic little piece of plastic. 
and to think, i just gave it away because i got a new lighter, faster, cooler board..that i never did like. 
Ah, I remember my Tiga Swift fondly. I used to put gaffer tape over the centreboard slot to turn it into a slalom board and to stop the fire hydrant-like gush of water when I got planing.
Have very fond memories of the Tiga 275 ACR (advanced course racer !) it actually was very quick in a straight line but from memory was a bugger to gybe. I also had its little brother the 260 ACR, a little heavy but indestructable.
the 295 in about 10-12 knots in paradise with a 7.5m.. didn't need 9m sail or 80+cm wide board! used to get this planing in very light winds, as the pic shows barley a ripple in the water. The brown water in the front of the pic shows where reef starts again, somewhere in the middle was a deep channel! no place for a fancy carbon formula board here, this was plastic paradise!
Awesome video!!!
I usually sit back and yawn at old school gear, but after watching that, soooo much respect for the std of sailing....
Inspiring stuff!
awesome video,
end of one season my glass boards were under repair, a good se come through unexpected so I borrowed the old man's gear (tiga 270) without permission-(had no time to ask-excuse was it was my birthday) stayed out till marker lights and stars were out for last run and uni broke well out.
had to tie through mast foot and limp back. didn't pierce board but left ugly impression. don't think poly board would have had same rescue success. Tried to say"lucky it didn't happen to you chief" probably shouldn't have brought it up but tough boards that were fun 2 ride alright.
Great video Tiga 260 was my first board the board i learnt to windsurf on , What is embarsing is I still have that wet suit 
Interesting that Toms board has a Mistral mast track......almost all board brands used Mistral mast tracks.
