I decided to invest in a Shinn Jackson foil board (sourced from Kitepower).

The items that attracted me where the chined edges, concave deck with grip and the "sliding mount" system.

I tested it with a Zeeko Carver 70cm setup and a Spitfire XLW 70cm setup (same mast on both).

Easy to attach/change foils. Easy to loosen the four bolts and move the mast position. The foil can be mounted over about a 30cm range.

I really enjoyed riding the board.

The swing weight is pretty good
The chines work well and help with such a short mast.
The front rocker is great, and with the chines, assists in breach recoveries.
The colour makes it easy to find when it runs off.
The concave deck is really great and the raised edging gives you some clues about your foot positioning.
I road it in 15/20 knots and 10 knot sessions and had no troubles getting up.
Plenty of holes for foot straps. I rode the board strapless, but I attached a front foot strap sideways just to make launching easier.

I recommend the board ..... works well.

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bigtone667 said..
The foil can be mounted over about a 30cm range.

Typo? Looks more like a 3cm range with these mini tracks....

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Livit said..

bigtone667 said..
The foil can be mounted over about a 30cm range.

Typo? Looks more like a 3cm range with these mini tracks....

The slots are 24cm long.

I can mount the mast 15cm from the board end and slide it 15cm further forward from that position.

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bigtone667 said..
I decided to invest in a Shinn Jackson foil board (sourced from Kitepower).

The items that attracted me where the chined edges, concave deck with grip and the "sliding mount" system.

I tested it with a Zeeko Carver 70cm setup and a Spitfire XLW 70cm setup (same mast on both).

Easy to attach/change foils. Easy to loosen the four bolts and move the mast position. The foil can be mounted over about a 30cm range.

I really enjoyed riding the board.

The swing weight is pretty good
The chines work well and help with such a short mast.
The front rocker is great, and with the chines, assists in breach recoveries.
The colour makes it easy to find when it runs off.
The concave deck is really great and the raised edging gives you some clues about your foot positioning.
I road it in 15/20 knots and 10 knot sessions and had no troubles getting up.
Plenty of holes for foot straps. I rode the board strapless, but I attached a front foot strap sideways just to make launching easier.

I recommend the board ..... works well.

Hey Tony
You being a seasoned fouler.
Whats your reasoning regards using 70cm mast.
Shallow foiling area?

I can just imagine what someone would have to be doing to get the title "Seasoned Fouler"
chuckle chuckle etc.

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LeighMajor said..

bigtone667 said..
I decided to invest in a Shinn Jackson foil board (sourced from Kitepower).

The items that attracted me where the chined edges, concave deck with grip and the "sliding mount" system.

I tested it with a Zeeko Carver 70cm setup and a Spitfire XLW 70cm setup (same mast on both).

Easy to attach/change foils. Easy to loosen the four bolts and move the mast position. The foil can be mounted over about a 30cm range.

I really enjoyed riding the board.

The swing weight is pretty good
The chines work well and help with such a short mast.
The front rocker is great, and with the chines, assists in breach recoveries.
The colour makes it easy to find when it runs off.
The concave deck is really great and the raised edging gives you some clues about your foot positioning.
I road it in 15/20 knots and 10 knot sessions and had no troubles getting up.
Plenty of holes for foot straps. I rode the board strapless, but I attached a front foot strap sideways just to make launching easier.

I recommend the board ..... works well.

Hey Tony
You being a seasoned fouler.
Whats your reasoning regards using 70cm mast.
Shallow foiling area?

Kiting on any of the Central Coast lakes makes you a seasoned fouler. Long Jetty was particularly ordinary on Sunday. Had to shower twice.

I got the short mast primarily for riding at Umina (which is very tidal) over the main sand bank (The Box) on mid to high tide.

In general, once you are up and running and carving, a longer mast is much more forgiving than a shorter mast in tight turns (lots of breaching on the shorter mast).

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RAL INN said..
I can just imagine what someone would have to be doing to get the title "Seasoned Fouler"
chuckle chuckle etc.

Hahaha
Is this the cooking forum.
Thanks mate sorry about the typo
??
Lucky we have a sense of humour.
Ok am contemplating that 70cm length mast to assist with the learning curve with one of my locations being not quite deep enough for the full length.
Am about 5 hours in on the full length mast.
Had a few short runs about 30cm above.
Wipeouts a plenty.
Its a suttle balancing act.

I personally find riding at half mast height there seems to be the most control and stability with enough mast in the water to dampen roll tendencies.
using a shorter mast sort of counteracts this IMHO.

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RAL INN said..
I personally find riding at half mast height there seems to be the most control and stability with enough mast in the water to dampen roll tendencies.
using a shorter mast sort of counteracts this IMHO.

Some interesting info and results in the SS foil academy regards foiling learning curve starting with shorter masts then increases in mast length as with progression.
Sorry Tony didn't mean to hijack your Shin Jackson.

Lots of people went straight to the long mast and had no issues. I started long, smashed the crap out of myself. Bought a half mast and had it all sussed out in two weeks and went back to the long mast.

Now I use either a 70 or 90 depending on location.

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bigtone667 said..
Lots of people went straight to the long mast and had no issues. I started long, smashed the crap out of myself. Bought a half mast and had it all sussed out in two weeks and went back to the long mast.

Now I use either a 70 or 90 depending on location.

Yes I had to give foiling a break until this season to let my knee replacement heal totally.
Wipeouts were pretty hectic
using the full length mast.
70cm is only 20cm shorter but hopefully a bit kinder on wipeouts.
Only use the front strap loose mainly for directing the board for waterstarts.

Are you sure it's 30cm of adjustment??? Not that 30 mm?

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TomW059 said..
Are you sure it's 30cm of adjustment??? Not that 30 mm?

15cm travel.

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bigtone667 said..

TomW059 said..
Are you sure it's 30cm of adjustment??? Not that 30 mm?

15cm travel.

So you are saying that each of the 4 slots are 15 cm long, correct?

I am saying you can push the mast backwards and forwards with about 8cm.

I thought it was further but I actually just measured it.

It looks more like 60 mm. So we went from 300mm adjustment to 60mm....

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TomW059 said..
It looks more like 60 mm. So we went from 300mm adjustment to 60mm....

Only a small over-estimation (lol) ..... The mast moves around 80mm.

I have used the forward most position on the board since I got it with either the Spitfire XLW or Zeeko Carver wings. Haven't had any loose nuts or screws yet!!!

It's not a super light wind board (no volume or planing area), but it still the best all-round board I have used so far foiling.

Big Tone,

Did you get the 145cm or 120cm length Jackson? Do you know how much it weighs?

Also did the mounting hardware come with the board or with the foil?

I'm interested in the 120cm board but cannot find much detail on the boards specs online.

Thanks

145 and the mounting hardware came with the board.

Not sure of the weight, but it is not a super light.

Warwickl will definitely have that number on the tip of his tongue.

Does anyone have the weight for both the 120 and the 145 please? Any opinions on which is better for an intermediate foiler? Thanks.

I have been interested in this board for strapless foiling but am concerned about the exposed hardware on the surface. Can you feel the tops of the screws if you drag your bare foot across them? (like during a shuffling foot change?)

JRyan, there might be a thread on another kite forum where Mark discusses the weights.

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emmafoils said..
I have been interested in this board for strapless foiling but am concerned about the exposed hardware on the surface. Can you feel the tops of the screws if you drag your bare foot across them? (like during a shuffling foot change?)

JRyan, there might be a thread on another kite forum where Mark discusses the weights.

I have the 145 and happy.
Mine weighs 4.3kg and has sufficient bouyancy for Zeeko Carver wing.
Hardware is not an issue and if u feel the screws either put in shorter screws or just add a washer ie just use a bit of commonsense - sorry but had to add this.
I found the weight a bit more than Zeeko quotes.

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warwickl said..

emmafoils said..
I have been interested in this board for strapless foiling but am concerned about the exposed hardware on the surface. Can you feel the tops of the screws if you drag your bare foot across them? (like during a shuffling foot change?)

JRyan, there might be a thread on another kite forum where Mark discusses the weights.

I have the 145 and happy.
Mine weighs 4.3kg and has sufficient bouyancy for Zeeko Carver wing.
Hardware is not an issue and if u feel the screws either put in shorter screws or just add a washer ie just use a bit of commonsense - sorry but had to add this.
I found the weight a bit more than Zeeko quotes.

My common sense tells me to not buy something if I have to jury rig a solution when there are other good options out there....it is a bit unusual to see exposed hardware and therefore my question. If you say it is not an issue, that answers my question. Not sure about the purpose of your common sense solutions if the hardware is not a problem.

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emmafoils said..
I have been interested in this board for strapless foiling but am concerned about the exposed hardware on the surface. Can you feel the tops of the screws if you drag your bare foot across them? (like during a shuffling foot change?)

JRyan, there might be a thread on another kite forum where Mark discusses the weights.

I had no issues with the very flat, large knurled nut supplied with the jackson. It sits at or just below the level of the deck pad.

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emmafoils said..

warwickl said..

emmafoils said..
I have been interested in this board for strapless foiling but am concerned about the exposed hardware on the surface. Can you feel the tops of the screws if you drag your bare foot across them? (like during a shuffling foot change?)

JRyan, there might be a thread on another kite forum where Mark discusses the weights.

I have the 145 and happy.
Mine weighs 4.3kg and has sufficient bouyancy for Zeeko Carver wing.
Hardware is not an issue and if u feel the screws either put in shorter screws or just add a washer ie just use a bit of commonsense - sorry but had to add this.
I found the weight a bit more than Zeeko quotes.

My common sense tells me to not buy something if I have to jury rig a solution when there are other good options out there....it is a bit unusual to see exposed hardware and therefore my question. If you say it is not an issue, that answers my question. Not sure about the purpose of your common sense solutions if the hardware is not a problem.

Good point.
However, I have two foils - one Zeeko aluminium and one KFA carbon and mast bases are different thicknesses.
It's no big deal to make a simple adjustment.

4.3 kgs for the 145. Wow that's heavy. Thanks Warwickl.

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JRyan said..
4.3 kgs for the 145. Wow that's heavy. Thanks Warwickl.

Zeeko quote 3kg I believe.
When picked up it does not feel like 4.3kg but thats what my scales state.
Hope my scales are wrong as I also would be lighter but the mirror does not show that.

Hi guys,
the knurled nuts sit flush with the deck grip. The screws don't protrude through on the Shinn mast.
I don't find them an issue at all.

DM

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warwickl said..

JRyan said..
4.3 kgs for the 145. Wow that's heavy. Thanks Warwickl.

Zeeko quote 3kg I believe.
When picked up it does not feel like 4.3kg but thats what my scales state.
Hope my scales are wrong as I also would be lighter but the mirror does not show that.

3.85kg for std. Green&white but the carver wing is a fair bit bigger.

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RAL INN said..

warwickl said..

JRyan said..
4.3 kgs for the 145. Wow that's heavy. Thanks Warwickl.

Zeeko quote 3kg I believe.
When picked up it does not feel like 4.3kg but thats what my scales state.
Hope my scales are wrong as I also would be lighter but the mirror does not show that.

3.85kg for std. Green&white but the carver wing is a fair bit bigger.

Edit on my weight statement:
I should have said Shinn Jackson is 4.3kg not Zeeko.
Its my guess the Jackson is about 3kg as a bare board (+/-5%) as when I weighed it, it was complete with deck grip, Straps and bolts.
Its not uncommon for manufacturers to quote on bare boards.
Its one of my favorite boards so a keeper.