Zeeko alloy foil movie. As an ad it's way more on my level than ^^^ that one - just riding no "I'm so cool" cr@p. Plus they actually land their jumps in this one..

Interested to hear what people think?

That looks pretty cool.

Cool looking Vid, feeds my growing interest even more. Heard a rumour that Cabrinha have a foil board in 2016 has anyone heard or seen anything?

started softening up the wife to prepare for bank balance shock...

They might look like wings but I don't think they work that way

Dave, if you are looking at Zeeko, have you considered the Slash 5'4 with foil inserts instead of the Pocket? As SirV mentions, the idea of having a board that can be used as a surfboard without the foil appeals to me.

would it be possible to add inserts to a kite surfboard for the foil?

Yes I was actually wondering how easy ($$) it would be to get reinforcement/screw inserts put on for this board or something similar...
www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Kitesurfing-Surfboards/~teojt/2015-Firewire-Vangaurd-5-4.aspx?ref=r
I think it would be good except lack of big nose rocker for learning.
placement would be a guess, but probably work, especially if strapless..

btw do you live in Buddina? I know a kiting harlie there..

I reckon a shaper could do it for $150.

First board I made cost me $300 and the next one I am making (strapless) should be short of $250.

There is a lot of informations about making foil boards on kitefoil.forumactif.org . Mainly in French but with the help of google translator you should be able to work it out. A lot of fun to do and as the board does not matter that much for foiling (when learning I mean) it is not a problem if you don't get it perfect at your first go.

the angle I'm coming from is carrying one board that can be used with a foil or as a normal kite surfboard. Looks like SirV bolts the foil on when the wind is light and takes it off when the wind is blowing which make perfect sense to me.

Given this, the board would want to be a nice board to use before it has a foil bolted to it.

From Zeeko's specs we can see the Slash 5'4 foil version is 700gram heavier than the version without the inserts. Personally I think it would be quite easy to add inserts if I am allowed to add that amount of weight - getting it right while adding significantly less weight would be the challenge.

btw - no, I'm based bayside BNE.

I see what you mean harlie - as far as I understand there's a fair bit of reinforcing done inside... I imagine the force is pretty high if you're 100kgs doing 25kts with feet locked in and you hit a sandbar, all that force is operating on a 1m fulcrum. Hard to keep that under 700g maybe? Might be easier just to get the slash board or similar.
I haven't seen any reviews of it though. I'm not a kite surfer as such I've lived near flat water and no waves until recently, so I don't really know what to look for in a good kite surfboard.

FWIW alpinefoil also offer a surf board, but to my eye it looks a bit oddly shaped for a surfboard, it's more just their race board with a pointy nose and fin boxes...
http://www.alpinefoil.com/pages-hydrofoil-kite-foil/board/cx-v6-kitefoil-board-surfkite-convertible-152-x-50.html

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Livit said..
I reckon a shaper could do it for $150.

First board I made cost me $300 and the next one I am making (strapless) should be short of $250.

There is a lot of informations about making foil boards on kitefoil.forumactif.org . Mainly in French but with the help of google translator you should be able to work it out. A lot of fun to do and as the board does not matter that much for foiling (when learning I mean) it is not a problem if you don't get it perfect at your first go.

Thanks, gives me an idea of how much it could be done for. I have been tempted by board building before, in fact made & rode one design years ago, but I don't really have the time or patience...

I like that see through cardboard board on the french site, interesting idea..

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kiteboy dave said..
I see what you mean harlie - as far as I understand there's a fair bit of reinforcing done inside... I imagine the force is pretty high if you're 100kgs doing 25kts with feet locked in and you hit a sandbar, all that force is operating on a 1m fulcrum. Hard to keep that under 700g maybe? Might be easier just to get the slash board or similar.
I haven't seen any reviews of it though. I'm not a kite surfer as such I've lived near flat water and no waves until recently, so I don't really know what to look for in a good kite surfboard.

FWIW alpinefoil also offer a surf board, but to my eye it looks a bit oddly shaped for a surfboard, it's more just their race board with a pointy nose and fin boxes...
http://www.alpinefoil.com/pages-hydrofoil-kite-foil/board/cx-v6-kitefoil-board-surfkite-convertible-152-x-50.html

... that board looks like a pointy nosed Nugget with a similar tail and straightish out line. If it performs similar to Nugget then it should be a good board.

Did anyone see that post on KF with the shop cutting down LF foils in 1/3, 2/3 lengths for learning? Seems a good idea and will make ghetto builds easier...

The shorter masts make it a little easier to handle the board in the water and get up on it, but the average learning curve seems to be 3-5 hours and then you're up and riding and then you'll want the full length mast. I wouldn't buy one with a short mast or cut one down.

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Kamikuza said..
Did anyone see that post on KF with the shop cutting down LF foils in 1/3, 2/3 lengths for learning? Seems a good idea and will make ghetto builds easier...

Thanks for info Kamikuza, just went and ordered an 18 inch mast. Will allow me to use the LF board now in a lot of the shallower NSW coastal lakes.

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eabmoto said..
The shorter masts make it a little easier to handle the board in the water and get up on it, but the average learning curve seems to be 3-5 hours and then you're up and riding and then you'll want the full length mast. I wouldn't buy one with a short mast or cut one down.

Yeah that seems to be the consensus. 90 to 100cm or gtfo.

I watched a guy recently for a few hours trying to learn to foil. Start, ventilate, fall over, repeat, walk back upwind, repeat. He's a pretty good directional rider and that wasn't his first day on the board, either.

Which the short mast, i could DIY the whole shebang a lot easier and get some skills in before the big expenditure. Also, it'd be good to feel out what the local beach is like - there's all kinds of rocks and odd changes in depth there...

Looks like Cabrinha has something coming up

Funny to see that the majors are getting in the game with some old design from 2008... Carafino was selling that sort of design for $600 back then but I am pretty sure that Cab will be charging over $1500 for this one....

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Livit said..



Looks like Cabrinha has something coming up

Funny to see that the majors are getting in the game with some old design from 2008... Carafino was selling that sort of design for $600 back then but I am pretty sure that Cab will be charging over $1500 for this one....

Yep Cabrinha definitely coming out with a production model foil board this year, had a sneaky peak at a brochure a week or so back, not sure on pricing gotta expect $2k+

Here it is....

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Smithy said..
Here it is....

KiterboyDave are you the only one who posts in this forum? Im keen to see this thread hit the trash!

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flyingcab said..

Smithy said..
Here it is....

KiterboyDave are you the only one who posts in this forum? Im keen to see this thread hit the trash!

Well 6 other people have posted to it in the last 24 hours, and I get plenty of positive feedback as well, so you'll have to be patient there mate. Don't like, don't click, yada yada..

Don't worry, if all goes well I'll be ordering one in the next few weeks, then I'll probably let it die.








































































Then I'll start a new thread "Entry Level foil board riding for beginners"

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Livit said..



Looks like Cabrinha has something coming up

Funny to see that the majors are getting in the game with some old design from 2008... Carafino was selling that sort of design for $600 back then but I am pretty sure that Cab will be charging over $1500 for this one....

There is a Carafino on buy&sell, cheapest foil in the country, but like you say pretty outdated...
www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Kitesurfing-Twin-Tips/~ri98t/Carofino-135-cm.aspx?search=I$T6WGoLEFFdSYbRKc53Ug==

- Carafino is a pretty dirty word on the big forum btw, took a lot of pre-orders and scarpered with the cash apparently..

If you want even older try a Rush Randle.. this guys gotta be dreamin

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flyingcab said..

Smithy said..
Here it is....

KiterboyDave are you the only one who posts in this forum? Im keen to see this thread hit the trash!

Strange way to have a go at KiterboyDave by quoting me...

UK pricing on the Cabrinha is 1300 Pounds - so I guess on track for around $2,000 here.

Looks a lot like LF foil fish to me, especially the foil in the underwater shots. Flat, thick, low aspect delta wings on a square box section fuselage.

Some cheap boards going here - 2nd hand or 2nds..

http://www.thekitefoil.com/#!online-store/cre6/!/2014-zeeko-board-manta-compatible/p/52319107/category=12622627

Throw a Manta foil on that Zeeko board for $1170 US plus postage / taxes..

Right now it's looking like the zeeko alu foil is the best deal at ~960 AUD (if the exchange rate vs the euro can stay good enough to avoid breaking the $1000 duty threshold). I wonder if it's light enough for my shinnster to float it or would I need to add water wings or glue a body board to the nose to keep it from sinking to the bottom of the ocean? I'll give it a couple months before I'm ready to buy.

Hey Bletti It's ~3.8kgs so you can put 2 milk bottles on your shinnster and see how she floats!

Some news: LF have shown their dealers the next generation - current Foilfish will be cheaper and a new higher level model will be coming, still at a reasonable price. Will post more when I hear it.

Also pretty interesting - I notice TKF have really opened up the board choice - 1st manufacturer to do so. This is interesting enough to make me reconsider their place on my list - you can now order with all these boards, and still at a reasonable price.

This addresses the only issue I've heard with them, that the board (at 4.5kgs) is a bit of a tank. For an extra $400 US you can have a sweet ASV carbon board at 3.1kgs, and still a manta foil, then upgrade the foil later...

http://www.thekitefoil.com/#!online-store/cre6/!/Boards/c/12087148/offset=0&sort=normal

if your going to spend that money on a board look at a custom tmv board which can be tailored to your exact style, weight and colour choices . Follow up support from jimmy is some of the best in the business

Dave, I emailed Greg of Boardridingmaui and Mark Shinn to get their opinions on the Paipo/Shinnster for foiling. They both use their version without any extra structural carbon plates or supports, just large washers on the deck to spread the load. They both don't see the extra 0.8-1 kgs an aluminum foil weighs to be an issue for the board. I'm guessing it might depend whether the mast is sealed or not to give a bit of buoyancy as a hollow aluminum foil full of water isn't a great comparison to watertight carbon with higher displacement based on weight alone. Many of the aluminum foils on the market aren't sealed (LF, Zeeko, TKF possibly?) so I guess worse case I get a foil and it doesn't float I could possibly fill the mast with foam but then I'd possibly have to worry about corrosion and the resale value

Even though thekitefoil offers those boards through their site, you'd be paying a premium to order through them say the zeeko pocket board a few hundred dollars after shipping and tax. But I agree it's good to know there are plenty of cross compatible boards and foils out there.

Hey Bletti, pretty interesting info there about not using any further supports.
There is a 2nd hand shinnster on buy/sell too.

I recall one of the brands (TKF?) saying that the mast only takes on 300ml so probably not a huge difference flotationwise.
They leave them open so you can empty & rinse, so you're right you'd have to hope there was no leaks if you sealed it...

You're probably right about the extra weight not making a huge difference - I'd imagine the biggest load by far would be hitting bottom at full speed with feet in straps.

You could also PM Jasonwave and ask how his is going?




I agree with what you and Dusta have said re boards. I've been reading a lot of translated french forums recently, and that's really confirmed to me that of the cheapies they rate Zeeko or Alpinefoil far above the others for ride & build quality.

I'm waiting for an updated quote and some questions answered from Alpinefoil - but currently I'm liking the fact that they've hit 33kts with the 'sport' wing on the Aluminium foil - so the upgrade path if you feel the need for speed is just one additional wing purchase. Plus their carbon masts & fuse can both be used interchangeably and purchased separately - so can update piecemeal later on, if really addicted.

Yeah, I've PM'd back and forth with Jasonwave. Jason put a carbon plate over the top for extra support (I'm still undecided whether I will or not) and thinks I'd be better off with a higher volume foilboard if I get serious, but given I'm traveling on a motorcycle I'd like to stick as minimally as possible. Mark Shinn also suggested it wouldn't hurt to over drill the holes and seal with resin but he didn't on his board as the paulownia wood has minimal water absorption.

I'm still a couple months away from pulling the trigger on a foil as I need to get better a riding strapless and do the long ride on my bike from Tassie to Perth before I consider investing in a foil.