I just took delivery of my new custom 7'6" x 23" 120L Jimmy Lewis "Twisted V" Downwind board that Jimmy was good enough to airfreight over to me as there'll be no trip to Maui for me this year... :(
As usual it's a piece of art (I love the colour anyway) & it's finished so beautifully...Hand made from start to finish & coming in around just over 5kg...There's a lot going on in his new design & Jimmy refuses to copy or take ideas from other shapers so he has blended his hull bottom (from his Flying VM that he came out with a few years ago) up front to his new "Twisted V" in the tail...Jimmy got his idea from "Seaplane's" years ago & has been using them in his Wing boards...see Seaplane description below...
I've tried downwind boards from 6'5"x 24" to 8'0"x 20" & i think I've found my "sweetspot" with the perfect balance of glide & stability at 7'6" x 23".....I've been trying to perfect my downwind foiling for 5 years now & I've been through a lot of pain & misery well before all these new downwind boards & high aspect wings were available...The biggest problem on the East Coast is consistent runs...I think I've gone over 6 months without getting a downwinder in due to work or various surgeries...BTW I'm 58 & 78kg...
I took it out to my local reef break for a paddle the day i got it as it was small full 2' foot runners...as soon as i got on it it paddled well & was nice & stable... I had my GoFoil 1770 & 17.5" tail on & as soon as I turned for a small wave my board came up easily & I surfed back to the beach... I caught half a dozen waves & went in stoked...I then had another quick session later in the afternoon & the wind was onshore & the tide was high so there was a lot of movement in the water.... 23" wide boards are still tippy when it's bumpy especially compared to my 5'10" x 28" sup foil board...
Anyway it was great conditions to get a feel for my new board as it was looking like we were going to get a downwind run in at Nelson Bay the next day...(for those that don't know Nelson Bay is epic when it's on, better than a lake run but not as rough as an ocean run)
A few of us got up early the next day & did the 2 hour drive to Nelson Bay with hopes the wind would be on but it was looking marginal but we were optimistic we'd get a run in even if it was only 20-25 knots (we only use to go if it was 30 plus but equipment is so much better)... When we arrived there at least some whitecaps happening and it looked promising but by the time we got our gear sorted & drove to the start it was looking very marginal....We walked down the beach at Soldier's Point where you get a side on view of the start & you're usually looking at good bumps coming around the corner but this time it was nearly glassy & flat...
We paced around & ummed & arghed while checking every app we had hoping the wind would kick again but it wasn't looking good so we decided to pull the pin & head back with our tails between our legs...maybe we would get a surf foil locally...
We got about a third of the way back & a mate rang to tell us Williamstown was showing 19-25kn suddenly so we turned around & went back to the start & decided we'd give it a go...even if it was just for the exercise :(
The 3 of us paddled out into the wind line praying for bumps (Dylan on his 7'10" Barracuda & Cocho on his 8'0" Dale-cuda) and as soon as we turned with the wind we all got up and foiling...I couldn't believe how easily I paddled up but the only bummer was we all only went about 1km when the bumps disappeared and we all came down...We think it's a deep patch of water & without enough time for the bumps to build it went flat...
We all paddled for about 500m desperately looking for chip-ins as the anxiety of being left behind out in the middle of the bay & a long paddle started to kick in...I then saw Dylan pop up & he was away then I was up & foiling & followed him all the way to the end & absolutely loving the glide & ease of turning in the bumps my new board gave me...one of the most relaxing enjoyable downwinders I've done in definitely some of the lightest conditions I've downwinded in...
We all came in within a couple of minutes of each other & all riding the same GoFoil setups so it was a good comparison & such a great feeling getting to enjoy my downwinder so much...
Anyway Jimmy has been waiting for my feedback as we've mucked around with a few different dimensions over the past year since i was on Maui last with Jeff Chang giving him feedback from Oahu as well & it looks like he'll have a couple of sizes going into production in the near future...
Stoked!
Rob
* Wikipedia- Seaplanes were sometimes called hydroplanes, but currently this term applies instead to motor-powered watercraft that use the technique of hydrodynamic lift to skim the surface of water when running at speed. In a flying boat, the main source of buoyancy is the fuselage, which acts like a ship's hull in the water because the fuselage's underside has been hydrodynamically shaped to allow water to flow around it.

Nice board! amazing craftsmanship. Its good to see that 23" w is ok. Did it feel stable when paddling?

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broVan said..
Nice board! amazing craftsmanship. Its good to see that 23" w is ok. Did it feel stable when paddling?

It sure did...I had used a 20" wide board a number of times so of course 23" felt more stable after that but the 20" inch board use to submarine in the nose when I'd go to do my power strokes to get up..the best thing about the JL was this didn't happen plus the stability in the nose made for better paddle technique so both of these made for easy liftoff.. :)

Damn this thing is balanced and pumps around...it's great in the surf...

Congrats Rob, she's a beauty! It's great when a board lives up to, or exceeds, your expectations. Looking forward to seeing it in the flesh

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robg1703 said..

broVan said..
Nice board! amazing craftsmanship. Its good to see that 23" w is ok. Did it feel stable when paddling?

It sure did...I had used a 20" wide board a number of times so of course 23" felt more stable after that but the 20" inch board use to submarine in the nose when I'd go to do my power strokes to get up..the best thing about the JL was this didn't happen plus the stability in the nose made for better paddle technique so both of these made for easy liftoff.. :)

Hey Rob please let me know if you ever want to sell it as I think it would be perfect for me:-)

A few more custom downwind boards Jimmy has been making for some of the Hawaiian legends ??

Interesting to see Laird going for pretty conservative dimension.

I spoke to Jimmy & Jan the European distributor & it looks like a 7'6" x 23" & AN 8'2" X 23-24" will go into production in the near future....

And now they are here

jimmylewis.com/product/twisted-v/

I love it! Nothing below 7' 10" and 115 liters.

Too much pain has been endured chasing waves on tiny downwind boards made for kids.

I have been waiting to write a review on this board until I had a little more time on it, but I guess I can just update it later if needed. I have missed a lot of surf this summer because of work.

I bought the 8'6 x 22 136L twisted vee (TV) downwind board in the spring. Went for Carbon version. Me 87 kgs. I bought this mainly for sup foil surfing and then to get into the DW though not having luck in Florida with finding locations. There are some but they are a drive and then the whole coordinating thing. Not going to get into that here.

I went with this size after watching Dave West go with his bigger Amos DW board and have a blast. Perfect. My main board that I have been using for this is the Naish Hover DW at 7'4 x 25 and 125L. Works great and paddles pretty good. Stable for when standing around waiting. I started on the V1 Armstrong 7'7 and 121 L but I found that board is most likely more DW than Sup foil. Hated it. Could only ride it in glassy surf conditions. I have not been able to achieve paddling up on any of these because I have not put in the practice. Have not tried the TV.

The Twisted Vee is as stable as the naish is in chop and standing around waiting. I am going to attribute this the wider flat bottom of the TV. Yes it has a slight V to it running the length but the flat bottom width before any transitional change to the rails is what I am referring to. The armie and naish both go into a round trainsition. The TV has a sharp transition point. I compared the flat width of all 3 boards. The armie at 21 ?" wide had a flat bottom width of only 14 ?". The naish has a flat bottom width of 17 or 17 ?". The TV has a flat bottom width of about 19 or 19 ?" for a good portion of the length. I took the measurements 2 months ago and have slept since then so forgive me about the ? inch lack of precision. I remember the TV was 2" wider than the naish.

I ride Armstrong foils and my bread and butter combo has been the 880/60/140 with a red shim on a 935 mast. I do not notice a difference in the length between the naish and the TV when riding a wave. I have ridden it so far in waves up to head high offshore deep rolling sandbar to inside beach break about waist high. I have ridden the 1180/220 with a red shim in the small stuff and it glides forever. I have been able to catch waves further out with this board and have had my longest paddle-in waves on it. Have not had problems with the armie foils. I set them about a cm or so back from the front of the box and it works good for me there. I also use the 2 degree armie mast shim backwards to take the rake out the PM masts for the most paddle speed.

In terms of weight. My scales are telling me 14.7lbs vs my naish at 14.8. don't remember the armie.

The only con I have against it is spinning it around for a wave. With the length, I have to pay a little bit more attention to weighting my back foot for that. I have fallen off multiple times because of my over eagerness of putting down paddle power before turning it all the way. Thought I lost my mojo before I realized what I was doing.

So far, having fun with it. Just need more time to ride it.

I thought I recognized that board. Nice waves!

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ninjatuna said..
I thought I recognized that board. Nice waves!

That's a great wave