Thinking of going this direction - though also thinking the Race line SB up as well. I don't intend to actually race - the GT seems to be the right fit. I am wondering if the GAP between the Race foil is significant or is the difference close that I might as well go all in on for performance? If anyone has sailed both and could give an opinion would be great to read it.

Some thoughts before people who really know what they are talking about show up...
How much do you weigh? iirc, the stock GT-R comes with an 800 wing which has surprisingly good performance in light air for lighter people. If you are bigger, you may end up wanting to add a bigger front wing. From what I've seen at regional level races, the aluminum masted Starboards are still pretty fast. If you are just freeriding but want a performance oriented foil, not a bad way to go, I'd think but some more informed opinions may disagree or shed more light. There should be a youth version of the Olympic foil coming out sometime that sounds like you might consider.
starboardfoils.com/pages/2020-iqfoil It will have the 900 wing which gets rave reviews - but again, if you are bigger, you'll get with the 1000 wing.

If you are just interested in being zippy but not pointy-end racing, there are a number of good other options out there: Zeeko, Zulu, AFS, Moses, Phantom just to name a few. I've seen last year's NP F4s marked down pretty significantly and they are very fast.

If there are gaps, it's going to be upwind performance where you'll see it (again, my semi-informed opinion). If you just want to motor around fast enough to scare yourself, there are options without spending a ton of money. Lastly, if you aren't going to have a foil specific sail quiver, you won't be maximizing the upwind performance of any race foil but are fine for riding around or even pushing the speed needle. So, before you go chasing the carbon fiber rabbit down the hole, make sure you are clear about what your objectives are.

Select to expand quote

Captflathead said..
Thinking of going this direction - though also thinking the Race line SB up as well. I don't intend to actually race - the GT seems to be the right fit. I am wondering if the GAP between the Race foil is significant or is the difference close that I might as well go all in on for performance? If anyone has sailed both and could give an opinion would be great to read it.

I am exactly in the same situation. There are some pretty good reviews on a french website that compare the GT-R and the Race model. I am french speaking so if google translate doesn't do the job for you let me know I could clarify a few things. Note this review is the is for the GT-R and not the GT as you mention. Same wings but on a 95cm fuselage and 85cm mast. Perhaps this is the compromise you are after?

marseille.glissattitude.com/blog/windfoil-test-carbon-foil-race.html

The GT-R comes with 85 cm mast, the race with a 95 cm mast.This is a big difference especially if you sail in choppy waters and on wider boards.

I would go for the olympic edition, best of both worlds: 2 fuselages and 900 wing. Either in Alu or Carbon according to your budget.
The carbon version mast is (supposed to be) stiffer than the standard carbon race mast, I did not hear similar things about the alu olympic mast.

Select to expand quote

Robertos said..
The GT-R comes with 85 cm mast, the race with a 95 cm mast.This is a big difference especially if you sail in choppy waters and on wider boards.

Good point. My bad for missing that (even though it was in the recesses of my mind). Thanks, Robertos. There is also a Race with an aluminum 95cm mast/115 fuse on the Starboard website. starboardfoils.com/pages/2019-race

Select to expand quote

Paducah said..

Robertos said..
The GT-R comes with 85 cm mast, the race with a 95 cm mast.This is a big difference especially if you sail in choppy waters and on wider boards.

Good point. My bad for missing that (even though it was in the recesses of my mind). Thanks, Robertos. There is also a Race with an aluminum 95cm mast/115 fuse on the Starboard website. starboardfoils.com/pages/2019-race

I have recently swapped from using the race SB Race 95mast /115 fuse / 800-255 wings, for about a year, to using the GTR plus 95mast /95+ fuse/ 800-330 wings.
I just have just been freeriding with them, mainly.
From a freeriding perspective, I find the Race is great for upwind/downwind sailing, especially in light winds. I learned on this setup and found it super stable. It does not however like reaching at all or sudden changes in direction and you will need a wide board to control the power of the foil upwind.
The GTR-Plus is a hell of a lot easier to live with, in my experience. It is quite happy to reach all day and is happy to carve from deep downwind runs to hard upwind without wanting to lift you. Makes for a more exhilarating ride in my opinion. It doesn't point as high in underpowered conditions but still better than most non-race foils. In overpowered conditions, it is much easier to control without the additional power that the 115 race fuse provides.

I have the Starboard GTR set with the 85 aluminium mast, the 95 fuselage, the 800 front wing and the 330 rear wing, but I am slowly converting it towards the race side of things.
At the moment I am still running the aluminium 85 mast, with a 115 race fuselage, the 800 front wing and the 255 rear stabiliser. The aluminium GTR set with the 95 fuselage was a great step up from the NeilPryde aluminium foils that I first started on, and are a really good all-round sort of Foil set, however when you start racing like I am, the aluminium 85 mast is just slow compared to the race kit.
It's a bit like trying to drag a tractor up a racecourse compared to the smooth and slim 95 carbon race masts, so I guess it just depends what you are going to be using it for.
The other thing to think about, is that there is nothing available at the moment on the second-hand market, so although it is modular, trying to upgrade your mast can be very frustrating because I've been trying to get a race mast for ages and it's just not available unless you wanna pay $4 grand for a whole new kit. Starboard do make great foils though, so if you do get the GTR to just scream around the place, I reckon you'll enjoy it. :-)

Select to expand quote

Paducah said..

Robertos said..
The GT-R comes with 85 cm mast, the race with a 95 cm mast.This is a big difference especially if you sail in choppy waters and on wider boards.

Good point. My bad for missing that (even though it was in the recesses of my mind). Thanks, Robertos. There is also a Race with an aluminum 95cm mast/115 fuse on the Starboard website. starboardfoils.com/pages/2019-race

I have the SB alloy race foil. At around $2k i think it's great value. Depending on your weight you may want the larger 900 wing. Or buy the iqfoil alloy when it comes out in the next few months.

Thanks for all of the info here. I will prob go for the 900 or 1000 as the wind is lighter and I am not :). My dilemma is buying once as touched on by Maddlad. I am tempted by the GTR as a free/race option but then wonder if I would also then start to look for a carbon mast etc also. Great point Robertos on the Olympic version - had not thought of that at all, so now another fun option to mull over. The whole corona thing has meant there is a slow down production, so I have some think time. I do sail in significant chop and the sailing of the wind on a reach is a consideration as well - though this seems to be related to the fuselage which can be swapped around for the shorter one if I go for a team set up?

Thanks for the Link Bennn - had a laugh at this translation "the drop was punctuated by 2 pretty water outlets and a beautiful box!" - the info was pretty discernable and gives a good run down on the two. Seems tuning the stab. is essential.

There are a few windfoilers in the Seattle area who are using SB race foils for recreational freeride foiling. What they find is that their sail range is greatly widened, down to a 4.2 sail and up to 11.8.

The Olympic version comes standard with the 900 front, 255 back wings, 95+ and 115+ fuselages. Basically one set to cover it all.If you want to cruise casually i would go for the alu version, if you foil a lot and in salty water I would go for the carbon version.It is also possible to configure your own set, 900 + 255 wings or 800 + 330 wings + 95 fuse + 95 mast but I don't now if the parts are available in the near future.

I am already committed to Taaroa. I really like the foils and their quality. I had a carbon mast so now I got the bigger fuselage, and the 1050 freerace wing added to the 800 (650cm2) freerace wing. If not for the Taaroa I would have ordered the Starboard Olympic setup. Similar offerings in high modulus carbon are more expensive (with the SB you have 1 fuselage for free compared to Phantom, NP). The high modules will bring more control especially in high winds (20+ knots) with big sails and boards. If you are not going to race than it is a luxury.

Has anyone tried, or can anyone make a qualified guess what the difference will be between these two Starboard setups: 1) 900 wing/ 95+ fuselage/ 255 stab (IQfoil), and 2) 800 wing/ 95+ fuselage/ 330 stab (GT-R Plus)? Assuming a 95 cm mast.

I've posted a lot of details over the last few years on the SB foil setups.

I started with the GT. Great combo to start with. I'd argue this is more difficult to learn with than the longer Race setup.
Over the next year, I ended up buying additional parts to add to the GT, I eventually constructed a completely different foil system. I have sailed just about all the combinations minus the smaller front wing for higher winds. Starboard has great modularity, mix-and-match, and awesome quality (I've hit so many objects & beached the foil set so many times; it holds up).

First thing to note: Don't mind the combinations and what they're intent is with marketing.

My Inventory:
Fuse: 75 (GT), 115 (race)
Masts: 85 & 110
Wing: 800 & 1100
Stab: 330, 255

My goto setup? 1100 wing, 255 stab, 110 mast, 115 fuse.

Enjoy really light wind sailing. I also live at 6000ft, so my air density is 20% of that of sea level.

The longer Fuses seem to be where people migrate more. They are also better for beginners. They are less pitchy and you can get on a stable ride longer. You can move around the board more to progress. They are also better in light wind and can do well into the higher wind ranges.

Wing. I ended up going from the 800 (GT) to the largest wing I can put in that system (1100). The 1000 and even the 900 have very minor differences between the 800 and the 1100. Even though I have sacrificed a little speed with the 1100 over the 800, it isn't much when I'm out in the lighter winds. But I've foiled this wing in 20 mph with no issue.

Stab: These essentially provide some lift, but mostly the amount of pressure you need to pitch the board in combination with the fuse. I tried the 330 with my 'goto' setup, but it took a lot of moving around to get the board to pitch up or down. The 255 is perfect for that fuse.

Mast: The key here is the amount of margin you have for adjusting height when in flight. The AL 75 is a joke; way to short (you'll either be board-on-the-water or breaching). The 85 is nice to learn on, but if you get into swells, you won't have a ton of margin to work with. I LOVE the 110, but damn that's high. It takes a bit to get used to, but you have all the margin in the world to work with. In my opinion, the perfect sized mast is 95cm. It's the best overall height for learning, getting through swells, and you don't have to go into the middle of the lake to get started.

Recommendation: Get the Race with an additional 1100cm front wing. You can find smaller fuses and masts on the used market (as those foilers want the longer and taller ones). If you want or need pictures, Strava (speed data), let me know.

I've posted a lot of details over the last few years on the SB foil setups.

I started with the GT. Great combo to start with. I'd argue this is more difficult to learn with than the longer Race setup.
Over the next year, I ended up buying additional parts to add to the GT, I eventually constructed a completely different foil system. I have sailed just about all the combinations minus the smaller front wing for higher winds. Starboard has great modularity, mix-and-match, and awesome quality (I've hit so many objects & beached the foil set so many times; it holds up).

First thing to note: Don't mind the combinations and what they're intent is with marketing.

My Inventory:
Fuse: 75 (GT), 115 (race)
Masts: 85 & 110
Wing: 800 & 1100
Stab: 330, 255

My goto setup? 1100 wing, 255 stab, 110 mast, 115 fuse.

Enjoy really light wind sailing. I also live at 6000ft, so my air density is 20% of that of sea level.

The longer Fuses seem to be where people migrate more. They are also better for beginners. They are less pitchy and you can get on a stable ride longer. You can move around the board more to progress. They are also better in light wind and can do well into the higher wind ranges.

Wing. I ended up going from the 800 (GT) to the largest wing I can put in that system (1100). The 1000 and even the 900 have very minor differences between the 800 and the 1100. Even though I have sacrificed a little speed with the 1100 over the 800, it isn't much when I'm out in the lighter winds. But I've foiled this wing in 20 mph with no issue.

Stab: These essentially provide some lift, but mostly the amount of pressure you need to pitch the board in combination with the fuse. I tried the 330 with my 'goto' setup, but it took a lot of moving around to get the board to pitch up or down. The 255 is perfect for that fuse.

Mast: The key here is the amount of margin you have for adjusting height when in flight. The AL 75 is a joke; way to short (you'll either be board-on-the-water or breaching). The 85 is nice to learn on, but if you get into swells, you won't have a ton of margin to work with. I LOVE the 110, but damn that's high. It takes a bit to get used to, but you have all the margin in the world to work with. In my opinion, the perfect sized mast is 95cm. It's the best overall height for learning, getting through swells, and you don't have to go into the middle of the lake to get started.

Recommendation: Get the Race with an additional 1100cm front wing. You can find smaller fuses and masts on the used market (as those foilers want the longer and taller ones). If you want or need pictures, Strava (speed data), let me know.

I posted a review prior to more options here. www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Foiling/Starboard-Foil-Comparisons-and-observations

Select to expand quote

IndecentExposur said..
I posted a review prior to more options here. www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Foiling/Starboard-Foil-Comparisons-and-observations

Thanks IndecentExposur for your Starboard Foils reviews. They helped make the decision to acquire a Starboard Race Pro Foil Carbon. For 2 years I have sailed with a Slingshot Infinity Wing 76 foil and I can say that the Starboard foil is more stable and faster.

I posted my impressions on

Select to expand quote

CaptFathom said..
Thanks for all of the info here. I will prob go for the 900 or 1000 as the wind is lighter and I am not :). My dilemma is buying once as touched on by Maddlad. I am tempted by the GTR as a free/race option but then wonder if I would also then start to look for a carbon mast etc also. Great point Robertos on the Olympic version - had not thought of that at all, so now another fun option to mull over. The whole corona thing has meant there is a slow down production, so I have some think time. I do sail in significant chop and the sailing of the wind on a reach is a consideration as well - though this seems to be related to the fuselage which can be swapped around for the shorter one if I go for a team set up?

For freeride I can recommend the 95+ fuse with the 1100 freeride front wing with the 330 rear wing. I went from the SS infinity setup to the SB setup to get a little more speed and upwind performance. I really like this setup. I top out at around 20-21 knots and cruise with 16-18 knots. Usually with an f-type 6.8 sail. Rarely use a larger sail.

Select to expand quote

IndecentExposur said..
I've posted a lot of details over the last few years on the SB foil setups.

I started with the GT. Great combo to start with. I'd argue this is more difficult to learn with than the longer Race setup.
Over the next year, I ended up buying additional parts to add to the GT, I eventually constructed a completely different foil system. I have sailed just about all the combinations minus the smaller front wing for higher winds. Starboard has great modularity, mix-and-match, and awesome quality (I've hit so many objects & beached the foil set so many times; it holds up).

First thing to note: Don't mind the combinations and what they're intent is with marketing.

My Inventory:
Fuse: 75 (GT), 115 (race)
Masts: 85 & 110
Wing: 800 & 1100
Stab: 330, 255

My goto setup? 1100 wing, 255 stab, 110 mast, 115 fuse.

Enjoy really light wind sailing. I also live at 6000ft, so my air density is 20% of that of sea level.

The longer Fuses seem to be where people migrate more. They are also better for beginners. They are less pitchy and you can get on a stable ride longer. You can move around the board more to progress. They are also better in light wind and can do well into the higher wind ranges.

Wing. I ended up going from the 800 (GT) to the largest wing I can put in that system (1100). The 1000 and even the 900 have very minor differences between the 800 and the 1100. Even though I have sacrificed a little speed with the 1100 over the 800, it isn't much when I'm out in the lighter winds. But I've foiled this wing in 20 mph with no issue.

Stab: These essentially provide some lift, but mostly the amount of pressure you need to pitch the board in combination with the fuse. I tried the 330 with my 'goto' setup, but it took a lot of moving around to get the board to pitch up or down. The 255 is perfect for that fuse.

Mast: The key here is the amount of margin you have for adjusting height when in flight. The AL 75 is a joke; way to short (you'll either be board-on-the-water or breaching). The 85 is nice to learn on, but if you get into swells, you won't have a ton of margin to work with. I LOVE the 110, but damn that's high. It takes a bit to get used to, but you have all the margin in the world to work with. In my opinion, the perfect sized mast is 95cm. It's the best overall height for learning, getting through swells, and you don't have to go into the middle of the lake to get started.

Recommendation: Get the Race with an additional 1100cm front wing. You can find smaller fuses and masts on the used market (as those foilers want the longer and taller ones). If you want or need pictures, Strava (speed data), let me know.

Thank you for that comment. My goto is this:
95 cm mast
95+ fuse
1100 Wing
330 rear

I attempted to use the 255 (-2) rear with the above - but that didn't work at all. The nose kept coming down (regardless of shim).
I'm thinking I should try a 115cm fuse.

Select to expand quote

Foiler69er said..

IndecentExposur said..
I've posted a lot of details over the last few years on the SB foil setups.

I started with the GT. Great combo to start with. I'd argue this is more difficult to learn with than the longer Race setup.
Over the next year, I ended up buying additional parts to add to the GT, I eventually constructed a completely different foil system. I have sailed just about all the combinations minus the smaller front wing for higher winds. Starboard has great modularity, mix-and-match, and awesome quality (I've hit so many objects & beached the foil set so many times; it holds up).

First thing to note: Don't mind the combinations and what they're intent is with marketing.

My Inventory:
Fuse: 75 (GT), 115 (race)
Masts: 85 & 110
Wing: 800 & 1100
Stab: 330, 255

My goto setup? 1100 wing, 255 stab, 110 mast, 115 fuse.

Enjoy really light wind sailing. I also live at 6000ft, so my air density is 20% of that of sea level.

The longer Fuses seem to be where people migrate more. They are also better for beginners. They are less pitchy and you can get on a stable ride longer. You can move around the board more to progress. They are also better in light wind and can do well into the higher wind ranges.

Wing. I ended up going from the 800 (GT) to the largest wing I can put in that system (1100). The 1000 and even the 900 have very minor differences between the 800 and the 1100. Even though I have sacrificed a little speed with the 1100 over the 800, it isn't much when I'm out in the lighter winds. But I've foiled this wing in 20 mph with no issue.

Stab: These essentially provide some lift, but mostly the amount of pressure you need to pitch the board in combination with the fuse. I tried the 330 with my 'goto' setup, but it took a lot of moving around to get the board to pitch up or down. The 255 is perfect for that fuse.

Mast: The key here is the amount of margin you have for adjusting height when in flight. The AL 75 is a joke; way to short (you'll either be board-on-the-water or breaching). The 85 is nice to learn on, but if you get into swells, you won't have a ton of margin to work with. I LOVE the 110, but damn that's high. It takes a bit to get used to, but you have all the margin in the world to work with. In my opinion, the perfect sized mast is 95cm. It's the best overall height for learning, getting through swells, and you don't have to go into the middle of the lake to get started.

Recommendation: Get the Race with an additional 1100cm front wing. You can find smaller fuses and masts on the used market (as those foilers want the longer and taller ones). If you want or need pictures, Strava (speed data), let me know.

Thank you for that comment. My goto is this:
95 cm mast
95+ fuse
1100 Wing
330 rear

I attempted to use the 255 (-2) rear with the above - but that didn't work at all. The nose kept coming down (regardless of shim).
I'm thinking I should try a 115cm fuse.

Glad to hear all the success!

So the longer the fuse, the more of an impact the size of the stab becomes. If you're using the 95 fuse with the 330 (I need to try this combo), then when you move up to the 115cm fuse, the 255 is ideal. I tried the 330, but had to walk to the front of the board to get it to pitch down... LOL. I've hear that anything bigger can bend/warp the 115cm fuse. Thanks for the feedback!

Select to expand quote

CaptFathom said..
Thinking of going this direction - though also thinking the Race line SB up as well. I don't intend to actually race - the GT seems to be the right fit. I am wondering if the GAP between the Race foil is significant or is the difference close that I might as well go all in on for performance? If anyone has sailed both and could give an opinion would be great to read it.

I have used the Gt, GTR and Race and would recommended as others have, the GTR. The 95 fuselage is a bit more forgiving than the 115 if new to foiling. The 115 fuselage prefers wider boards. If you have a wide board then you can use all three model foils. The GTR is a bit more powerful than the GT which you will appreciate. The beauty with the Starboard setup, is that you can go for the GTR now and in the future add the 900 or 1000 front foil and smaller rear foil or even add the 115 fuselage, all of which give you more power that will allow you to foil in lighter winds. Also you can upgrade your mast type/length as well if needed. For me at 70kgs, I would use the the 1000 front wing and 115 fuselage in winds sub 14kts and the 800 front wing when stronger. The 95 fuselage comes out when winds get stronger and looking for more control in most cases, however there are times i will use the 95 fuselage (combined with the 1000 foil) in lighter winds if the winds drop and i dont feel like spending time setting up the 115fuselage, but rather just change the foils. I dont race but rather just freeride and enjoy zipping around ....especially in lighter winds.