Has anyone done a survey of the pre-order retail prices for the 2017 and 2018 foils on or about to come onto the Australian market:

NP
MFC
Slingshot
Horue
Naish
Bic
Others

Any feedback on the prices ?

Also:

1. Assuming you have deep tuttle slalom board about 83 cm wide, 135 litres of volume what modifications do you need to make to the finbox to strengthen it for the foil use ?

2. How much do such modifications cost in Perth ?

3.Who has done them recently and would be experienced in doing them ?

4.I want to get an idea of cost as if the cost of all of this equals a new board I may prefer to buy a new 380 cm Raceboard as you can sail that in under 8 knots whereas foils only really provide lift in 8 knots and up as I understand it.

Just some thoughts and questions for discussion.

Steve Stratfold is the man to talk to. Our resident genius at all modifications,repairs and anything related to windsurfing boards.

Would be interesting to know what is stronger - a standard sailboard with a Tuttle box with added plate or a hydrofoil windsurf board with a reinforced Tuttle box?

Is there much difference in planing threshold when using a hydrofoil between using say a 5.7m to a 7.8m?

Sure a smaller sail will be a lot more controllable.

Theres a lot more gear coming from more than you have listed.
Most order lists come around in Mid June
prices have not been released yet, once the are you will have plenty of time to pre order for september/october delivery, getting the best product for your dollar.

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geared4knots said..
Theres a lot more gear coming from more than you have listed.
Most order lists come around in Mid June
prices have not been released yet, once the are you will have plenty of time to pre order for september/october delivery, getting the best product for your dollar.

Thanks. What other "lot more gear coming" are you expecting ?

expecting the NP alloy foils locally(new cal) in the next weeks : RRP 1400 AU$

Would anyone care to elaborate on why foiling is worth doing? I ask because from what ive heard and seen so far, they're not as quick as non foiling gear, and so far the only benefit I've heard is that you can get going with a smaller sail in lighter wind. Is that it?

Any helpful info would be appreciated.

Cheers
:)
M

My 2c :
New sensation, actually really flying over water with no contact/noise. A new sport really.

yes foils are not very fast (for the moment) but you are still flying at 2x the speed of the wind, so if you compare with classic windsurf there is close to no difference.

And being able to use a small sail in 10 knots is just unreal.

Yep i agree with Sean, its almost a new sport. It's a bit like when sup's started to get popular..why would you do it?
they present a different purpose and sensation.
its a way for me to get more sailing/time on the water- i hang out for consistent yellow arrows now.
The flying sensation is simply put..awesome.
As for speed there wont be much that will go faster in 10knots and under (apart from foiling kites-these are light years in front for speed), maybe moths and what ever the next thing is that foils get stuck to-and there appears to be no end to what foils can be stuck on!

Yes, Snides, have you noticed how you now wish for light wind ???

My mates hate me for that !

Sounds great.

What size sails are optimal?

Can you go to big size sail in foiling ?

To get good speeds out of foiling i still think having offset foils (AC50 Style) up towards the mast base and a foil on the fin would best suit. Then you can really exert that pressure from the rail instead of the more upright stance position.
Thoughts?

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RichardG said..
Sounds great.

What size sails are optimal?

Can you go to big size sail in foiling ?

I have used a 4.2 combat in 20knots and was over powered..

at the moment I am using
5.7 hellcat in around 12-15max
8-12 a 6.7 hornet twin cam
8ish knots a 7.7 hornet

Foiling is looking to be the light wind toy I have been looking for
Cheers Russ

Best bet to get pricing on the NP foils would be to contact your local dealer/shop (maybe WSP?). I think RRP is a fair bit less than what Sean said? There are a few NP Alu foils arriving any day now in NSW. Not sure if any are heading west.

zeeko and manta also have alloy foils available.

Yep there are a few due any day here in Perth

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jamesf said..
Best bet to get pricing on the NP foils would be to contact your local dealer/shop (maybe WSP?). I think RRP is a fair bit less than what Sean said? There are a few NP Alu foils arriving any day now in NSW. Not sure if any are heading west.

zeeko and manta also have alloy foils available.

What are the NP Carbon RRP and the NP Alu RRP in NSW approximately ?

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RichardG said..

jamesf said..
Best bet to get pricing on the NP foils would be to contact your local dealer/shop (maybe WSP?). I think RRP is a fair bit less than what Sean said? There are a few NP Alu foils arriving any day now in NSW. Not sure if any are heading west.

zeeko and manta also have alloy foils available.

What are the NP Carbon RRP and the NP Alu RRP in NSW approximately ?

Give the team at WindSurfnSnow a call and I'm sure they can help you out..

delays for the NP delivery :

Foil RS:Flight AL
Premi?re livraison : le 26 Mai
2e livraison: le 9 Juin

Foil RS:Flight F4
Pemi?re livraison : le 9 Juin
2e livraison: le 9 Juin

Foil RS:One AL
Premi?re livraison : le 26 Mai
2e livraison: le 9 Juin

Foil RS:X
1ere livraison possible d?but Juin

Nice website by *board just for their foils

starboardfoils.com/

Ok cool, thanks for the input guys. So you need a certain size board to do it?

I did see some of the aluminium foils at WSP when i was there the other day and they said they were getting them in.

For what it's worth. I have seen prices from European dealers that range from Euro 800 to Euro 2,400 for the Neil Pryde foils (no that's not a mistake) and Euro 2,000 to Euro 2,600 for the boards. AU prices are a little bit below that.

The boards are in-line with what you'd pay for a similar formula board. The more expensive Neil Pryde foil is apparently so expensive because it's made from 70 layers of carbon.

The design itself is licensed from F4 foils in the US.Have a look at the video below were they explain everything in detail. The foils seem to be fairly advanced in development. I remember seeing a single hand foil trimaran based on a Cat frame back in the early 90s. Apparently it was developed by a company in California. Wouldn't be surprised if that's F4.

I think there will be a bit of development in the boards. All that said at this prince point I think it's squarely aimed at the formula crowd. I can't see Joe average dropping over $4,000 to learn a "new" sport. I would say for this to catch on manufacturers need to look at some sort of rental program arranged through shops so people can get a taste without dropping thousands of dollars. I would love to give it a go but wouldn't spend that sort of money just to see if I like it.

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Stuthepirate said..
To get good speeds out of foiling i still think having offset foils (AC50 Style) up towards the mast base and a foil on the fin would best suit. Then you can really exert that pressure from the rail instead of the more upright stance position.
Thoughts?

I reckon you're right Stu, they're a different sensation now, but to see their true potential for windsurfing, they're gonna have to be a different configuration to what's on offer now, something like what you've drawn up.

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madlad said..
Ok cool, thanks for the input guys. So you need a certain size board to do it?

I did see some of the aluminium foils at WSP when i was there the other day and they said they were getting them in.

Thanks.Do you know the price of the AL foil ?

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RichardG said..

madlad said..
Ok cool, thanks for the input guys. So you need a certain size board to do it?

I did see some of the aluminium foils at WSP when i was there the other day and they said they were getting them in.

Thanks.Do you know the price of the AL foil ?

Under $1k I believe

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Subsonic said..

Stuthepirate said..
To get good speeds out of foiling i still think having offset foils (AC50 Style) up towards the mast base and a foil on the fin would best suit. Then you can really exert that pressure from the rail instead of the more upright stance position.
Thoughts?

I reckon you're right Stu, they're a different sensation now, but to see their true potential for windsurfing, they're gonna have to be a different configuration to what's on offer now, something like what you've drawn up.

I recon your missing the point a little..sure speed is fun and people will always push to go faster no matter what they ride or drive..
How ever for me it's not about speed it's about the ride.
speed is relative, in winds under 12 knots my fastest speed board (41cm mistral) is dog slow in comparison to my foil set.

for the question regarding foil speed :

www.facebook.com/1123255377803181/videos/1207592336036151/

if you have fb, a video of zeeko foil blasting

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RichardG said..

madlad said..
Ok cool, thanks for the input guys. So you need a certain size board to do it?

I did see some of the aluminium foils at WSP when i was there the other day and they said they were getting them in.

Thanks.Do you know the price of the AL foil ?

From memory i thought they were around a grand, but i cant be sure as i dont remember exactly. Sorry.

For what its worth. I have now tried 3 different foils and the best/easiest to use by a mile is the BIC/KER (Carbon).

Basically it is the only Foil that I popped up on and managed to have a positive experience.
Have now dane quite a few hours of foiling on it and have gone from strength to strength.

Clearly there is a ton of foils hitting the market, so it is almost impossible to analyse what is good vs bad, but this foils is certainly fun and achievable for a raw beginner....

Good luck with your progress....

Hi Brett,

Most reports on the kerfoil say it's very stable. I think that's the key factor (before speed/weight)

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snides8 said..

Subsonic said..

Stuthepirate said..
To get good speeds out of foiling i still think having offset foils (AC50 Style) up towards the mast base and a foil on the fin would best suit. Then you can really exert that pressure from the rail instead of the more upright stance position.
Thoughts?

I reckon you're right Stu, they're a different sensation now, but to see their true potential for windsurfing, they're gonna have to be a different configuration to what's on offer now, something like what you've drawn up.

I recon your missing the point a little..sure speed is fun and people will always push to go faster no matter what they ride or drive..
How ever for me it's not about speed it's about the ride.
speed is relative, in winds under 12 knots my fastest speed board (41cm mistral) is dog slow in comparison to my foil set.

Horses for courses Snides
I suppose i was referring to this application for course racing (Formula etc..)
Something to match the Cats, Kites and Moths where speed and pointing ability are fundamental to performance
Most likely that i'm exited about AC35 starting soon

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Brett Morris said..
For what its worth. I have now tried 3 different foils and the best/easiest to use by a mile is the BIC/KER (Carbon).

Basically it is the only Foil that I popped up on and managed to have a positive experience.
Have now dane quite a few hours of foiling on it and have gone from strength to strength.

Clearly there is a ton of foils hitting the market, so it is almost impossible to analyse what is good vs bad, but this foils is certainly fun and achievable for a raw beginner....

Good luck with your progress....

Which board are you using it on? What is the lowest sailable wind range?