Just a heads up: We obviously have a commercial interest but hope this info might help.

Very exciting times with Windsurf foiling becoming mainstream this season. After Kiteboarding went through a light wind transformation last year. This year it's windsurfing's turn. Nearly all major brands are coming out with Windsurf Foiling products from Light wind entry level foils to full on PWA race ready gear.



We have been very activity involved in foiling since the last two years and are confident Foiling will transform light-wind windsurfing.



Where is this going :

After talking to lot's of windsurfing customers we have the feeling that windsurfers are initially interested to get foiling in light winds without spending mega $$$$.

An entry level aluminum windsurf foil will start around $1299. Some brands will focus on early foiling (low aspect) others will focus on higher aspect foiling speed.

What do you need:

Initially you will have a few options:

Foil:

Full Carbon:
There will be some very good high end foils available this season.
Starboard and Neil Pryde will offer full on race ready set-ups. However prepare so spend up to $3000 for a foil.





Alloy:
Most brands will come with a Aluminum/ carbon /G10 hybrid foil. Prices will start around $1300 up to $1900. With options of tuttle and plate mount. Some of the brands to consider initially in our opinion: Naish, North, Slingshot, Neil Pryde

The stiffness of alloy hybrid foils is very important.

Boards:

Foil specific boards:
These boards will feature a very different bottom and rail design and are normally very wide in the tail. They are generally not suitable for normal windsurfing. We feel this type of board is initially not necessary. We have been using existing boards with great success and most brands will bring out traditional boards that are foil ready (reinforced tuttle box or plate mount and deck) Sizes are generally between 150-120 L

Hybrid boards:
Most brands will come out with a hybrid version that will allow you to use it for foiling and normal windsurfing when the wind picks up. These will be a bit less forgiving on touch downs.

Existing boards
Yes, you can use an existing board with a wide tail and deep Tuttle box ( width more than 75cm recommended)
This works but the box will probably not hold up to the longitudinal forces. Options are to reinforce the box or get tracks put in for a plate mount. There is also a very cool product that allows you to stick a foil on virtually any board. It's called foilmount (see video)

Tuttle or Plate mount:
Tuttle boxes are common in windsurf boards but can have a few drawbacks. You need a windsurf foil designed to be used in a standard (location) tuttle box. This leaves you very little tuning. Most entry level foils will use a plate mount that allows adjust-ability depending on board, rider weight and skills.

Non specific windsurf foil:
Yes a kiteboarding or surf foil will work but needs to be placed in front of the finbox to compensate for different
Kiteboarding foil will normally start working in arround d 12-14 knots. A surf foil will start foiling very early but will top out sooner (very low aspect) Once again a foilMount could help with this sort of set-up.

We currently have a demo board available with others on the way. We will also run foiling lessons and are taking pre-order for all foiling set-ups.

www.thezu.com.au/product-category/windsurfing/windsurfing-foiling/

More info very soon !

Keen to get one, got an 80cm wide slalom board, how do you strengthen the tuttle box?

So fitting s foil to a powerbox board is not an option?

Hey Choco, yes you can get the box and deck strengthened.
Give us a bell 03 95255655 and we can give you the details of one of the guys specializing in this.

Hey 33 Frupus, yes we have been using the Foilmount and so far it's working really well.
We are running the mount just in front of the finbox which is perfect for most foils. You can't have a board with too much V or concave.

Come and check out our demo board if you have time !

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TheZu said..
Hey 33 Frupus, yes we have been using the Foilmount and so far it's working really well.
We are running the mount just in front of the finbox which is perfect for most foils. You can't have a board with too much V or concave.

Come and check out our demo board if you have time !

Thinking about Foilmount on my inflatable Windsup (Fanatic Viper Air)...do you see any reason why it would not work?

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33frupus said..
So fitting s foil to a powerbox board is not an option?

It will be soon - we know for sure there are a couple of brands working on these right now. It'll definitely boom once we can just put a $1k alloy foil straight into our existing freeride boards. There's a lot of focus and development on foils right now - definitely exciting times for windsurfing!

Thanks for the replies. Once it reaches the level of plug and play the appeal will be massive.you would imagine a larger baseplate to transfer the load over a greater surface area of the base of the board is the go ..

Heres a good overview from Robby Naish, also promoting the small soft sail option rather than the full on slalom set-up.

Warning - numerous close-ups of Robby Naish chest hair included.

www.windsurf.co.uk/robby-naish-light-wind-foiling-explained/

Ok ! We have some more info and feedback from testing different boards and foils and teaching a few people how to foil!

Categories:

it is now quite clear that different brands are taking a different approach to foiling:

1 High aspect foils = Technical/race
Brands like Starboard and Neil Pryde are catering for the "racing " side of the market with more high aspect foils or full on race foils. Due to the high aspect nature they require larger (racy) type sails and plenty of skill to get them planning in LOW winds. They are also a lot harder to Gybe. (planning through Gybes)

2. Medium aspect foils
Some other brands like Slingshot and Fanatic/North are bringing out medium aspect foils that have good top end but don't necessary require racy type sails. They will get planing easier in sub 10 knots conditions.

3 Low aspect foils
It looks like Naish is one of the only companies at the moment that is focusing on low aspect/very early planning foils. These will get planning from 6 knots and you only need a small wave sail. (4.7/5.3) these foils have still a surprisingly good top end but are not as fast as the more high aspect foils. These also are reasonably easy to Gybe.

So far, customer feedback tells us most people are interested to get foiling as early as possible using small sails.


Robby on 4.7 in 8-10 knots

Foiling specific boards:

Ok this is really interesting, we are now starting to get some feedback from the "industry" that specific foiling boards are not necessarily an advantage. Think about it. To make a board more foiling friendly you have to soften the rails and make the bottom shape more forgiving. (potentially a wider tail) However this will impact the early planning of the board so it actually goes against getting foiling early. Foiling specific boards are also very average to sail normally. Once you know how to foil your board is out of the water for 90%of the time. So a foiling specific board is best for beginners only.

Most brands are now changing their normal Freeride/race boards to foiling ready boards (reinforce tuttle finbox)
A good example is the Starboard PWA team, all teamriders are using standard Isonic boards with reinforced box.

So no, you don't necessarily need a specific foiling board.

133 Starboard Freeformula with Slingshot foil and Starboard 120 AtomIQ with FoilMount and Naish Malolo foil

Adjustable foil set-ups

Most brands will give you the option to upgrade your foil over time. You can get more high/low aspect windsurf parts or some brands will even allow you to crossover into other sports. Naish, Slingshot and Fanatic will offer mast, fusalage and wing upgrades for surfing, kiteboarding or wakefoiling.


What sail works best:

We find that soft sails with 3/4 battens and lot's of pre shape work best to get planning (bag them out)
For higher speeds a sail like a Severne NCX will work quite well but you will still need to bag it out to get planning early


Here is a video of some of us learning in St Kilda, using a 133 Starboard Freeformula and Slingshot foil.

How does it feel:

Initially it feels like windsurfing on a balance ball, once you are up and foiling you should use only very little movements other-wise the foil will take over and throw you off. It is easiest to have back strap inboard over the foil. Outside straps will make it faster but will make it feel like you are standing on the side of a balance ball. The higher the speeds the more stable it gets, once you are up and foiling you can try and pump through lulls using the sail on foil.

Safety:

When learning we suggest you wear an impact vest and helmet. Also use booties as the foils can be sharp. Try to keep just above the surface to make touch downs easier to deal with. if you fly to high the foil will breach and will stop foiling = catapult !

More Info soon !


Starboard Freeformula and Slingshot foil

Also check out the Slingshot Windsurf foil Academy, lot's of useful tips !
www.foil-academy.com/courses/wind-foil-academy

Fun video from last week in 10 knots !
www.facebook.com/the.Zu.Boardsports/videos/1453450174693324/.

some videos to keep you stoked

Naish foiling info night at The ZU this Wednesday. Come and see the new 2018 Naish Windsurf, Surf, SUP foiling products including the new 122 Hover and Thrust foil. Naish is at the forefront of foil development with Kai Lenny and is one of the only companies that is concentrating on lightwind foiling with small sails.

Hope to c you there !

Thanks ZU - this is of great interest. I'm an ex Melbourne sailor living in Vancouver, Canada. I travel back to Melbourne every year, and think i need to make a stop at your store to get my foiling needs sorted out.

Nice one....

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choco said..
Keen to get one, got an 80cm wide slalom board, how do you strengthen the tuttle box?

I had mine reinforced by a guy in Cheltenham, PM me if you want the details. Going gangbusters so far.

After only 5 sessions, I can say I am hooked. I love it. It's simply an amazing feeling flying above the water. It really doesn't take that long to feel in control. My first session was pretty much a shocker, but session #2 and I was flying for a few hundred metres at a time. Session 5 today, and while the wind played ball, I was in the air.

I had a Starboard Futura 121ltr/70cm reinforced and it's going really well. To be honest though, I am already hankering for a full foil kit, full carbon, full foil board.

If you're umm and ahhhing, but can afford $1100 for a foil and have a board that would work - do it. It's pretty amazing. I was looking at full carbon foils 2 years ago, and finally pulled the trigger on a NP alloy, which has been a fantastic entree into foiling.

I find myself hoping for lighter days. Funny how the world turns.

Here's some (crap) GoPro from Green Point today. Hard to see, but look for the wash when the board is on the water, and the thin line made by the foil when it's flying. Love it.

www.facebook.com/damien.woods1/videos/10154827497217546/

An barely a whitecap in sight. What size sail did you have up?

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MikeyS said..
An barely a whitecap in sight. What size sail did you have up?

6.6 .... was just right. It was filing in as i de-rigged. Had i rigged up then would have gone with 5.5.

Hey Guys,

We will run Foilboarding lessons this summer, we found this the fastest way to get into Windsurf -Kitesurf-sup or Surf foiling.

Check it out:



You can book here if you're interested: www.thezu.com.au/foiling/

Wasn't aware that it was legal to tow without an observer, must be different rules in Vic.

No, you're supposed to have an observer.

Reg 95 Marine Safety Regulations 2012 (Vic)

Observer to be used when towing

A person must not act as the master of a vessel engaged in towing a person on any State waters unless in addition to the

master there is on board the vessel a person who is in a position to-

(a) observe the person being towed; and

(b) communicate with the master of the vessel



Penalty:

10 penalty units.

Just don't get caught, guys.

assume foil boards come with narrower stance options re foot straps for shorter people? Now that would be a development

Hey Swoosh and MikeyS,

Thanks for the feedback, we are well aware of the regulations.

This is a promo video that was shot in controlled conditions ( we probably had 8 abservers and a 2nd Safety vessel)

The people foiling in this video are highly skilled instructors, not students.

The actual lessons will be run in full compliance with the marine safety regulations. Students will be in full wetsuit, life Jacket and Helmet (See beginning of the video) and there will be a observer on the back of the ski.

Thanks,
Paul
The Zu

Hi. Says you have Fanatic windfoil on ya web page. How do they compare to Slingshot?
cheers

Hey nazsail, sorry for the late reply.

The Fanatic is a little faster than the slingshot (higher aspect) but takes longer to foil. Fanatic is more suited to lighter riders.
Slingshot is a great All-rounder. We now also have the full range of Starboard foils (very impressive)

Some Images of the windsurf Foiling Clinics we have ran with Elwood sailing Club and Guy Gribb this Summer. If you missed these keep an eye out for one of our upcoming clinics on foiling !

Check out this session we had in St Kilda last week 8-12knots !

www.facebook.com/The.Zu.Boardsports/videos/1691122597592746/

Nice!
I'm curious whether the fanatic board is one of the "foil ready" ones.
Or have you added some sort of reinforcement on the deck above the Tuttle Box?
I mean the black patch between the rear footstraps, would be happy to know what this is.

Hey ZeeGerman, both fanatic boards are foil ready boards. The black section of deckpad in between the backstraps is "custom" modification to help with grip in Gybes and learning to foil