Love the W90L no-nose - minimal swing weight feels crisper in the turns and bashes less in big seas.
But 147cm length was a bit dredgy at times for my 82kgs

I'm hoping adding 27cms to the rear;
will glide up to planing speed easier - I can use my 550cm2 wing more often and not need to sail so overpowered.
I should be able to start standing in the footstraps.
Stopping/reversing/pumping-back-up to shed seaweed which seems necessary most sessions these days should be as easy as on the W114.

If it works well I'll ask Neil or Mark to pro-finish it, can't sand much in my apartment

Now - 174 x 63.5 cms
8 kg with straps

I like it
Good length
Good width
Only time will tell how the UJ/ foot strap/ foil placement goes with the longer tail

I like it Reckon it will work just fine and be alot more forgiving. Just sold mine....hope new owner is watching. Might be just what you need (may work strapless )

Select to expand quote

Mr Keen said..
I like it Reckon it will work just fine and be alot more forgiving. Just sold mine....hope new owner is watching. Might be just what you need (may work strapless )

New owner probably would be better off losing 10kg first.

The length is correct.
They just failed to make them thick enough.
I think they were worried more about appearance than actual function.
But that's just my two cents....

Tested the modified 90 today in 12-15 knots with 5m and 920cm2 wing
Works as well as I hoped - significantly easier to get going in the light wind than the 90, don't notice the rear area at all when in the air, doesn't catch in turns.
Forgotten how good the no-nose is after riding the W114 for the past couple of months

Stoked

I dig it! Of course I dig it.
You are recycling, doing stuff, trying things! You're getting all the pro's of length without the cons of swing weight. I like how you extended the surface of the deepest cut out rather than the bottom. I might try that on my tiny chopped bus.
I think Gwarn has a good point too. Thickness is a great way to get your required float out of a compact set up.

Bad ass !!!

wow. you made the w90 longer so that you had a volume closer to the w114 but with the tracks forward?

Glad to hear the results are good Azymuth. How much volume do you think it is now?
Can you please share a few key points on the extension process?
Thanks

Making a weird board weirder. I like it!

Select to expand quote

dantren said..
Glad to hear the results are good Azymuth. How much volume do you think it is now?
Can you please share a few key points on the extension process?
Thanks

I shaped the polystyrene off-cut with a wood saw and surform and glued it to the rear of the board with epoxy/micro balloons mix.
Glassed with 2 x 6oz soft fibreglass cloth, overlapping the board by about an inch.
Not sure you should take my advice unless you're also a bush mechanic

Mods V2

Stoked to now easily uphaul - didn't get close before this last mod.
Probably feels a bit draggier getting up on foil but now I can uphaul and slog easily I'll feel confident using it in winter storms, surviving wind drop-outs.
Added about 15L, the board is now noticeably heavier (used 2x20mm divinycell) but the weight is mostly central - still retains the extremely short nose so area/swing-weight is minimal forward of the mast-base, which is what I care most about

Love it
Proper mutant

FrankenFoil !!.Cool

Love it

Need to apply some Frankenstein graphics to complete the package

I was thinking of chopping the nose of an old Hover 122, making it about 2m long and 105-110 lts... that would be a lot less work. You can get this board new at windgenuity for $700

Select to expand quote

powersloshin said..
I was thinking of chopping the nose of an old Hover 122, making it about 2m long and 105-110 lts... that would be a lot less work. You can get this board new at windgenuity for $700

Have a feeling straps and foil tracks are too far back for JJ's style of riding

can always stick the chopped nose to the back ..

Select to expand quote

powersloshin said..
can always stick the chopped nose to the back ..

Why not

Random thoughts about optimizing smaller boards - interested what others think?
I'm not particularly wedded to any of the points below - just what's working for me after some experimentation.

Brands have lost interest - freeride windfoil development is up to us
None of the other foil disciplines appreciate the advantage/froth we have riding swells downwind

Boards designed for higher winds (>15 knots) have unnecessary surface area - too wide, too much nose, also too thin.
Does anyone like long noses? Potentially you might recover the odd touch-down that could bury a short nose, but for that rare occasion you're flying around with extra swing weight and air buffeting.
Board length is ok but cut a chunk off the nose and stick it behind the foil where's there's no penalty
Width <64cms catches the chop less upwind and downwind.

I'm 80kgs and need about 110L to comfortably uphaul in swell - I might only need to do it a couple of times all winter but it's obviously handy offshore or midriver when the wind disappears. Thickness (>15cm) seems like free volume, I can't feel any disadvantage - Simon has figured it out with his Oz Custom.

For light winds thinner boards with more surface area are fine - volume to uphaul and also more planing area to get on foil easily.

Only issue I have found with the thickness is water starting, the board wants to tip over. You adjust to this pretty fast though.
I agree that brands are not doing boards for what we are now loving so yep it is up to us to get custom builders thinking about it.

Agree that today's producers do not seem to invest time and money in evolving this "style" further. At the same time, I am not sure whether they would match you in creativity and your principles for what makes a well balanced maneuverable board. So, maybe this is for the better. And maybe they follow this forum and learn - saving time on Research and Development ;-)

Thanks for sharing!

Select to expand quote

azymuth said..


Brands have lost interest - freeride windfoil development is up to us

I noticed Naish dropped both the Hover and the Micro, and keeps only the Cross-over. Probably most of the market is in winging now

This is funny stuff
I'm glad to see you have figured out that short thick boards make a difference.
4 years ago most of you laughed at my short no nose board also saying that carbon mast were a waste of money...
Glad to see you are slowly seeing the light.....
This is a day back in June of 2020 on my first short thick board.

Having a nose on a wind foil board is good. Makes uphauling easy, makes tacking easy, recovers better from touchdowns, and improves light wind performance as well. No issues with the swing weight either (well this one weights just 6.1 kg with 3 foot straps).

Select to expand quote

Taavi said..
Having a nose on a wind foil board is good. Makes uphauling easy, makes tacking easy, recovers better from touchdowns, and improves light wind performance as well. No issues with the swing weight either (well this one weights just 6.1 kg with 3 foot straps).

Sweet riding!

Hi Taavi, i bought last year from you a nice Moses balz 799 foil set for my windfoiling. I have so much fun from 12 to 18 knots on my horue tiny pro 105 ltr.!!! Super easy and relaxed carving and flying at low wind conditions and small waves. Recently i bought a set of foil freek sails, a even better combination!!!

Continue the good videos!!

Bart from the Netherlands

I'd like the smallest I can get away with. The 114 will get me home in any condition, but might get a 90 for the big days, and stay close to home. Swimming a rig home..no fun.

Select to expand quote

WsurfAustin said..
I'd like the smallest I can get away with. The 114 will get me home in any condition, but might get a 90 for the big days, and stay close to home. Swimming a rig home..no fun.

I am with you, at 85kg. Current board at 111ltr will float me home. As JJ & Gwarn say there are no disadvantages to a thicker board with compact dimensions. 170?65?16cm.
Largest sail is 5..2 foil freek, smallest 3.3 freek. No need for a bigger sail as I can get going in 10-12 knots. Any larger would diminish manoeuvrability.
Sold my 90ltr wizard, but new owner is about to sell it back to me for the bigger days