I had a chance to look at some photos and info on the upcoming 2021 foils from Starboard. They have split their foil offerings into "Wind Foils" and "Wing & Wave Foils".
The windfoil section includes the seen-before race foils and supercruiser foils but there are some interesting new additions;
Smaller front wings: 725 & 650
Faster rear wings : 255 -2 deg Thin & 200 -2 deg Thin
A 105cm plus fuselage
I suppose these new items may be aimed at slalom racing?
The wing & wave foils look like they have had a major overhaul with three new types of front wings being offered;
S-Type : sporty performance suitable for SUP foiling & Wing foiling. Sizes - 1200, 1500, 2000, 2400
E-Type : efficient, high aspect wings for faster foiling. Sizes - 1300, 1700
X-Type : extreme, fastest, high aspect. Sizes - 1100
I think the Ocean Surf & Wave foils from this year also continue.
There is a new tail wing - the RAZR with sizes at 220 & 250
There is a new "monolithic" carbon mast range combining the plate in one moulding that looks sweet with 4 sizes from 72cm to 102cm.
I think the quick lock fuselage has been redesigned to provide added connection security and now has the "HD" affix.
So much choice! I'm in the market for some new wing foils and mast this season so order is going in now. Apparently the foils will be available in Oz for this summer season.
Photos are a bit low rez but better than nothing!
I'd seen mention of the slalom sizes elsewhere. Can't remember if they are starting to circulate in Europe or not.
Shame the mid size E and X type use a different fuse than the traditional wind foils. Those look like killer freeride windfoil wings. Thanks for the pics. Not in the budget but they sure are fun to look at.
Thanks for the info.
In my opinion too much choice = confusion , my main pet peeve with Starboard. Too much stuff, how to be sure you make the good choice when you're a beginner, and how to be sure each of these product are equally good and worth buying ? When the offer is so large it is very easy to buy the wrong product or to get the least efficient one, because I think there is noway they all have been equally well tested. I could be very wrong of course, maybe each one of these elements are killer, what do I know ?
Select to expand quoteAl1 said..
Thanks for the info.
In my opinion too much choice = confusion , my main pet peeve with Starboard. Too much stuff, how to be sure you make the good choice when you're a beginner, and how to be sure each of these product are equally good and worth buying ? When the offer is so large it is very easy to buy the wrong product or to get the least efficient one, because I think there is noway they all have been equally well tested. I could be very wrong of course, maybe each one of these elements are killer, what do I know ?
Yeah, I know what you mean. I suppose this is where the retailer has to be on-the-ball with good advice.
The info that I saw with the new season's offering is pretty good at defining what each range is directed towards. Then it is a decision on what size wing/foil is right - this depends on so many things, like experience/skill, wind range, sailor weight etc. If you are thinking about racing then talk to some of the racing crew.
When I went for my first wing foil setup up I looked at these factors and arrived at a Ocean Surf 2000 - plenty of lift and friendly for a beginner. I'm now after a smaller, higher aspect wing, but this would not have been right, first up.
Again talk to your retailer - in my experience they are great at pointing you in the right direction, but you also have to do your own "research" - read forums and talk to your mates.
It looks like most of wings don't look deep enough to fit onto a supercruiser fuselage?
So for the quick lock fuselage only?
Select to expand quotebushfire said..
I had a chance to look at some photos and info on the upcoming 2021 foils from Starboard. They have split their foil offerings into "Wind Foils" and "Wing & Wave Foils".
The windfoil section includes the seen-before race foils and supercruiser foils but there are some interesting new additions;
Smaller front wings: 725 & 650
Faster rear wings : 255 -2 deg Thin & 200 -2 deg Thin
A 105cm plus fuselage
I suppose these new items may be aimed at slalom racing?
The wing & wave foils look like they have had a major overhaul with three new types of front wings being offered;
S-Type : sporty performance suitable for SUP foiling & Wing foiling. Sizes - 1200, 1500, 2000, 2400
E-Type : efficient, high aspect wings for faster foiling. Sizes - 1300, 1700
X-Type : extreme, fastest, high aspect. Sizes - 1100
I think the Ocean Surf & Wave foils from this year also continue.
There is a new tail wing - the RAZR with sizes at 220 & 250
There is a new "monolithic" carbon mast range combining the plate in one moulding that looks sweet with 4 sizes from 72cm to 102cm.
I think the quick lock fuselage has been redesigned to provide added connection security and now has the "HD" affix.
So much choice! I'm in the market for some new wing foils and mast this season so order is going in now. Apparently the foils will be available in Oz for this summer season.
Photos are a bit low rez but better than nothing!
Wow, this looks pretty sweet. Thanks so much for posting!!
Regarding this:
The wing & wave foils look like they have had a major overhaul with three new types of front wings being offered;
S-Type : sporty performance suitable for SUP foiling & Wing foiling. Sizes - 1200, 1500, 2000, 2400
E-Type : efficient, high aspect wings for faster foiling. Sizes - 1300, 1700
X-Type : extreme, fastest, high aspect. Sizes - 1100
This seems to be very much like the new Phantasm approach from Slingshot. Low, medium and high aspect wings attached to a pedestal mast for double track boards.
Question: Is this marketed only for wing'ing and SUP'ing, or can they be used for Windfoil also?
The Slingshot teaser on Phantasm indicated that all their wings could be used for Windfoil.
Select to expand quoteRuddeBos said..
It looks like most of wings don't look deep enough to fit onto a supercruiser fuselage?
So for the quick lock fuselage only?
It looks to me like Starboard have two fuselage connection systems - one for windfoiling which includes the race foils and the supercruiser foils, with torx bolts connecting the wings to the fuselage, and one for wing/sup/wave which uses the quick connect system - an expanding metal tongue that clamps inside a square tube in the front wing and in the tail piece . The tailwings attach to the tail piece via a couple of torx bolts.
Looking at photos I can't really say how the supercruiser wing attaches to the fuselage - someone will know how this wing connection works? If I had to guess I would say the supercruiser foil is not compatible with the quick connect fuselage system.
It would seem that there can be some interchange between the masts and the different fuse systems. I was able to use a 95cm IQ mast with a quick connect fuselage on my Wing Foil, although I wasn't 100% sure the tuttle to top plate adapter with this arrange was strong enough. Probably OK but I was only really doing a quick test to see if I liked a longer mast with the wing foil set up,(I did!)
So in summary (and maybe answering tswei99) I think Starboard have two separate foiling ranges as mentioned in the OP - windfoiling and sup/wave/wing foiling. Of course there is nothing stopping you connecting a sup/surf/wing foil arrangement to a board with a mast track or position and going for it! (assuming the board has the right tuttle box/us rails).
Obviously the geometry of the two fuselage systems are quite different......
Hey guys, my Supercruiser has a different fuselage system to SB Race/GT fuselages 115/95/75, tho still uses torx bolts - not quicklock compatible - not sure if this is changing for 2021...
This is a reply I got from starboard R&D. I was asking if they had plans for a smaller front wing for the super cruiser. I am using the 1300wave wing and was hoping for a 900 to be in the pipeline. I assume the 1300 I got was from the quicklock system as it only had one hole in the bottom and not countersunk. The hole lined up perfectly with one of the holes in the sc fuse so I just drilled strait through and countersunk both holes. I assume the other quick lock wings would be the same deal but it would pay to check first before spending out.
Doubt I will go for a 1200 so fingers crossed for a 900 in the future.
I just want to know how to get onboard with this. Previously one might have paid $300-600 (and maybe more) for fins. Now, a base foil and accessories is $1,500 plus. On top, one will need a new board, new sails etc. I be it is just a matter of time before there are foil specific booms and masts...
No wonder everyone is getting on-board (see what i have done there) with it..
I have tried and I absolutely loved it. Just a matter of time before I splash out as well...
... just saying ...
Select to expand quoteHooksey said..
I just want to know how to get onboard with this. Previously one might have paid $300-600 (and maybe more) for fins. Now, a base foil and accessories is $1,500 plus. On top, one will need a new board, new sails etc. I be it is just a matter of time before there are foil specific booms and masts...
If you have one or two windsurfing boards and want to extend your range, buying a fin will help little. You'll have to buy a new board or new rig, or both. If you just want to expand into a different discipline, say add speedsurfing to wave sailing or vice versa, you'll end up with a whole new set of gear. Either way, you end up spending substantially more than $300-600.
With foiling, it's quite possible that you end up spending less money. There's no real need for multiple foil boards. My wife and I have more than a dozen windsurf boards in the garage (freestyle, wave, speed, slalom, longboards), but only two foil boards (which also serve as wing boards). Both were bought after windfoiling regularly on old windsurf boards for more than a year. I see absolutely no need to buy windfoil sails, current sails work perfectly well. You also get away with fewer and smaller sails since the range is bigger when foiling.
Of course, if you like to spend plenty of money on gear, you can get different sizes and styles of foil boards and foils, and a couple of sets of foil-specific sails for freeriding and racing. Even then, you'll probably end up with less gear... unless you always want the newest and bestest .
Select to expand quoteHooksey said..
I just want to know how to get onboard with this. Previously one might have paid $300-600 (and maybe more) for fins. Now, a base foil and accessories is $1,500 plus. On top, one will need a new board, new sails etc. I be it is just a matter of time before there are foil specific booms and masts...
No wonder everyone is getting on-board (see what i have done there) with it..
I have tried and I absolutely loved it. Just a matter of time before I splash out as well...
... just saying ...
For sails below 6.0, use what you have - almost everyone who foils does. Above 6, you can use your existing but just be aware of the limitations (ie long booms, floppy heads, etc aren't your friend) If you have a 5.5 freeride, wave, freestyle sail - that's good enough to get you going in 15ish. Put a foil on a Deep Tuttle recent vintage 80cm board and off you go.
However - BIG however - almost everyone I know loves it so much they end up quickly acquiring foil specific stuff anyway. The biggest step is to get the foil. If the budget allows, a foil+board would be best as straps, etc are in the right place by default. Don't worry about the rest. When you begin to acquire skills and time on the water, you'll have a better idea of what you'll want next.
