chuckmaui said..
All the brands have boards that are competitive, I'm just impressed by a new company entering the market with boards, sails and foils and all elements doing so well in three short years. With a very talented rider of course.

Agreed!

t36 said..
2022 PD Foil-Comp 78 (209 x 78, 145 ltr, around 8 kg):

Those cutouts are Spinal Tap level 11.

t36 said..
yes - they are :-)
Therefore, the back of the board should get deeper into the water, what should induce a better angle of attack for earlier take-off.

Might allow a more rearward mast angle, which seems indicated for slalom.

I think the idea is to reduce the wetted area to reduce drag. Reducing drag helps to accelerate faster when not flying/getting ready to fly. The cutouts are needed to keep the board wide enough for the race foils. Like Grantmac said, cutouts also reduce the volume so the sailor can sink the tail to increase the angle of attack of the front wing for earlier take off.
as to take off speed for the 350, I can only say that my slalom 650 front wing needs planning speed so the 350 must be simply screaming fast for regular sailors.

I thought the cutouts were also for reducing drag so if the board touches down at the rear it doesnt slow down. Going 20+ knots its bound to be an issue, not that I've experienced that myself yet very often.

John340 said..

berowne said..
My F4 337cm2 front wing flies at about 15 knots so not extreme at all! Planing speed sure but not crazy.

So should the cut outs facilitate getting to that speed quickly?

Cutouts help in a number of ways...
Reduce buoyancy at rear so when you are sub-planing and pumping the tail dips down deeper
This increases the 'angle of attack' for the wings so they give more lift (and drag - but lift wins)
At planing speeds the cutouts reduce 'wetted' surface of the board. I rode an FMX Hyperion 85 sallom board once and on a speed run in smooth water I could feel the whole board 'lift' up a few cms. Awesome!
Why not just make the board narrower? Then it wouldn't have the bouancy at the rear below planing speeds
For foiling we need the back foot outboard for leverage!

That is about all I can think of!

P.M. me for the spreadsheet.

Ideally I would like to try out the 81cm or 85cm wide size. But supply to Australia seems to be an issue. And I've missed most of the pre-order dates since I only just found out I was ready for an upgrade...

FMX 91 and 100 in stock in Sydney. Orders for 2022 model are in already. Too late for more.
Patrik difficult to say. Maybe not available for 3-6 months. Small quantity.
Fanatic 100 pre-orders are in Sydney. I've missed order for 2022 apparently.
Starboard are having big problems with global delivery.
JP 84 is free race
Flying Camel 2021 are in QLD but again no new orders foreseeable
Phantom website taking pre-orders but cost is about $5500 to Aus


I imagine if there was enough interest in a single brand we could maybe get another shipment to Aus but it would take some research and likely at least 3 months +.

So I finally decided on the FMX 178LR 91 board. A few thoughts about this outcome
My old FMX has given me a great couple of years service but it has certainly seen better days. All reasonable offers considered. $$$ Most of our foiling races are in lighter winds with the switch to 7.7 and fin at around 20 knots. My 7.0 foil sail still feels comfortable on 91 and since the 85 isn't available for 6-9 months I'll make the most of the familiar size board. 6.0m foil race sails are also as rare as 81cm boards!

Looking at the 85 Veloce (free ride) board over the top of the 91, 2cm either side wasn't really enough of a step down to worry. For a small foil board I'd probably want to go under 80cm. If an 85 FMX or equivalent was available I'd probably have chosen this size instead. But the 81 starts to get a bit to small for lighter wind days. I assume the smaller size would be fine in the air with say an 8.0 or even 9.0, but 140L vs 180L makes takeoff that little bit harder.
30+ knot speed runs will have the advantage of new low drag nose shape so I'm sure they will be easier. It's cheaper than a race car!

91 was in stock!
thanks Remi at theWindSurfingShed.

Phantom 1m board only making 20!

www.phantom-windsurfing.com/boards/p/iris-r-170l-rjc6g-yc87t-nw8fm

2 Patrik FRide 145s at out local. Both with the Patrik race foils. Both novice riders absolutely loving them. It's about what is available as much as what you want/ what's 'best'. Other boards out here are older StarBoards. None are 91 or wider.

berowne said..
So I finally decided on the FMX 178LR 91 board. A few thoughts about this outcome

It looks like a good choice. I may like to hear more about your experience or others in terms of performance. I do not see any independent recreational reviewer's comment on this board.

AUS02 said..
Just received my new Starboard Slalom 81 and GTR Evolution Foil, so keen to see how this combo compares to the iSonic 83 Slalom board and GTR Pus I had been using!

Are my eyes deceiving me or are the rear straps slightly tilted to open in the forward direction?

A bit of an optical illusion at that angle, this photo captures it better (and compares old and new)!

Patrik Foilcomp quiver 2022