Month: July 2021

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Patrik Foil Comp 91 V2

Patrik Foil Comp 91 V2

First impressions – A compact board at 212cm long and 91cm wide. The boards rails are quite parallel meaning the board has a wide tail. The tail is wider than the tail on the comparable  JP hydrofoil Slalom. As I have said before I like the limited paint finish but that is partly because it is easy to do invisible repairs on such boards. This is a full carbon board. 

This board is not made in the cobra factory so it has some unique touches. The mast track seems to be more integrated in the board and it requires a flat mast base nut (supplied). While many brands have opted to have large oval foil bolt recesses and large bolt holes to aid bolt alignment, Patrik have decided to have tight fitting bolt holes. At first I thought it would take a bit of messing around to get the bolts to align with the deep tuttle head of the foil but in fact they were all perfectly aligned from the start. The board does require quite long foil bolts. I am using 80 and 70mm bolts on my AFS foil. While the board only offers outboard footstrap positions there is quite a lot of for/aft adjustment and also on the front straps you can alter the strap angle which is a nice touch. Judging by the strap positions on offer the board is designed as you would expect for race style foils with longer fuselages. With my 99cm fuselage I have been using the board with the 2nd from back footstrap positions. 

The rails are flat sided which allows Patrik to get the volume into a small package but also give some resistance making coming down with the board cranked over during a gybe that bit more survivable.

The board features massive double cutaways underneath the tail which reduce the wetted area under the tail significantly.

Also of note is the recessed mast track. While many other brands offer a shallow scooped out deck in order to lower the rig, Patrik have given a small but deep recess allowing for more volume in the board and adding to the boards stiffness. 

On the water – The foil comp offers plenty of support for even the heaviest riders allowing easy uphauling and tacking. It’s still not a long board and it is possible to submarine its nose if you are daydreaming while wallowing along. If you are not used to getting on such a wide board to uphaul it is a long way across the deck to grab the other side. I tend to either grab a far footstrap or the mast to haul myself onboard while ensuring I keep my harness spreader bar clear of the board. 

Getting flying – The board offers plenty of support allowing you to get into the front strap early. For its volume you still want to get onto a broad reach for take off, remember it is still only 212cm long. The board releases easily (maybe with the aid of the cutouts) it works equally well with moderate sized sails as well as larger sails. When it is windy you don’t need to pump you can just drive the board off a piece of chop. I have used the board with an AFS W105 with R810 and R660 wings. Is it the earliest flying board I have used? Probably.

In flight – The board is comfortable in flight. Once set up correctly there is little left to do but enjoy the flight. It is comfortable in the straps but also surprisingly comfortable with the back foot out of the strap even with large sails. With the wide tail your back foot can still be quite outboard yet still on the inside of the back strap.  The ride is comfortable and controlled at all angles to the wind. Again I should state I am not a racer but the board can point as high as I want and is comfortable on the downwind return journey. Any overfoiling mistakes and drops are easily recovered and the board will tend to bounce back up. Although be aware you may well be traveling faster on this board which makes dropping from over foiling a bit more dramatic.  

Gybeing – It is a wide board so more footwork is involved as you initially step inboard and then across the board. Having said that, I find it easier to gybe than similar sized boards. There is obviously lots of space to adjust your feet. Should something happen to cause the board to come down on its rail the flat voluminous rails can save the day. 

Overall – The Foil Comp is fast on all points of sail. I find many people wind foiling tend to stick to similar sailing angles, just going back and forth, back and forth. On the Foil Comp you really want to go places and cover a lot of water. 

The board suits race style high aspect foils and sails over 6.0m. This is a board that is worth matching with an efficient sail and foil. 

Who is this board for? – it obviously is suitable for anyone with racing aspirations at any level but it is also suitable for anyone wanting to push the boundaries of light wind flight.

The board cane be seen in action here

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Patrik Foil+ 8.0 & 9.0

Patrik Foil+ sails (8.0 & 9.0)

First impressions – These sails are at the extreme end of competitive wind foiling. 8 battens and 5 cams create a solid wing like structure. The sails set in a taught crease free maner. The sails are surprisingly flat in profile, these sails are all about efficiency. The leech is moderately tight with most movement about half way down the leech, the head does not fall away like a slalom race sail. These sails are tall, the 8.0 fits on a 490 mast and needs a 46cm extension while the 9.0 needs the same extension but a 520 mast. Booms are quite short especially considering there is not a big clew cutaway.

The sails come with lots of cam spacers already fitted so be prepared to take your time getting the sails to rig and rotate as you want. The bottom cam comes with a whopping 5 spacers and all the battens above have 3 spacers each. I am currently using (starting at the bottom) 6,1,1,0,1 spacers on the cams and this gives me good stability and easy rotation. 

The sails appear well built and with more scuff protection that other race style sails particularilily along the leech where you might catch it on the ground while carrying the rig. 

On the water – In the past most of my foiling has been with light 2 or 3 cammed sails up to 8.6 so I have to admit I was a bit nervous of trying a 8 batten sail with 5 camber inducers that weighs about 2kg more than I am used to.

Uphauling – fairly standard compared to other sails of the same size. Water starting is a bit easier due to a combination of the high aspect nature of the sail providing plenty of lift combines with easy rotation to help flick the sail if required. 

Getting going – these sails are very efficient, they cut through the air with ease feeling light in the hands. When a gust comes along the rig wants to accelerate and keep accelerating. In very light winds other sails with more draft/shape in the sail body will pump up onto the foil but if there is  insufficient power to level off the flight you can soon find yourself dropping back off the foil. With the foil+ the sail will be eager to accelerate meaning you can quickly level off the flight and start to accelerate. This feature of the sails means they work best with efficient high aspect race style foils. A low aspect high lift foil would not be able to keep up. 

Once in flight the sails will settle down and allow you to concentrate on cutting through the wind. In gusty overpowering conditions the sail’s slippery nature allows it to cut through the gusts without any drama. That same feature allows you to keep foiling into stronger winds  and it is only with hindsight do you think “actually, I could have been using a much smaller sail.” It tends to be time to change down sail when you run out of courage as opposed to control. The sails have a very wide wind range which is something you can not say about all  foil specific sails.   

Trim – Because these rigs are not the lightest moving the mast foot around can have more effect than with smaller/lighter sails. I tend to use the 8.0 about 3cm forward of where I have the mast foot for the 9.0. 

I am not a racing sailor so I can not comment much on the sails pointing ability but I am a sailmaker and from its profile I have little doubt that there will be few sails that can touch it upwind.

Gybing – The sails enter the carve with ease. You can vary the drive through the turn with opening or closing the sail. What I should point out at this stage is that these sails are damn fast in light winds. This can give you problems with apparent wind when you gybe. If you are going at 20 kts in a 10 kt breeze which is possible with these sails it can feel like the sail becomes a brick wall as it presses back at you. The solution is to push the sail away as you enter the carve creating room for the rig to rotate to the outside of the carve. In other words in light winds the sails can test your gybing but only because they are s Rotation – What can I say? These sails rotate better than many 2 batten sails! Yes they rotate that easily.

Overall – The Patrik Foil+ sails look purposeful as soon as you rig them. Take them on the water and the performance on offer matches the exceptional looks.

Who are they for? – Anyone racing or thinking of foil racing  but also and probably more importantly anyone who enjoys that super efficient feeling of foiling in around 10 kts of wind. The 8.0 would suit most foil specific boards of 85cm or wider and the 9.0 is best on 90+ cm wide boards. Both sails work best with high aspect foils. Are the Patrik Foil + sails suitable for you? If you aren’t falling in often and don’t have to launch through a shore break these sail will certainly add something to your foiling experience. 

And as regards my initial concerns about a 9.0m, 8 batten, 5 cam sail getting the better of me at the first sign of a white horse these sails are comfortable across a wide wind range even for a mature chap with no intentions of racing. 

Videos featuring these sails can be seen here –