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Patrik small windfoil boards

Patrik AIO vs Patrik Foil Move.

Please read this in conjunction with this video Patrik AIO vs Foil Move

Size – It is actually quite hard to compare the two size wise.

AIO 175 x 72cm and 115 ltrs

Foil Move 195 x 65cm and 105lts.

They both offer a similar amount of buoyancy but in different ways.  I have lost a bit of insulation and have dropped from nearly 100kg to 92kg and for boards of this size it has made things easier. When uphauling the short length of the AIO means it feels like it has no nose and you have to stand well back. That means when uphauling the board is turning into the wind so you need to be quite quick in pulling the sail up. It offers buoyancy in a “corky” way.  By comparison the Foil Move feels more settled in the water and while theoretically offering less volume it feels more stable, sinking into the water rather than floating on top. 

Both boards are a bit easier to waterstart especially the Foil Move as their tails do sink down a bit as you get up making it less of a step up compared to larger windfoil boards. Obviously both boards are easier to carry when connected to a rig than larger  windfoil boards.

Whilst moving on the AIO you need to keep that nose up. Its the same on the Foil Move but when standing further back on the foil move the tail will go down thus lifting the nose. On the AIO the board can remain level despite a reward stance. 

Take Off

The shorter length of the AIO means it takes a bit more effort to get up to take off speed but it also depends on the sea state. In choppy water short boards in general can tend to get stuck in the trough between the waves, The secret is to get a helping shove from a bit of chop to get the boards to fly. The light weight and lively nature of the Foil Move can see it take off in surprisingly little wind. 

In Flight  

While the AIO is wider the footstraps are actually wider apart on the Foil Move. On the AIO your feet are flat, on the Foil move  your heel is lower. That coupled with the mastfoot being 10cm closer to you on the AIO means it is easier and more comfortable on the Foil  Move if you have plenty of power from your sail. Talking of sail power I find the Foil Move comfortable with sails up to 6.5 and the AIO being best with sails up to 5.8. Both boards benefit from a light rig. The sail used in the video is a custom 2 cam 6.3 and is very light. 

I really thought I would like the single back strap on the AIO but I found it got in the way more than wide apart double back straps. 

If you are used to bigger wind foil boards, when you first get on the Foil Move it is a very similar feeling to getting on a wave board after being on a 130ltr freeride board. It feels small and responsive. The AIO feels very different with a buoyant “corky” nature.

As mentioned in the video, with virtually no nose on the AIO it makes any over foiling type drops hard to survive. The good thing about both boards is that they tend to bury their nose deep into the water which means you don’t damage them. 

Gybeing

Both boards gybe well, the nimble nature of the Foil Move makes it easy to make height adjustments as necessary allowing you to gybe in lighter winds. 

Overall

So when does the fun begin with these boards? I would say that you want 10 kts with the Foil Move and about 13kts for the AIO.

In the video both boards are being used with a high aspect 900 wing. My feeling is that the AIO would benefit more from a slightly less racey foil while the Foil Move is very happy with a high aspect wing. 

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Patrik Aeon Foil

Real world windfoil choices

Below are my thoughts on windfoil choices for the real world conditions most of us sail in. This is written about the Patrik Aeon foil but a lot of it will be applicable to other foils. 

Why am I doing this? There is already a lot of information online about ideal foil set up but I find most of what is written is aimed at racing. I don’t race but I do like going as quick as possible especially in light winds. I also want maximum control in gusty strong winds. I do most of my foiling in a sea loch on the west coast of Scotland. The water is surrounded on three sides by mountains so it can be gusty to say the least. We also get squally winds coming off the Atlantic so 10 to 25 kt wind range is not unusual. While these conditions can be demanding they do mean you can test things very quickly as the chances of being both under and over powered in a ten minute period are quite high. 

My drive at home can get a bit busy if the wind is up and down

Light winds 6- 10 kts

95s mast + V1 TI fuselage – I use this mast because it is the thinnest and therefore the most efficient and light winds are all about efficiency. Whatever rear wing (stab) I use it is set in the rearmost position for maximum stability. I always use the +1’ shim as I find that works fine on both sizes of stab and on both my fuselages. 

On a general note – I always use the 190 stab with the 750 and 900 front wings and the 160 stab with 650 and smaller front wings. 

The board will always be a Patrik Foil Comp 85, sail a Patrik S2 8.4 or 7.8 meter. 

Choice of front wing for light winds? A lot is written about what the PWA sailors are using but I am not racing. If I look at the water and I can see some gusts of maybe 7 kts but between the gusts the wind looks more like 5 kts then maybe I will go with the 900 wing with the aim to get flying in one gust and then manage to fly to the next gust and gybe in that to try to keep flying. The larger wings help to keep sustained flight. If the gusts are 8+ kts then maybe I will go with the 650 front wing which will give me more speed and I can still get through the light patches of wind but I will need to find another windier patch to fly round in a gybe. 

To try to quantify things, I would say I need to get the board moving at about 5kts to take off with the 900 wing and about the same with the 750 wing. The difference being the larger wing can take off in a shorter distance which is useful if the gust is only 15 meters wide and you have to take off in that space. The 650 wing needs the board to be wound up to about 8kts board speed. That is possible in say 8 kts of wind but you need to consider the size of the windy patches and how smooth the water is. These are the sort of things I find no one is talking about and are quite important. Maybe you have read that some great racer can get his board flying in 6 kts with an 8.4 sail so you take yourself off to your local lake to do the same. But the wind is onshore and the small chop is bouncing back off a wall creating a nasty short chop, you will then find it very hard to get the board up to take off speed. You can get a similar situation on the open sea where you can only get flying in one direction because the other direction you are trying to take off directly into the waves and you just can’t build the speed up. Whereas in the other direction you can get the board on the downslope of a wave and use it for a bit of a push. 

Whether you are using a 9.0 or 7.5 meter sail for your light wind foiling the thing is having  enough wind to pump against. If you give your rig a quick pump you will quickly know if there is any power there for you to use to build up to take off speed. 

Medium winds 10 -18 kt

95s mast – for maximum efficiency

Or 

100 XL mast – if the sea state is getting higher and I think “longer the better”.

Fuselage V1 so that I can get maximum lift from the front wing. But sometimes V2. The V2 fuselage puts the front wing about 2cm further back. The end result is similar to if you moved all your footstraps 2 holes forward. In effect it tames things down a bit.  I use the V2 fuse if the wind is offshore when I need as much range out of the foil as possible.

Board will be a Patrik Foil Comp 85 or 78 or even a Patrik foil move 105. Sail – Patrik S2 7.8, 7.2, 6.6 or maybe a big wave sail if I am traveling somewhere with limited kit. 

This is when things start to get a bit more diverse. In light winds efficiency is the goal which mirrors what any racer would be trying to achieve. But in 15 kts of wind there can be a divergence of interests. 

If the water is flat and I feel like it I may choose to keep to the efficiency principles of a largish sail and a small front wing on the V1 fuselage so that I can go as fast as I can (I am not a fast foiler, but what I mean is “fast for me”)

So I would be on the 95s mast, v1 fuse, 650 or 450 front wing and 160 stab. Sail wise would be 7.2 or 7.8.

BUT there are days with flat water when I don’t want to be going fast! Why? Because we can get days in the summer when there are big rafts of seaweed floating about or days in the winter after storms when there are lots of things in the water. Times like that require more or a cruisey attitude and I might use the 750 front wing and a slightly smaller sail. 

On more open water 15 kts of wind can make the water anything but flat. And maybe trying to race across 1m high chop requires a bravery I left behind some years ago. In such conditions I would go for the longer 100 mast and perhaps the V2 fuselage and then choose between the 650 and 750 front wing. 

Strong winds 18 – 30 kts

Both masts are still applicable but I would err towards the longer 100 mast. 

Fuselage – V2

Board – Patrik Foil comp 78 or Patrik Foil move

Sails – patrik GTS foil 5.8 or Patrik ride foil 5.4 or wave sail down to very small. 

Front wings 750, 650 or 450

I can hear you think “750 is a light wind wing” but above a certain wind strength I often find myself going back towards larger wings. Yes, there is the race philosophy of more wind = smaller wings and there is some logic to that but I will explain why it often doesn’t work for me. Again I need to emphasize I’m not racing, just looking to enjoy myself on the water. While some people are lucky and sail in places that can have steady strong winds, unfortunately I am not so lucky and a windy day may see the wind varying between 15 and 40 kts. 

Small wings and sails – small wings need a fast water flow over them to enable them to fly. That in turns requires a constant drive from the rig. In effect it doesn’t matter if the drive comes from a 8.5 meter sail in 10kts of wind or a 3.5 meter sail in 30 kts the pressure is similar. That is why the PWA sailors can use very small front wings in only moderate winds and it is often easier to provide steady drive into the foil with a big rig in a moderate wind. Compare that to when you are out flying happily in 20 kts of wind and a rain squall suddenly puts the wind up to 30+ kts. The usual solution is to ease off and sheet out a bit but small front wings don’t really like that and you can find your session becomes very stop/start.

Linked to what I have said above is the type of sail you use. Foil race sails with all their cams and forced draft/shape in the sail provide a very constant power source. They are great and a definite bonus towards level flight in gusty conditions and are able to fly through holes in the wind better than anything else. But what happens when you become overpowered? You can’t help but sheet out a bit and the sail will then provide “half power”, you can’t completely switch the power off. You have to hide the sail when entering gybes but you can certainly still have a good session. If the wind picks up further then it becomes very uncomfortable. A rotational foil sail may lack the grunt  for the earliest of take off but can be a pleasant sail even in lighter winds. In strong winds  when you have to sheet right out  suddenly you have no power at all. If you are quick you can keep flying by using short pulses of power but generally you will find it hard to maintain flight on a small front wing.  It comes down to personal choice and what sails you are using but don’t always follow the mantra of the windier it is the smaller the front wing you must use. 

On my foil move 105 I only use front wings from 650 upwards and will use a smaller sail. I also move the rear wing forward to give quicker height control which is useful when the waves are getting bigger. 

Summary

There are many ways you can look at the relationship between front wing size, sail size and wind strength. Here are some of my thoughts on the matter. 

In light winds I can get flying in 10m on the 750 or 900 wing, with the 650 I might be puming for over 50m to wind up to take off speed so bare that in mind if you are sailing on a small lake where the gusts are the size of a tennis court. Small wings and early flight lend themselves more towards places where the patches of stronger wind are the size of a football pitch. 

In moderate winds – if you have enough wind to easily waterstart you should have enough wind to keep a small foil wing going. I don’t think it matters if your power source is 4 or 8m as long as it is powerful enough to waterstart. 

In strong winds remember you can be a hero and chase 30+ kts but you can also go on a bigger wing and smaller sail and gybe away until your heart’s content. 

I am 95kg, 59 years old with a mental age of 18. . 

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Patrik S2 sails

First impressions – These sails are made for PWA level competitive wind foiling. 7 battens and 4 cams create a solid wing like structure. The sails set with a taught crease free skin. The sails are quite flat in profile, these sails are all about efficiency, cutting through the air with as little drag as possible. The leech is moderately tight but with some softness, the head does not fall away like a slalom race sail. These sails are high aspect requiring long masts but relatively short booms. Where there is a choice of which length mast to use I tend to prefer the shorter mast with a long extension. I rig the 8.4 on a 500 mast, the 7.8and 7.2  on a 480, the 6.6 on a rdm 460 and the 6.0 on a rdm 430.

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.

On the water – 

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 S2 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.  

One of the things that differentiates good foil specific sails from their slalom counterparts is that in gusty winds the sails fly level with ease. With slalom sails part of their design is that they apply mast foot pressure during gusts to help pin the slalom board to the water and retain control. So if you use a slalom sail for foiling it may seem a good idea to keep the board down during hard gusts but what you find is when flying along powered up and you hit a hole in the wind the board is likely to come right up which is far from ideal. this is something that becomes more noticeable after using the S2 sails as they fly level through severe gusts and holes.

Gybing – The sails enter the carve with ease. You can vary the drive through the turn with opening or closing the sail. The most effective technique when powered up is to enter the gybe with the sail somewhat laid down and in effect hidden from the wind and then quickly bring it up and to the outside of the turn so that you have no problems with the apparent wind as you will find yourself gybing faster than the wind. Rotation – The sails rotate with a solid thud powering you out of the gybe. 

Overall – 

Who are they for? – Anyone racing or thinking of foil racing  but also and probably more importantly anyone who enjoys that super efficient feeling. Are the Patrik S2 sails suitable for you? If you aren’t falling in often and don’t have to launch through a shore break these sails will take your foiling to the next level.

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AFS 2022 Windfoils

AFS 2022 Windfoils

I have been on AFS foils for many years starting with the AFS2  which then became the Wind range, W85, W95 and W105. They all had the cigar shaped fuselage which from memory was 88cm long. The “W” range was then updated with longer 94.5cm rectangular fuselages and a moulded in collar at the tuttle head.  And now we have another development in the new 105cm fuselage. Here I will give my thoughts on the progression. This is not a finished article as I  am still testing combinations and set ups and I will update this blog in due course.

I should state that I don’t race so my findings relate to comparisons with previous AFS foils and the occasions when foiling with other sailors. One of the things I have always liked about AFS foils has been their “plug & play” nature. There was never any need to shim things, you could choose what wing size you needed, put your foil together and go sailing. Those days are now passed and you now need to do some trimming.

There are now basically two stabilizer (rear) wings and they have been designed to work on the 94.5cm fuse. So if you are using a W95 with the 94.5cm fuse you can just bolt on the stab without any shimming and go sailing. But when you put them on the 105 fuse they require a bit of negative shimming. The foils come with a couple of AFS shims which are just like flakes of carbonfiber. I have ended up putting both under the rear screw of the stab. I am not sure what angle difference that relates to in degrees. But I have since bought a shim kit from https://www.ap3dcustom.com/products/ and I tried to translate the two AFS shims to the AP3 shim which I think is about -0.5’ and I have now moved onto the -0.4’ shim with the 200 stab.  Sorry if this all sounds a bit complex compared to the “fit and forget” AFS foils from the past so let me continue in more of a review style.

200, 240 & custom stabs

I got a W95 with a dismountable fuse and a W100 (new 100 mast height) with the new fixed 105 fuse. I have had them a while and used them a lot. To go with the new T bars I have 900, 700 and 560 front wings and 240 and 200 stabs. I also have a cut down V3 stab.

560,700 & 900 wings

When I got the new foils it was windy and I used the W100 with the 700 wing and 240 stab (unshimmed) and I was amazed at the amount of lift provided. It felt like it had a similar range to my old R810 wing on the 94.5cm fuse. I am heavy at 95kg and in the past with the 700 wing I had to come out of gybes fast to remain flying and I needed more wind to get flying. But with the extra leverage of the 105 fuse the 700 wing flew much earlier and had more glide. Not quite as early as the R810 but close. Also when you run out of power the R810 tended to just glide down to a stop where as with the smaller 700 wing it tends to be a bit more of an abrupt drop (and the 560 even more so).  Anyway those first few sessions felt great but with hindsight probably the 240 stab was doing too much work and I think I would have run into control issues as the speed increased. 

Finally a day came when I could try the 900 wing with the 240 fuse.  I was really looking forward to seeing how early it would fly. It was a patchy 3 to 8 kts so I had to wait for the gusts to get flying and then see how long I could stay in the air for. I would not like to put a number on what wind speed I could get flying in but it was the lightest I had flown in. So after what felt like a successful session I headed in and a slightly stronger guse came but probably only 10 kts. The foil accelerated and accelerated and the height came up and up regardless of my efforts to pin it down until the inevitable crash happened. I have never had that happen in such light winds before. That experience prompted a chat with Kevin Ellway the AFS foil designer and he advised sticking with the 200 stab on the 105 fuse. So I tried the 900/200 wings and it worked well but at times it felt like I was getting “weed strikes” – strange “slooshing” and “glugging” sounds and sensations. A further conversation with Kevin and he said I needed to add a negative shim to the stab to reduce its angle. I have done that and have had no further issues when using the 900, 700 and 560 front wings. 

The new longer fuse certainly increases the lift from the foil. It lets you use a smaller (faster) wing in the same conditions. So by comparison the 700 wing on the 105 fuse is very similar to the 900 wing on the 94.5 fuse and likewise the 560 wing on the 105 fuse is similar to the 700 wing on the 94.5 fuse. When I say similar I mean in broad terms of wind/flight range. The fizzle out when the wind drops is a bit different in that the smaller wings slow down then just drop whereas the larger wing will keep going a bit more. 

W100 with 700/200 wings

The same stiffness of previous foils remains. The new 105 fuse has a small tail stabilizer on it. You do need to be aware of it if you are in the habit of resting your feet on the fuse when waiting to waterstart as it is quite sharp and could easily cut you foot. 

105 fuse with 200 stab

The dismountable fuselage option on the W95 seems robust. I have been told that the fixed fuse version is going to be the standard and that the dismountable version can be pre ordered. I wanted the dismountable version for air travel. I believe that AFS is now the only fully carbon windfoil on the market which for someone like me who likes to keep his foil bolted together all the time is an important feature. 

W95

Here is a video of the W95 with the 900 wing in 9 to 13 kts – https://youtu.be/6uWdSjy1lmU

UPDATE

I have used the foils a lot now and a few things have come to light.

The W100 with the 200 rear wing does benefit from adding a negative shim on the stabilizer. I have found that a -0.5′ shim tends to give the foil more stability across a wide range of use. Without it the lift ramps up a bit too quickly as you go faster.

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Patrik Foil-Comp 78

This is a new board for 2022. Before I continue with the review I would like to point out that this board is made in the Patrik factory in Ukraine. While our thoughts are for everyone in Ukraine they are particularly for the employees at the factory and their families. 

Patrik Foil-comp 78

This board is unmistakably made as a competition board with its sights firmly set at PWA highwind foil slalom, however this review is not done in a competitive environment and is more of a comparison to other foil boards. It may help if this review is read in conjunction with my review on the Foil- Comp 91. I have used the board from over powered with a 4.2 (30 kts) to marginal “gust hunting” with a 7.0. I have used the board with an AFS W95 with R810 and R660 wings. 

First impressions  – From above the board looks very much like a scaled down version of its big brother the Foil-comp 91 which was released in 2021 and a board I have spent a lot of time on. Compared to the 91 it does have an extra row of inserts for the back strap. The two rows are only about 2cm apart so it is for fine tuning rather than offering an inboard or outboard rear strap option. The front strap is the same as on the 91 – allowing you to alter the angle of the strap to suit your sailing stance. The mast track is recessed the same as the bigger boards and also the same distance from the tail/foil.

Flip to board over and you immediately notice the size of the cut outs, they are massive. The cut outs extend right up to underneath the front footstraps.  

Length – 209cm, width 78cm, volume 145 ltrs

Patrik Foil-comp 78

On the water – Being used to the Foil-comp 91 the board feels very familiar. It is stable to uphaul and sail along waiting for a gust. As you would expect from the volume there are no issues with the board supporting the heaviest of sailors at rest. Getting the board to the water in strong winds is a bit more manageable than with a bigger board. The cutaways at the tail make it easier to grip.

Patrik Foil-comp 78

Getting flying – The board offers plenty of support allowing you to get into the front strap early. When you have plenty of sail power the board releases without any effort. You can hardly feel the release, this is where the large cutouts come in. Due the very small surface area under the tail it is easy to initiate the take off with slight back foot pressure. When there is less sail power and you have to accelerate to take off speed the cutouts are noticeable. In light winds I try to get a gust in the wind to coincide with a slight downslope in the chop (no water is ever truly flat). I pump the sail and the board accelerates a bit, pump it a bit more and it is like the board changes gear and the acceleration increases. It is the board riding up onto the steps in the cut out and it is just like changing gear in a car. I think it is important to use an efficient high aspect wing that will allow the board to accelerate and not to act like a brake. The result is that the board will fly early in light winds but you would be missing so much potential if you are passive about your take offs.

Patrik Foil-comp 78

In flight – The board is comfortable in flight as it should be considering all the footstrap fine tuning options. The ride is comfortable and controlled at all angles to the wind. The lowered mast track position helps steady the flight. As you would expect with 78cm width the board will not point as high into the wind as it’s bigger brother the 91cm. Interestingly for competition use the board is recommended for sails up to only 6.5 while I found it very comfortable with a 7.0 and it would probably take a 7.5. But I guess the recommendation comes from the fact that at the top level a wider board would be faster once you are onto 7.0+ sails.  

Gybeing –  The board is easy enough to gybe whether you are overpowered with a small wave sail or powering into the turns with a large race sail. Height corrections are easy and predictable. When gybing in rough water you have to accept a few touches with the top of the chop otherwise you risk over-foiling and this is one of the most noticeable features of the board. On most boards you feel every touch sucking at your speed and momentum but on the Foil-Comp 78 you can hardly feel them. It doesn’t matter if the touch is a “flat skim” or if a wave tries to grab a rail while the board is banked over, the board carries on regardless. The result is you can gybe at a lower/safer height without paying a “speed out of the gybe” penalty. It is not a small board so it doesn’t have that nimble feeling of a small foil board but what it offers instead is a stable and predictable platform from which to push your foiling into higher winds

Overall – The Foil Comp 78 at 145 ltrs might have the volume of other boards that you consider as light wind foil boards but the 78 is so much more. Undoubtedly this board will be competitively quick around a slalom race course at PWA level but the board offers high wind comfort and control to average ability sailors. It could easily be a one foil board  for anyone intent on foiling across a wide range of wind strengths. The only area where it could be bettered is in the light wind super efficient style of foiling with large foil race sails, that is where it’s big brothers come in.  

Patrik Foil-comp

In conclusion the take away impression of the Foil-comp 78 is that it showcases just how effective cutaways under the board can be and in that department few designers can match Patrik. 

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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 –

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Patrik Foil-Ride 125

Patrik Foil Ride 125

First impressions – A compact sized board at just 202cm long and 75cm wide. The boards rails are quite parallel meaning the board has a wide tail. The tail is wider than the tail on a 78cm wide JP hydrofoil 120. This review will compare the Patrik against the JP quite a lot since I have moved from the JP to the Patrik. I like the limited paint finish but that is partly because it is easy to do invisible repairs on such boards. Weight wise the board is about 0.25kg heavier than the JP so it sits between a JP and a AHD board for weight.

What is noticeable when setting up the board is the wide option of strap positions. On the JP I had the straps in the second from front hole. The same position on the Patrik relates to the 2nd from the back option. So the straps can be placed quite far forward on the board making it suitable to take both full race foils with their long fuselages and forward wing position as well as high lift foils such as the starboard super cruiser foil. Such foils quickly provide a lot of lift and the possible forward strap positions will help to tame forceful foils. While boards such as the AHD range also have their straps further forward they do not have the length of adjustment provided by the Patrik. On most boards the amount of adjustment to the footstrap positions is 4cm, on the Patrik it is 10cm which gives you a lot more tuning scope.

The rails are flat sided like a racing foil board which allows Patrik to get the volume into a small package. 

The board is supplied with foil bolts but I replaced the rear bolt for one 5mm longer just to make sure I was getting full contact with the foil. This will depend on what foil you are putting in the board but be prepared to get a longer bolt if necessary. 

On the water – The foil ride feels true to its 125 litres and offers plenty of support for uphauling; you can even put your front foot in front of the mast foot when pulling the sail up. When chugging along waiting to fly the nose can submarine a bit as you would expect for a 2 meter board but it is easy to correct and only happens due to a lack of concentration. 

Getting flying – The board responds best if you bare off the wind when pumping to fly. This is fairly standard technique as boards get shorter. The board takes to the air without much effort. There is plenty of width and volume in the tail allowing you to move back quickly and start pressuring the foil. 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 W95 with R810 and R660 wings. The board matches the high aspect race wings but I can’t see why it would not also be a great board with a moderate or low aspect foil. 

In flight – The board is comfortable in flight. With 6.5 and 7.0 sails I tend to sail it in both straps  but it is still comfortable flying with your back foot more central on the board and out of the back strap. That is how I tend to fly with smaller sails and especially if I have too much sail power. I have had one session where I found myself way overpowered with a 4.7 in 25 to 30 kts. The board was easy to control and I would fly it hard upwind and then ride the small waves with the sail half sheeted out back to my start point and repeat. However you want to fly it, the foil ride is accommodating and comfortable. 

Gybeing – Gybing as expected is straightforward, it is easy to adjust the flight height throughout the gybe.  Even with the rear foot straps set inboard there is a large open working deck area so the boards can easily accommodate clumsy feet and it gives the space required if your back foot has to quickly move back to ensure a touch free gybe exit.  Tacking is easy enough despite the relatively short length.

Overall – The Foil Ride is a very easy to use dedicated  foil board it suits a wide range of riding styles and can handle a wide range of sail sizes. The board is also at home in a wide range of wind speeds, capable of taking flight in less than 8 kts and not out of place in 30kt winds and that is with the same foil! Highly recommended.

UPDATE

Patrik Foil-ride 105

I now have the Foil-ride 105. It looks and is a scaled down 125.

On the water – The 105 feels it has at least or maybe a bit more volume. At 95kg 105 boards are very boarder line whether they support me or not. The 105 offers more support for uphauling than I thought it would; you can even put your front foot in front of the mast foot when pulling the sail up. When chugging along waiting to fly the nose can submarine a bit as you would expect for a 195cm board but it is easy to correct and only happens due to a lack of concentration. 

Getting flying – Even at only 65cm wide it is possible to sail with your front foot in the strap waiting for a gust. As soon as you bare off and start pumping the board and sail you feel a lot more connected to the foil due to smaller surface area under the board. The board has similar cutouts to the 125 but is only 65cm so when you push down the effort goes straight into the foil and less pushing onto the water. The board rewards good technique by flying early. I have used the board with an AFS W95 with R810 and R660 wings. The board matches the high aspect race wings but I can’t see why it would not also be a great board with a moderate or low aspect foil. 

In flight – The board is comfortable in flight. With sails up to 6.5. The narrow width of 65cm is most felt when trying to point high. The board goes upwind fine but not like the wider foil boards. Unlike some other small foil boards the board is not unsettled by strong gusts.

Gybeing – Gybing is where this board comes into its own. There is less distance to move across the board making it feel more reactive.   Tacking is possible for the brave.

Overall – The 105 Foil Ride is quite accessible to any sailor who has good mast pressure control. It maybe a small matter but the board is easy to carry when attached to the rig which makes launching easier which can make a big difference as the conditions get rougher. Like its big brother this board is highly recommended.

Video of the 105 – https://youtu.be/6uWdSjy1lmU

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Severne Overdrive M3 & M4

Severne Overdrive M3 for foiling

First impressions – I have used the over drives on and off for many years on slalom boards and always found them to be a fast and pleasant to handle sail. When I first started foiling I was using overdrives but in my quest to conquer the flying gybe I changed to the Severne Turbo range of sails. Now that flying round gybes is no longer a consideration I thought it time to revisit my old friend the overdrive.

The overdrive is a 7 batten sail with 3 cams and a moderately wide mast sleeve.  The mast sleeve is not as wide as that on full on slalom style sails but it is considerably wider than that found on most brands 2 cam sails. As you would expect from Severne the sails are reasonably light. The sails have all the refinements of a race sail such as adjustable outhaul compatible clew fittings, neoprene boom opening cover and quad tack pulleys on the larger sails which make downhauuling a breeze. 

A notable point about the overdrives is that they can be used with either sdm or rdm masts by simply swapping the cams over. When I first did it I expected a lot of messing around with cam spacers but no, a straight swap of the cams and they worked great. I tend to use the sails from 7.0 downwards with rdm masts and the bigger sails I stick with sdm masts for best performance. 

On the water – When rigging the sails for foiling you can rig them with about 2cm less downhaul than you would if you were using them on a slalom board. They will still rotate well and they will have a tighter and more responsive to pumping leech. Talking of downhaul – on some of the sails the printed dimensions can be out a bit so even for a normal fin sailing set you might rig the sail with 2cm less than it says and for foiling it may be as much as 4cm less than the dimensions printed on the sail. The downhaul is quite critical to the wind range of the sail. Take the 7.8 for example  rigged in foiling mode the sail will get you flying early and have the range of a good 7.5m sail. If you rig it to its slalom setting then it has the wind range of a good 7.0m sail, it will take more wind to get you going but you can then hang onto it into some seriously windy conditions. 

Rigged for foiling
Rigged for high winds

Before you uphaul it is worth mentioning that water seldom gets into the large sleeve so it is rarely any problem to uphaul the sail. Getting flying is directly linked to what I said about the downhaul setting. Rigged for foiling the leech will have a useful spring to it letting you pump up onto the foil easily. 

In flight the Overdrive  pulls steadily and aids stable flight. How the sail reacts to gusts will depend on how much downhaul you have on. When set with minimum downhaul the sail will accelerate forward without issue or drama. As the wind increases the pressure builds and you have to either sink into your harness to keep the board down for top speeds or alternatively back off a touch for a relaxed ride. If you have the sail set near the printed dimensions it will shrug off most gusts as if they were not there. In severe overpowering gusts if you have a lot of downhaul on the sail so that it has a very soft leech the sail can get a bit noisy if you have to fly half sheeted out but in such circumstances you really should be on a much smaller sail. 

The semi wide mast sleeve will see you cruising through holes in the wind which would see narrower sleeved sails coming off the foil. It is a combination of the wider sleeve plus a finer entry into the draft of the sail which increases the sail’s efficiency. The less blunt leading edge also increase the angle you can sail into the wind.

Gybing is straight forward and if the sail is rigged on a rdm mast the maneuverability is enhanced. For a 3 cam sail the Overdrive has few competitors for ease of rotation.

Comparisons – Compared to the Severne Turbo the overdrive has a bit more “slippy through the air” feeling. The Overdrive has a higher top end but maybe not as good a low end as the Turbo. I would certainly recommend a turbo as your first foiling sail but I would not do the same with the Overdrive. The Overdrive suits sailors who have been foiling for a while and looking for the next step towards faster foiling. Compared to full race and foil race sails the Overdrive is lighter and more maneuverable but ultimately not quite as efficient but you would have to be very good on the foil to notice. Compared to foil specific sails like the Pryde V8 flight the Overdives are easier in gusty conditions, you would easily be able to hold onto a Overdrive in winds that would see you changing down many foil sails.

Overall – I would certainly recommend the Overdrive to anyone just wanting to go quick on a foil. By “quick” I mean relative to the windspeed. The sails ability to cruise through holes in the wind is impressive and while some people may be put off by the size of the mast sleeve and the mention of camber inducers the overdrive feels light and easy. 

 Severne overdrive
Severne Overdrive

M4

As you can see from above I have always been a fan of the Severne Overdrives both for foil and fin use. The M4 version is a bit different to its predecessors. In all past versions if you did not give them enough downhaul they would have a bit too blunt an entry into the sails profile and ultimately if you reality had no downhaul the cams would pop off the mast. But with the new M4 the cams start to get a bit reluctant to rotate if you don’t have sufficient downhaul. The end result is the sails rigging range is all a bit more top end orientated (looser leach) than previous versions. This isn’t a bad thing but something to keep in mind if you are pairing a M4 with a M3 or older version in your quiver. 

draft/twist on M4

Getting flying on a foil does take a tiny bit more wind as the leach doesn’t have so much spring to it but the M4 seems a bit fuller in the body so it does power you up onto the foil or plane with ease and it is only when you are trying to actively force it to fly or plane early that you notice the soft nature of the leach. 

In flight  the overdrive looks after itself with the majority of gusts going unnoticed. It lets you concentrate on squeezing as much speed as you can out of your foil. Ultimately as the wind increases and if you are hit by strong gusts it does produce quite a lot of mast foot pressure which can reduce your flight height but this can be viewed as a positive trait and avoids overfoiling when you get that surge of speed from the increased wind.  This is really only noticeable when you should have changed down sail size long ago. The M4 will not point as high as the dedicated foil course racing sail. It has more of a leaning towards PWA style down wind slalom racing. Recreationally the M4 will take you both up and down wind as much as you like and it does it in a comfortable manner without feeling like you have more sail pressure than you would like. 

Gybeing – the M4 retains the great rotation of its predecessors. The sail is a bit fuller so it does rotate with a noticeable “thud” but it is then wanting to accelerate and in doing so keeps you flying out of the gybe. These sails are noticeably lighter than the foil race sails like the HGO and you can appreciate that lightness in the gybes. 

In Summary the M4 is a fast yet easy to use sail. It comes into its own once there is enough wind to continually fly where its on foil stability and easy handling can be inspiring. 

M4 – 7.0
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Severne Turbo for windfoiling

Severne Turbo Sails for foiling

Introduction – The Turbo GT is Severne’s 2 cam freerace range and is a popular sail for powering fast freeride boards. It lacks the down force to pin down a dedicated slalom board but more than makes up for this by it’s easy nature. The Turbos sit between the no cam ncx which despite not having any camber inducers actually feels more slalom like than the turbo and the NCX can provide the necessary mast foot pressure to make sure a slalom board behaves itself. On the other side of the Turbo is the Overdrive which is a dedicated blasting sail. It has a wider sleeve, more battens and more cams than the turbo but most importantly it has a much more open leech. To compare the sails the size up in the Overdrive has a similar wind range to that of the Turbo for example a 7.8 Overdrive you can use in the same wind as a 7.0 Turbo.

 

I can’t really start with “first impressions” like I normally do with other bits of kit since I have been using Turbos for a number of years now.  So I will simply describe the sails. The Turbos are a bit different compared with most other twin cam sails in that both cams are below the boom. Other sails such as the NP V8 and simmer all have a cam above and below the boom. The result is that the Turbos are probably one of the easiest rotating sails on the market, What is more is that the rotation remains constant across a wide range of downhaul settings this allows you to rig the sails with less downhaul allowing for a tighter leech but maintaining good rotation. This is one of the key factors that makes the Turbos such nice sails to foil with. Up until 2021 the sails from 6.5 downwards had only one cam and 5 battens but the new sails maintain the 6 batten 2 cam layout across all sizes. Other notable points about the sails is that the sails can be rigged on rdm or sdm masts. The 7.0 upwards are supplied with SDM cams and the small sails are supplied with rdm cams. Either type of cam can be purchased as an optional extra and they are easy to change. The cams sit on spacers so fine tuning is straight forward. The sails come with additional spacers although I have to say over the ten or so sails I have used I have not once felt the need to alter the settings of the cams despite using the sails on Maverx masts. Talking of masts the 7.0 is about the biggest sail you can rig on a 430 and likewise the 8.6 actually works better on a 460 than the 490 that is recommended. At this stage I should say that the luff dimensions are often stated. I often find myself rigging the sails with 2 to 4cm less extension than it says on the sails.  I tend to look at the mast sleeve as I downhaul the sail. I downhaul until the batten above the boom is just starting to flatten at the mast sleeve. The booms are also relatively compact. While it might be tempting to reduce the outhaul to gain more power I think it is best to keep some outhaul on the sail to maintain a slightly more efficient profile. 

On the water – Before you get the sails on the water you may well notice that these sails are light for their size. In use the sails respond well to pumping. There is no need to try to do big pumps, smaller higher frequency pumps tend to work better. The head of the sail should have some spring in it and you want to use that to build momentum in the sail. The result is that you should be able to get flying in a bit less wind than you would with a looser leeched sail. In flight the Turbo will provide a steady power source, feeling light in the hands.  When flying through holes in the wind the sail holds its shape and maintains drive. This is where camber inducers have an edge over rotational sails by maintaining drive as the wind pressure drops.  In over powered situations the sails can spill power quite easily by sheeting out just a few degrees. When gybing the sails rotate easily and normally do not require any additional pumps of the sail to get the battens to rotate and as such the turbos help maintain flight as you exit the gybe. 

Conclusion – It is as if the Turbos really were designed for real world foiling. They might not fly quite as early as some of the dedicated freeride foil sails but what you get in return is a sail that will cover a wider wind range. The sails are best suited to freeride/freerace style foils boards and will suit foils with low to high aspect wings.

6.5 turbo in action – https://youtu.be/6uWdSjy1lmU