Just a heads up: We obviously have a commercial interest but hope this info might help.

Very exciting times with Windsurf foiling becoming mainstream this season. After Kiteboarding went through a light wind transformation last year. This year it's windsurfing's turn. Nearly all major brands are coming out with Windsurf Foiling products from Light wind entry level foils to full on PWA race ready gear.



We have been very activity involved in foiling since the last two years and are confident Foiling will transform light-wind windsurfing.



Where is this going :

After talking to lot's of windsurfing customers we have the feeling that windsurfers are initially interested to get foiling in light winds without spending mega $$$$.

An entry level aluminum windsurf foil will start around $1299. Some brands will focus on early foiling (low aspect) others will focus on higher aspect foiling speed.

What do you need:

Initially you will have a few options:

Foil:

Full Carbon:
There will be some very good high end foils available this season.
Starboard and Neil Pryde will offer full on race ready set-ups. However prepare so spend up to $3000 for a foil.





Alloy:
Most brands will come with a Aluminum/ carbon /G10 hybrid foil. Prices will start around $1300 up to $1900. With options of tuttle and plate mount. Some of the brands to consider initially in our opinion: Naish, North, Slingshot, Neil Pryde

The stiffness of alloy hybrid foils is very important.

Boards:

Foil specific boards:
These boards will feature a very different bottom and rail design and are normally very wide in the tail. They are generally not suitable for normal windsurfing. We feel this type of board is initially not necessary. We have been using existing boards with great success and most brands will bring out traditional boards that are foil ready (reinforced tuttle box or plate mount and deck) Sizes are generally between 150-120 L

Hybrid boards:
Most brands will come out with a hybrid version that will allow you to use it for foiling and normal windsurfing when the wind picks up. These will be a bit less forgiving on touch downs.

Existing boards
Yes, you can use an existing board with a wide tail and deep Tuttle box ( width more than 75cm recommended)
This works but the box will probably not hold up to the longitudinal forces. Options are to reinforce the box or get tracks put in for a plate mount. There is also a very cool product that allows you to stick a foil on virtually any board. It's called foilmount (see video)

Tuttle or Plate mount:
Tuttle boxes are common in windsurf boards but can have a few drawbacks. You need a windsurf foil designed to be used in a standard (location) tuttle box. This leaves you very little tuning. Most entry level foils will use a plate mount that allows adjust-ability depending on board, rider weight and skills.

Non specific windsurf foil:
Yes a kiteboarding or surf foil will work but needs to be placed in front of the finbox to compensate for different
Kiteboarding foil will normally start working in arround d 12-14 knots. A surf foil will start foiling very early but will top out sooner (very low aspect) Once again a foilMount could help with this sort of set-up.

We currently have a demo board available with others on the way. We will also run foiling lessons and are taking pre-order for all foiling set-ups.

www.thezu.com.au/product-category/windsurfing/windsurfing-foiling/

More info very soon !