My KFA MAKO foil finally arrived and well worth the wait. The model has the adjustable rear wing, which I’m looking forward to experimenting with.
My first impression unpacking is the foils carbon layup and weave is so perfectly aligned on both mast and fuselage, no pinholes anywhere, close to a perfect finish except for the aluminum mold marks.
The next test, the ‘ping factor’ ie flick the foil and mast with ones fingers and the sound is like flicking quality china, a sweet resonating 'ping'. Stiffness factor ‘AMAZINGLY SOLID”. The mast and one-piece fuselage is so stiff. I tried bending both over my knee and also tried to twist when attached to the board – definitely no twist there. The other beautiful design simplicity is the mast fuselage attachment, same as a tuttle box ie two brass lugs inserted into the mast and the mast slots into the fuselage, a very snug fit.
The quality of finish is as expected from a world-class composite manufacturer Malstrom of Sweden. Marvin Baumeister has taken great consideration and thought developing and manufacturing the Mako foil, moving the build from a cottage industry approach to a commercial product that is repeatable in build specs and importantly quality.
On closer inspection of the mast it’s manufactured in one layup ie two molds with an airbag inserted down the center of the mast, hence both external and internal pressure is applied to the mast during curing == super stiff and strong plus autoclaving
I showed the MAKO to a Perth carbon repair specialist and his comment ‘Best ever manufactured foil he has ever seen, the layup accuracy and the ‘Ping factor’, amazing, as it should be".
The foil is ready to go, but could do with a light 600-1200 sand to remove the aluminum mold marks. I was going to paint but that would cover up the beautiful carbon layup plus the finish is close to perfect (no pinholes anywhere on this foil).
Now to test ride. I’ve not foiled for over 3months having been away overseas for most of that time. I mated the foil to a TMV board designed by Marvin (154x41) this board looks so small compared to my previous TMV fat-boy. How am I ever going to ride. My foot is as wide as the back. I setup the foil as Marvin suggested ie back strap front screw over the back of the mast trailing edge. Wind was 15-18knts (gusts of 20) on the river. Wow amazing got up first time and on the plane in seconds!! The stability is amazing, upwind there is no twitch as one loads the foil up (I’m 92Kg 190cm) and high AoA, down wind so stable. I didn’t push too hard as t's my first time out for months plus no impact vest. Tacking and gybing is so much easier on a stable board, one can pressure up the foil and it doesn’t wobble. The board although small is so stable on touch down plus the ‘pop-up’ is so quick, even at speed it’s smooth, never nose dives even with a hard pressure nose down hit/smack. The foil does screech but that will be eliminated with an overall sanding, especially along the trailing edges.
The foil has an adjustable rear wing and will experiment once I can push the speed. Used twice now and varied the strap and mast position ie moved strap further back and mast forward – still very stable but the original setup felt better at speed ie nose down slightly. Back soon with more fine tuning tips.
