Ever since stand-up paddle boards (SUP) have been available in discount stores or DIY stores, it feels like every second person has one in their basement. Unfortunately, the fun of SUPing usually ends as soon as there are more than five knots of wind blowing across the water. So what could be more obvious than to upgrade the SUP with a wing and take it for a few laps across the lake?
However, to turn a SUP or longboard into a veritable wingsurf board for light winds, the board must have a centre fin or daggerboard to keep the lateral drift within limits. Special wind SUPs have the option of fitting a centre fin as standard, but most SUPs on the market do not offer this option. But with retrofittable systems such as the Add on Drift Stopper from Arrows, the Slingshot SUP winder or the Ezywing Fin Kit presented here can solve this problem.
The Ezywing system costs 129 euros and consists of an aluminium rail onto which two large plastic fins are attached. Installation is simple and takes around two minutes; a simple tensioning strap system fixes the construction under the board. Due to the width of the aluminium rail, the system can only be mounted on boards with a minimum width of just under 29 inches (approx. 74 centimetres) - which, however, applies to most SUP boards on the market. However, the system does have one small weakness: the small metal pins that fix the tensioning straps to the fins can quickly fall out when the board is relaxed.
Tensioning is as simple as possible using a long Velcro strip on the deck. This has the advantage that there are no hard parts on the deck that could cause injury. Due to our limited test period, we were unable to judge whether the Velcro is made to last. However, the straps can be reordered individually if necessary.
The Ezywing Fin Kit worked excellently on the water, the two side fins offer a lot of surface area and thus prevent lateral drift very effectively. Even in light winds, the height can be maintained well, regardless of whether you motorise your board with a wing or windsurf sail. Because the fins offer a lot of surface area with a shallow draft, the system can also be used on flat spots without any problems.
Very effective drift protection; simple installation
Only for boards over 29 inches wide
Risk of loss with the metal pins
You can order the Ezywing Fin Kit HERE .
In this video tutorial, we show you what is important when learning to wingsurf on SUPs:
Manuel Vogel
Editor surf
Manuel Vogel, born in 1981, lives in Kiel and learned to windsurf at the age of six at his father's surf school. In 1997, he completed his training as a windsurfing instructor and worked for over 15 years as a windsurfing instructor in various centers, at Kiel University sports and in the coaching team of the “Young Guns” freestyle camps. He has been part of the surf test team since 2003. After completing his teaching degree in 2013, he followed his heart and started as editor of surf magazine for the test and riding technique sections. Since 2021, he has also been active in wingfoiling - mainly at his home spots on the Baltic Sea or in the waves of Denmark.
