When developing new products, you have to be ahead of your time. In Nico Prien's new film "Windsurf Board Development", the 2023 model is already "the old one", which is used as a reference for the new 2024 boards. In the documentary, the Youtuber and Starboard developer gives an exciting insight into the development and testing of new prototypes.
Together with Matteo Iachino and Gonzalo Costa-Hoevel, Nico tries out the prototypes off Tarifa and compares them with their predecessors. On the beach, shaper Rémi Villa receives the feedback and tries to implement the changes. Some things can be changed directly on the beach, such as swapping the fin or changing the trim. Other adjustments have to be made in the workshop and take longer.
In order to make the most effective use of the time on the water, Rémi Villa has incorporated clever details into his prototypes, such as being able to quickly adjust the size of the cutouts at the stern on site.
The feedback from the test drivers also serves as confirmation of the basics for the shaper. "We test each other," laughs Rémi. A board with good balance and plenty of speed, for example, reveals glaring weaknesses: "Terrible in the jibe, you can't carve at all!" complains Gonzalo Costa-Hoevel. At the same time, all of the riders believe that the board has the greatest potential for further development.
Rapid development in the foil sector
While the development steps for fin boards are rather small, the foil boards are undergoing rapid development. "We are finding so many areas where we can make it faster," the testers enthuse. "That's why we're putting a lot of work into foiling, a lot will happen in the next two to three years!"
Matteo Iachino emphasises the speed of development there: "You will never win against newly developed foil material!". In contrast to the continuously optimised equipment in the PWA, the two-year-old iQFoil set-up feels "as if someone has stepped on the brakes". With smaller and lighter boards, even higher speeds should soon be possible, and the Starboard developers also believe that hybrid solutions between foil and fin are possible.
Watch Nico Prien's video to find out exactly how testing works, what shaper Rémi Villa hates most and why his face has to be used as camouflage for the prototypes
Video: How windsurf boards are developed and tested
Tobias Frauen
Editor
