Francisco, your board brand Goya has been around for twelve years now and so far you've made a name for yourself with wave and freewave boards. Why is now the right time to bring a slalom board onto the market? I think the time was simply ripe. We have grown bit by bit over the years and are now at a point where we have a large team on board and are on a solid footing.
Who is responsible for the shapes? The shapes all come from Keith Teboul, who worked very intensively with team racer Gabriel Browne and other racers on various prototypes last year. I also contributed some ideas at the beginning, but the guys quickly developed them in a completely different direction. I'm very happy with the result.
There will be three sizes, 96 litres as well as 116 and 136 litres. Apart from the size, how do the boards differ in terms of their area of use? Of course, it doesn't work to simply scale the size up and down. In terms of its shape characteristics, the 96 is optimised for control in strong winds and less for light wind performance. It should be at its best when it gets rough and control makes the difference. With the 116, the focus is primarily on the widest possible wind range, as many riders who only want a slalom board will probably opt for this one. With a width of 71 centimetres, sail sizes between 7.1 and 8.6 fit perfectly. Finally, the 135, our light wind weapon with a width of 83.9 centimetres. The underwater hull and the slightly wider stern are optimised for planing and speed in light winds. The ideal sail range here is clearly between 8.6 and 9.6, but even a 7.8 is still easy to ride if you choose a slightly smaller fin.
Keyword "fin" - as is usual with all brands, your slalom boards also come without a fin. Right? Yes, most riders have their own ideas about the right fins and it's difficult to please everyone. Slalom surfers often keep their fins and continue to use them in other boards. Our World Cup rider Gabriel Browne, who incidentally is the brother of former wave world champion Marcilio Browne, uses fins between 32 and 34 centimetres on the 96, 36 to 40 centimetres on the 116 and 44 to 47 centimetres on the 136.
The Proton should be explicitly "foil ready", i.e. approved for foil surfing. What changes are necessary compared to a normal windsurfing board? The two larger Protons with 116 and 136 litres are approved for foil surfing. Here we are working together with the Maui Fin Company (MFC), which will also be launching its own foil on the market in a few weeks' time. The main focus here is on reinforcing the fin box, as foiling involves higher leverage and torsional forces. A normal deep tuttle box may not be able to withstand this for long.
As a designer, don't you always have to make a compromise if you have in mind that a windsurfing board should also be usable for foiling? And especially with slalom boards, end customers don't like to compromise! The board was developed 100 per cent as a windsurfing slalom board. Without compromise. Whether it works as a foil board depends on how the foil wings are constructed.
How much will the boards cost? Prices in Europe will range from 2145 to 2345 euros, depending on size, in full carbon fibre of course.
Further information under www.goyawindsurfing.com
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.
