Roberto, with the Air Windsurf Concept, consisting of inflatable windsurf boards and rigs with an extremely small pack size, you want to cause a sensation in 2016. Let's talk about the board first: What makes this different from other inflatable boards, which are already available on the market as windSUPs? It makes planing windsurfing accessible to the masses! And anyone who knows this feeling wants to experience it again and again. Ultimately, this addiction has kept the whole funboard movement alive for more than 30 years. In my opinion, however, there are still too many hurdles that stand in the way of gliding addiction: Boards made from ASA or the other cheap construction methods may be affordable, but they are also heavy and no fun to glide. Lightweight boards are expensive and often too nervous for people who are just learning to glide. The base coat is also uncomfortable for anyone who has to climb onto the board frequently. And last but not least, there is the problem of space and transport. We solve all these problems with the Air Windsurf Board!
Until now, inflatables, with the exception of the Starboard Airplane, were unsuitable for gliding! And that's exactly what we're changing with this board! It is the first high-performance inflatable board. To make it work, you have to design it accordingly, of course.
What are the challenges? First and foremost in terms of stiffness. This has always been THE advantage of laminated boards. That's why we have incorporated three tensile sandwich Dyneema strips in the deck and underwater hull of our concept, i.e. longitudinal stringers that extend over the entire length and increase the stiffness by up to 50 per cent compared to conventional inflatable boards.
Stiffness alone does not make an inflatable a gliding miracle! That's right! You need a real shape with a flat bottom curve and, something that inflatables didn't have before, a sharp tear-off edge so that the board doesn't get stuck when planing. That's why we glue an additional PVC tear-off edge onto the thick and round edges, which are inherent to the construction, to ensure a clean water tear-off at the tail.
To glide really freely and quickly, you always need a suitable fin. You won't get very far with the short, unprofiled plastic fins that used to be in inflatable boards. The fin is the motor, so to speak, and if you want to glide, you need a good fin in the board. For us, this meant that we first had to create the conditions in the form of a stable fin box that could withstand a 46cm fin and the forces that occur without wobbling, breaking or bending. Not even when heavy surfers accelerate with the 8.5cm sail on deck. That was the most difficult part of the design! We have a two-part tuttle box(Fin system in which the fin is fixed from above through the deck with two screws, editor's note).that is just as stiff as a carbon one as soon as you press the board with 18 psi. (American unit of measurement: "pounds per square inch", equivalent to about 1.25 bar pressure, the ed.) has inflated. It is impressive how much power you can exert on the fin when gliding. The fin box is the centrepiece of the Air Windsurf Concept!
In your opinion, how close is the "Air Windsurf Concept" to a "normal" freeride board in terms of performance such as planing, speed and jibing? It even has advantages when it comes to pure gliding. It's impressive how early you can start sliding with it. As with any board, the gybing qualities depend on the tail width. In this case, it is quite large, so you have to push hard to turn. But you can glide through jibes just as easily as with conventional boards. Of course, it doesn't feel quite as lively and fast in a straight line as a fixed board, but this is more than compensated for by the fun factor and ease of use.
The deck shape is very flat, which can sometimes be uncomfortable when planing. Does the construction limit the shape here? First of all, it is crucial that the whole board is stiff enough, that the fin is bombproof and that the water break works on a sharp edge. Everything else - such as the deck shape, thickness and the ability to distribute the volume - are parameters that can only be influenced on laminated boards and are therefore still dreams of the future. I think it would be a mistake to put rigid and inflatable boards side by side and compare individual criteria. The approach is different.
What sizes will be available and how much will the boards cost? There will be two board sizes, the Air Windsurf Freeride with 260 x 80 centimetres and a volume of 160 litres, as well as a slightly smaller version, the exact specifications of which have not yet been determined. The price will be around 1500 euros. I think it's just right for families and people who aren't lucky enough to live right on the beach and who want a board for gliding and cruising. Ultimately, however, this concept will only be complete because we have also thought about a new rig with ultra-compact dimensions and you can now fit a complete windsurfing rig in the boot of a small car.
