Sorry Mission Man I disagree almost in everything with you!!!
First this board has nothing to do with a cat design. Its a planning hull but with a heavy concave or more precise, inverted radius rails. It looks like a catamaran, but it is not.
I have to say that kiteboarding is much more like windsurfing (actually a special type of windsurfing) that a Americas Cup raceboat.
What you want of a kiteboard?
Please,define this and then look if this "new" design has what you want.
If it does, go and buy one, you will like it.
I am looking for easy planning , loosness, good turning, forgivness, control at high speed, good edging, lightness, and confortable ride. I dont belive this board is going to give me these things.
Perhaps, I am "traditionalist". I even see the Undergrounds trays playing with the corners of the traditional board design box. You could found that the last ones have rounded noses (traditional) but straight rocker (advanced). I think that in the future the oulines are going to be more curved again, not so straight.
A "boxy" outline make sense for a light wind board where planning surface is more important than forgivnness but a more flowing outline will always be better at high speeds. Extreme components in the design, works for extreme conditions (ej too light ot to high winds).
Regards
Hernan

Hi Herman

I don't believe windsurfer is similar to kiteboarding (and I could be wrong here, I don't windsurf) in respect of the edge of the board being used. Most of the high wind footage I have seen is fin orientated riding. The reason I compared it to yachting is the fact that you often see cats travelling on only one of the two hulls.

In many respects, kiteboard is very different, because unlike windsurfering, you have no fixed mast point, and unlike yachting you have no fixed mast full stop, and unlike wakeboarding, you have nonbody driving the boat, so this is something completely different. As mentioned before, the only real answer to this are trial and error, and with that we will have some radical designs.

Don't get me wrong in respect of this design. I have no idea of whether it will work, and only testing will figure that out. All I am saying is that the purest ideas will need to be thrown out the window for new ideas to come to light and "possibly" advance this sport. I don't support this design until it has been tried and tested and proves it works, but I don't like the idea of throwing it aside because it goes against the grain of what we know. I do support someone who has the balls to throw all the current ideas out the window and start from scratch, because thats where history is made. I will test the design, and I will be able to shed light on it, but again, it may suit my style and not yours (if you call what I have a style )

I can see how it would work, basically if you had a normal board and put shallow but very long fins on it, near the ends, you would have the slow but useable version of the board. by making it a smooth curve, and the board shape and rocker flat you make it fast... wack on wavetray tips to make transitions/jumps/chop a bit easier to ride, and you are set. Right, I'm off down to my garage to make one out of ply and glass.... c ya s.....

Is there any more footage / pictures available from the board in action?

I don't know if Rob has any, but he did mention in one of his earlier posts he was going to get some more photo's the next time the wind picked up and he could go out for a session. I'm 650km's away so I don't know what the wind is doing.

I am going down with my digicam for a session next weekend if you can wait, so I should be able to bring back some good mpeg footage and some more closeups of the design. Already booked the test run on the larger intermediate board, so I should be able to give you some feedback.

Good luck with the wind and thanks for taking the footage!

Guys

We have had a lull in the wind so unable to get more pictures ! But we will have them on the forum by the end of the weekend as there is some wind about

Thanks
Bru