Race Board development discussion

[chipmunk]

Any help feedback would be appreciated
http://forum.bestkiteboarding.com/viewt ... 640#p62640

[ronnie]

I see they are not just talking about competition race boards in that discussion, but also other developments from racing.

That may mean

Course racing boards in various widths for different wind strengths.

Slalom race boards, for racing on a slightly downwind course with several gybes being an important part of the racing.

Long distance raceboards, such as used in the crossing at Ventana but I suspect that depending on the conditions, the slalom or high or low wind course race board might have that covered.

Freeride boards, which may be similar to a large slalom board if you want speed, or more user-friendly if you want to travel long distances. The Monaro and Sector boards are examples of these. IMO, slalom racing will eventually be more important than course race in terms of the future of kiteboarding, as it is in windsurfing.

All of these requiring fins, which will be a big part of the developments.

Cost is a big issue, as the construction and fins are expensive. I don't think the boards will drop a lot in price, as the construction is similar to quad or tri-fin windsurfers, and the prices for the smaller kiteboards seem to me to be only slightly higher proportionally, due to lower production volumes.

In windsurfing, local racing doesn't happen a lot. Its expensive even at a local level if you take it seriously. It can also spoil a good day's wind, because you sit around waiting for your heat and unless you have a lot of gear ready, you could be on unsuitable equipment when the heat starts.
Kiting may do better though, because socialising is a bigger part of kiting.

The big draw for most people could be ability to get out in 8 knots and ride fast and maybe even be able to get reasonable height on jumps from the speed. The downside could be regular self-rescue when the wind drops and the kite wont relaunch, but the boards have enough volume that if you can get the board back, in light winds the self-rescue should be fairly straightforward.

[laroyboards]

here are my thouthts on raceboard development I am lucky enough to live in a city with two good friends who are pro. racers and they both know i shape raceboards but not theirs so we exchange ideas all the time so far the raceboards have been thick hard rails simple shapes but that is about to change the fins go from 3 to 4 fins the sizes are about 28 inches wide and 6 foot 8 inches long my personal opinion is the big change will be the bottom shape look at some of the best boards from the bottom flat or a slight v is not going to win why i think this is because at the low end i can kill a formula windsurf board but at the top end they seem faster i hate it the reason is they are smoother at high speeds so we need to come up with a better bottom and my friends have i cannot tell u how but when u see it u will understand however for me the freerace board is the next style because it makes more sense it is what everyone wants except for racers and that field is changing so fast that no one can keep up I hope u can understand my thoughts

[ELLINAS]

here are my thouthts on raceboard development I am lucky enough to live in a city with two good friends who are pro. racers and they both know i shape raceboards but not theirs so we exchange ideas all the time so far the raceboards have been thick hard rails simple shapes but that is about to change the fins go from 3 to 4 fins the sizes are about 28 inches wide and 6 foot 8 inches long my personal opinion is the big change will be the bottom shape look at some of the best boards from the bottom flat or a slight v is not going to win why i think this is because at the low end i can kill a formula windsurf board but at the top end they seem faster i hate it the reason is they are smoother at high speeds so we need to come up with a better bottom and my friends have i cannot tell u how but when u see it u will understand however for me the freerace board is the next style because it makes more sense it is what everyone wants except for racers and that field is changing so fast that no one can keep up I hope u can understand my thoughts

Could you maybe use points in your text, so people can understand ?
And NO, formula windsurf is not faster than a kiteraceboard...

[ronnie]

here are my thouthts on raceboard development I am lucky enough to live in a city with two good friends who are pro. racers and they both know i shape raceboards but not theirs so we exchange ideas all the time so far the raceboards have been thick hard rails simple shapes but that is about to change the fins go from 3 to 4 fins the sizes are about 28 inches wide and 6 foot 8 inches long my personal opinion is the big change will be the bottom shape look at some of the best boards from the bottom flat or a slight v is not going to win why i think this is because at the low end i can kill a formula windsurf board but at the top end they seem faster i hate it the reason is they are smoother at high speeds so we need to come up with a better bottom and my friends have i cannot tell u how but when u see it u will understand however for me the freerace board is the next style because it makes more sense it is what everyone wants except for racers and that field is changing so fast that no one can keep up I hope u can understand my thoughts

Could you maybe use points in your text, so people can understand ?
And NO, formula windsurf is not faster than a kiteraceboard...

I think he was meaning that when its windy, the windsurf board can be faster.

There was a showdown race between kiters and windsurfers at Los Barilles in about 25 knots earlier this year.

http://www.lordofthewindbaja.com/

[TopLine]

Perth- Western Australia is holding the Lighthouse 2 Leighton an open ocean 19km race next week starting from Rottnest island to the mainland (beam/broad reach course). There the top guys are using a modified surf board conventional shape, obviously longer and flatter with high performance race style fin set up for flat out straight line speed. Record for this race stands at 24 mins - this is over 1.5 meter swell with wind chop and 20-25 knts wind.

In January 11th 2014 open ocean racing 1.5 hours north of Perth is the Lancelin Ocean Classic, this is about the same 19-20 km race course but runs off the coast then around markers in slalom style down the coast (drag racing style) and finish down the coast in Lancelin "in front of the bar ". Again race record is around 25 mins. Guys usually run the same board in both these races.

I am currently getting one of Western Australia's top board sharpers to build me a custom board for this style of racing as it is gaining interest in this part of the world, and is getting very popular.- just takes a lot of arrangement to set up as a safety point of view. We have big sharks to contend with as well.

I will post pics of my new weapon once it's built. This type of board is a must if you want to be in contention for a good place it seems. Fitness and skill obviously is highest priority as well.

As for course racing well we only have about 3-4 makes to choose from at the moment. Same with fin set up "that's probably a good thing to keep an even playing field".

See you on the water

[ronnie]

Think along the lines of ' What can race board development learn from the foil boards?'

The finesse and control of the foil riders make me think that the possibility of a single fin raceboard being more efficient than 3 fins and still being controllable could be worth investigating.

A single fin might also give the possibility of raking the fin back for downwind to give effectively a smaller fin.

The fastest single fin speed board I can recall was the one Robby Naish used to set the World Speed Record at Arinaga at just over 38 knots, but it was very narrow.

There is a windsurf board which uses deep concaves to effectively ride on a cushion of air once it got going. It was harder to get going but very efficient once up and riding. The reason I mention it is that a single fin raceboard is going to need to get directional stability from somewhere and the centre V on a hypersonic style bottom shape may be one way to get some.
The 2005 111 litre 77cm wide Hypersonic would be the best example.
http://2005.star-board.com/products/hypersonic.asp