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Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

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FredBGG
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Re: Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

Postby FredBGG » Sun Sep 07, 2014 10:28 am

jb8431 wrote:For Rainer Kauper,

I still own my 159 spleen zone. one of the best boards I've ever had.
I noticed on the new boards just on your schematic views of them that there's tow in angle on the fins.
One of the things I love about the spleen zone is No tow in on the fins.
(
I agree 100%. Part of the magic is small fins and NO tow in angle.

Rainer if I may make a suggestion....

Put a few more insets so that the feet can be further forward.
When I went strapless with the Zone 174 and Zone 159 I found that my feet were nearly always further forward.

Adding a few more forward insert would really help the bigger guys. I'm 6'4"
The Zones are great for bigger guys because they are Faaaaassssst and speed is your friend if you want to ride a small board.

The new zones look great.

I wonder if a dual fin position and tow in would be possible.

I find that running fins makes a huge difference.

With my surfboards (not kite company surfboards) I nearly always heat up the fins and twist them so as to reduce tow in on the deeper part of the fins. Makes a huge difference to me.

The closest stock fins to my twisted fins are the FSC scimitars ..... but I give them some added twist.

Here is what it's all about....

http://vimeo.com/6825737

Sorry about the terrible video.......

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Rainer Kauper
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Re: Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

Postby Rainer Kauper » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:25 am

dracop wrote:I have some questions on the new Zone board, specifically the 168cm model.Noticed the web page was updated with alot of new info.

1.) What does it mean that its "snowboard construction" and why is this more durable?

2.) The webpage now claims it has inserts for hydrofoiling? Am I to understand you guys put screw holes to attach a foil on here? Similar to the LF Fun fish concept for down the road?

3.) Who has these available for demo in northern FL or in Hatteras?
Hi dracop,

1) Snowboard construction means that the Zones are nearly similar produced like a snowboard or ski. Most twintips are produced this way. The board has a wood core, fibreglass or carbon laminate and a polymer topsheet which is really very scratchproof. This construction makes the board nearly indestructible, because the wood core is much harder than a polystyrene core and the polymer top sheet resist very hard contact or bumps even with rocks or reefs.

2) On the top side of the board you fix the straps with screws at the embedded inserts. On the base side we have the same inserts too, to fix a hydrofoil.

3) You can get in touch with Ted. He is our distributor for the USA.
http://www.spleene-usa.com/
He lives near Hatteras and has demo boards available.

Enjoy the ride with the new Zone boards.

Ciao

Rainer Kauper
-------------------
www.spleene-kiteboarding.com

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Rainer Kauper
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Re: Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

Postby Rainer Kauper » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:28 am

Billy25 wrote:How much and where can I buy a spleene surfboard?
Hi Billy 25,

here´s a list of all Spleene distributions:

http://spleene-kiteboarding.com/?page_id=128

Please scroll down to the middle of the page to see all international distributions.

If there is no distribution in your area please send an E-Mail and we can help.

Thanks

Ciao

Rainer Kauper
-------------------
www.spleene-kiteboarding.com

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Re: Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

Postby Rainer Kauper » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:33 am

FredBGG wrote:
jb8431 wrote:Rainer if I may make a suggestion....

Put a few more insets so that the feet can be further forward.
When I went strapless with the Zone 174 and Zone 159 I found that my feet were nearly always further forward.

Adding a few more forward insert would really help the bigger guys. I'm 6'4"
The Zones are great for bigger guys because they are Faaaaassssst and speed is your friend if you want to ride a small board.
Hi Fred,

have you tested the new Zone boards yet?

We have more inserts now compare to the old Zone boards 159 and 174.

It would be really interesting for me to know if they work OK for you now, as you know the old Zones and so you can feel the difference.

All other big guys enjoyed the new Zone boards.

Thanks

Ciao

Rainer Kauper
-------------------
www.spleene-kiteboarding.com

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Re: Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

Postby FredBGG » Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:25 pm

Rainer Kauper wrote:
FredBGG wrote:
jb8431 wrote:Rainer if I may make a suggestion....

Put a few more insets so that the feet can be further forward.
When I went strapless with the Zone 174 and Zone 159 I found that my feet were nearly always further forward.

Adding a few more forward insert would really help the bigger guys. I'm 6'4"
The Zones are great for bigger guys because they are Faaaaassssst and speed is your friend if you want to ride a small board.
Hi Fred,

have you tested the new Zone boards yet?

We have more inserts now compare to the old Zone boards 159 and 174.

It would be really interesting for me to know if they work OK for you now, as you know the old Zones and so you can feel the difference.

All other big guys enjoyed the new Zone boards.

Thanks

Ciao

Rainer Kauper
-------------------
www.spleene-kiteboarding.com
Hi

I have not had a chance to test one yet. I would like to give one a spin.

Smart move making them foil ready with built in foil bolt inserts.

I also read that they have adjustable rocker.... what is this? Sounds interesting.

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Re: Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

Postby Rainer Kauper » Tue Sep 09, 2014 11:25 am

FredBGG wrote:I also read that they have adjustable rocker.... what is this? Sounds interesting.
Hi Fred,

a normal surfboard or nearly all other Wave-Kiteboards have no flex or almost no flex. That means you can step wherever you want on these boards the scoop-rocker-line stays constantly. It does not bend.

The new Zone boards have flex. If you put your rear foot very close to the tail (heel ramp) and put some pressure on your board the scoop will be more curved which is excellent for example at the cut back move or at very close turns. If you put your front foot more towards the nose you can make the scoop more flat which is perfect for the gliding performance.

In fact most riders came back from their first rides and told us about the big wind range, because of adjusting the scoop while riding.

Ciao

Rainer Kauper
-------------------
www.spleene-kiteboarding.com

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Re: Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

Postby FredBGG » Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:53 am

Rainer Kauper wrote:
FredBGG wrote:I also read that they have adjustable rocker.... what is this? Sounds interesting.
Hi Fred,

a normal surfboard or nearly all other Wave-Kiteboards have no flex or almost no flex. That means you can step wherever you want on these boards the scoop-rocker-line stays constantly. It does not bend.

The new Zone boards have flex. If you put your rear foot very close to the tail (heel ramp) and put some pressure on your board the scoop will be more curved which is excellent for example at the cut back move or at very close turns. If you put your front foot more towards the nose you can make the scoop more flat which is perfect for the gliding performance.

In fact most riders came back from their first rides and told us about the big wind range, because of adjusting the scoop while riding.

Ciao

Rainer Kauper
-------------------
www.spleene-kiteboarding.com
Right...

The flex pattern on these new boards with a molded rail(thicker) should be quite interesting.

The flex pattern on the first and second zones was really nice too. In particular the second zone had a very flexy front tip.

I'm interested in feeling the flex pattern of the new boards.
For surfboards I ride the Aviso Hollow carbon fiber boards. They have a very unique flex pattern
due to the coreless construction. Very stiff rails, but with huge flex along the centerline making them absorb chop by going very concave. This also makes them "store energy" in a bottom turn.
As you enter the bottom turn the board compresses and as you come out of the bottom turn the board bounces back. Takes a bit of getting used to especially for the models with very domes decks like the Aviso Lost Mayhem. Also the flex of the top skin of the coreless Aviso acts like suspension/shock absorber.

Here is the flex pattern of the Avisos
http://avisosurf.com/FEA.html

I can see your new boards having a very characteristic flex pattern due to the volume/shape at the rails.

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Re: Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

Postby Pierrot » Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:17 pm

Does someone has the info on the hydrofoil inserts patern?
- length and width
- distance to front strap
Also if someone has actual experience riding the 5.3 with a foil, I would be interested to hear about it. I'm wondering how the flex impacts the ability to control the foil...

Thanks!

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Re: Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

Postby Rainer Kauper » Wed Oct 22, 2014 12:26 pm

Pierrot wrote:Does someone has the info on the hydrofoil inserts patern?
- length and width
The inserts at the base side of the Zone boards are 120 x 90mm

Pierrot wrote:Also if someone has actual experience riding the 5.3 with a foil, I would be interested to hear about it. I'm wondering how the flex impacts the ability to control the foil...
The flex does not really affect the riding. The boards are stiff enough and on the other hand there is no chop effect when you are foiling.

What seems to be more interesting for the hydrofoil is that the the Zone boards do not have that much volume like many other boards. While launching the board stays deeper in the water which makes it much easier to start. The more you can push the board into the water the less power you need in your kite. When you are riding the first meters and the board starts to glide the only thing that counts is area. The bigger the board is the earlier you can ride. That is the same at hydrofoiling. The Zone 5'3 is perfect for very low winds as it is wide and short. The 5'6 is an excellent compromise for hydrofoiling at low winds and wavekiting at higher winds.

More info coming soon when our foil is ready to launch.

Ciao

Rainer Kauper
-------------------
www.spleene-kiteboarding.com

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Re: Will spleene ever make the zone board again?

Postby FredBGG » Wed Oct 22, 2014 2:26 pm

Rainer Kauper wrote:The more you can push the board into the water the less power you need in your kite.
You rather understated the importance of this.
Being able to sink more board not only helps when getting going in light and ultra light wind. This is very important in some locations where the wind is wind shadowed near the beach and you really need to claw your way out to more wind. Body dragging a foil board really is not fun and potentially dangerous.

The other reason why being able to sink the board is very important is for low wind kite relaunch.
Being able to shove some board under water creates an anchor effect making it possible to relaunch certain kites in deep water that would be hard to do with a board with too much volume.

It will be interesting to see your foil for these boards.
"Ultra high quality Spleene style"
I still have one of your twin tips from years ago. I lend it out left right and center for years now
and it is still a perfect ride. No delimitation, straps still good and seems to have the same stiffness/flex from when it was new.

Anyway... how old is this board?

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