Nice work on the alpha /Hr Windtech, but that NM is awesome, jealous.

Very impressive numbers, Windtech! A sweet alpha PB and an impressive river hour for a gusty day. A fast nm also, we might have a new nm king...

I hope someone backed up your hour.

All the GPS units do need to get a number of satellites fixed in order to work. It is a good idea to turn it on while you are rigging and make sure it gets a good look at the sky.

Boz, it looks like that new board is working well for you, and you obviously had a lot of fun. I hope someone else had as much fun and did as many km!

Tim, is there still weed at Coodanup? and how was Boombas for weed the other day?

Jase, sorry I missed you!

Nice PB's Neil. Impresiive numbers for a choppy Nor wester. 

Hey guys, thanks for the input. I did turn it on about 5 mins prior to launching. I stopped at Pelican because I had a screaming run to Pelican.

Jumped off to see my 32 knot n/m that didn't exist.... stuffed around with the watch for 5 mins pushing buttons and cursing and eventually gave up. Sailed around for 15 mins and then it kicked in at Melville . My Google earth shows the runs starting in the middle of the river.

Since I loaded the update it has had a few glitches and the operating format has changed.

Are the Locosys watches prone to glitches?

Cheers for the help.

Hey Neil nice work on those PBs. Bit strange with the watch. My routine is to hit the gps button, leave it to sync up till the 2 beeps and speedo comes up then i always delete the log, top speed history and km from the last session and usually have no dramas. Oh and i use the lock feature now (push mode and start together) just in case a bent wrist may accidently press the gps button again which would obviously turn off the gps and give no readings. Maybe this happened to you?

Lunny, speed of the day. Love your work, as usual. 6 jellybeans well earned.

Cheers Lunny, nice speed too. 

Thanks for the gps advice. Not sure, just did the usual and ended up with the situation as explained. See how I go next time.

Cheers

Congrats on the PBs Neil. More of those to come I reckon.

How do those winged fins work?

Hi Sue, about 3 years ago I put a couple of winglets on an old elliptical fin to just see what the effects were. I had so much going on with designs that I sailed it once and didn't really get much info from the session. Recently a guy called Andrew Mason, who has a doctorate in Naval architecture and hydrodynamix bought a board from us. He passed a comment wondering why winglets weren't used on windsurf fins. I pulled out my proto and a healthy discussion developed with me heading to the shed to pop out a more advanced model.

The result was a little more refined and the first sail was a revelation. The vertical pitch( nose going up and down) was hugely diminished and kept the board at a more even trim angle. Instead of the nose lifting when a gust hit the board would stay flatter allowing you to stay sheeted in longer = more speed. Great for nautical miles and lighter riders.

There are other benefits, upwind is improved , a smaller fin can be used and the board seems to keep it's speed better through gybes.

So far all who have tried them have expressed similar views. I used it for the first time as a recorded gps time yesterday and the results speak for themselves. There is obviously some science behind this but also some things are by feel. I've done quite a few and the angle, shape, size and foil are critical. Big problem is getting someone to make them in quantity... but I can do them when requested. Very fiddly and time consuming but worth it. Hope this helps. Cheers, Neil

Sue, it makes sailing easier = more pleasurable 

Sounds great! What depth are they and what sail sizes can they hold? Also whats the smallest volume Windtech board you make..

Well.. size would depend on the weight of the sailor and sail size. The science behind winglets on plane wings says they emulate a longer more effecient wing. Anecdotal evidence supports this on the water so far. If for example you use a 32 cm medium chord fin with a 7.0 sail then you would find that you could use about a 29 cm wing fin assuming the foils and dimensions were the same.

Spin-out (ventilation) also seems to be reduced but we have no idea why- a good thing. Upwind performance is one of it's best features I think.

The one drawback is that in ocean conditions running deep off the wind, the board is a bit slow to respond to foot pressure to ride over the top of the oncoming crest. You get used to it though. One guy said it rendered the trim plate adjustment on the boards less effective. That is true to some degree but you sort of learn to sail them. For me the positives out weigh the small negatives.

We aren't doing these commercially so I will be upfront and honest about them. No advantage to talk them up - I only sail what works for me.

We are introducing a 57cm 90 litre SilverBullet this season. Testing has confirmed it's a fair bit quicker than the 64. Handles exceptionally well too. Gybing is ridiculously easy. Had it in 35+ knot winds and it felt planted

Stay tuned. It's being sent to the Kinetic factory next week for moulding. Can't wait.

Neil, if you have a spare few minutes can you please pm me on Seabreeze. I have been working on winglets for a weed fin and would like to get your thoughts on a few different design ideas.

Hi Ross, better still can you email me rather? windtechwindsurf@gmail.com

I'd love to exchange ideas. 

cheers Neil. Done 

Thanks Neil..