In 2022 the HydroFoil Slalom had the lowest volume of all 91cm wide performance foil designs. Nevertheless, it quickly became evident that the speedy development in performance foiling with smaller sails and smaller foils also called for smaller boards. Compared to fin slalom sailing, foiling became more than just competitive: Already in the first year of PWA competitions in high winds, foil boards predominantly led the rankings.
Therefore we developed 4 new shapes to cover all racing conditions, not just PWA Slalom but also long distance events like the famous DEFI.
The 91 is still up-to-date, super fast and efficient, now covering the light wind side of foiling. The new sizes are based on the shape principles of this board, and Shaper Werner Gnigler
tuned each size according to its range of use in higher winds.

Shape details:

• Compact
All these boards are compact. Their shortness minimizes swing weight and tremendously improves top end control.

• Volume
The 91 is equipped with comparably high volume in order to get flying quickly. Since planing gets easier the stronger the wind, we shifted the focus more to the aerodynamic profile of the smaller boards. The smaller the board, the more we centred the volume in the standing area, gradually thinning-out the front section for minimal air resistance, more control and consequently more top speed.

• Full, defined, and sharp Rails
Sharp rails along the whole hull provide maximum lift and planing efficiency. They powerfully push the boards up into flight mode, thus ensuring early-take off in light winds. Together with the reduced hull thicknesses of the smaller boards, also the rails get proportionally thinner.

• Wide Tail
The wider tail provides more leverage over the foil which is a key factor for going fast and still remaining in control despite all these enormous forces. It is essential when trying to find the best compromise between a comfortable stance and efficient power distribution towards the foil. The 91 has the widest tail and the tail width of the smaller boards is not only scaled down, but gets proportionally narrower, so that the rider stands more over the foil.

• Deck Shape: Stance
A tiny but super effective detail of tuning and one of the key advantages of Werner’s shapes: The super comfortable deck shape guarantees a relaxed ride, allowing the rider to push and focus on going faster and faster.

• Deck Shape: Efficiency
All boards feature the proven concave deck reducing the swing weight and coming with an additional recess for the deck box, dropping the pivot point of the mast base. As a result, the sail foot closes the gap between the board and sail providing ultimate efficiency as well as additional control when pushing the limits and during the gybe.

• Large Tail Cut-Outs
When foiling, the cut-outs have two main functions: To reduce the volume in the tail and to reduce drag.
The reduced tail volume allows the rider to sink the tail when pumping to loading up the foil for instant take-off. The 91 comes with the unchanged, double cut-outs, substantially reducing the volume, enabling the rider to push down the wide tail to get onto the foil.
The other four boards feature clearly different single cut-outs, individually shaped for the intended range of use of each board in higher winds. In the smaller sizes, they extend much further forward than in any of our previous models, ending before the front foot strap position. On occasional touchdowns, these far-forward reaching cut-outs significantly reduce the wetted area resulting in exponentially less drag – which is imperative and vital as riders sail at much higher speeds.

• Long Footstrap Plugs
Single hole plugs speed up the process of adjusting and repositioning the straps between races! Long plugs with 6 holes provide a wide trim range to adapt the stance to the varying lift of different foil sizes and fuselage lengths in changing wind conditions. Thus, every rider can find the perfect stance to control his foil setup, which is the key factor for speed once airborne.

Naturally, the board comes with JP’s super stable Foil-Tuttlebox to handle all loads.
The HF-SLs feature a centre foot pad with an arch support which offers additional grip and guides foot placment during gybing and take off.

Summary
These new boards are super efficient and really fast. They remain in control in a wider wind range and the whole line covers a vast range, so that every rider can find the right size/s and performance needed for their intended conditions.
The super-fast foil machines: Performance, power and control for slalom competition. The stage is set to improve your foil speed!