Dakhla Festival 2011

New Toys - Fanatic Falcon 111 & 134

After many years of building my own boards I bought 2 Fanatic Falcons in 2006 - the 91 & 111.  I found that the mono-concave tail didn't suit my weight and/or technique. The boards would spinout without warning and I moved on thinking that I was too heavy or powerful for the design.  I really liked the lively feel and early planing of the boards and have always admired Fanatics commitment to quality in construction and design innovation. I have since had Starboards('07 121 & 94 iSonics) and JP's(Slalom IV 72, 104 & 134, Slalom V 92, Slalom VI 92 & 112).
With other brands now using cheaper construction methods without reducing their prices I am keen to have another go.  After many hours on the Fanatic Forum I decided on a pair of Falcons, the l21 and 101.  When I did a ring around I found that all of the stock in Australia was pretty much sold so with a wait until June on those sizes I went for my second option of a few demo boards, the 134 & 111.

Looking at all my session stats for the last few years my most used combos are a 68-69cm & 58-61cm boards and sails 6.7 to 7.8m.  Combine this with my reduced TOW at the moment and my main abjective is to get out and sail in almost anything when I get a few hours to myself.  The 134 seems to be pretty fast for its size but still an early planer so this will get a lot of use in the gusty winter winds.  I wouldn't mind having a crack at my Big Board PB on an 84cm JP of 34.13.  The 111 will be used with 7.8 & 6.2 Evo III's.  I am trying a minimum quiver/ maximum range concept this year and hope that this is successful.

I hope to take a lot more measurements and do my own personal review of the 134 and 111(and any other falcons I might get ;).

Fanatic Falcon 134 & 111

 

Fanatic Falcon 111

Fanatic Falcon 134

 

Select S10 Vs S11 - Preview

My new Select S10 & S11 fins arrived the other day and I am waiting for some wind to put them through their paces.  The S11 is promoted as a more powerful and upwind orientated fin when compared to the S10.  It is my inderstanding that the smaller S11's(Slam 25-39) are very similar in shape to the S07 and the Larger S11's (Race 41-61) are a completely new shape.  The chord mid-line rake of the S10 & 11 are very similar and since the S11 has a larger area in the tip the leading edge is slightly more vertical.

The fins pictured are a 37cm S10 and 41cm S11. 

The most noticeable differences in the plan view is obviously the tip area but when you look at the thickness the S11 is MUCH thicker in the tip.  I will get the verniers out when I get the chance and compare the thickness ratios down each fin.  Looking at the fin selector charts it looks like you can use a size smaller in S11 compared to S10 for the same drive amount of drive.  It will be interesting to see how the different sizes compare across and downwind.

Similar mid-chord rake.

Tip area - S10 front, S11 back.

 Tip thickness - S10 top, S11 bottom.

I took a few measurements of the fins at the base and tip(before the sweep on the leading edge).  

S10

Base - Chord 103.7 - Thickness 9.8 - Thickness/Chord 9.5%

Tip - Chord 53.6 - Thickness 5.3 - Thickness/Chord 9.9%

S11

Base - Chord 108.4 - Thickness 9.3 - Thickness/Chord 8.6%

Tip - Chord 61.3 - Thickness 6.9 - Thickness/Chord 11.3%!!!

So both fins have a Thickness/Cord ratio that increases towards the tip but the S11increases by 2.7% compared to the S10's 0.4%!.  This gives me the impression the fin will generate more lift from increased flex at the base and blocked twist at the tip with the thicker section.