Wind Foil Tech Talk: Part 4 – Tech talk for the gear junkie

A few finer details from windsurfing’s foil experts.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years, it’s that tech matters.

Some people are more interested than others in learning about the finer details of a product, but the technology itself is what distinguishes good gear from great gear. Even our competitors will concede that technical innovation is what has set Slingshot apart for nearly 20 years.

For those of you who appreciate the finer details of your gear, here are a few highlights of our wind foil line.

Carbon Hover Glide wings: We’ve employed carbon construction for our front and rear Hover Glide wings. For foil construction, the benefit of carbon is all about production costs and time, which translates directly to high-performance, efficient,  carbon components for our customers.Slingshot Wind Foil Wing Tech

 Flat-Loc connector: The Flat-Loc connecter is the result of taking the time to test our designs properly instead of rushing to market. We learned quickly that the forces and torque the foil experiences are not to be underestimated, especially once you progress past the beginner phase of simply foiling in straight lines.

The critical connection of the front wing to the fuselage should not be entrusted to a simple bolt on system. We sheared bolts and lost wings learning this- but we’d rather it be us than you.

The Flat-Loc Connector is our unique and 100% effective solution. Rather than bolting the front wing to the fuse and trusting the bolts to handle the load, our fuse inserts into the base of the front wing. The hexagonal shapes of both marry together to distribute torque evenly like a socket on a nut.

Wind Foil Tech, Flat LocSwitch Fuse: The ability to adjust the wing position fore or aft in relationship to your stance is critical for balancing your rig, stance and overall sailing position. We developed the Switch Fuse as a way to configure your foil in two different positions depending on the orientation of the fuselage. The difference might look subtle, but on the water it makes a big difference. This is a simple but brilliant way of giving riders more freedom and more flexibility to change and fine-tune the way their setup performs.

Wind Foil Tech - Switch FuseAircraft-grade aluminum masts: We use extruded 6061-T6 aircraft aluminum for our masts (we also have carbon masts, but that’s a different tech story). Each mast is optimized by CNC machining to reduced drag and eliminate vibration and is then tempered and anodized for saltwater resistance.

Slingshot uses the same Hover Glide aluminum mast platform for all our foil disciplines (kite, wake, sup and wind). We are the only foil company that can claim our masts have been tested and proven across all foil disciplines. When you look at a cross-section of our mast, it’s easy to see why it holds up so well, and why other brands are not experiencing the same consistent success: Slingshot masts are about twice as thick.

Hover Glide Aluminum Wind Foil MastsFlanged Tuttle Connector: The foil’s connection to the board is a critical component- especially in windsurf foiling- and it’s something we spent a lot of time getting right. We found the deep tuttle box to be the only connection we trusted for the forces involved with windsurf foiling. If you plan on using a board not designed specifically for foiling, this is the only connection we advise.

Our connector design features a base flange that has an important role in helping spread the load over a larger area of the board so it’s not focused solely on the box. The extra surface area connection also helps prevent small movements between the foil and the board.

Hover Glide Tuttle Connector

Next up: In part 5 of this series we answer a few of the most frequently asked questions we’ve gotten over the last few months.