Next on my list of “experiments with foils” (after Freeride 1500) was the largest and most popular Starboard foil (their bestseller, as they claim): SuperCruiser (area: 1700 cm2).
Here is what Starboard says about that foil: “Takes off at low speeds, keeps you flying through foil jibes and 360s, and simply our most fun and maneuverable wind foil for foiling with small sails and compact foil boards.”
I can confirm most of that, but not everything. For now, I had a few sessions with that foil, not precisely on “compact board and small sail”. For that kind of equipment, I would need much stronger wind, which I didn’t have until now.
Since I had light wind conditions (at least in the first two sessions), I used SB FreeRide Foil 150 and Neil Pryde Speedster 8,2.
SuperCruiser comes as standard with an Aluminium V5 mast 85 cm, fuselage Evolution Clasicc 102 cm, and tail wing C300 330.
The difference between regular Evolution fuselages and Evolution classic I described in the article “Evolution 105 Vs. Evolution Classic 102”
In short, with classic, the front wing sits nearer the mast (that means more backward than with regular fuselage). Thus, you can use that foil for wing or maybe even for kite foiling. In the windsurfing environment, that would be a more freestyle situation (increased maneuverability).
Session one
The first impression after starting: the board goes up very quickly, and not much pumping is necessary. The wind is 10-13 knots. That’s nice.
However, I immediately noticed that my previously learned position for foiling doesn’t work. Surprisingly, I can not stand so much upright; I have to lean towards the tail of the board, more similar to the position with the fin. What? I expected a more upright position, but with it, the nose of the board goes down. Overall, there are too many touchdowns, and I am struggling to keep the board in the air with the back pressure. That’s not nice. I am thinking about the position of the base. It is somewhere between the middle and the upward position. Ok, I should probably move it back.
When in the air, the foil feels very stable, and – again, surprisingly – it is not much slower than, for example, SB Freeride. I like that because the experience with other low-aspect universal foils (suitable for wind, wing, and even kite foiling at the same time) was quite different: much more inertia, floatiness, and slowness.
Upwind performance is modest, but that was expected, so there is no problem there.
Time to turn. Unpleasant surprise, again. Instead of staying in the air (that should be the highlight of this foil), when I unhook and move my back feet to the other side of the board – an immediate touchdown happens. I can not turn in the air! The board stays fast; I exit the turns planning, but not in the air. Well, that’s a problem.
Maybe it is my weight (93 kg at the moment), but the backward position of the front wing, however large it is, doesn’t work for me.
So, popping up when starting – excellent; on the move faster than expected, very stabile and maneuvrable, but the foil in this setup does not do what it is supposed to do: keep me more in the air. I have to change some things.
Session two
Ok, the base should go back. Now it is between the middle and backward positions. Also, I decided to bust the tail wing with +1 shim. Since I didn’t have the feeling of too much lift-up, I thought that maybe this would help with touchdowns and turns.
To do that, I had to change the tail wing screws because, for neutral (zero) shim, at least one of them is shorter. You can see in the pictures why it is so. Different shims give you different angles for the tail wing. If you want more lift-up, go in plus. If you want less, go in minus.
The wind is slightly stronger than in session one (11-14 knots). The sail and the board are the same.
Again, initial lifting up crazy fast. Fewer touchdowns (yeah!), but still, I am struggling with the backward leaning position. At moments I even ride it as on fin, with my back leg bent and forward leg straightened up. I am practically speeding downwind. And, strangely enough, it works. But that’s not the function of this foil! It should be maneuverable (and it is – it reacts well on every move), and I can imagine that provided that you stay in the air, it can be quite fun to move around with it. But, I am not staying in the air if I move too much on the board. Something is not right (for me).
Turns are now better, I manage a few of them in the air, but mostly the problem stays the same: the nose of the board is going down. Hmmm… I can not move the base much more back, and there is no increase in plus shim anymore.
I have two ideas on how to get from this foil what it is supposed to give: try it in stronger wind and smaller sail. That is what Starboard says: more compact boards and smaller sails.
The other idea is to put that foil on the standard 105 evolution fuselage. In that way, the front wing will sit at least 10 centimeters forward, giving me more freedom to move on the board while in the air.
Ok, will do that! Expect further reports on the next playing sessions with SB Supercruiser.
Before that, I have to say that, despite initially not clicking with this foil, I wish I started on it. Going up would be easier, and that’s important. Also, the feeling of stability is great. Even the position, as I experienced it at the moment, would be helpful as a cross-over from fin to foil.
I still have to discover the right setup to unleash the hidden power of maneuverability and the fun of SuperCruiser. I am looking forward to the next sessions.