I hope this doesn’t read to much like an advert, but I wanted to share my experience of fast twin tips. Everyone has their own opinion.
I designed the Upeksha Gawa race boards that were quite popular amongst the competitors of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
These Gawa boards were originally designed for maximum jump height, and later adopted for downwind slalom racing. In my opinion, the higher controlled speed at time of jump release, the higher the jump. For me, these boards allow 5 knots faster board speed at time of release compared to a “typical” mainstream twin tip. This control at speed is also what drives a good downwind slalom race board. These boards are light also, 2.1 to 2.2kg without straps/fins. We have found that in chop, adding weight to the board extremities (above the fins) makes them smoother through the chop but not as much fun to jump.
We have just completed a new race board custom designed for the L2L race in Perth. This board is 40cm wide, effective length 152cm, more rocker than a Gawa, and 38 inserts to allow traditional TT symmetric foot pad setup, or directional set up (L2L is a starboard reach race only) while still being compliant to IKA TT:R equipment rules. This board is faster and more controlled than our Gawa boards, and faster in winds over 16 knots.
I have attached photos showing the inserts (painful to drill out), directional pad setup and the core of the board which is a bit unusual. We cut the core into 14 strips so we get 15 shear walls running the length of the board.
Cheers,
Craig.
Attachments
L2L showing 38 pad inserts
L2L showing "directional" pad setup
L2L showing core before laying up
These users thanked the author Upeksha Designer for the post (total 3):
I love my CF Raptor Pro, it's a fast TT, but I want to go a lot faster on a TT. Any suggestions?
When I want to go fast I have found that pumping your kite(sheeting in and out rapidly on the bar) sends you into turbo mode. I do it all the time and blow past people. The pumping lifts your board out of the water into a more planning vs plowing situation....