AV8 Teaser - Cabrinha

[Toby]

AV8 - A collection of high performance products designed & engineered for efficiency.

Launching April 15th.

[tkaraszewski]

I think people are going to look at this and say, “what’s the point? If you want to go fast there are faster kites and faster foils”

And there are, but that sort of is the point. Jumping into a VMG or an R1 and trying to get in the wait list to drop $5k on a Mike’s Lab foil is not only expensive, it’s intimidating.

My interest in kiting came from sailing boats, and racing them, and there are much more accessible ways to race sailboats than kitefoils. Kitefoil racing is essentially all at the Grand Prix level. I race my boat on Wednesday nights with other amateurs for fun. It’d be great to have more of this level of performance and competition in kiting. It’s more fun and accessible for people who can’t dedicate their lives to it, or are just breaking into it.

I’ve raced boats in national competitions against former America’s Cup sailors and finished 40th out of 50, and it’s just not that fun when nearly the whole fleet is pros that are above your league. Yeah, there’s lots to learn, but it’s disheartening for an amateur team on a modest budget that only gets to practice on weekends.

So yeah, I’m glad Cabrinha is doing accessible performance/freerace gear. I wonder if the bar will work well with my Apollos.

[davesails7]

Kitefoil racing is essentially all at the Grand Prix level.

I think it depends on where you go. We have a few regattas on the US East Coast every year with 20-30 racers and no one is pro level.

You can get a decent full race setup used for under $6000 that will hold most of it's value for the next year: Used Moses Comet or Delta Hydrofoil $1200, Board $500, 11m 15m & 18m R1V2 $3600, plus a bar or two. You won't be winning world championships, but you'll be competitive.

Will be interesting to see how much this setup will cost. Looks like quite a bit more than $6000 for complete foil and 3 kites (although obviously it will be new)

I’ve raced boats in national competitions against former America’s Cup sailors and finished 40th out of 50, and it’s just not that fun when nearly the whole fleet is pros that are above your league.

Yeah, that is unfortunate. I wish there was a way to keep the guys at the back of the fleet interested. The good thing about racing is even when you're in the back, you can still have fun racing the guys around you, but it is tough to keep coming back if you are getting lapped by the top guys every race.

[ThistleSailorKC]

Dave- making F2B this year?
This one is based off George's foil. Think he designed it, no? Any idea if its the same shape, less stiff due to the modulus of the carbon? near identical? He seems to be really really dialed in with his new stuff.

[davesails7]

Dave- making F2B this year?
This one is based off George's foil. Think he designed it, no? Any idea if its the same shape, less stiff due to the modulus of the carbon? near identical? He seems to be really really dialed in with his new stuff.

Yup I'll be there!

They couldn't use high modulus carbon for the outside layer, so they made the strut slightly thicker. That actually made it stiffer than his previous foils. He really liked it so he now builds all of his foils that way with a slightly thicker strut. It's definitely a good fast foil

From what I saw, the other difference is it uses power box instead of Tuttle box.

Edit: correction it's a pro box

[NYKiter]

More great innovation.....paying off George for his design....at least he can now finally quit his day job...

[Mossy 757]

Looks like a great kite, and like Dave said the foil should be stout. I have one of the new Delta race foils he made by hand that was redesigned after the AV8 showed them they could increase strut thickness without losing performance, the thing is rock-solid. When I sat mine side-by-side with Dave's it was noticeable that the strut is thicker, although not sure it's really going to be a super-noticeable feature in terms of performance. I haven't had a chance to ride with a GPS watch, but it feels every bit as fast as the last Delta I had and way better than my old Sword2.

See you at F2B!

[Cab Driver]

Dave- making F2B this year?
This one is based off George's foil. Think he designed it, no? Any idea if its the same shape, less stiff due to the modulus of the carbon? near identical? He seems to be really really dialed in with his new stuff.

Yup I'll be there!

They couldn't use high modulus carbon for the outside layer, so they made the strut slightly thicker. That actually made it stiffer than his previous foils. He really liked it so he now builds all of his foils that way with a slightly thicker strut. It's definitely a good fast foil

From what I saw, the other difference is it uses power box instead of Tuttle box.

It uses a Pro Box, which is wider than Tuttle and stiffer as a result. Powerbox is a windsurfing conical box with a single screw.

[davesails7]

It uses a Pro Box, which is wider than Tuttle and stiffer as a result. Powerbox is a windsurfing conical box with a single screw.

WTF! another box entering the scene?
Will there be an adaptor for plate mount? The board looks interesting

Oops! I meant pro box.

Pro box isn't new, it has been used by Taaroa and Sroka. I was surprised to see it though because all the other race foils are tuttle (Mikelab, enata, chubanga, delta) or plate

[BraCuru]

Looks like a great kite.......

It is. It's the Velocity. Still a great kite after all these years.

One of the best or even the best inflatable I've been riding with hydrofoil!


I hope that the same race bar with great lines and without a leash would be reborn.

Well done Cabrinha!