Sport Today

No longer vaporware...

Impressive vid clip:
http://www.exocet-original.com/vdo/default.asp

 From Patrice Belbeoch (owner of Exocet and Ex-PWA star):

"Wind was around 10/12 knots and I was on a fairly big sail with 9.5, to
be honest It would have been better on 8.5.
the Kona style will be released at 15 kg =/- 6% and the Kona will be at
14.2 kg...

both versions of the Kona are coming with double insert positions [same
like a free ride board] and 4 footstraps, the recommended fin will also
go from a 40 cm free ride style to a 46 cm free ride style also"

Looks looser, faster, and more maneuverable than anticipated...

WARDOG
http://surfingsports.com

Me likey very much.  Can't wait to try one of these puppies.  Any idea
when these are actually going to ship?

Great video.  Methinks the planing feature is just a bonus.  Playing on
waves with a paddle or an Aerotech Phantom Cuben 7.4 will be my main
use of the Kona.

  Playing on

now we need to see it on a wave and being standup paddled...

I agree this is a cool idea and looks great. The video is nice, but
this is one creature I would definitely demo first.

Is there a dealer in Hatteras? I would rent it for a day in a
heartbeat. I will be there the first week in May.

Dog, you going to bring one to the (Texas) coast? Are you going to have
demo board this year?

Yep, best would be a test sail. Waiting on that, I really would like to
see  a video of one in light wind, perhaps with a slogging formula
board and an old 'Funboard' also out for comparison.  I doubt the
marketers would want to have a Serenity there too, I'm sure the extra
metre of waterline and narrower plan would trounce the Kona.  The Kona
looks like it has surprisingly good planing performance for 10-12 knots
of wind, though, which of course Serenity isn't designed for.  Looks
like the perfect 'cottage' board for a lake with flukey winds to mostly
drift around with and still have fun, but with the bonus ability to
jump onto the plane on a puff or handle the occasional high wind day.
Interesting that their web site gives the recommended sail size as 3.0
to 6.5, but it looks quite happy with 9.5 (although he did say it would
have felt better with 8.5).

Sure, that's great planing preformance for 10-12 knots. I'd say its
probably right up there with, say, 15-year-old longboard designs (like,
oh, the IMCO or anything else with a narrow outline and a long flat
rocker). Seriously, he's using a 9.5 on this thing in 10-12 knots, and
sort of cruising around. On decent Formula gear, he'd be FLYING.

If you're looking for the one board for the cottage, maybe this thing
will work for you (especially if you want to get into the whole
stand-up paddling thing...). But don't give me that line about this
thing giving satisfying planing performance. For the cost of the Kona,
along with that 9.5 freeride/freerace rig he used in the video, you
could get yourself a Formula setup. And completely blow the Kona out of
the water in 8 knots or more, getting exciting performance instead of
milque-toast cruising. Oh, and then you spend an extra few hundred
bucks on a nice old performance long board, and you'll be killing the
thing in anything up to 10 knots as well.

Andreas

I agree, if there is 10 or 12 knots of wind I'd rather be on FW gear
(which I don't have either) or almost anything short and wide at the
back and leave off the extra, heavy front metre.  But if the wind is
going from mostly 6 to occasional 10 knots, I bet this would be more
fun and mostly faster.  And the stand-up paddleboard use would be the
clincher.

A lot of people still do not get this Kona concept. Right now if you
are an entry level sailor and you walk in to a windsurfing shop you are
directed toward a 270 by 100 wide beginner board. These boards are
great for learning and school use but most of them will need a 9.0 sail
to plane in 12 knots of wind. I do not think these boards are versatile
enough to keep people e***d.

In under 12 knots of wind the Kona should out perform all of these
entry level boards without needing a huge sail. It offers an EVA deck
and a 70 cm width which will make it much friendlier than traditional
long boards. When it planes the duck tail allows the board to plane on
a much shorter length so the board remains fun. Add in the stand up
paddle concept and the appeal grows even larger.

I love to go out on my formula gear it is a ton of fun when you have
some one to run with and the bottom wind stays above 10 knots. It does
not work well as a cottage board or in shallow water or in  a big shore
pound or for people that do not want to sail 9.0 and larger sails.

The first shippment of kona's will be in sometime in April. It is
already sold out with more containers to follow. It is the best selling
board I have seen in years. Finally a real world board that is not just
for beginners.

Best Regards:
Steve Gottlieb

What's your judgment on the compromises between planing ability and ability to
standup surf small (2-3') waves?  

Seems like it needs flat rocker to plane but more rocker to surf.

??
--
PeteCresswell

STEVE,    the kona looks great.  wish i had a board like that in the
Tudor?Mistral tour truck for playing with.  Although andy church would
have had a fit!  Which would have been entertaining to watch, wink.

I hope all is well with you and marty.

i might have to get one of those kona's since i've been relegated to
weekend warrior status.

take care
Will Jones (freezing in Ct.)

Hi Steve,
But, quite a few do...
I have 10 pre-sold at this point in time, with twice as many tire
kickers about ready to set the hook...

Let's get *real*...nobody is blowing anyone out of the water on any
sailcraft under 10 knots...there's slow , slower, slowest...;-)
Let's keep it in perspective...not everyone gets off on the "I'm too
serious", anal, tweaker, racerhead thing in light air...great for people
that HAVE to compete...but, many other sailors just want some TOW to
relax...and have some F U N...:-)
I know that's kind of a retro idea...but, that's basically it in a
nutshell...

There's a guy in the SF Bay area getting one because he's tired of
getting off work late, dealing with traffic getting to the launch,
spending an hour getting his FW stuff rigged and dialed in, just in time
for the wind to die back under 10 kts...he just wants to get wet and
wash off the day's grime...with a miminal amount of grief from his
gear...the KISS concept...

The Kona is all about having fun...the fact that it even planes at all,
is a huge bonus...most people will only use a 5m2-6m2 sail on this
board...helluva lot funner than going to the gym...and you can teach on
it...freestyle on it...ride waves on it...cruise upwind with the
daggerboard down...standup paddle it...etc...etc...

WARDOG
http://SportToday.org/

Wardog,
You are absolutely correct about the Kona's place in the market, I
couldn't agree more. I understand that the following link is to one
of Steve's competitors
http://www.surfingsports.com/hot_super_freak.asp
and I've no wish to offend. But in my opinion a Kona in the water
with a Freak flag waved high for all to see would re-revolutionize the
ease of marketing the sport of windsurfing.
It's time for a resurgence.
Ray