Carbon Art Formula Test Report

Boards: Formula 780 and 820

Testers: Stephen Walsh, Christophe Waerzeggers.

Overall impression & Conclusion :

The underlying concept/idea being radically different from what is currently on the market, both boards feel and ride differently than what is currently out there. They require a different sailing style and thus different fins than the current "norm". They are "real CAs" because of their ease of use: super early planning without requiring intensive pumping; upwind/downwind drive without requiring huge back-foot fin loading. With some minor adaptations (slightly lifting the rocker and/or increasing the V for a cleaner release, esp on the 820, moving the mast track backwards, providing a 5th strap) both boards appear to be competitive around the race course.

Specific comments:

1. Planning:
This is undoubtedly where both boards excel. The full width of the tail provides for a super clean release undisturbed by cut-outs, steps etc. Comparatively both boards probably have the widest *effective* tail out there!

2. Upwind:
Essentially for the same reason (i.e. a wide effective tail) both boards have an excellent upwind angle. Going upwind does not require loading/foiling the fin, but simply "driving" the board upwind using the entire rear planning surface by keeping it flat on the water. With the right fin (see below) and the base all the way back in the track both boards had competitive upwind speed when powered up.

3. Downwind:
Both boards are easy to drive downwind at a deep angle, although they tend to be a bit sticky when not fully lit thus losing somewhat in terms of speed. This is especially true for the 820. Although the nose of the board doesn't dive into the back of the chop, the board's midsection had a slight tendency to stick and thus slow the board down, again more so on the 820. Moving the mast track further back helped to release both boards. This worked particularly well with the 780.

4. Fins :
Generally both boards went best with the Kashy XS 70. Most of the very soft VMG fins provided too much tail lift thereby effectively crushing the boards' front section into the water and slowing them down. In other words, the lift from those fins did not translate into speed. The Kashy generally allowed the boards to ride freely with speed, providing more a large slalom board-like feeling. Under the 820 with 12.0 in marginal conditions the Kashy felt slightly under-finned though. It would probably work well with a similar style fin (rake, stiffness, bend curve) but longer, say 74cm cut to 70.

During the demo and testing event Chris Ting was excellent he spent a lot of time supplying different fins to try. VMG will be making a custom fin this week.

5. Strap positions:
The strap positions on both boards felt perfect, providing for a balanced ride both upwind and downwind. A fifth strap would allow to drive the boards deeper downwind at speed. A "double" fifth strap is probably not necessary as the boards are best driven flat anyway. This might also mean that off the wind you can go to the fifth strap quicker (i.e. in less wind) than you would on the other super wide boards (SB, F2) - but more testing would be required to test this.

6. Sails:
Both boards worked well with 12.0 & 11.0, but in marginal conditions the 820 probably 'prefers' a 12.0 to an 11.0. The 780 seemed to handle 12.0 quite well.


Have questions?
Ask away - Stephen and Christophe can answer any specific questions.