SB_issue55_Digital

“Our boards are still
lightweight as we
utilise sustainable
natural materials to
deliver great strength
to weight ratios with
high impact strength.”
“Once you are up and running, you can motor
out to the swell line, pull around and onto some
swell and turn off the motor. Doing it that way
you will get about two hours riding out of the
battery and I challenge many to go beyond that
two hours because you are knackered. That is
all you need. This way you have the assist of
the motor where you need it and then you tap
into nature’s energy source, being the wind and
water. It is the best of both worlds.”
Jack simply sees the technology as a means
to introduce more people to foiling and open
up the opportunity to ride unridden swells. As
many would attest to, our local breaks are most
definitely becoming more and more crowded
so any reduction or diversion of these numbers
has to be seen as a positive. What Jack does
craft however is a pretty impressive range of
foilboards for beginners
through to the most
experienced.
“We basically produce
right here on the Sunny
Coast two ranges of Foil
boards. The Foilz8 is our
entry level beginner board
range priced at $880 and
comes in two lengths – 4’8”
and a 5’. The SURFoilz
is our high-performance
foil board range and here
we have boards for prone foiling through to
downwinding, SUP and wingsurfing.
“We’re really concentrating on producing
a more sustainable foil board. We have
steered away from carbon because, whether
or not people are aware, it is not great for
the environment, absolutely terrible to work
with (carbon dust), has extremely low impact
resistance, and the boards are prone to
overheating if left in the heat. We exclusively
use vacuum technology, having manufactured
over five thousand boards in the last decade
using this technology.
“Our boards are still lightweight as we utilise
sustainable natural materials to deliver a great
strength to weight ratios with high impact
strength.”
Jack informs me his workshop right near the
Sunshine Coast airport also specialises in foil
repairs and the installation of the Foil Drive
motorised propellor we spoke of earlier. Not
only that, but he also has a foil simulator in the
workshop where you can experience the feeling
of balancing the foil board prior to going to the
expense of purchasing a foil board. It’s basically
a one stop shop – beginner foil boards,
performance foil boards, foil repairs and foil
experience all in one. It prompts Jack to recall
his childhood growing up near Williamstown
Beach in Melbourne’s southern outskirts.
“I used to ride my bike over to Williamstown
Beach from Spotswood with a huge board in
tow whenever there was some wind generated
swell. The board was the first I hand shaped
from a solid slab of balsa 8’ long by 2’ wide and
6” thick. I used to clamp on pram wheels to the
nose and hang onto the
big plywood fin while I
rode my bike the 6km trip.
Who would have thought
60 years on this whole
wind and water energy
transfer I loved so much
as a kid would have such
an effect on me all these
years later.”
surfoilz.com
SB / #55 / 84