Bouke and his ingenious, extremely durable material have many fans, the waiting time for a board takes around five months, Bouke still builds everything himself. Passionate windsurfer Jan Magatzki is also a Witchcraft fan; he rides Bouke's boards not only on holiday in Fuerte, but also at home on the North and Baltic Seas. Jan met Bouke in his workshop for a tech talk about indestructible boards and other Witchcraft specialities.
Bouke, you've been building boards for 30 years. Your Witchcraft boards are considered to be robust, but still glide well. How do you manage that?
That's because of the rails, that's one thing. Secondly, it's the fins and the fin profiles, they're very good. Thirdly, it's the rocker line, I use a parabolic rocker line, without tail kick. Tailkick is like a handbrake. When you carve into the turn, the rail is in the water well before the mast track. This means that the entire curve in the underwater hull is important. And if you then move the turn more to the front, you have an area at the back that simply doesn't have as much rocker and you glide well. As soon as you make a turn, you push the board into the water right up to the front area, which makes it very easy to turn.
Tailkick is like a handbrake."
Do the boards not only work here on Fuerte, but also at all other spots?
Of course! Going upwind is important here, the feeling on the wave, getting a wave quickly, not losing speed on the wave. These points are important everywhere. Another great feature of all Witchcraft boards is that the rails are only round at the very front because the water has to be channelled under the board here. In the flow simulator you can see that the water is already channelled outwards in the middle area. So it doesn't make any sense to have round edges there, I make them much sharper. Firstly, this gives better turning behaviour, because the edges help to initiate the turn, and a faster reaction, so you can then use flatter rocker lines again. And secondly, without making the board wider overall, you have a 3 to 5 cm wider gliding surface and on top of that there is a clean water break. So clearly more advantages than disadvantages - and that's what I'm always looking for in my developments.
Which series do you have here? Which different board series do you build?
In addition to the pure custom models, where the shape is customised to the rider, I have nine different models. One is the Chakra freewave model, which is made for easy riding with less skill. They are very forgiving, go upwind very well in a wide wind range, glide well and are also easy to ride on flat water. The second board is the Shaman. This is an "easy wave board", better for waves, but still a board that planes well and is also quite forgiving. The third board is the Reaper. This is a board especially for onshore conditions, small waves, is very fast, very manoeuvrable and also very active to ride. It reacts very quickly and planes very well. It's a lot of fun, especially as a larger wave board for the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Then we have the Haka. This is actually the all-round board for all slightly better wave conditions. In principle, you can do everything with it, from mast-high waves to onshore conditions. And then we also have the Wave V5. This is specially designed for sideshore conditions, for bobbing out and then travelling in at speed on the wave. They have the foot straps a little further forward and also have a different shape in the underwater hull so that you can generate more speed with the wave and need less wind power. My latest model is the Serum, which is designed for sideshore conditions with more wind. It has a fairly deep double concave to give more smoothness in chop and still plenty of edge grip. The Ouija is our freestyler, the Eternity is the freeracer and the Ghost is our high-speed slalom model.
Your boards are considered to be very durable, what materials do you use?
Normal equipment unfortunately breaks very quickly here, we have rocky spots, more waves, we have a lot of surfing days a year. With my own boards, I was always annoyed when something broke and the session was over. I then tried to do better and came up with Dyneema as a material about 30 years ago. I then developed a lot with it.
Briefly explain what makes Dyneema so special.
Dyneema is extremely impact-resistant and twice as strong as Kevlar - a material that was previously used for bulletproof vests. It is 12 times more impact resistant than carbon and 6 times more impact resistant than fibreglass. If you hit the board, the fibreglass will eventually flake off, but the Dyneema is still intact. The board is still waterproof. Our rental boards are on average four or five years old, none of them have been repaired yet, and that's here on Fuerteventura, with rocks and waves. We have developed a lot of things so that the boards can withstand more, don't get signs of fatigue or only after a much longer time than usual.
But the boards are still light.
That is simply another advantage of Dyneema. It has a density of 0.97, it is lighter than water. Glass fibre has 2.6, carbon has 1.9, so it only weighs half as much as carbon. I also build with CBC construction, which is half S-glass and carbon, and we also have a full carbon version. But 60-70% of our customers want Dyneema.
So why don't more board manufacturers use Dyneema?
I can only guess, but first of all Dyneema is difficult to work with. You need special scissors made of hard metal, it is very difficult to grind and must therefore be carefully covered with a thin, high-quality glass fabric. So it also has less favourable properties, but the advantages for the product are enormous. It does not absorb water, its rigidity is in the medium range and it is 12.5 times more impact-resistant than carbon fibre. You just have to know where the disadvantages lie and how to solve them. Many years of research and experience have gone into this. Which resin, which weave, which treatment method, which lamination method, what the rest of the structure has to look like.
Then you need to know which material has which properties, what the modulus of elasticity value is and how the materials work together. To give an example, in the case of carbon Kevlar (carbon fibre aramid), the carbon fibre has five times the E-modulus value of aramid. Under load, the carbon fibre will therefore bear five times as much of the load, but only 50% of the fabric is made of carbon fibre, so it will break more quickly. The aramid is only stressed when the carbon fibres are broken, but because the aramid content is also only 50%, it also breaks relatively quickly. The materials sound good, but simply don't work well together. Simple glass fibre is even better, at 10% of the cost and much easier to work with. The modulus of elasticity of Innegra is much lower than carbon, which works even worse together. You wouldn't reinforce a steel cable with elastic either. Dyneema and carbon fibre work much better together. Glass fibre is also twice as impact-resistant as carbon, so we reinforce the lugs with glass fibre. But carbon fibre is again more pressure-resistant.
Not only your boards themselves, but also the fins are very important to you.
I really liked the first twinser hype in the 90s, smaller fins, better manoeuvrability, better upwind characteristics due to the large fin surface. But the twinsers had the problem that they slipped quickly. I then experimented a lot with them and realised that the problem didn't exist with single fin boards, so I just put the centre fin back between the two and there you have a tri fin. I've only been making tri-fins since 1997.
However, I realised that the side fins always slowed me down a bit, so I tried the 4-Way Fin System around 2004. This is a fin system where you can change the angle of the side fins. Within an afternoon I found out that if you adjust the fins slightly, the board becomes faster and turns better. This could only be due to the water being deflected sideways by the board. So I had already assumed at the time that this effect changes with depth. Later, I had a student of hydrodynamics with whom we were able to analyse this on the computer using CFD (Computer Fluid Dynamics) can be simulated. The flow deflection directly under the board is even twice as large as I had assumed, but at the tip of the fin it is zero again. So the fins had to be turned in on themselves, the so-called pre-twist. This may sound complicated at first, but you can see the same principle in many places, for example in the windmills. You can also see the principle in our sails. We have less wind at the bottom than at the top, the wind comes more from the side at the top and more from the front at the bottom, so the sail always has to twist. Without twist, a sail would not work well. It's exactly the same with the fins. As water has 730 times as much mass as air, small improvements obviously make a big difference here. How we have researched all this is quite technical and the explanations so far are only part of it. There is a lot more to consider, such as which profiles to use and what effect asymmetric profiles have, for example. There is also the shape of the bottom and the position of the fin. But perhaps not everyone is interested in that and that would be something for a separate article.
The effect on the riding characteristics is explained in a nutshell: because the side fins are at an angle in the board and you put pressure on the inner fin in a hard turn, a forward component develops. Surfers call this "drive". This drive is intensified if the fin also flexes in the tip, which gives a real boost in the turn. The centre fin also has this effect when it flexes. As with swim fins, if you apply pressure, they give a forward thrust. If you have the fins parallel, then the fins stand crosswise in the current and work in the opposite direction. Then, especially with big, fast turns, you get the straightlining effect, as we say, that the board suddenly wants to go straight ahead when you want to make the turn.
With our fins we have proven to have less drag and the board turns better. Most multifin boards today have small side fins and large centre fins. The side fins cannot be made larger because they then brake even more and turn worse. We have solved this problem with our twisted fins. We can also screw three similarly sized fins under the board, which significantly improves manoeuvrability and the wind range.
Can I ride your fins if I don't have a Witchcraft board with the angled fin boxes?
Yes, we now also offer the fins for other brands where fin boxes are still parallel, both in Slotbox and Minituttle. I have turned the fins on the fin base even more for this.
The straps on your boards are also different from the usual models, why?
We also used to have standard straps. But we always ride barefoot here and in summer you surf every day, sometimes two or three weeks in a row. And sometimes you have a sore on your foot after a week, which gets bigger and bigger and more and more painful. And then sometimes you're out for a week or two to let it heal again. I've tried a lot of things. I tried straps that were a bit wider, had thicker padding and a larger surface area, they were asymmetrical. You no longer have the problem with these because they don't put so much pressure on the foot. I bought these straps for years and supplied them, but at some point the manufacturer changed factories and unfortunately the quality deteriorated. That's when I started to develop them myself. When the neoprene broke, I cut it away. You have a nice, soft foam and can continue riding. It lasted forever, so I don't use neoprene at all for my Witchcraft straps. The lightweight straps that are otherwise available can only be adjusted using screws, which is awkward. I use four screws. I wanted to keep the asymmetrical loops, where the entry side is larger, so that they are ergonomic. And that's why I developed some that are adjustable with Velcro. The screws can be offset so that the loop is pressed on asymmetrically. Of course, this is not possible at the back, where the loop is mounted symmetrically so that you can get in from both sides.
That's an important point. You don't screw them in parallel, you screw them in asymmetrically.
Yes, the inner screws are closer together than the outer ones, which opens the front loops to the entry side. The loops are also extremely adjustable because they consist of three separate parts. You could simply cut off some of the foam if you have very small feet. You can also make them extremely large. And because they are separate parts, you can simply remove the foam element from the Velcro when travelling, lay the straps flat on the board and you don't have to unscrew the screws every time. With a double screw connection, that's twelve screws, which is a lot of work. You simply take the foam element with you, you can also replace it.
You don't just make boards for the waves, you also build slalom boards.
Yes, we're not focussed on that, we don't advertise it in the first place. But I had good customers who said, "I've been riding my Witchcraft waveboard for 10 years without any problems, you have to build me a slalom board!". We then developed slalom boards with their help. They are slightly narrower than the boards from the World Cup. There, you only have to go full throttle for 10-15 minutes and every few hundred metres you stop and accelerate again. That's why these boards are wider. A normal slalom skier usually skis straight ahead for hours and as long as possible, as GPS speed is important to many. Control and a higher top speed are more important, hence the narrower outline. For example, I've also had customers who have extreme chop at their spot, so I've also built freerace boards with more V in them so that they run more damped there. You won't necessarily find anything like that on my website, but if you want a board for special requirements, you can get one, the shape then has to be discussed.
Your own board is a flextail, what is the idea behind it?
Yes, this is especially for light wind wave conditions where you want to dip out or plane early. This allows you to flatten the rocker line a little. When you go into the turn, it adapts automatically. And that gives you an enormous kick through the turn, you accelerate again in the turn. But if you shift the weight forwards a little, the tail stays straight. Sometimes, in light wind conditions, you can still get around a breaking wave where another board with more rocker would park. And you simply glide faster on the way out! We only do the flex tails as custom boards.
You build the boards here in Fuerteventura, how long do I have to wait? I probably won't be able to order and take the board with me the day after tomorrow.
No, we now have a waiting list of five months. It always varies slightly. When there's a lot of wind, orders pile up, often until the summer. Sometimes in winter it's a little less, maybe three months. But if you want to buy more accessories, you can also do so via our online shop.
You see more and more witchcraft boards on the North Sea and Baltic Sea. So you ship too?
Yes, we deliver worldwide. Unfortunately, the transport takes a while, but if you wait five months, then it's only a few weeks more for the transport. Or you can take the opportunity and come to us in Fuerte to pick up the new material yourself during your holiday.
It is also important to you that your sails glide well. How do you try to achieve this?
Yes, mainly due to the profile in the sail. Not a brutal amount, but already clearly recognisable, with the centre of effort far forward. The batten profiling is additionally supported by this. I also add some profile further up to get some power out of it. This combination gives the whole sail more propulsion from the bottom, but it also provides pressure point stability in the upper wind range. This shape allows you to use smaller sails. If you would otherwise have rigged a 5.5, the 5.2 is now sufficient. This is unusual for most riders at first. However, without the upper profile, which raises the centre of effort, you would have to use a larger sail for the same power. However, a larger sail has more weight and also has the centre of effort higher up, making the centre of effort less stable. With our sails, the trim range is larger: even if you rig the sail very bulbous, the centre of effort remains at the front and the sail does not become spongy. This pulls you forwards to where you want to go. The on/off still remains good, as the battens themselves tend to straighten.
What sailing lines do you have?
I have the Karma as an all-round sail for all conditions, whether onshore wave or sideshore wave, flat water or foiling. Then there's the Slayer, the sideshore wave sail, for our special conditions with cross-shore winds. It has four battens and a PVC window for better and longer visibility. This is very important in sideshore conditions. We have arranged the panels on all sails so that the fibres and seams run in the direction of the pull. Seams are overlaps and thus function as reinforcements. The seams widen towards the outhaul and trim block so that the panels overlap more. This creates the reinforcements from the sail itself. In addition, the material in the luff and foot of the sail is the most stable, towards the back and top it becomes lighter and lighter, where it has less to hold. At the leech you need something stronger again so that it holds during a wash and the sail does not stretch. Weight is important, but a stretched or even broken sail will sail even worse.
Weight is important, but a broken sail always sails worse."
You've been here on Fuerteventura with Witchcraft since 1993. How did it all start?
I first worked at Flagbeach, then I started my own business. I had my shop in Corralejo for 10 years, but it got more and more crowded. Then I found this plot near Lajares, about ten kilometres south of Corralejo. It's a bit out of town, where there's plenty of space and you can do whatever you want. You don't have any parking problems here, you live quite freely and you can go out on the water every day. We live nearby, where we also rent out flats. My wife Peggy does the bookkeeping and also some of the business side so that I can take care of the technology and development.
You come from Holland, how is it living here with the Spanish, with the islanders? Was it difficult at the beginning?
That went quite okay. I come from an island myself, from Terschelling. I always knew I would do something on my own. I only worked as a trainee in a company once when I was studying engineering. But then I realised that I didn't want to do that. And then I trained at a dredging school to build canals, harbour infrastructure, land reclamation and so on, which is what the Dutch specialise in. Back then, I travelled abroad a lot for Dutch companies, I was in Israel, England, Ireland, Malaysia and then the last two years in Argentina. I also learnt Spanish there. Of course, that came in handy later when I settled here. Back then, I always worked for ten weeks at a time, twelve to fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, and then I had five weeks off. When it was winter at home in Holland, I stayed locally, bought a car, then we drove through the Andes to Chile or another time with a few Argentinian windsurfers to Ibiraquera. That was in 1992, when Kauli (Seadi, 2007 Wave World Champion, editor's note.) was still in nappies. Yes, that was a good time. You earn good money doing jobs like that and I saved it up to start my own business somewhere. It's nice to see a lot of the world and get paid for hotels and flights, but at some point I wanted to do something myself. I always thought maybe a surfing centre. That's why I trained as a surf instructor at the VDWS in Pelzerhaken, then went here to Fuerteventura and initially worked as a surf instructor. But then I realised that if you're a surf instructor, you have to work when there's wind (laughs). I used to build boards as a hobby on Terschelling, then I took my tools with me and started repairing and later building boards here. So I turned my hobby into my profession, it doesn't get much better than that.
You live here, where others go on holiday, you have warmth all year round, you have a lot of wind here. Could you imagine giving it up again at some point and moving away from Fuerteventura?
No! (laughs) I can imagine us travelling for longer periods of time. We sometimes do that now in the summer, travelling through Europe in our motorhome. We have nice long school holidays here from mid-June to mid-September. I still have to be here until mid-August, but then we take off for three or four weeks and chug from here to Holland, for example, and then back again.
What are your plans with Witchcraft?
In principle, continue as before. The windsurfing market is under a lot of pressure. Because of other competing sports, ageing windsurfers with fewer youngsters and also because of the economic situation. The market will have to shrink healthily. That's why I think the market should be more concerned about its customers. Compared to other sporting goods such as mountain bikes, windsurf boards and especially wave boards are often much less durable. This harms the sport. You shouldn't try to knock as much as possible out of the customer's pocket, but instead offer well-developed, durable, sustainable products. In my opinion, this is the duty of the producers, but also the responsibility of the media. After all, everyone lives from the customers, and they should have a good time on the water in the knowledge that they have a good selection of good products. It has probably happened too often that a product has been thrown onto the market too quickly and for marketing reasons and has first had to be tested by customers. I can't do that, I would have left a long time ago. The locals here and the majority of my long-standing customers are pretty marketing-resistant and would notice something like that straight away. When I come across a new development, I realise that there is a need for a change or something new. Every now and then I get inspiration from my customers, but feedback from my team riders around the world is also an important source for me.
I'm more of a technician than a manager."
We are a small and flexible brand with a focus on very good quality. We want to keep it that way. We offer very good value for money and want to retain our very loyal customers. So far, I think we've managed that quite well and I'm very optimistic. Sometimes potential customers who don't want to wait so long for a board say that I should increase production. Yes, financially that would certainly be attractive. But firstly, my focus is on maintaining high quality and remaining flexible, and that would be more difficult for me if I had to maintain a large machine. I prefer to work directly and with a small team, good team riders, and material procurement and research or new developments are much more important to me. It's also reassuring to know that you still have orders for four to five months, so you can plan better, procure materials and so on. But yes, with all our own products such as fins, sails, extensions and so on, we could certainly go into mass production and make impatient customers happier. But then we would have to be bigger overall and do a lot more marketing. That would be possible, but only with a large investment or the right partners. I'm more of a technician than a manager.
Bouke, thank you for the interview!
- You can find more information on the models, designs, options and prices at witchcraft.nu
