Inflatable wingboards are very popular due to their unbeatably compact packing dimensions ( HERE there's an article on the general advantages and disadvantages). One design hurdle is always getting the foil to sit firmly. Most brands solve this problem by installing large carbon or fibreglass plates on the underside.
With the Starboard Air Foil Inflatable, a new fastening concept, brand-internal"Top Plate Technology" ensure a bombproof fit of the foil.
The board concept will be available in three sizes with volumes of 169, 146 and 122 litres. All boards are to be equipped with welded edges, which means that the top and bottom are welded to the rails to form a single unit. Together with the woven layers of the deck and underwater hull (dropstitch), Starboard aims to set the benchmark for durable, dimensionally stable and high-quality inflatable boards.
The top plate technology used in the Starboard Air Foil Inflatable is reminiscent of a concept that is also used in the Duo Plate comes into play. The board itself is inflatable, only the smaller standing area consists of a hard board. As a surfer, you therefore stand on a solid deck and don't feel like you're surfing on an inflatable board. The foil is also screwed directly to the hard deck plate. This makes the connection to the board as rigid as possible, but also means that you lose around ten centimetres of mast length, as the foil is not screwed to the underside of the board, but to the top plate.
The following video explains the concept in more detail:
The Air Foil Inflatable is available for between 1049 and 1149 euros, depending on the board size selected. Info also HERE on the manufacturer's website. We will also be trying out this new product, and you will soon be able to read a test report here on the website.
Finally, we are interested in your opinion: Are inflatable boards interesting for you and would you like us to present more of these concepts on the website?
