I’ve been using the silk 650 towing a lot recently. It’s still the funnest wing for waves with a wall. Holds speed really well, rolls smoothly and I can now pump it pretty much as long as waves keep coming. Does it max out? Absolutely yes, but it takes a really steep wave to get there. Biggest factor for speed is the stab. It used to feel like it was maxing out fairly quickly but negative shinning the 132 helped a lot, but affected the low speed characteristics too much. I’ve discovered (my latest) dream setup is the crisp 130 stab (long position). No shim needed and it absolutely flies in pretty much anything. Pumps and glides nicely and feels better than ever on hard carves. I’ve extensively tested the mako glide and carves, kd, all afs stabs, and while there are a couple I’ll still use in small conditions (e.g. Afs pure 150 short position is great for tight arcs and pumping), I could pretty much bin every other stab.
Silk 650 will always have a place it’s so good. I would definitley be interested in a 550 were it brought to light - but 650 does nearly all. Definitely wondering what afs could do to top these wings!
I’ve ridden the 650 on a bunch of big stuff at this point. I don’t know if I have actually found a real top speed.
If I need to let it go faster, the HA38 tail is what I like, with just the winglets cutoff. If I need help staying in the pocket, the 152 chopped to 10.5” has been my go to. Seems to help scrub speed when making big drops down the face.
I have never shimmed the tail, but when things get overhead with longer period, I shim the baseplate 1° fat end forward. It takes the pitchy feel out high speed out. This can be different board to board also due to the track angle.
When I was riding the Armie HA’s the 680 and 780 had an obvious top speed that was like an anchor. I have never felt that on the 650 Silk and I have broken in the mid 30’s mph a few times per apple watch.
I’ve not foiled at Hood River, but from what I gather, the speeds won’t match big ground swell so you will probably never find a top speed for the 650 there.
@OmarFoilCol was just mentioning the crisp 130 as something I should check out as well but I’ve been resistant to the flex. Perhaps I should consider it though. Am I understanding correctly that when conditions are small, you still prefer the Pure 150? I haven’t tried that tail either. I’m normally operating the Silk 650 on the low end of its range and use the Cloud IX 157 tail to slow it down a bit, stay in the energy pocket, and liven up the pump. The pure 150 is an interesting shape/option to consider tho.
Spring at Rufus is the only time I think it could happen. When the river flow is at it’s peak and the dam is right in front of you releasing at 300,000 cubic feet per second there’s a chance, but I haven’t ever felt it bog even the slightest on those days so I expect your right, it will likely never max out in the river.