The masts are all different profile (and chord). That racing mast is super thin. The standard UHM masts are thicker, but the shorter they are then thinner and smaller chord they are. I measured my 85 and I think it was between 13-14mm. The 75 is definitely thinner.
Weird, havenāt had that issue before and donāt know how to fix itā¦
For the UHM masts:
In general the Cedrus Evolution 77.5cm Surf is 1mm thicker throughout with a 107.75mm chord at the cutout. Iāve been told by other AFS users that the 75cm UHM mast isnāt as stiff as the 80cm UHM mast (makes sense) but the performance benefits are significant. This is how Iām currently feeling about the the Evolution vs 80cm UHM. The UHM is stiffer but the Evolution is more performance oriented.
I test rode the sk8 1050 vs the silk 1050 on the cedrus evolution surf mast today. For me, it was no comparison, the silk was better in every way that mattered IMO.
In defense of the sk8 I will say that I did not have a full quiver of tails to choose from. I probably would pick the 140 if it was my own kit. Today I got to demo it with the 170 dw tail which had nice glide but I was truly disappointed in the turning, stability at speed, and takeoff low end. Iād give it another crack later this week but there was simply nothing about the sk8 that made me think Iād pick it over the silk. My other option was the 200 carve which may have been the better choice but seemed so big (vs the 132 silk) that I simply chose the smallest option.
yeah i would say that tail really doesnt give you a true view on the SK8ā¦
2 Likes
Whatās your favorite tail on it?
180, 160, chopped 180
Agreeā¦the DW tails are really only useful for DW and generally miserable on turns. So much so that I prefer the monobloc carve tails for DW if conditions are good and I donāt need ultimate efficiency.
See if you can grab a 160 or 180 and get a rematch.
I use the 1050 sk8 as my light wind foil and absolutely love it. Low end is great, plenty fast and generally just very easy to ride. I use the C200 tail and more recently the 161-W.
Whatās your weight and board? I definitely found it lacking on the low end vs the silk.
75kg and Sunova Carver 85l. Also got at Omen 60l. I guess all things are relative and Iāve never tried the silks but Iām very happy with my sk8s, I also think the stall speed of the 1050 is very good, sometimes when I fluff a tack Iām surprised how Iām able to stay on foil
1 Like
Yeah Iām 87kg on the 85l carver so Iāve got a little weight on you. The in flight low end on the sk8 was good, that initial takeoff though, just seemed like a bit of a struggle! Hopefully I can try it again in a few weeks with different tails.
Interested to hear how you have gone. For the Sk8 - I have found that longer fuse and smaller tail are great for the SK8ās - better in larger waves and smoothes out the experience at speed for me. Carbon short fuselage and the C200, chopped down to about 150 or smaller. This is how Adam Bennetts had his Sk8ās set up I think. I have only used sk8 950 - 750 like this. One concern I have for the silk is that the fuse might be a bit short and get twitchy in bigger waves? Not sure how big the swell in the Gorge is?
2 Likes
Iām about 500 miles into the silk and tried a few sk8 foils and tails but never liked it. For me, the sk8 felt stiff and tracky, even when set up in a ācrazy looseā way.
Iāve ridden the silk up to 47 knots with a 2m wing and overhead swell. Never had any pitch issues. For me, itās the most natural feeling foil Iāve ever ridden.
*edit:
I do want to add that I never got the chance to comprehensively go through all the sk8 sizes for fronts and tails. Itās tough borrowing gear from friends who only have specific sizes. The shop demos are $175 a day and I wasnāt willing to pay that for each setup. So, perhaps there is a sk8 setup Iād like, but thus far, no.
2 Likes
Did you try with any other tails apart from the DW?
Yes, I got to try a few different carving tails, I forget them all. I really wanted to try their smallest tails but didnāt get to.
The downwind tails felt like they had to āclickā into turns. The carving tails I tried just didnāt feel very fluid to me.
2 Likes
SK8 650 or 750 and xxxs carving 160 is pretty much the jam. Longer fuse (xs) 160C and 140C are waiting for me at home. Will report back how those gel with SK8.
Iām surprised to hear you say you didnāt like how they turnedā¦I feel like you can push these about as hard as you want and pick as tight of a line as you can dream up. Roll is instant and rewarding.
Only time Iāve felt things get at all stiff is if theyāre overpowered. I also did find that a bit further back in the box worked better.
Iāve never tried any of the bigger sizes of the SK8, not sure how they perform.
1 Like
You know, this is why doing a legitimate demo is in my opinion, hard to validate if you donāt have the entire quiver on hand to try. I never got to try anything smaller than the 850 and walked away with no interest in the sk8. Yet, you only rode the smaller sizes and love them. (I also did not try them in the back of the box)
Even the owner of the sk8ās that I tried went out and bought an eagle 690 (same span as sk8 850) and said it turned so much better than his sk8 850.
So, I guess the fullest clarity for me would be that if you are looking for an 850 or 1050, IMO, the Silk was vastly superior. Iāll try to get some good rides in on the Silk 650 this week, but donāt know anyone who owns the smaller Sk8 foils in the gorge.
Thatās good to hear - for a long time I preferred the 690 Eagle to the 750 SK8, and itās still kind of a toss up. Speed on the 690 is just such a joy, but the 750 is maybe a bit more full-on surf feels. Very close though, and pretty similar in pump.
You cannot compare the sk8 and the silk on the same board, silk is made for no foil box rocker and sk8 for around 1degree rocker depending what foil sport you do itās can greatly change the feeling of the foil .
Never tried the silks, might buy the kit at some point because the feedback is overwhelmingly positive, but I have used the eagles and sk8 for the last year and a half.
Iām close to 80kg, proning usually high period waves and winging those in 10-20kts winds.
In the eagles the 790 feels magic to me for its glide and turning. It starts getting a bit locked in the turns when overpowered which happens around chest high. The eagle 890 felt quite slow to roll. Have not owned the 690. Eagles suffer in choppy conditions.
In the sk8s the 650 and 750 feel great, although the 650 is a bit too hard work for me. They track and tend to lock in when overpowered but it doesnāt really happen in most conditions for me, unless you tow I think you are sweet. The 850 and 950 feel harder to roll, and with time spent on those I now feel that this is the main thing missing. Unless you have them a bit underpowered they lock quite a bit at speed, they track like the smaller sizes but that feature becomes a problem.
All of that is tested with XS and S fuse, kd13r no shim. Also a chopped C200 but more drag.
I suspect the small eagles where great surf wings by accident. I heard the fone team then developped first the sk8 750 by chopping the eagle 790, which is the best sk8 of the range in my opinion. They then did the same for the other sizes but that is where they could have done a better job with making them looser on the roll axis. It might have been because they tuned them with shorter fuses and bigger tails, not sure.
Overall still great wings, and amazing to see that yet again, new foils are outperforming 2 yrs old foils, exciting times! Will report back if I try afs.
3 Likes