A quick photo shoot before the on the water test. for the 09 Isonic 111
Some nice detail in the rear end, we'll see what that means on the water.
Sunken deck quite pronounced
It fits in the trusty commode WS vehicle with the front seat still usable! Big car or short board...both
Nice finish all round.
Feels quite light at 6.6kg even though it still .6kg heavier than the Falcon (not the car)
15-20knt breeze forecast tommorrow, perfect testing conditions, stay tuned. 
I managed to get an hour or so on the board today in 10-15knts plus a few bigger gusts.
First off I had some problems getting my feet in the straps, straps were more outboard than the Falcon 111.
Settings were front straps middle hole (3 holes), back straps out and back hole (2 holes).
After I got used to the front, the back was like barefoot skiing before I could locate, and once in it was difficult to avoid heel drag. I moved back straps inboard and 1 hole forward, ie. front hole. This solved the strap location problem, felt much more familiar. I was using the supplied 44cm Drake.
2nd thing I noticed is that fine trimming of the board was a bit more challenging. While it all felt comfortable I wasn't trimming the board flat, windward rail was causing some splash and the tail was creating a more pronounced rooster tail on the windward side. The board felt pretty quick in light winds but felt a little more stuck as the power in the sail increased. Nose rode quite low, I felt I needed to free the nose a little higher.
The falcon had a fat tail with all the bouyancy in the back, whereas the IS was more biased forward so it felt very different, also looked quite short in front of the mast.
No problems powering up wind. However I never felt I was driving the board as hard as I would of liked, I also felt like I was only using 4 out of 6 gears. Didn't have my GPS on so it hard to be objective as the board was quite smooth, but felt stiff. Again in contrast, the Falcon and AB+ boards feel a lot more direct in their ride which gives me more sensation of speed.
The gybe wasn't taxing and exit speed was good, with a bit of practice it will be good with fast fully planinig gybes. Getting the board planing in light wind was a little hit or miss for me because I know I wasn't trimming the board optimally while pumping.
So I need to do a bit more adjustment of my stance and tweaking to the trim. 15-20 knts forecast tommorrow (fingers crossed) so looking forward to more TOW with GPS.
Spent a couple of hours on the board today in 10-20 knots. Felt much more comfortable 2nd time out. Got the stance much more balanced and comfortable, and board trim was much better. I feel I can now move the straps to the back position F&R.
I still felt I was pushing too hard on the back foot and on the verge of spinout at times (still on the 44cm fin & 7.8 RSS), also need to get the board a little higher/free on the water for more speed. While I certainly didn't set any GPS records I wasn't too far off the pace compared to other speeders on the water.
The board felt very safe charging down wind over the back of chop but not as free and unstuck as the AB+. The gybes are getting better and planing through was getting easier, I think the gybes will rip with more TOW.
Pumping up was still challenging, normally I pump hooked in but I needed to get more physical out of the harness lines. Just need to learn to get move back to the thicker part of the rear deck while pumping...almost got launched in the process.
Hopefully get it totally sorted tommorrow with a good NE'er forecast
Weight is w/o straps & fins.
The Falcon is a very different feel. I don't know much about design characteristics as such so my comparison is based on feel and the way the board trims.
With the falcon most of the volume is behind the mast, it has a wide chunky tail. It was quite challenging to tack for that reason. Also because of the concave bottom shape you couldn't push hard against the fin. The stance was front foot biased and you loaded the fin top down. It has a more direct feel, I'd say the rails are sharper further forward. The SB has a softer feel, but you can drive the tale / fin with more pressure
Gybing the falcon, the harder you stood on the tail rail the sharper the turn, with bite. The SB is softer and more uniform in the gybe, seems to engage more rail. It took me a while to dial in the falcon, it always improved with more TOW. Whereas the SB I sense will be much quicker to tune.
I'm still about 2 knots of the top speed of the Falcon w 7.8m. But judging by the progress today I'm hoping to close the gap and a bit more fairly soon. I'm yet to try the smaller fin (38cm), perhaps tommorrow with 20-25 forecast. 
falcon@ 6kgs x 111lts is light its a shame you have to get rid of it there a great board
you know i'm still wondering why you want a 111lt for your light wind board, light winds 8 to 15knts, and today there predicting 20 to 25knts? i thought you was testing the board for light winds, so are you looking for a board that will go in 8 to 25knts?
it's obvious you wont be getting a bigger sail, if it was me id be testing something around the 125lt and haveing the option for a bigger sail
i'm enjoying this thread and im interested in how the board goes today in stronger winds, lets hope for 25 today the BOM has been a bit short on there predictions the last couple of days
.....but she was trying to water start at the time. 
But I won't let that get in the way of a good story.
Hi Des yep the IS111 would be perfect with the 7.8 I have the IS122 works great with the 8.5. The Isonics feel pretty sweet especially once you have them locked in they just seem to fly over the top of the chop rather than bounce there way through.
Which is exactly what the latest Planchemag said 
.
Im certainly very happy with the Isonics.
ta Vando
Hi Vando, any recommendations for fins?
I have a 38cm SR6b which I haven't tried yet, hopefully it works well. I was thinking that a 42cm would be a good complement. I'm using a Tectonics Falcon on my smaller slalom board which is great. So I'm thinking that something from Tectonics would be the go. However I hear from the SB camp that the Vector Canefire is a good match.
Open to any suggestions.
.
The starboard www said that the 111 can take up to 9 m. I would think light wind planing be better on the 122, but GPS speed be better on the 111 when fully powered up
I think you've answered your own question Haggar, it all depends which is more important to you the early planning or top end speed.
I'd say that if you are going to race then the 122 is the better option.
Vando is the speed demon so I'm sure he can comment on the best option.
des i think your new relationship has turned in to a love affair ,once you find the rite fin that suits your sail i cant see you giveing it back, how long can you test it for till you have to give it back
I decided to give the board a try with a 9m sail today. I've had a NP RS1 9m collecting dust in my garage for a few years as I don't have a boom big enough to rig it.
The sail set very nicely on a NP X6 mast and I borrowed a boom for the test, thanks Jason. The boom was a brand spanking new Maui Sails boom with adjustable everything. I have to say that this boom was spectacular, so solid, every ounce of power went straight into the sail to drive the board.
And drive the board it did. The sail worked beautifully, on the plane in a puff of wind, the board was surprisingly good with this sail (using the stock Drake 44). The nose lifted nicely and board just slipped through the water with no drag whatsoever. The water was quite smooth so board speed felt very good (should have strapped the GPS on). It actually felt better that my 7.8m, which means I still have some tweaking to do.
So a good result with the 9.0m, I'm going to buy myself a big boom and use this for the marginal days. 
Keef, when I was out on the 9m I'd say it was 8-15 knots, later on it may have peaked to around 20 for a short while. This is when I got excited and went in to rig some smaller gear, as a just in case, for our race.
My back did feel the 9m but only because of the position of the harness lines on the borrowed boom. I dare not make adjustments as Jason had the boom set up for his race on the weekend.
The 9.0m will be OK as long as I don't drop it and have to up haul. I was really surprised how the board handled the 9m. SB claim it's capable but I usually take the upper and lower limits of boards with a grain of salt. The 44 fin felt fine but I could probably go bigger for more drive.
You must have got the 5.8 weather we were expecting, it would have been great to have our race in really powered conditions. But them's the breaks.
Jason's given me a ticket to ride his new 09 Falcon 110 
- so stay tuned for a report.
- so stay tuned for a report.
Keef, you're right, I think the basin has a unique landscape that makes the wind funnel through. I have stayed at JB with very little wind on the beach and then gone down to Sanctuary Point to be fully powered on a 6.5m. I'll have a squiz at you're home made board.
On the 8th the Slalom Nationals will be on in Botany Bay, not in the usual spot near the runway but a little further down. If the wind is good I plan to enter. At around 2pm world champ Ricardo Compello will be doing a freestyle demo at Botany as well. There will be plenty of stuff going on so worth while dropping in. If you want to hook up I can introduce you to the local crew, text or call 0412 262 085. Or lookout for my white Commonwhore Wagon.
