Hi all just thought I would put up my initial thoughts on the Exocet RF91 and AFS 105 foil combo. Some background re my foiling is that I started last season on a Naish Hover 122 and Naish foil so the difference between the two is immense!The board is relatively wide 91 cm and combined with a long mast (105cm) means you need a fair amount of sail area to get going (esp in comparison with the Naish), once up its seems very stable side to side and relatively easy to maintain correct height.
The soft rails and rounded nose make touch downs relatively comfortable I have had a couple of shockers and the board just kept on sailingDownwind control is great, very easy to place back foot in between the rear foot straps and press against the raised hump areaWith wide board and long mast it provides plenty of leverage for upwind sailingI have used the combo with a 7m up to 23 knots and 8.5 in 8-12 knots
Some people were concerned whether the foot straps were out wide enough on the rail ??. They seem nicely placed to me as up wind the board is banked over and you can keep your entire foot flat pushing against the board Anyway , very happy so far, very challenging and I doubt I will ever sail it to its full ability, but great fun !!!
Thanks for the info - I can see the AFS would be faster on flatter water than the Naish with the WS1 front wing - but interested in other differences you've found.
If you were surfing small ocean waves and downwinding swells I'm guessing the Naish would come out tops?
One drawback for us shorter people - I'd drown trying to walk the 105 out to deep enough water to start. Dang, that's a long mast. For the math proficient types, how much more bending moment on the box does it have vs an 85cm mast?
(But, it sure is pretty!)
I am lucky that I am 6'2 so its still only chest height.The foil is beautifully made, the mast and fuselage are bonded together which can be a bit of a pain for transport but does make it incredibly stiff
