Severne Alien foil board

Exhibition at lake Silvaplana switzerland. They told me the 125 is available now, the 120 and 120HD will be out soon. I also saw the 105, 115 and 145.

Alien DT box detail

Foilglide 2021 with three cambers. Still feels super light

Select to expand quote

Nikita said..
Slingshot i76 foil (B fuse position)

I tried the 125 in C position and it doesn't work. Board feels like it's either stuck on the water or tries to take off and fly away. B is the way to go in my opinion. Feels perfectly balanced.

On the Severne Alien web page it says this about the width of the board:

WIDTH
The width of the board matches the widths of the foils it's designed for. Too wide and the board has too much leverage over the foil and it's easy to overpower the foil or not have enough support. Too narrow and the foil can dictate where the board goes. So we balance it up - Alien widths are 65-85cm wide, and designed for similar width foils.

That doesn't make any sense to me. Why does the width of the foil wing make any difference to the board width or leverage? I think extra board width gives you more leverage against the heeling power of the sail which is why racers have massively wide boards. A narrower board keeps your feet closer to the centre line of the board and makes it easier to ride the foil through transitions or on waves when the sail isn't fully powered up.

This is like when manufacturers a couple of years ago said that you needed a wide board for a tall foil mast.

Great looking board, they will be popular

I was told recently that Severne is now owned by Starboard.

Not sure if this true?

But if so does the Alien and it's foil come off the Starboard production line ?

Select to expand quote

DarrylG said..

tonyk said..
Great looking board, they will be popular

I was told recently that Severne is now owned by Starboard.

Not sure if this true?

But if so does the Alien and it's foil come off the Starboard production line ?

Not true
starboard does not own severne
they just have a lot of the same dealers / importers

Good to hear it's still Australian Owned
Just one more reason to buy an Alien
Thanks Darryl

Got my 125 Alien yesterday, from the shop to the water
The Moses 790 works pretty good on it. No more too much front foot pressure like at the JP.
But why did they not added inner footstrap plugs?
105 has, 115 has, 120 has, 145 has too. But not the 125

Had maybe 6-7 more sails on this board now, some more observations, pros and cons. Super happy with the board so far, and its been rock solid as I've started making some serious progress from 1% Foil gybe success to now maybe 75-80% and I've had less then 10 sessions on it total. For the type of sailing I'm doing, there isn't another board out there that I think I would consider.

Pros:
- I've figured out how to pump this thing and it is incredible. I've read the stories of people on super small sails getting foiling in light winds, but just didn't seem possible, until last weekend when I had an epic late session on my 4.7m S1 in what was pretty light seabreeze around 12kts of wind when I rigged down. For context, the session started and it was blowing maybe 10-12kts, I started off with the 7m Foilglide, friend was on a 6.6m Lift Freeride. In the first hour or so, he probably spent 1/3 to 1/2 the time slogging, whilst I barely had to pump, and foiled 100% of the time, cranking upwind and doing foilgybe easily.
Second hour wind picked up to probably solid 14kts, so we were both powered up, went back in for a drink of water as the wind dropped again to maybe 12-13kts. Decided what the heck, I've sailed for over 2 hours, lets swap down and see what this thing can do. Rigged my 4.7 S1, went out, it was probably 12kts with some holes down to 9-10kts and my friend was coming in now a bit underpowered on his Lift and laughing at me because he thought I had rigged my 5.3, little did he know. As soon as I hit the water I was a little worried because the pressure in the sail felt like nothing after sailing the 7m, but to my surprise and his, even with barely any pressure in the sail, I was able to wiggle my way on the the foil pretty easily.
After that the foil did the work, the efficiency of the high aspect foil meant that I was able to accelerate and generate enough apparent wind to stay foiling and even make decent ground upwind and nail a few clean foil gybes. The extra volume in the tail really made it easy to stand in both footstraps and get the board and foil moving. I'm 100% sold on high aspect foils now for flat water, and this board makes it easy to get the most out of them.
- For me this will be a 1 board solution from 7-8kts up to 25kts, with 3 sails, 7m Foilglide, 4.8m S1 and 4.0m S1. Above that I'm still keen to learn a few more tricks of my freestyle board, so effectively this is probably a 3 sail, 2 board, 1 foil solution for foiling and slapping from 7-30kts.

Cons:
- For me it feels not quite wide enough for the 7m Foilglide, when its fully powered up (14kts+) and trying to really cranking upwind. I'm talking probably 45deg into the wind or there abouts. If thats the main sail you want to run I think maybe the 125L would be a better choice. The 115L is OK, but I think it would be more comfortable to sail if it was wider. Its perfectly fine when you aren't quite as powered up, and if you are sailing closer to a reach or downwind then the width is not an issue.
- Uphauling a 7m cammed sail is a bit of a pain, foil sails with the low foot even more so. Again if thats your main sail, I think the 125L might be a better board, as that length and volume will probably make it just that bit easier.
- Again, related mainly to the 7m, its not the easiest board to tack. I think I dropped like 4-5 tacks in a row the other day. Its probably easier to helitack. Not a problem with smaller sails, but I definitely found the 7m a bit tricky. I've got it pretty much sussed out now, but if you get easily frustrated by this kinda stuff, maybe go the bigger board. I'm more of a bang my head against the wall until it works kinda guy, so doesn't really faze me.

Observations:
- I've been tuning the foil a bit more, and now sailing the Fanatic Flow 1000 at 0deg rear stabiliser. Found that the -0.5deg, was a bit back foot heavy, and did mean that in gybes you had to have the back foot right against the rear straps to keep the board easily flying through the gybes. That said I have been foiling generally in lighter winds, from 8-15kts, so possibly I'll want some more negative stabiliser dialed in again on the windier days. So if you are looking for a faster freeride foil, consider the Fanatic Flow 1000. I had it up against an i76, and a Redwing and its faster than both, and friend and I both tried to foil as slow as possible (him on the i76), and there was maybe half a kt difference if that.
- Footstraps, I found that these were almost too big for me even on the smallest setting. Luckily there is a second set of holes in the footstraps (footstraps not the board) so that you can tighten them up, and you can also flip the washer under the bolt if you want the straps narrower. I'm about a size 9 but with wide feet, so using the inner holes on the footstrap worked better for me. Footstrap width issue also resolved itself, haven't felt my feet squished after the first session, I guess the straps just had to soften up a bit.

Some unanswered questions:
- Maybe I could get away with a 6m Foilglide and 105L Alien and not lose much bottom end. Thats just the perils of being an early adopter.
- Possibly I could get a freestyle board with a foil box to use from 12-13kts onwards, and get a 125L Alien for even more light wind performance? Hard to say what would work the best.
- Can I land a flatwater backloop on this?

Select to expand quote

swoosh said.
Cons:
- For me it feels not quite wide enough for the 7m Foilglide

I wonder if the problem is with your Flow 1000 being too wide for the board. Also don't know what you weight is so that could be a factor as well.

Select to expand quote

- Footstraps, I found that these were almost too big for me even on the smallest setting. Luckily there is a second set of holes in the footstraps (footstraps not the board) so that you can tighten them up, and you can also flip the washer under the bolt if you want the straps narrower. I'm about a size 9 but with wide feet, so using the inner holes on the footstrap worked better for me. Footstrap width issue also resolved itself, haven't felt my feet squished after the first session, I guess the straps just had to soften up a bit.

I am surprised by that. I am a size 12 and have no problems sliding in and out of the straps.

Select to expand quote

Some unanswered questions:
- Maybe I could get away with a 6m Foilglide and 105L Alien and not lose much bottom end. Thats just the perils of being an early adopter.

I think this depends on your weight. I am 115kg and use the 125 even in super light winds. You need to find the right trim I think. After watching Ben pumping the board onto the plane while standing in the straps I played around with the mast track a bit. Unlike on the Slingshot boards that don't seem to as sensitive to mast base position you really need to find the sweet spot for each sail on the Alien.

After playing around a bit I now found the right spot to pump the board onto the plane while standing in the straps.

I also wonder if the extra power of a bigger sail is often countered by the additional weight and mast foot pressure. Maybe it's different with foil race boards that have a lot more volume but for free ride boards I think going as small as possible actually helps more with getting the board out of the water.

Select to expand quote

swoosh said..
Aliens are real...












just got mine...

Q answered

Yes, pad size of the alien is too minimalistic imho. My 125 has no inner strap positions, but i would like to have a soft deck where i put my feet when im foiling and not in the straps.

Select to expand quote

BioniSurf said..
Hi Guys!

I am a returning newbie Windsurfer who want to get in to foiling.
I am 82ish kg and fit, where i used to live a rarely got to WS, so my skill level was not so good.
Basic sailing back and forth, tacking and JUST got in to planing and using harness.
Probably about the same level someone get to in about a week with to days equipment :).

I have been watching and reading a lot of tutorials (Windfoilzone, sam ross etc) and i also have
a very good windfoiler at my new local spot who are very willing to help us newbies.

So my plan was to get the Alien 125 or 145 with the Redwing with a Foil glide 6m2 and 7m2.
Do you think this is a bad idea or you think i can progress fine as a newbie on this gear?

Also, do you think the Alien boards is a good platform for a more freerace/race foil later on for more speed, if i progress to that level?
Something like a SB GTR+.

Thank you all and stay safe out there!

If you're a Newbie just getting planing, that sounds fine, but skip the sails for now. Stick to whatever freeride sails you are probably using right now, if you can plane with your existing sails, you will have plenty of power to get foiling. A cammed sail will just make your life difficult until you have the basics locked down.

Footstrap and mast positions are importand for the balance. My JP 150 foilboard was not well balanced with SB GTR or SB race foil, straps are too far back. So be careful if you mix stuff.

Clever graphics for the mast base position. Beats my scribbling on my board with permanent marker.

Select to expand quote

utcminusfour said..
I dig that! Sensible proportions and volume with a user friendly volume distrubtuion. It looks sexy too! Good choice mate it will be a great all rounder! Given the front wing placement and large wing size on the super cruiser try sliding the sail all the way back in the track, particulary sails under 6m.

On my JP135 I set the base close to the back of the track and this is set at exactly the same distance from the front bolt hole. For lighter winds I would move it back a bit but I generally aim for being well powered up to a bit over powered when I sail. First time out on the board I cracked 23kn for the first time on the 1300 wing and just shy of a 20kn alpha. I also got my best ever hour on a foil at just under 18kn. So for how I like to ride I think I've got the balance sorted. I also never mess with the stab angle now I have a good mix of lift and speed from it.
When I do use the standard 1700 super cruiser wing which isn't often ATM, mast base position stays the same as the 1300. With the gtr on the JP 5cm further forward so I assume it will be the same on this board. I have kept the JP for now for when I want to chase some speed on the gtr as I want to preserve the nose on the new board for a while.