Starboard supercruiser review

Here's my modest contribution
I was in Tarifa last week for 6 days of windsurfing (yes I know life sucks)
Went to "escuela dos mares" windsurf rental cause I knew they had foils (even though Tarifa is supposed to be windy as hell, you never know)
First two days Poniante wind was howling, was out windsurfing in 5.5, my first time starting from a shore break and in freezing water !
Next days were Levante wind so not as strong (15knts max in gusts) and much smaller break

Got to rent a 122 starboard foil board equiped with the supercruiser.
I knew they had my race foil setup to rent but thought I would give it a go.

so here goes :
uggly as f....
heavy as a pig (mast/fuselage are alloy and front wing is more than 2 cm thick on the angle of attack)

Uphauling was stressing, narrow 75.5 board (as opposed to my 1.00m fat tiki)

Started pumping the 5.5 gator and I was immediatly in the air !!! at ultra low speed (remember I'm 92 kg!)
I was up so fast I didn't have time to fit my rear strap.
Not wanting to fall in fridge temperature water I sailed my first tack with the rear foot between both rear straps, was okayish... but no I way I could go upwind like that.
Still I was cruising easily at 15 knts with no issues at all.

next tack I fitted both straps before take off and then the magic happened !!
Unreal stability, no way to get it to even breach, so reassuring ! I would go upwind and downwind with no issues whatsoever.
Max speed reached was 17knts, but what a comfort, I did a downwind holding the boom with one hand for approx 7 km.
You totally forget the weight once you get going, I tried a jibe close to shore in medium waves, nearly nailed it, the foil sustains flight forever....

After that I went for a another long dw but this time carving (zigzaging) up and down the tarifa swell (did I mention I was in Tarifa ? ) , what a great feeling, unhooked, back foot out, just playing with the foil. Dream session !

Didn't get to try the stab adjustment system, but looks neat and easy.

So all in all a great foil either for beginners (assured to fly in 5 mns !) or if if you're looking for something really comfy and cruisy that you can play with in waves also !
Have to admit if fits the 122 just fine, only needed to adjust my stance.

So mostly pros, only con I noticed is the front wing screws would come undone after each session.
(tel pics sorry !)

Thanks so much for the review, Sean. I was wondering what they were like. In your opinion, would you use one of these as an early flying, light wind option in conjunction with the SB race foil set up? Or does the race foil have enough variation to cover the same light wind range?
Thanks again.

Sean, can you remember at what angle the stabiliser was set and was the front wing mounted on the back 3 screw holes or further forward utilising the more forward screw?

hi, stab was set to neutral and wing was fully back on the fuselage.
Suspect the "extra" hole is for one of the other surf wings maybe ?

I may need to add the Supercruiser front wing and Fuse to my SB foil inventory!!!

I use a torque wrench set to around 9Nm and they are all still at the same tightness when I come off the water.

Indecent exposur you will need to buy the rear wing too as this is different to other starboard rears.

Select to expand quote

mudshark65 said..
Really stoked to see this review. I have the ultrasonic with the race setup and wanted to try the super cruiser, but wasn't sure it would work with my board. Had the Naish for awhile and it was so back foot heavy due to the short fuselage. After struggling for months realized how important it is to have a foil that is suited for your board.

I use the Ultrasonic as well with the race foil setup and the super cruiser. My preference for the Super Cruiser at the moment is having the front wing pulled out using the outer 2 screws thus giving more front foot pressure. Carving downwind unhooked is a lot of fun with its surfy feel. I can see how a more compact, medium width board would work well with the Super cruiser as the back foot can easily be along the center line.

Mine arrived todaywill use for "freefoil" windsurfing on SB 122, carving on the swells with small sails, and for SUP
Roll on summer!

I tried it last week with the new foil x 145. For me it felt instable too. I thought it was because the wind was very low and im used to go with the 800 race foil. It was the same thing like the moses vento 85. Probably with more wind would it be easyer to get warm with this style.

Now had my first session on Supercruiser, out on Melbourne's Bay - not ideal conditions, wind all over the place northerly 5 to 30 knots, small swell, on SB 122 with 4.7 Blade, front wing all the way back, using 95 carbon mast (from my GT and Race sets)

SO much fun, even in such gusty breeze which makes it impossible to get settled - easy, loose, quick and smooth to get airborne even with my 90+kg, fast enough, very controllable in the bullets compared to crazy power of Race foil/fuselage, definitely allows a smaller sail than GT

A real hoot exploring angles and learning the right foot pressure to surf the swells, feather the sail, power the board through the foil instead of the sail - plenty of dropping off the foil in the holes, and plenty of crashes when I *@$#&ed up - unlimited room to keep learning, eg. DarrylG tracks are incredible! So it is a winner for everyone from 1st timer to expert

Inspired to get out in bigger Bay and ocean rollers, and to try it SUP foiling with the same 87 fuselage

Another great contender in the booming "free foil" space

Some thoughts to add, after a session on SB122 with Blade 5.3, loads of wind - out on GT for a while, then switched to Supercruiser

Both work sweet - GT needs a bit more speed to get/stay flying, it's designed to blast along on fast reach - SC is SOOOO easy, flys in a blink with no fuss, plenty loose, encourages continual turns (like a pure wave board), happy going slower than GT which is what you want to stay connected to wave faces - once you can manage the high speed, GT is actually easier to use in rough water if you want to sail in straight lines - SC has tons of lift so it grabs every bit of power from the rollers and changes ride height continually in messy seas, whereas GT relies more on sail power and high aspect wing just punches through chop more evenly once you are blasting along - SC is fast enough, GT is a rocket, and both rip upwind effortlessly

That low aspect lift feature will be mega fun on Supercruiser as I learn better techniques in ocean rollers etc , to flow with the waves, continually using power of the swell rather than the sail, trying to keep consistent ride height, managing the surge in speed, power and lift when riding down wave faces

Both foil styles are so accessible and satisfying, way less technical than full race foil setups - only caveat if you start out your foil journey on the SC, it will be easier in flat water

First time out on SC a couple of front bolts came loose, like others report, but next time I tightened them more and no movement - thread inserts mean OK to really crank them tight before you head out - ditch the dinky spanner they supply and get a T tool

SC is plenty loose under my 92+kg, rear wing seems fine (and angle is adjustable), but lighter riders or Kai Lennys may want to change it ...

Also will be interesting to use SC for SUP foiling, to see if lift and balance of standard bits suit that equally well

I got the SC about 6 weeks ago as another option to use as well as the gtr set up. I used it today in a very gusty 5-25 knots. Even in the strongest gusts I was able to keep it in control and in the water but felt a smaller front wing would be better in these conditions. I would be interested to hear from anyone that has used the 1300 wave front wing and how it performs, also if you use the 370 stab as supplied with the SC or is the 270 stab better with the 1300 wing. FYI I'm 93kg and I'm hoping this wing will be good for 20-30+ knots.

I have my SC wing in the forward position too, I feel much more balanced that way. To avoid too much lift I put the rear wing a bit closer to neutral than the mid way point, which by my observation is fairly kicked up at the trailing edge.
im still learning, maybe this is wrong approach, but it seems to be working?

Select to expand quote

Captflathead said..
Anyone got more experience on moving the front wing to the front of the fuselage - it is not clear it is a recommended move but for me this makes this foil brilliant. Faster to fly less, up and down skipping and generally fun! Has anyone damaged their foil doing this? I have only been out a couple of sessions with this set up and want to keep using it this way.

Havent had many sessions of late on the supercruiser as spending more time wingfoiling and using the shorter 67 fuselage rather than the supercruiser 87 fuselage. I have used the front setting without issue. My preference is also to use the 2000 Ocean front wing as it offer more lift and stability. Plan on trying out the 2400 Ocean front wing as well at some point for the lighter days.

Really interested in how the 2000 and 2400 performs in relation to the 1700 if anyone has had experience they can share. I have used the 1700 SC in the forward position quite a bit now and feel it is offers another option for lighter days and it does give more stability.

Any long term reports on running the wing forward? I'm curious if anyone has had issues with cracking the socket etc?