2017 Simmer Style Freegal 110 (First Look)

I've picked up myself the new Simmer Style Freegal 110 for my light wind board for this season, It's a compact wave design (As compact as a 110 can be I guess) similar to the Starboard Reactor or Quatro Super Mini. The board is quite short at 219cm but makes up for that in width at 66cm wide, I've had wide wave boards before (Quatro 110 & OES 127 Custom HotRod) and found they work quite well in the less the ideal conditions we get at Gerroa most of the time (It's not always awesome DTL). The board itself is immaculately finished, The paint job is nothing less then pure perfection..And quite bright I might add. The standard footstraps feel comfortable and held in place with double screws which means they are super secure and the pads feel nice under foot.

Here's what Simmer has to say about the Freegal...

"The Freegal is a reduced length wave board, combining the speed of a fast tail rocker flow with the radical performance of a compact tail. Freegal is a versatile board which can be tuned to perform well in all conditions from onshore wind waves to down the line ground swell type conditions. It is inspired from recent developments in the surfing world and it provides quick adaptation between different turning styles. Riding a Freegal helps the sailor to utilize every part of the wave. The Freegal thrives under the feet of an active sailor who pushes the turns and looks for vertical sections on the wave. It responds very sensitively to the riders input but still handles a powerful turn. The combination of low drag and tight turning performance makes the Freegal unusually good when chosen in larger than normal sizes for sailing when the wind and waves are less powerful. As such, it is an excellent choice as a float and ride complement to a smaller wave board. It also performs in standard sizes as an energetic all rounder."

"It is an excellent choice as a float and ride"... Sounds perfect for how I sail most of the time...




The specs.



5 slot boxes for total versatility, Suits any rider preference.



The middle fins are set quite wide and both inner and outer appear to have quite a bit of toe-in.



The board is fitted with a Gore-Tex vent plug.



The board was supplied with Simmer BlackTip and Mission fins but I'm running Makani Piranha's (Awesome Fins).



A nice bit of tail rocker.



Large double concave through the bottom.



I ordered the board from the Windsurfing Shop who assured me that they could get the board in-stock in around 10 days directly from Simmer Sweden, It actually only took around 7 and that included clearing customs (They provide Fed-Ex tracking details so you know where it is every step of the way). An awesome deal was done so a big thanks to the Windsurfing Shop for looking after me and for providing excellent service along they way. I was so happy with the price and service I've ordered a second board that will be here very soon.

Hopefully I'll get this one wet real soon...Stay tuned and I'll let you know how it goes.

J.

cool thanks for info...and can say more about the Makani Piranha's fins...sorry for OT

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uweh said...
cool thanks for info...and can say more about the Makani Piranha's fins...sorry for OT

The fins have now moved from proto to full production, I've been running them for 2 seasons and really like how the work. They are obviously very different to any fins I've ever used before and was like everyone else at first was put off by the massive serrated leading edge which would possibly do some damage...But probably no more then a normal fin chop, I no longer even think about the edge. Being a bigger rider and having to ride bigger boards then most (98-110) you find that these boards are a bit sluggish in the waves and lack the slash your looking for. This is where these fins come in...They just really loosen up the bigger boards with noticeable results from the get go. There's been report of excellent up wind abilities in the slalom fins, The wave fins are really good upwind but I really couldn't tell too much of a difference but I was running a size smaller then I normally would so maybe they are better. Obviously no good if you have a weed problem but that is to be expected...They aren't sharp so they won't just slice through everything if that's what your looking for. If your ever around Gerroa and want to give them a go I've got a few spare sets of proto versions in US and Slot Box to suit twins/Quad/Thrusters and singles that you can have a go with.

Cheers J.

Nice report. What size twins were you using and what size sail?

I used 18 twin fins on my Goya 116 quad (with blanking plates for thrusters) yesterday and really liked that size fins on it.

This really is a good read. As far as I know, I was the first person to receive a Simmer Freegal board and still have the semi-custom Freegal 100 proto. I think that it went into production unaltered, even if the most recent version most likely have received a few tweaks.

It is, of course, designed by Ola Helenius, but I like to think that I had a little bit of influence in the origins of this board. At the time in 2013, I jumped back and forth between my FlyWave 85 and a Fanatic Skate 100. I had also sailed the Quantum 85. Somehow, I got the impression that maybe parts of the Skate 100 design could successfully be mixed with the Frugal 88 - introducing a faster rocker and slightly different rails into the compact Frugal outline to potentially create a very manoeuvrable big wave board in lighter winds. I was mainly looking for a board that would get going easily with not much power in the sail and a bit of push from the waves and give better mobility in the break in not-so-perfect conditions. It was of course also influenced by having seen similar 100-litreish compact shapes from other shapers, mainly custom though. Not least the Mark Stone and OES (Peter Ross?) designs. I had a (long...) mail chat with Ola about my idea and, to my delight, got the board delivered a few months later.



To now read about this shape, albeit in the 110 version, being used in Gerroa south of Sydney (where I lived for a bit less than 6 months a long time ago) makes me smile a bit in front of my screen.

Anyways, I have used my Freegal 100 in all kind of conditions an fin set-ups. Everything from flat water with a single fin, which actually works surprisingly well, to twin, tri and quad fins up to head high+ waves. In waves, I did find myself preferring it as a twin, since it gives the best mix of speed and turning ability in my book. I think that it also benefits from the twin set-up, since I mainly use it in light wind wave sailing where the boards ability to quickly adapt and get into turns is much appreciated. Funnily enough, the twin fins that I have liked the most are 17 Makani fins (Walu 2, though) with a 5.3 BlackTip sail.

However, I am still to find a good tri-fin set-up to work with this board, but I think that it should be a very good option as well. I have a couple of new tri-fin setups that I will give a go later this year. Overall, the Freegal is a bit different to sail than a more traditional wave-shape, but it certainly does offer really good turning for its size. I think that its main strength lies in keeping speed up even in very tight turns. If there is one thing that it does not like, then it is if you try to put (a lot) of pressure on the rail for longer, faster turns. You also need to distribute your weight and cannot push firmly with your back foot against the fin(s). In short, it is not a board for the back-foot heavy guys. For nice, flowing turns in lighter winds with good ability to adapt to the wave, it still is a board that still manages to surprise me considering its size. But, I am of course biased when it comes to this particular design...

It would be nice to read if you've had any more learnings about your Freegal 110 and how you set it up.

Yeah, I would say that 16 twin is on the small side for the 110. I've used 16 a few times on the 100, but prefer 17 for a bit more grip and better upwind capability. Interesting on the quad setup, I have never tried it with any front fins smaller than 10 or 11. Will give it a go.

Agree that it holds a drawn out bottom turn nicely, better than expected. To me, it is more about putting more pressure on the rail in faster waves when a longer rail/tail section gives you more to lean on, if that makes sense. Which is why a board like the Quantum performs better in bigger waves, I'd say. I find the same thing and use my more narrow 95-litre board when waves get bigger or faster.

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southsea said..
Hey jh2703 - Any thoughts on the 110 now you've had her a few months?

Yep...A great board in the lighter conditions for me but I think a smaller 1 would be a whole lot of fun in good conditions. I do prefer the Quantum (it's my go to) as it's just the perfect board for me as far as float and performance are concerned. That said the Freegal has its place in my quiver though, on the really light days with a 5.9 it performs really good in the waves ...I mean really good. I've used it a lot on flat water also as a twin fin...Just for blasting around lake Illawarra and it's good. There was one day I gave the speed sailors a run for their money clocking almost 29 knots with a 5.9 ....the smallest they were running were 7.0 on their slalom boards and I was lucky enough to get the right gust and got them.

I'm off to Peru and if I had the luxury of taking 2 boards I'd definitely be taking this 1, But I'm limited to 1 so the Quantum is it.

It it is a fun board and really responds to rider input...Take it easy and it carves through turns like it's on rails but ride it like you stole it and it's a demon ...slipping and sliding all over the waves it's pure fun ...Like moto X on water.

Cheers J.

Hi jh2703 you tested this board with the Makani fins "This is where these fins come in...They just really loosen up the bigger boards with noticeable results from the get go." does this mean with the standard fins supplied the board would be less loose and not perform as well as when you tested it?

Yeah ive got a couple of sets of makani fins for my quad boards, nice fins. For light wind and weedy water I've recently been using their quad weed fins 17 rears and 8 front a tad slower than the more upright fins and turns are marginally a bit more drawn out. In windy less weedy days I use 16 and 8. I tried 9cm and 10cm in the front but I think both those stiffened the board up. I reckon in quads theses a "magic" ratio of surface area between front and rears that works . I tried those black project fins too slow and draggy. Best fins ive ever used are the Choco fins but too hard to get, id like to try the pirhana.
Sorry to hijack your thread about your board.

Hi Jason,

I was wondering how the 2017 simmer boards held up aftet a year of use?

Did you notice any difference between the build quality between them and boards built in the cobra factory?

Thanks, Tom

Just what I wanted to hear, They look the business and sound like they can take a pounding.

I only just realised they had moved production to the kinetic factory, which seems to be a step ahead of cobra in terms of impact resistance and durability.

Apparently they have shaved 300-400grams off the new boards with a different paint job

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Sail Repair WA said..
Just a note on the Freegal boards.
The Freegal range will not continue for 2019
The new 2019 Quantum range has the sizes of 105 and added a new 115L, and this will cover the popular 'float & surf' 110L Freegal.

The freegal sounds like a brilliant board, any idea why they aren't continuing them?

Ola s designs are really good . The original Simmer factory was in China, poor quality control. Moved to VietNam and much improved. Last 2 years very good.
I dont know if Kenetic are in VietNam , I thought China