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Got out on a 7m echo today and it is a really nice wing.
Conditions were lake wash, 8 to 16 knots. Went out on a Naish 110 board, AXIS 1020/460HA. Weigh 105kg.
Not sure what the wind was blowing when I got onto the foil, but it was low. The wing has no flex and you get a good shape because of the retractable boom, so pumping delivers big power. As you pull the wing in, it feels like it pulls forwards giving you some nice board speed.
It is a big wing and you will drag the tip while pumping, but it releases quite easily and I did not once drag it under the board. At speed up on the foil, each time dragged the wing badly, I flipped it over.
I had some quite low wind once up on the foil, and it is pretty easy to stay up with board pumping and wing pumping.
Tacks and gybes are so much easier when you are not searching for a handle. Plus one for a boom.
It rates.
Had my new 7m Echo out yesterday 8 - 13 knots (not quite whitecapping) for the first time. Really impressed with it, super solid overall, had heaps of power as soon as I was up and going.
You really feel the rigidity, especially when pumping. Had a 6m full inflatable out at the same time and the Echo was a lot more powerful (felt more than the 1m difference) and very efficient.
Control on the boom is great. Can fly one handed once you're up and cruising pretty easy.
I didn't find it caught the water too much, no more than my other wings (I'm about 5'10"). Could probably go an 8m I rekon 
Did a little video on the first time setup:
Took the 7m piece of monster cloth out for a spin today. Super impressed. My go-to light wind Wing has been the new Naish 6m. The 7m Echo felt waaay more powerful. Def a handful as the wing span is about a meter wider than the Naish 6m, but well worth it considering the extra wind range. Sam Parker styling as always in 6-8 knots
Nice work, do you have a CNC machinery in your garage?
There is room for business. Can you sell me some Doodads :
Axis mast to Gong fuse and Axis mast to Moses fuse?
I just got a 7M echo - very nice but that second 9bleed) valve keeps popping inside the sail when I pump it up - anyone else have that issue - not sure it was necessary anyway.
The wings are inflated at the factory. So they are not twisted when they leave the factory. They included a QC signed label saying so.
HUGE leading edges are prone to the HUGE lose bladder inside doing wonky things. Then most people install the boom FIRST, crumpling the leading edge up by doing this, then pumping the wing up with it all crumpled up, startIng the whole process, leading to the bladder inside not shaking out, falling free and lose inside so it can move around as it inflates and not get stuck, caught, and begin to twist.
So do this every time, now that you've got it straight. Boom goes after 75% inflation.
Think about why you don't see Ozone owners complaining......THEY HAVE NO BOOM CRUMPLING THE LEADING EDGE. So leave the boom off.
Here's a video of the 7 metre Echo in really, really low winds. This thing looks pretty big but it seems to work in next to nothing.
Thanks to DW your clear instructions on the vid for the boom mod were really good.
Just made my 5.0 boom with a 25/22 OD/ID carbon tube, same weave as the recommended one. The end piece was hellish difficult to get out of the old boom, I put a rope through the end and around the hook and tied it to a pole and twisted it out. Sanding it down took an age as well, ended up using a coarse file to start with then went down to fine, then sandpaper.
I thought the pop-rivets might not work so well in the inside of the carbon tube (despite the glued stiffener piece for the old boom) so I thought about adding an inner sleeve to rivet into but gave up on that idea and put a through bolt in instead; partly because I don't trust it won't leak and redrilling the rivets to let water out and redo the plug (that I put in with marine grade silicone) will ruin the plastic headpiece eventually. A bolt can be easily unscrewed.I found a can of spray foam as a sealant but it was truly dreadful; ended up getting rid of it and using the silicone.
I've replaced boom grip on Windsurfing booms before but DWs taping tips were great, made it even simpler. Had to bevel the edge myself though, difficult to get straight, you really need a long steel straight edge. All in all it looks good, hope I don't fall on it day one and bust in (man the tube is thin-walled!) and I hope it helps my wife get out on the wing, she was struggling a wee bit with the original boom (although to be fair it's probably more due to the 5.0 size than weight). Did the 4.0 and If willhave a crack at another one for my 6.0. A friend got me some 22/25 ID/OD 3K carbon tubes, works really well.
Thanks again.
I have a question:
Does anyone think (or has done it) I could reduce the plastic front boom weight further by drilling a few strategic holes in it without weakening it too much? I was thinking around 8 x 8mm holes in the curved front piece (4 each side, it can't be loaded that much, I'm a civil engineer, but not a mechanical one) and maybe a few in non stressed parts of the flat?
cheers
k
I tested the 7m in the snow, worked OK, but I will not use it on land whithout snow as i scraped the wing tips a coulple of times.
Saw folks out riding the "Slick" here on Maui yesterday. It has an inflated strut with about a 2/3 mast in the middle. Windows like the Unit. Looks like Duotone is going hybrid and having a Echo/Unit offspring. Wing shape was like a sideways D
and that 7m AA looks so good .
