Pushing The Boundaries
Issue 11 / Fri 18th Feb, 2022
We find out all about Cabrinha’s team of designers & engineers, Cab Design Works, and later, speak to none other than Keahi de Aboitiz about his input in the brand new H-Series high aspect foils.
Cabrinha is doing some incredibly exciting things in our industry. They’re designing and developing top-of-the-range equipment, not only in kitesurfing but surf foiling & winging too. We find out all about their team of designers & engineers, Cab Design Works, and later, speak to none other than Keahi de Aboitiz about his input in the brand new H-Series high aspect foils.
Development is the backbone of Cabrinha, and in order to help capitalise on new opportunities and trends, Cabrinha has expanded and diversified the team of designers and engineers with the creation of Cab Design Works.
Cab Design Works is a collection of the most influential leaders in the industry, with the one focus of pushing the boundaries of the sports that we know and love. Through Cabrinha’s new ownership group, Waterbound Investments, the team has been given the resources to take a non-bridled approach to development & design and is already on a course to release some incredible new products to the market.
Lars Moltrup, Product Development Manager, directs the R&D operation up from the Maui hub; “The Cabrinha process and approach to product design is very different than the majority of what you would see in the industry. We are not only a diverse design team, spread over all corners of the world, but we bring a top-to-bottom thorough approach to both the design, but also the manufacture and quality of our products. The engagement and close relationships with both 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier of our supply chain, puts us in a unique position to develop and test exciting new raw materials, which is a long term investment and dedication to developing and improving all the sports that we love.
Not 1 product is the output of a single person. It is the passion, knowledge and experience of a diverse, but tight-knit team that ultimately creates the product. From the initial idea, to conceptualising, prototyping and iterating, homologating, industrialisation and implementation of quality control, the entire team comes together.”
Pat Goodman, recently rejoined the program, bringing his vast experience and a wealth of knowledge on kite- design, materials and construction to the table.
“It’s so great be be back home and be a part of the Cabrinha family. With the new ownership and Cabrinha Design Works development group the sky is the limit! We have some exciting projects in the works and the level of detail can go into on them is going to have a profound effect on the sport we all love”
A new and formidable young talent, Brodie Sutherland has played an instrumental part in Cabrinha’s wing and foil program. With a background in unmanned aircraft in the aerospace industry he combines an incredible level of on water performance with off water thinking.
“My background and speciality was in the aerospace industry with aircraft built mostly out of Carbon Fibre. I used to spend a lot of time in the workshop laying up parts with the production team. Working alongside my father at our manufacturing facility producing aerospace parts was my avenue into flight and it’s super exciting to now take flight within kiteboarding and winging to that next level with the products we are designing”
Adding to the teams global approach to product design, Dean Freedberg is situated right at the epicentre of another wind mecca; Cape Town; “A technical design process in its basic structure is commonly applied in our industry, what really sets a team apart are the team dynamics and the way in which the design process is approached. I believe the new CDW team have an amazing team dynamic, filled with a combination of fresh, excited members and alongside more experienced and established members. This breeds an exciting and passion fuelled design dialogue and a strong innovative culture, which ultimately will put CDW ahead of the pack.”
Hey Keahi! Many of our readers will know you from your kitesurfing prowess, but you've been in the surf foiling game a long time. Your YouTube video - Hydrofoil Surf Heaven in Hawaii, from over 2 years ago blew everyone's mind! It now has nearly 2 million views. Can you tell us a little bit about those early days in surf foiling?
For sure. I was very intrigued by surf foiling right from the moment I saw it and when those first couple vids of Kai Lenny came out experimenting with some bigger foils that allowed you to ride smaller waves, that's when I really got interested and decided to get involved. It was always impressive watching what Laird and Pete were doing in the early days, but the gear and the speeds they were riding just looked scary when you fell. With the bigger foils, it just slowed everything down and meant you could now ride small unbroken waves which opened up a whole new world of fun in conditions you'd never really have fun with before!
With a decent kite foiling background at the time, it was a pretty easy transition and I ended up hooked on surf foiling right away like everyone else. It was super fun to start experimenting with some different designs and brands as well as get into tow foiling some of the outer reefs on Oahu which is where that video came from. Discovering that we could now ride these big wave spots when they were barely breaking was super exciting and I think the footage speaks for itself just how fun that is flying at speeds like that on a wave that you would never be able to ride on any other craft!
Foiling has come a long way since then and from what we've heard the Cabrinha H-Series will be one of the best foils on the market. What part did you play in its creation?
It sure has been crazy to watch the progression of gear and riding over the last 5 years or so. When the Cabrinha brand separated from the Pryde group a couple of years back and decided to make a big push towards their foiling gear, they decided to get me more involved on the foiling side and work on a new design together which I was very excited about. It was super fun getting involved from the ground level working with Brodie and Lars on the new designs and being heavily involved in the testing process. It took some time and a lot of work to get to the final product, but I'm incredibly happy with how the new foils came out and have been having a blast seeing what's possible with the new designs.
What are you looking for in terms of feedback when testing new gear?
It depends a little on the goal we're going for, but ideally, it's about finding something with great performance that still ticks as many boxes as possible. For the high aspect wings, we were looking for something that has good speed and efficiency while trying to keep something that was stable and forgiving with a relatively low stall point as well. The biggest thing I learned with testing is you have to test things back to back or it can be very difficult to properly tell the difference especially when it's small design changes. It's a process but it's super rewarding when you see it paying off and I'm super stoked with where we ended up with the design. Wing foiling in the waves for testing has been a game-changer as it allows you to catch a lot of waves in a short period of time as well as ride at consistent speeds to feel the subtle changes with as few variables as possible.
Could you talk us through the various sizes and what conditions you expect to use them in?
For the H series foils, we came out with 4 sizes for now to cover a range of conditions and riders. We have the 1200, 1000, 800, and 650sq cm front wings. Although those numbers might seem small especially compared to the X series wings, the higher aspect design still gives you a ton of lift but with a much higher top-end speed thanks to the shape. This makes them a game changer for winging, pumping, or connecting sections thanks to added efficiency this style of wing gives you. One thing I've been really stoked with about these wings is that they're still pretty front footed for a HA wing which makes them feel a lot more surfy compared to some of the other brands we tested against while making these.
It's worth noting these aren't really beginner wings for someone learning to foil, but they are the perfect next step for someone looking to try a higher aspect design thanks to its low stall speeds and solid stability for a HA setup. The 1200 will feel similar to the X1600 in terms of lift with a little added efficiency, but the 1000 and the 800 are where things really get fun thanks to the added top end and glide. I think the 1000 is the most versatile wing in the range and can be used in pretty much everything up to slightly overhead waves. Personally, I'm riding the 800 in most of my videos as the added speed and efficiency you get is super addictive and once you learn to control it, allows for some truly unique lines which weren't possible before.
If it's your first HA wing, I would opt for one of the bigger sizes, but if you want that next level of speed and efficiency, try one of the smaller ones. They work best in waist to head high waves with the larger sizes being a little better in slower moving waves and the smaller sizes better in bigger faster moving waves. It might take a little adjustment getting used to these style wings at first but once you get a taste, it's very hard to go back. The biggest key is that you need to keep them moving, but as long you can connect those power pockets you can still ride these designs in very small waves too.
It's worth noting that the 650 has a slightly different shape with a little narrower wingspan, but this makes it a really fun wing for both kite foiling and tow foiling as it can roll side to side a little easier and is a little more stable than a higher aspect shape would be at that size. For the more advanced guys, it's also a great wing for surf foiling in slightly bigger waves as well as wing foiling.
It has been amazing to hear some really positive feedback on these wings from a few of the top guys recently and I can't wait to hear some more as people get their hands on these!
Thanks for the insight Keahi, we’re super excited to have a go when the opportunity arrises!
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By Jack Galloway
