THE AVIATOR DOWNWIND is for serious downwind SUP foilers.
This is the latest evolution of downwind boards and has been tried and tested all over the world, with countless prototypes. It’s designed for pure speed, but is surprisingly stable and comfortable for its width. With lower volumes than its predecessors, your center of gravity is closer to the waterline, aiding in stability. A revised bottom shape, with more efficient contours, means you’ll be flying on foil earlier than ever before.
GENERAL GOAL | THEME OF THE BOARD:
A downwind SUP foil that gets going in all types of conditions. From flatwater paddle starts to cranking downwind bumps. This board will make it easier for you to get going.
CONDITIONS IT'S WORKING BEST:
Any conditions downwind to flatwater. It works for it all.
SKILL LEVEL IT'S BEST FOR:
Intermediate to Elite. You need to have a good balance for these boards.
WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF WHEN YOU DESIGNED IT?:
The easiest possible paddle up for strong paddlers. Think Molokai 2 Oahu, flattish start, big open ocean bumps and a tough upwind finish. Longer boxes and perfect placement to accept all types of foils. This is critical when paddling up. Slippery touchdowns.
WHAT IT POSSIBLY COMPROMISES ON THEN?:
Balance. It is stable for its width, and in comparison to other boards with similar dimensions, but these are still narrow boards.
OUTLINE:
Sleek parallel outline. This board is quite straight through the middle section to assist in getting on foil as early as possible. You won't be pushing that much board through the water due to the complex bottom shapes.
RAILS:
Hollow, concave bevel. This helps with board tracking. Tracking is more of an issue with back-footed foils that need to be placed a long way forward.
ROCKER:
Low rocker through the stringer, but the rails have more due to the vee and complex bottom shape. Helps the board fit into the bumps if you're paddling up on small wedges or larger ocean swells.
BOTTOM:
Rounder nose blending to flat throughout the box area.
DECK:
We have a concave deck to get the rider as close to the foil as possible while maintaining the volume needed. It's a soft concave without any drastic edges so it doesn't trap water on the deck after takeoff.
FINAL STATEMENT:
This board is perfect for enthusiastic downwind foilers. Touchdowns are no longer an issue as the water is displaced to the sides rather than grabbing onto a flatter surface.
The board has multiple rocker profiles, helping to keep more waterline in the water when paddling up on a big bump and also helping it fit into small wedges. A slight tail kick through the stringer, with a big vee in the tail was kept from a much earlier design. The kick in the tail looks far greater when you're looking at the rail line, this is due to the vee. As a result, the rocker is still low at the stringer, this helps with the same thing mentioned above. This also helps when pumping the board onto foil, and when flying, the high rail and vee shape is harder to catch when you're in a complicated ocean.
