webguy wrote:

The unusual features continue. The tail almost reminds one of the Kona step. I guess the added bit in the back is to add a bit of surface to get off the water? We're used to cutaways on the side but the back extends way beyond the foilbox. What are your thoughts? Bonus points for irreverent answers.

Reinforced tail tip/bottle opener for the after-session brew.

I saw that on IG and I have no idea. Is it an board aerodynamics thing? Doesn't seem like it would do much good in the water but I may just not understand.

Yeah just taking a look at their page:

Starboard wrote:

ADVANCED AERO The new Millennium evolves significantly from its predecessor: Complex drag reduction analysis became essential to increase performance at all points of sail. The new 2cm lower nose rocker and thinner rails at the nose reduce entry drag, whilst massive tail wing extensions significantly clean airflow and reduce exit drag.

Yeah it seems like a bluff back is good for shipping/transport and keeping overall length down but for their flow regime maybe having a fat teardrop does get rid of some drag.

Also, totally speculating, but on some points of sail I do end up with the sail touching the center of the board on the 95cm wide iqfoil. If there is an aero benefit to "closing the gap" then that would extend it even further. Kind of gives it an extra foot or so of an airfoil fence on the sail when hauling upwind. It looks like there is even some benefit when less sheeted in on a different point of sail, because of the overhead taper. I have zero understanding of how significant that is (and if that's what they were going for), just wondering.

I do notice also that it's spec'd 7.0-11.0! Can't even imagine foiling with an 11.0. That's why I saw Hyperglide 5 marketing indicating an 11.0 size...

I was thinking it might be something more mundane like needing a certain depth to fit the "Tuttle" box into the board.

Reminds me of the story many years ago of someone bolting a mast base to a door and wave sailing it.