Takuma 2023 foils and secrets revealed at the AWSI

Foiling Magazine's Contributing Editor Steve Sjuggerud talks to Sylvan from Takuma at the AWSI in Hood River about their foil collection… and a little something new.

For the full interview transcript, see below.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Hi, I'm Steve from Foiling Magazine. I'm here with Sylvan from Takuma and I'm really excited about all the new products you've been showing us. Let's share them with the Foiling Magazine crowd. I'd love to start with what's happening with the Kujira here.

Sylvan:

Well, the Kujira is now well known worldwide and is definitely a favorite for a lot of people, for many reasons. Everything Takuma is really coming from, our DNA is designing foils. So what people do, well, they're looking for glide and we've been focusing really on the glide. That's one point. Now there's also, we design foils, which would say very advanced, but small little details such as the winglets, will allow you to have anyone riding a very extreme foil. So that's one point.

Now there is a killer product that we just launched now in the USA and worldwide, people have been waiting for it for almost a year and a half. The carbon mast that comes in two different sizes, 75 and 85 centimeters. I recommend definitely to people don't go exclusively for the carbon mast, but to take the mast sets, because we have a very specific, as we mentioned earlier, fuselage, different attachments, M8 screws versus the M6 that we had before, to give more stiffness.

So it took a long time to work on it because we were looking for these very specific stiffness that we are all looking for in foiling right?

Steve Sjuggerud:

I see you've got a tapered design here, but it's still very stiff and it looks still fairly narrow, so it's going to have good top end speed.

Sylvan:

Yeah, it's as always, Takuma, we really come from the wave riding, originally, that part's really deeply in our DNA, and so you definitely have a lot of speed, but what we've been looking for is how when you do curves, if you can do a great product for wave riding, then anyone would be able to use it, versus if I go really specifically on R and D on the race machine, they won't be that accessible. So the point has been to a place, here we are here in beautiful Hood River, it's a great place to test, to test current chops, gusty winds, you kind of have the best and the worst, right?

Steve Sjuggerud:

Right! Yeah.

Sylvan:

Yeah, so it's like no spin outs, really a great glide, and it changes, the rider will be able to give the right energy to the foil and it does change your foil. So make it more alert, I would say.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Well it's a legendary foil and I think with the M8's and the new carbon fiber mask, it makes it even better, I think. So exciting. Yeah. So let's talk a little bit about the wings back here.

Sylvan:

Sure. So the wings, that's been a big thing. It took us some time to finally get it in production and now it just arrived months ago in the US and around the world. So that's the RS wing that goes from 2.8 up to 7.2, so we've got all sizes in between. Interesting features, if I start,

Steve Sjuggerud:

Well the first thing I see is the very unique handle system here.

Sylvan:

You're right, very unique handle system, well column,

Steve Sjuggerud:

Kind of like an ergonomic shape really.

Sylvan:

You get the point, it's like imagine, as we design wings, we design wings where it's more like a kite spirit versus, or versus if I can say it, like a cell. So the RS's wing naturally will go into the wind and forward.

Steve Sjuggerud:

So you catch more wind by having this position as well…

Sylvan:

You actually let your wing breathe, some would say, and then you can keep your economy the right position, kind of more windsurfing, you will have very straight back, and so the wing goes up and you don't hurt yourself and you can keep on riding for hours and hours. So that's one amazing feature.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Is this out or is this coming out or?

Sylvan:

It's on the market.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Okay.

Sylvan:

It's available now. So in two colors only. So the sharp red, and white. You have interesting features such as the batons.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Yeah, [inaudible]

Sylvan:

Got batons in the ears.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Yes sir. Keeping the rigidity all the way out to the next.

Sylvan:

Exactly. The point is to have your wing working more with this area, so when you get overpowered you won't have your ears twisting so much, and so it will work very much like a sail. And what's very interesting is the way there is those term that we talk about internally in sailing and so on, there is the intrado and the extrado. The intrado will give me power, but then this power will somehow make me saturate in speed and I will accelerate and I will get also stability, with the wide equation that I've got on the extrado. So yeah,

Steve Sjuggerud:

Interesting.

Sylvan:

There you are, the RS, and we have another one which is called a Tanji, which is a complimentary wing, that will be on the market in a few weeks.

Steve Sjuggerud:

So, tell me about this crazy beast right here. This is exciting stuff.

Sylvan:

Big time. So here what we have, so we have the eFoil, we worked for years now,

Steve Sjuggerud:

You're on Hood River. Yeah, right.

Sylvan:

It's good, the wind's switching and we'll get in the water.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Yep.

Sylvan:

Not expected.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Yep.

Sylvan:

So here we have what's called, some people will call it a jet, which is otherwise called an impeller. So in this case what you have, you don't have the prop, which being, it's not, well if you know what you're doing then it's fine. But let's say, well.

Steve Sjuggerud:

It's obviously far safer. You know?

Sylvan:

It's all about the security. Yeah, it's definitely that, like the eFoil is a product which is meant to be very accessible to everyone. People like you and I will practice the sport, but also people will not use [inaudible].

Steve Sjuggerud:

I think of it like, crack, to get people hooked on the drug of foiling, you know?

Sylvan:

You said it yourself.

Steve Sjuggerud:

You know, it just gets people hooked. Right?

Sylvan:

It is the point. And then also the interesting thing with the jets, the impeller, so in terms of, I'm not going to put my tippy toes or my fingers in it and have any injury and so on, I can get my kids out and.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Not worried, yep.

Sylvan:

Fine with it, no worry on that. It also offers you a great guide, since you don't have the wider diameter that will come from a propeller that creates more drag. So pretty much in a place like here, I'll be able to go upwind, while on the regular wind that we have known, West,

Steve Sjuggerud:

Right.

Sylvan:

Up wind, turn around the swell, just let go the power and it still glides.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Nice.

Sylvan:

That's very interesting.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Yeah, great product. Yeah, so you've got a little aerodynamic nose to it as well to… And then the standard Takuma wings work with it, so, fantastic, yeah.

Sylvan:

It comes with the right wing. So you'll have the wider wing, delivered with the products, and then you can adapt any kind of foil to the products. Like any kind of foil that you use for winding, for foiling, you'll be able to adapt them. And that's this thing that I'll come back to what we said, I think earlier, Takuma will really focus on the foil, and we designed foils and then we brought the machine up to it, and not the other way around. So we really want people to have the most accessible products, but we are focusing on, we want them to feel the foil.

Steve Sjuggerud:

So this is a high volume board though.

Sylvan:

165.

Steve Sjuggerud:

So, do these come in different sizes? Or, because it's a great way to introduce people to foiling at this size,

Sylvan:

It is.

Steve Sjuggerud:

But do you have it in another size as well?

Sylvan:

So.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Or just the one size it comes in?

Sylvan:

We have two sizes. This one, which is 150 liter by, a 30″ wide board. It's a flotation device. Everyone will be able to go on the water.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Yep.

Sylvan:

Safe, first session, you'll be able to fly on your knees, or standing up. So that's one thing. With one kind of mast, this one is a 50 centimeter mast length.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Right.

Sylvan:

50 plus 20. And then so that's cruising, and then we have the carver, which comes with a jet or with a propeller as well, which has a longer mast, and a smaller board that will lift for more advanced people.

Steve Sjuggerud:

And what's the volume on that?

Sylvan:

It's 120 liters.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Okay, great.

Sylvan:

Yeah.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Awesome. And then what do you have here in your hands?

Sylvan:

Okay, this precious, baby, that's the Morning Sun board. Well we all have in industry some very interesting, all brands we've been developing great shapes. So the shape is quite amazing.

It comes in 30 liters, 35 and 40. But then there is this very interesting topic parts in term of construction, we brought the pre-preg carbon.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Oh wow.

Sylvan:

And very specific core. Basically the core has closed cells. So you'll take a machete, you're pissed with me, and you take a machete, and you break the board, you can stick it for three weeks under the water you won't take a drop of water.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Wow.

Sylvan:

So that's very interesting in terms of durability, pre-preg allow you to have an extreme rigidity, and to finalize it, we brought US carbon, US boxes.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Wow.

Sylvan:

So when you make the boards, while the boxes won't move an inch or anything, and you have just the stiffest products ever.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Yeah, well,

Sylvan:

For foam foiling, weight foiling and rock and roll guys on their wind machines.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Yeah. Fantastic. Well thank you Sylvan, that was, oh wait a minute.

Are you allowed to talk about the new product that may be coming out? Can we talk about this?

Sylvan:

We can talk about it quickly.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Okay. Okay.

Sylvan:

So we did a first, presentation to the public in France this Monday on the yacht, on the boat show in Cannes. Here in Hood River, we didn't bring the machine.

Steve Sjuggerud:

So what's the machine?

Sylvan:

Well the machine is basically, imagine that you and I, we best buddies that we are obviously, and then we share towing. So we'll be here in the river or you'll be in whatever, on the ocean or so on. So you'll use jets. So I'll pilot the jets, you are the rider. Well guess what? Let's imagine that I got trouble with my lady and I have to do the dishes, or I have to take care of the kids or so on. She like, damn Sylvan I still need to go in water.

And I say hang on a second. I go to my garage, and I go pick up my eTow. The eTow is,

Steve Sjuggerud:

The eTow….

Sylvan:

Yes sir. Electric. So, compatible with the batteries we have with the Takuma eFoil. So those batteries you got here, you can put it in the eTow. It's a product that you'll use a remote control to control it, you can also use your direction. Such as, the eTow is in front of you, you hold the rope, I go right,

Steve Sjuggerud:

And it turns,

Sylvan:

It goes left and vice versa. I stay behind, it goes straight.

Steve Sjuggerud:

So you don't need any friends, it's a self towing device, right.

Sylvan:

It's actually become your best friend.

Steve Sjuggerud:

That's right. There you go. That's right.

Sylvan:

So you, you'll meet your other friends in the bar to have some beers after.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Yeah,

Sylvan:

So this is coming on the market, December, and actually we'll do the very first release in the USA next, month in the Fort Lauderdale boat show. That's going to be part of revolution that we have in this incredible world of foiling, and is just to have some more fun and obviously spend more time in the water.

Steve Sjuggerud:

Awesome. Well thank you so much, very nice meeting you, absolutely.

Sylvan:

My pleasure. Thanks a lot.