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An opinion of the Kona
By Dutch Surf Magazine (1st. September 2006)
Exocet KONA is probably the most talked about board this season. When you look at it for the first time you are thinking of the first windsurf boards out there, but when you have a closer look at the bottom, you will see a step at the tail, just behind the fin - which is totally 34 cm in length. With the dagger the KONA really looks very similar to the boards out of the 80’s when windsurfing was at it’s peak.
We were asking Patrice Belbeoc’h about the idea behind the concept of the KONA and that we would like to try the board ourselves. We went out in the shallow waters of Giethoorn which is known for it’s small canals and therefore referred to as the “punters”, (navigating in shallow waters), and in lack of waves we “puntered” the KONA around.
Patrice Belbeoc’h was born in the 60’s and was during the booming period of windsurfing also a fanatic windsurfer. He became the world champion in wave in 1996 but he took his inspiration for the KONA out of boards he started windsurfing with in the 80’s.
“If we look back we now know which type of boards were attracting the big crowds. Windsurfing was booming at the time light wind cruising on longboards was the name of the game. Present wide boards are wonderful and very easy to learn on, but they will never replace a longboard with daggerboard which is working very well in sub planning conditions. Our goal is to re invent this concept and to give the windsurf sport a new boost.
”With today’s technology it is possible to built boards weighing less. Additionally our experience with design features and planning shapes has vastly improved by the years, so it was quite rewarding to build a board performing well in light wind, but that is also fun and challenging to sail in planning conditions.
But as it often goes, - “expensive ideas” tend to remain at the drawing table. However, we have been testing boards with daggerboards for the past three years. It started with our contribution to the Olympic trials, and was followed by our Pacer hybrids. We quickly realized that these boards were very technical to sail for the average weekend surfer. Development often means trying to break barriers and combine things. The outline of the KONA is taken from traditional surfboards, as these boards have evolved through time and is both quick and manoeuvrable.
We blended that with the better of two worlds and adopted the scoop rocker line from the AHD 310 from ten years ago. (designed by Exocet crew) I was surprised how easy the board was tracking upwind as the daggerboard is not that big. When I had some more wind the board was instantly planing. At the beginning it looks a little weird with a tail that far back of the fin, but after a short while it didn’t bother me. When planning - the KONA feels like a short board and it gradually develop serious speed. I recently did a top speed above 50 km/h.
The KONA is designed with a step tail, which means that the board is utilizing its entire water line in sub planning conditions – increasing gliding capability, but due to the step tail the Kona feels shorter than it actual is. The outline of a classic long board makes the KONA lot’s of fun also when playing in waves in semi windy conditions.”
Unfortunately there was not enough wind during our play day to get the KONA planning. What we noticed however, is that the board is picking up speed quickly - even when it is not that windy. We enjoyed sailing it with a big race sail – with a feeling of power and easy gliding. Furthermore the board is well suited for long distance cruising. Perhaps it will be even possible to do the “Elf steden tocht” (legendary skate competition were they skate 200 km attending 11 cities in the North of the country) with this all purpose board. The KONA is very easy to sail and it is challenging you to do some old school freestyle tricks. With the KONA this should not be a problem as it is covered with an EVA deck. So if you have the courage and technical skills to sail the board on the rail you don’t have to be afraid of your legs getting hurt by sharp anti skid. The soft EVA deck also makes the board well suited for beginners who want to learn the first steps of windsurfing. The story goes that the KONA has been tried in light waves without the daggerboard - doing long board style wave rides. Unfortunately we didn’t find any waves in our canals so we took the KONA for a “puntertochtje” (way of moving a craft in shallow waters by using a stick)
Finally, the KONA is perfectly suited to teach other people how to windsurf. It is not as stable as most other wide beginner boards, but yet steady enough to learn windsurfing. The advantage is that the beginner will grow with the board without having to wait for wind - as the Kona is also very challenging during sub planning conditions. We are curious how this concept will influence the sport in the long run. It should have the potential to get more people on the water in a variety of conditions and have a lot of fun - even in very light winds.
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