iFRONT – the fastest and most comfortable NORTH SAILS boom front piece with unique trimming and tuning opportunities.
We have known for long that the boom construction, and in particular the head, has a decisive impact on rig performance. We carried out extensive comparison tests on flatwater, on Gran Canaria and Maui, eventually proving that rigs are extremely fast when they remain steady in the rider’s hand, allowing for controlled rig steering. Albeit the two spots are so different, so are the conditions that present individual challenges for the ideal boom. While wind and water conditions on flatwater are mostly calm, calling for larger sails, exactly the opposite prevails on Gran Canaria. Actually, in order to achieve optimum propulsion at both spots and tireless windsurfing especially on Gran Canaria, one would need two heads of different stiffness or attenuation. A very rigid, direct front piece for flatwater, and an attenuated, more flexible head for harsher conditions. This is an effort that only professional regatta pilots will not shun, but which otherwise makes windsurfing excessively complicated. Yet who would willingly forsake the extra performance and the additional comfort? This is exactly what we focused on.
The knowledge acquired by our development team helped it devise the following easily understandable formulas:
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Low wind = calm waters = large sail, long boom = less rig movement
ideal solution: inflexible, rigid head -
High wind = choppy waters = small sail, short boom = nervous rig = jumps
ideal solution: easily flexing head