DESIGN
Homegrown
with Tom Partington
Interview : Tez Plavenieks Pics : Steve West , Tom Partington
Tom Partington is a designer and maker of all things watersports . He ’ s been known to knock out a 14 ’ race SUP , high-performance dinghy sailing products and , more recently , hydrofoils . Being a homegrown designer in a niche often occupied by larger , overseas brands , we were keen to find out more .
Tell us about your watersports background I started sailing when I was 15 , having spent much of my childhood in and around boats . I have successfully sailed highperformance twin trapeze dinghy , winning National , European and World Titles in the International 14 class and European championships in the RS800 class .
How did you get into designing and making stuff ? I studied Naval Architecture at University , and as a dissertation project , I designed a ruddermounted hydrofoil for an International 14 . After completing the project , I set about learning how to make composite parts to bring the theory to life . Safe to say , I have been building things ever since !
And when did foils and foiling come on your radar ? What appealed ? Foils have been on my radar since probably 2007 / 2008 through my experience in the International 14 class . I think the appeal for me was that for something that can potentially look very simple , it is an incredibly complex design process with many , many variables to consider .
How long did it take to get a handle on what makes a good foil ? It is a very good question ; I am still learning every time I go out on the water . So much of making a good foil is choosing the right aerofoil section for the chosen design specification . For example , an aerofoil section for a race kitefoil going 35knots would likely be very different to that for a first timers wing foil set-up .
The aerofoil section choice is very timeconsuming ; for the last wingfoil range I designed , I analysed over 50 commercially available aerofoils and designed 20 custom sections to get the correct performance characteristics .
I don ’ t think it is that hard to make a good foil , but making a great one , is quite difficult . For example , designing a high aspect ratio , large span , and large area foil that is still playful and manoeuvrable is very tricky ; likewise , designing the fastest possible race foil .
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