56INTERVIEWBOUKE BECKER
Is it then a case of incremental changes to things
like rails, rocker and tail shape or do you usually
nail it one?
Because I usually take a lot of time playing with it in my
shaping program I often nail it in one. The shaping
program really is a good tool. From there over the years
there can be some incremental changes and fine tuning.
Sometimes you have something new like the stubbie wave
shapes. I have not jumped into this but wanted to learn
more and tested some of them. Sometimes it is better
not to jump on the bandwagon but first wait and see
where it leads to make sure customers gets something
proven. My boards last a long time so the shape has to be
more timeless. As I said earlier, there are some benefits
of having a rounded/tapered outline like a bigger wind
range, the board can adapt the needed planing area to its
speed better due to having a wider planing area up front
to get planing and a reduced width in the tail to have
more control and speed once you are planing. Plus the
tapered outline gives a faster reaction to initiate a turn so
with our compact shape the Reaper, I did not want to go
too extreme and loose too much of these benefits.
uk
WIND
SURFING
Witchcraft have stuck to their guns in terms of fin
configurations over the years – at least with wave
boards in mind. Why do you consider the thruster
2+1 set up to be the best?
I do not consider A thruster 2+1 set up the best but OURS.
I prefer to call it tri fin as with our fins you can play around
with fin sizes as you please, the only common thing being
having three fins. A trifin set up has the most benefits but is
also the most sensitive to the right angles of the side fins. If
you do not get the angles right you get excessive drag and
can’t turn as well. The bigger the side fins, the bigger these
negative effects. You need to know what happens with the
flow under a board, we did extensive research to this by
CFD and underwater filming. With the flow optimised set up
we can play with fin sizes as we please, three equalish sized
fins or 2+1 in any combination, even with a smaller centre
fin if you want it really slashy. Tests have even showed that
for B&J sailing our 2+1 set up is faster than a single fin on
any reach with more control and manoeuvrability.