LOWDOWN  – STARBOARD RIO LONG TAIL

Starboard are well known for their innovation but when we heard they had a new beginner board, the Rio Long Tail, it was a bit of surprise, surely there are no new concepts to bring to market ? Designer Tiesda You gives us the lowdown !

Why did you design the Rio Long Tail exactly? 

Beginner boards haven’t evolved much since the Starboard Start was first introduced over a decade ago. Since then, beginner boards of all brands have become stable and wide, but not much else has improved. With the long tail concept, we wanted to make the beginner boards glide faster, track better, drift less and most importantly, get people magically planing without a difficult technical barrier to overcome.

What does it really do compared to a conventional Rio, what’s the engineering behind it? 

Compared to the 2015 Rio L, it’s exactly the same shape with 30cm added behind the fin. This makes the board longer for that faster glide while improving stability even more. The coolest thing however is when the board accelerates: as the rider starts moving back, the board doesn’t tilt up or change direction into the wind like any other board. It stays flat, keeps its direction and just goes faster and faster. It’s really a neat sensation and the beginner won’t realize they just did naturally what every other windsurfer before him or her took days or months to master!

During the design phase were there some amazing prototypes, and how toned down is the production board? 

Yeah, when you design a board starting from hydrodynamics, the result looks weird at first. Jim Drake knew that very well! It’s often a good sign because things that look conventional often give conventional results. The final prototype that went to production performed the best all-­round, giving the added performance with the least compromise to carve-­jibing.

How does the Rio Long Tail compare to a Start board for example? 

It’s about as stable but it glides much, much faster. It’s smooth and efficient in the way it glides. A real joy to learn on. The downside is that the Start will be much more fun in planing conditions, with a wide planing race-­type shape.

Do you think other brands will catch on with this design? 

They will watch this space and if gets traction, I hope to see them come up with their own version as well. The easier it will become to master windsurfing, have fun, feel the glide in light winds and get magically planing, the more interesting windsurfing becomes. And then, as we know, a rising tide lifts all boards.

Who is the Rio Long Tail board aimed at specifically?

Specifically, I would say schools and rental centres.

Do you think it will revolutionise beginner windsurfing, or is it just the first step?

We always hope an innovation of this magnitude will somehow revolutionise windsurfing. It gives us the energy and passion to bring them to market, but we don’t see it as a first step of many. We’ll keep doing our thing and we hope that somewhere along the line, we can help get more people windsurfing, more often.

What do you say to those who claim the Rio Long Tail is just another fad?

They could be right! I would weigh their claim more if they’ve tried it though.

Do you think this concept can/will be injected into another discipline, say Freeride for example?

Potentially. It depends on how far we can refine long tail designs, to improve easy planing while sacrificing carve jibing or top speed the least.

Ok, give us some gossip ! What’s next for 016?

Our line up for 2016 is looking amazing. While we often release one or two halo innovations per year, our 2016 collection could boast five or six. It’s really, really exciting. Hopefully, some will pass all the pre-­production milestones and make it to market -­ not all of them do you see. There’s lots to come, that is for sure.

For more information check out

www.star-board-windsurfing.com/2015/products/boards/rio-longtail

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