Also the kitesurfing version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv_ofiaTUEg

Doesn't look faster than the regular surfer. Actually he looks slower. Is it because he's stuggling to balance the board?

The foil that's providing the lift is pretty big in terms of surface area, and so is the drag. On a normal board at speed on flat water, probably only about a foot of the board is in the water, and the fin is tiny by comparison. So the idea seems to be reduce drag by getting the hull out of the water, but the size of the foil required to do this seems to have more drag than the hull did.

It does look very smooth through the chop though.

Should it be faster? Maybe the hydrofoil drag is comparable to the drag of the planing board.

balancing shouldn't be an issue - this thing is not affected by waves as hydroplane is under water. steering might be problematic though.

How is that for quick service ;)

Thanks!

I would really love a windsurfer version!