Wing Foil interview with Mike's Lab- Mike and Stefano on the Blue Planet Show Season 2, Episode 7

[@hugokenyon2961]

Thank you for interviewing Mike and Stef. It was good to see them and hear the stories. They are makers at the top of their game. Their products are fast and fun to ride. Bring on the riders!

[@blueplanetsurf]

Glad you enjoyed it, I’ve been trying to get Johnny and Ken on the show but no luck so far

[@jimstringfellow]

that was a very enjoyable two hours spent and learning more about the mikeslab product. their foil concepts is igniting my passion to produce more foil designs for winging

[@blueplanetsurf]

Cool, yes they put a lot of thought and R&D into their foils!

[@VictorSoskin]

@@blueplanetsurf you should interview Jim and Kyle from project Cedrus. A lot of great innovations from both of them.

[@Streetsailing]

A Johnny and Kenny show would be hilarious. Well, it should be at least. DO IT! Make sure you have some video clips ready. Nice interview BTW. As a long time ML client in windsurfing and now winging, there's much to be appreciated here. Our communities are blessed to have him. Sail On!

[@blueplanetsurf]

Yes, I’ll try to get them on the show soon! 🤙🏼

[@radarriau]

Great interview... Glad they said no to the filming, worth the weight for a wet lay-up. I have some Zajicek boards over 30 years old, still light and stiff no failures. The Tutle box installation was so well done on my formula boards, there were no issues handling the stresses of a foil mast. The foils they make are beautiful, like looking at a sleek, white tip shark. Since they don't do windsurfing boards anymore, I started using Mark Nelson for board design and fabrication. Mark has a similar process regarding the Tutle box installation, and consolidation. Yes, we pay more for a custom work but I just like having a nice foil and platform/sailing vessel. I don't care about racing, but I do care about performance. On my fifth season with the Nelson and an F4. All these fabricators have a lot of respect for each other. Someday I might be lucky enough to have a Lab foil to use winging. Their foils are crazy fast, I see them coming from behind like a silent jet, then pass quietly using kite or wing traction. It's insane the speed kites hit on their foils going down wind in ugly chop or a flood tide on San Francisco Bay.

[@blueplanetsurf]

Yes, custom made gear from people who put the time and effort into making a great product it is really a work of art and often under appreciated 🤙🏼

[@TheCchong1]

I love it that Mike and Stefano are making some of the best foils and they are still wet, hand layups, not prepreg. Also one connection point at the mast cuts out so many problems like point loading around fasteners, corrosion, extra weight. They really have a backyard shaper philosophy.

[@blueplanetsurf]

Yes, their foils are excellent! 🤙🏼

[@doradosurfcharters]

Great interview🖒 im glad they held there ground on giving there specifications and manufacturing techniques away

[@blueplanetsurf]

Yes, I think what they do is admirable 🤙🏼

[@OSheaGlobalAlliances]

You have one of the other foils and you think it’s really good, and they are, then you get to hold or ride a Mikes Lab and it’s a total cut above. They are just so good. Then getting to see them ridden by guys like Johnny and Kenny it really shows you what they can do.

[@blueplanetsurf]

Agreed, you can feel the difference right away 🤙🏼

[@12killerfish]

Amazing, so cool hear the masters explain their stories.

[@blueplanetsurf]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@watermatt]

Another great interview… Thanks!

[@blueplanetsurf]

I’m stoked you enjoyed it Matt 🤙🏼

[@Destination360]

Great video! Good to know more about Mike and Stef.

[@blueplanetsurf]

Stoked you enjoyed it! 🤙🏼

[@irf888]

Hi. Excellent work and great questions, thanks for making the video. You enjoy the rest of the year too! Regards.

[@blueplanetsurf]

🙏😎🍀🤙🏼

[@jaumerrr]

Very good interview !!!, please keep them coming !! thank you!

[@blueplanetsurf]

Thank you, will do! 🤙🏼

[@shinjiinaba5467]

Robert, Mahalo for Interview!!!

[@blueplanetsurf]

You're most welcome!

[@arelkay730]

Great info. Thank you all!

[@blueplanetsurf]

You’re welcome 🤙🏼

[@jamesmckenzie4572]

That was another good one. Two very interesting guys. I think I learned a thing or two so thanks. Looking forward to Christmas Eve.☃

[@blueplanetsurf]

Thanks and Happy Holidays to you 🤙🏼

[@tomasgulas]

This was great interview. I've known Mike for over 10 years, wing together at Sherman.

[@blueplanetsurf]

He's a great guy!

[@TheFlyingMiner1]

Outstanding interview!!! More please!!!!

[@blueplanetsurf]

Thank you. More coming soon 👍😎

[@Ahjsport]

Very interesting conversation 🤙🤙 I love ML products. An interview with Johnny and Ken could be awesome 🤙🤙

[@blueplanetsurf]

Thank you, agreed, working on it! 🤙🏼

[@Ahjsport]

Awesome - maybe you will talk a little about the races in Sam Francisco :)

[@mp.345]

interessante Leute in dem Geschäft, toll wie sie es schaffen, ihren Traum zu leben.Danke auch für die viele Mühe!

[@blueplanetsurf]

Vielen Dank!

[@leebonfiglio]

Great interview....well done.

[@blueplanetsurf]

🙏😎🤙🏼

[@meshmellow]

What an amazing story. Thanks for sharing 🤙

[@blueplanetsurf]

Yes, I’m always surprised by the backstories! 🤙🏼

[@Giovanni.Tedeschini]

Loved it - congrats

[@blueplanetsurf]

🙏😎🤙🏼

[@foilnews]

Inspiring interview, to the point where I placed an order - presently a 15-25 week wait time.

[@blueplanetsurf]

Yes, you need to be patient but worth the wait 🤙🏼

[@yvindbirkeland7706]

Really interesting! Usually I listen to these interviews as podcasts, and the Blue Planet Show is my favourite podcast to listen to when driving to find wind. But this one I had to enjoy on KZbin 😀 Would be interesting to get Chris or Memo from F4 on the show as well. Also from San Francisco, and really high end.

[@blueplanetsurf]

Thanks for watching the whole thing! Yes, F4 would be interesting to get on the show

[@Streetsailing]

Yes, definitely agree. Chris and Mike Z worked together in the beginning so it would be nice to get some back history.

[@jaumerrr]

@@blueplanetsurf Yes, that would be awesome !!! I'll shoot an email to Chris!

[@antoinenhn3874]

Masterclass teaching. Thanks for this interview, I've learned a lot. Hope you will find a time for a John Heineken interview.

[@blueplanetsurf]

Thanks for the feedback, I’ll try to get Johnny and Ken on the show soon

[@robadair]

Great interview, thanks!

[@blueplanetsurf]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@robadair]

@@blueplanetsurf I should have that we wing foil in both salt and freshwater, sometimes on the same day, and I’ve never noticed any difference in foil performance.

[@fluiditynz]

I do a lot of design (including hydrofoils) and there's no way I'd permit an organization to come and pick and choose which parts of my processes to video. The modern process to capture a 3D design involves taking a batch of pictures from different angles, this can also be programmatically analyzed by stripping the image frames from video of a 3D object. I've never done it but that's because I like to challenge myself with my own designs. For example, even in a Triton unboxing video I can see enough to know that they likely cribbed off some research I posted on kiteforum several months before their design came out. The thing I've noticed is that every manufacturer optimizes to their local conditions and riding styles. For example my 2022 February series were fantastic for my raw intermediate level, thin, high aspect but optimized for high lift at lower speeds and great breach resistance. I'll do another series early 2023 and they will add speed while retaining some of what I enjoy in my current foils. I very much believe in the open source mast/fuselage system too. I started something on kiteforum a couple of years ago but I lost interest after no one else contributed much. I use Axis mounting for my foils which is pretty sturdy but I don't like how it cuts a lot into the wings. I use an algorithm to fatten the wing near the fuselage attachment but I don't like the 2 different screw sizes. 3 x M8 Star drive would be perfect for the front foot. I like the adjustable rear attack angle Starboard and another manufacturer have adopted but it's likely locked down by patent regardless that it's not a brand new invention. I don't like the Armstrong fit, I'm over 100kg and I think the design lacks in tensioning and proper lobes instead of faces to resist torsion.

[@blueplanetsurf]

It sounds like you know what you’re talking about, keep it coming! 🤙🏼

[@Flenderr]

So many interesting topics! I agree on the tuttle / plate discussion and the advantages / disadvantages discussion. It's hard to develop an alternative connection.. I've tried it myself, came up with some ideas and shared it with some people but most of the people just want tracks. I guess if you build the mast and the boxes, you see the disadvantages and extra weight of the (plate system a bit more clearly. :)

[@blueplanetsurf]

Yes, agreed, the Tuttle system is definitely stronger (mast carbon layers going straight into board), has less drag, and can be lighter/ stiffer if installed well. The only real advantage of the plate mount is adjustability. That’s pretty important if you want to use different foils on the same board but you do give up some performance.