SABfoil Sea Devil Hydrofoil | Stable with the Stab, Sketchy Without?

The SABfoil Sea Devil is a wing that looks a bit like a B-2 bomber at first glance, which is pretty cool in and of itself. It's not the first monofoil to hit the market, but it's got a twist that makes this wing more accessible than others. Tucker and Jeff were able to get demos of the 840 and 1040, and they put them through their paces.

What Is the Sea Devil?

The Sea Devil is a monocoque foil design with an optional stabilizer. The idea is that it's two foils in one, as it has completely different riding characteristics with and without the tail.

The front wing has a very high surface area: 2445cm2 for the 1040 and 2122cm2 for the 840. The aspect ratio is quite low at 4.42 for the larger wing and just 3.3 for the smaller one.

The Sea Devil works with the Kraken M8 mast, which connects directly into the wing since there is no fuselage. The stabilizer inserts into the back of the wing, or you can use the included plug to ride without a stabilizer.

How Does It Ride?

Jeff took the Sea Devil out with the stabilizer and had a great 45-minute session without falling in once. It was so stable and smooth that he didn't have to put much thought into the foil and could just ride around, flagging out the wing and doing his jibes and tacks. Although the shape of the wing looks quite strange, a lot of the lift comes from the V-shaped section just as it would from any other wing, so it's not going to feel as radically different as you might expect.

Then Jeff came in and took off the stabilizer. He had no trouble popping up, but right away he noticed that foot placement was much more important due to the foil's sensitivity from front to back. It was much more slippery, and he did fall in on his first jibe due to too much front foot pressure. He got right back up, though, and stayed up for the next 30 minutes. However, he had to put a lot more thought into what he was doing.

In exchange for that effort, Jeff got more glide with the reduced drag. It wasn't a big wave day, but he was still able to flag out and turn much more easily. It was very pivoty without the stabilizer on.

Tucker already had some experience with the Triton monofoil, as well as riding some standard wings without stabilizers just to play around and see how they felt, so he had a pretty good idea of what to expect and the twitchy pitch and roll came as no surprise. He found that he really needed to be on point with his balance since the Sea Devil has less of a stabilizing lip on the wing as compared to the Triton's tail section. The Sea Devil isn't quite as self-stabilizing that way.

A lot of the Sea Devil's stability comes from the V-shape and the length of the chord. It wants to follow the energy in the water, so if you're on a clean wave it'll want to glide along with the wave, which is a lot of fun. It's got a loose, flowy skateboard feel.

Now, if you're in choppy conditions or are riding back out through the swell, then you'll feel the foil rise and fall like a bit of a bucking bronco. Without a stabilizer to level that out, the front section catches the energy and makes the ride pitchy. It's not enough to send you flying most of the time, and it shouldn't ruin your ride, but it could feel a bit unnerving when it happens and you don't expect it. Once you get used to it, you'll be able to anticipate it better.

There is also some give and take with the glide. Taking the stabilizer off reduces drag and increases speed, so if you're aiming the foil correctly, you can certainly get better glide. However, if the reduced stability is causing your foil to bob up and down, then you're actually losing efficiency. This will get better over time as you gain the muscle memory to control the foil without the stabilizer.

The Sea Devil has good range for its size. It's got a decent amount of low speed lift and it's quite fast at the top end. While it's not a truly fast foil, even without the stabilizer, it's faster than you would expect for a wing of its size. However, a traditional foil would be a better choice if you want something that's really fast.

Who's It For?

If you've been wanting to try a monofoil design, then this is a great option since you can get a feel for it with the stabilizer "training wheels". Other monofoil designs don't have that option. It's also nice to be able to put the stabilizer on for light wind sessions or days when you want a more chill experience without using up all the energy a monofoil demands.

Does It Live Up to the Hype?

To be straight up, this is a niche design. SABfoil is presenting it as two foils in one, but it really does work best with the stabilizer. Very few people are going to want to invest the time and energy into something this loose when there are other foils that perform as well, if not better, in waves.

That said, this could be interesting to play with behind a wake boat where you've got consistent wave energy. Wingers can spin 360 degrees with the foil in the water, which is kind of a neat trick.

Tucker and Jeff both can ride at a pretty high level now, and they wouldn't make this their top pick for waves. It doesn't have the same performance characteristics and reliability as a more traditional foil setup where you can push into your foil and create speed. This wing is more skaty and directional.

Tucker thinks it's an interesting idea that still has room for improvement, so he's excited to see where future versions take the concept. He'd like to try some smaller stabilizers with shorter fuselage lengths to see how it reacts and whether it can become a good pumping machine.

If you have a clean wave and like to make slow speed directional turns like a slalom course, then the Sea Devil is going to fit the bill. It'll react to your input and go where you point it. It's more like riding a unicycle than a bicycle where you can be a bit more chill. If this sounds interesting to you, give us a call and we'll help you decide if it's a good fit for your foiling goals.

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