My interest in hydrofoils started 2 years ago when I came across a web site called kitehydrofoil.com. I was intrigued by the hydrofoil concept since day one.
To keep the long story short, I bought my first foil in May 2015. Before that, I did try to ride few times on my friend’s foil. It was a painful experience.

   2016 Cabrinha Double Agent hydrofoil comes in an elegant package.
I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the carrying bag. My reaction was – wow.
That’s what I was missing from my current foil. Nice bag that fits the foil parts, easy to carry and safe to store and travel.
Cabrinha foil bag contains nicely planned compartments fitting both wings, mast with fuselage and hardware.
It takes about 10-15 min to put all part together with instruction. After the initial assembly putting that together again takes about 5 min.
I really liked the fact that no special tools are required for assembly. No need to carry extra screwdriver or weird attachments.

   Construction of this foil looks and feels solid. Mast and fuselage are welded together. Wings are secured by a wide head crews to a fuselage. No movement there.
Wings are contoured and shaped and made out of fiberglass.

   Top board is thick like a twin tip board, but has a shape of a surf board with a nose up. It comes with 3 straps that can be mounted in two or 3 strap configuration.
For those that don’t like straps, non slip padding on deck will give enough grip to ride it strapless.

   The best feature of Double Agent is a short mast. I think it’s about 1m long. That means you don’t need a neck high water to water start.
All you need is a little more then hip high depth and you can enjoy foiling. In my opinion, this is very helpful for anyone starting to foil. The short mast did help me a lot when I started. It’s so much easier to launch if you can still feel the ground then when you have to drift start, especially in onshore wind.

   How does it perform in the water?
The first time I took it for a ride, wind was almost onshore 10-15mph, water was choppy with waves up to 1 ft.
Since I’ve been riding foils before, I had no problem getting up and riding in no time.
Double Agent felt very stable and predictable. It took me few minutes to feel the center of balance. I guess because I’m so used to riding other foil brand.
I felt that I was able to ride above water at lower speeds due to a bigger wings. The same applies to jibing. I did not have to go fast to maintain a lift during a jibe turns.
This is the thing beginners will love. More ability to practice maneuvers at lower speeds.
Another good aspect of this foil is a top board. It looks flat, but it’s nose curves up. This allowed me to easily slide on top of the water even in moderate chop.
The nose does not go under water when crashing. I was surprised. I was bouncing few times up and down while learning to balance myself without major wipe outs.
If you are a kitesurfer you will probably use the board to surf too. I’m not a surfer, so I can’t say anything about how it performs as a surf board. I did not have a chance to do that, but I hope I will soon.

   Overall, I have to say that Cabrinha Double Agent is a great hydrofoil for a beginner to intermediate riders. You can use it as a foil or as a surf board.
Solid construction gives a feeling of security to do anything on it. Included carrying bag allows easy storing and protection during travel.

   In my opinion, if you want to kite most of the year in Florida, you will need to get a foil. Most of our winds are 10-15mph. It’s hard to go upwind in such light conditions.
When foiling, all you need is solid 8mph. Yes, 8mph. I’ve been foiling entire summer when all my friends were sitting home prying for wind. I was praying for wind not to go over 12mph. Sorry. 🙂 At 10mph, I switch to my 9m Velocity and I can ride 45 degree upwind. That’s what I call freedom.
I forgot to mention that there is no bumping on your knees. Riding foil if like cutting a butter. Smooth and silent.

So, what are you waiting for ?

If you have any questions regarding foils, don’t be shy, send me an email.

Maciej Piotrowski