A New Footplate, as explained by one of Filippi’s core engineers:
The first project to use this new foam-filled technology was the footboard of single sculls. Why? Because it was the easiest element to produce with this new technology.
The new footboard offers numerous advantages, particularly in terms of mechanical strength, aesthetic appeal, and reduced weight. We pushed hard to reduce the carbon thickness as much as possible, creating reinforced custom layers where needed, resulting in a component that is much lighter overall than its predecessor.
The previous version was made up of a carbon board, a steel wing plate, and a carbon or metal crossbar, all connected by bolts and u-bolts. Now, we’ve managed to create a single form with highly technical and minimalistic geometries on the footboard structure, such as reinforcing ribs and stiffeners that help the structure respond better to the athlete’s push.
After studying what could be done with this new foam, we decided to apply the technology to many other components that will form the entire Performance configuration. This includes multi-position footboards, seats, and the riggers.
A 4mm step has been added to the lower part of the footboard to provide more comfort for the athlete during the heel push. Another extremely interesting aspect of these new footboards is the ability to quickly switch the board configuration between 42° and 45° by changing the fixing hole in the keel, near the wing plate area. Using and activating the 42° hole doesn’t require any spacers. If you want to switch to the 45° configuration, you’ll need to use specific spacers made for each boat and category of boats.
The new adjustable plates developed by Filippi meet the need of coaches and athletes to easily and intuitively adjust the shoe angle relative to the footboard without having to disassemble the plate from the footboard and then loosen the shoe’s fixing screws, as often happens with the old version.
We’ve broken down the plate into five different elements, resulting in a product that allows the athlete or coach to manage the shoe rotation simply by loosening and tightening two bolts positioned on the visible part of the plate. This way, the entire process can be completed without removing the plate from the footboard.
We’ve incorporated the same drilling pattern into these plates as the ones previously used, making them compatible with both the new footboards and the old ones.
Part 3 coming soon…
