Many thanks Jezza to remind what we’ve tried 3 years ago. Still working on but trying to improve connection with boards and feeling when touching water.
Steph
According to their website:
Pre-order price; 3899USD
The first batch is set to ship in July 2022 and includes the following…
Any news ?
The Vortex™’s enclosure is CNC’d out of a solid block of aerospace-grade aluminum, we use the all mighty DIY-favorite Flipsky 65161 120kv motor, the Flipsky VX3 remote and a huge 1736wh battery pack made of 112 cells of industry-leading Molicel P42A
Curious to know what it would cost to CNC such a box with the following requirements:
- box dimensions 50x28x9cm, (3.4 x 2.2 units of 15cm-wide hand width)
-
waterproof mounting setup on any rigid and inflatable board fitted with a dual US rail,
Inflatables: Fanatic sky Air, Gong Hype, … - waterproofed cover with 6 M4 screws only plus the 4 M6 mast plate ones with waterproof inserts
- must bear 150kg over a 165x90mm mast plate surface and not crack (jumps could be forbidden)
- rechargeable through a waterproof connector
- BMS ?
- aluminium enclosure = natively fireproof but must not explode if it catches fire (ammunition boxes have a joint that need to be removed if used as battery storage)
[Edit] four 10.5 cm-screws passing through the box could be a good solution to simultaneously:
- fix the box to the board bottom,
- fix the foil to the box,
- ensure the box waterproofness.
It’s really not hard to clone this… It’s good for easily transportable fun, but still isn’t the best looking. I’d probably go this route rather than a rifle case though.
As there is no hole in the box cover inside the 165x90mm pattern, the motor cables necessarily connect on the box stern side through waterproof connectors. What do you think ?
A couple local guys got one and I got to see one in person. Didn’t snap a picture of when the foil was all mounted up though!
XT90 is a loopkey. 3 colored connectors are motor phase wires. Top-Left most is a connector for the antenna. Bottom left silver is a schrader valve, supposed to keep it under pressure and make sure it doesn’t leak. (I want to say the idea was mine first, but I probably took it from someone else on the forum 
) Redpinelabs board #2 - #28 by brycej
Not shown:
Flipsky motor with what looks injection molded prop guard. Prop that is similiar to FR prop but not quite as finished looking.
He had a gofoil fuselage machined that works the AK mast. Seems to work pretty well!
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What a nice piece of equipment ! Obviously the way to go to electrify any board fitted with US rails.
Can it adapt to a “classic” 165x90mm screw pattern ?
Is it still possible to get some pictures without the board ? Position of the screws that join top and bottom part… just to get an idea if it can be DiYed. Can it be opened to see the inside or does it void the warranty ?
The aluminium enclosure:
- how do you fix it to the board bottom, while still offering 4 holes for a 165x90mm mast plate hole pattern ?
- an idea of its weight ?
- XT90 inside the 5cm/2" diametre threaded hole: for the charger ?
This thing has one big disadvantage. The front part is not hydrodynamic shape. This thing breaks like a truck when you touch the water.
I have built something similar.
You can see the front shape is much more hydrodynamic, but still if you hit the water it breaks much more then a „normal“ board.
The good thing is you can use any board. Mine is just a wooden blank made of 18mm Paulownia. Very light board.
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Yeah I’ll get some more pictures today.
The 4 holes on there go through the mast plate, through the vortex, and into tnuts on the board (with 4 long bolts it comes with)
XT90 is a loop key to turn it on and off, not sure what port is the charge port
Took the prop guard and printed him a fairing (found on the forum somewhere…) . Same one that I used on my flipsky motor.
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To be flush with the board bottom, it should be possible to hide the device in a cut-out like the Ginxu wingfoil boards from KT
One of the guys that bought one, makes wingboards as well. He was looking at doing a board with a space so the lacroix part is flush with the rest of the board.
For the above board, I don’t think the step would be far enough forward to fit the lacroix.
Hey everyone, Alex here, I’m the founder of Lacroix and we build the Vortex. I was thinking of offering the enclosure, connectors and possible the mast plate/mast/motor mount/ cedrus mast combo so you guys can simply build your battery. Would this be of interest?
We are also working with Appletree to have a custom board with a cutout for the battery. I’ve been testing the proto all summer and it’s amazing. Let me know how many would be interested and I’ll work on pricing. Cheers,
A
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I like the concept but I must admit it is a difficult question because we’re not familiar with this enclosure, we don’t know how it is inside, how much it weighs, so we can’t figure out what it represents to make it work with our home made batteries…
What would be the price for the enclosure + connectors only ?
You seem to appreciate the ideas that blossom here 
An estimation of the price ? A picture showing how well the Vortex integrates into this board ?
If you can demonstrate that this board is wingfoil compatible, it would be a serious plus.
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The enclsure is made of a solid Aluminum piece, CNC’d to be hollow for the battery. Empty, it weighs around 6lbs. With a 14s8p battery and BMS and ESC, around 28lbs. Is can fit a bigger battery if you want more range, 14s8p fits easily.
Price for enclosure and connectors would be around 1000usd I would say. It’s extremely expensive to make but it’s waterproof and a set-and-forget solution.
The Vortex works on any wing board that has 2 tracks system - we simply use longer screws that go through the battery enclosure and sandwich it against the board. I crashed many times, never had a box rip out.
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Just put a lid on the Vortex, and use it as a board 
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Can’t fall though, it’ll sink right down to the bottom without at least a 15L board on it
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Had the same idea as it reminds a pistol case.
Wonder whether the positive buoyancy would start with a boogie on top ?
Look like lacroix is out of business. Dang. I heard this from someone would was in the middle of working through some warranty issues.
From Lacroix
“ OFFICIAL STATEMENT - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today, we have a heartbreaking announcement to make. One we wish we would never have had to write.
Effective immediately, the Lacroix Board Co. is suspending its operations.
The last 12 months have been incredibly challenging and we were never able to climb back on top. Many factors are at play and the 10 consecutive interest rate hikes have created the coup de grâce with our creditors. We tried everything to pull it off - the headwind is simply too strong.
We are in discussion with several companies to keep the Lacroix brand alive. The objective is and always has been to ship every order placed and honor the warranties. However we want to be clear; we don’t know when nor if that will happen. For now, we don’t have any precise timeline for the completion and shipment of the pending orders.
I want to thank Seb, Pedro and the 2 Charles’ that did everything they could with me to try to pull it off. You guys really did the impossible to try to make it work.
We will keep you updated on any material development.
Alex for the Lacroix Board Co.
Lacroix Boards”
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I can’t lie, I figured something was up when they started trying selling the vortex shells off to the DIY market. It is a pity as they had good products. It will be interesting to see how long the eFoil brands can hang on… Watersports are a bit different to eSkate, but there seems to be some sharks swimming…
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