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First impressions of GoFoil Kai Foil

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blueplanetsurf:
We recently got some GoFoil Kai foils at Blue Planet and got one of them all set up on a board.  We practiced riding it on Sunday towing behind a jet ski and this morning I was actually able to paddle into a few small waves and foiled a little on the waves.  Don't be fooled, it is definitely a challenging sport but I now feel like I can actually learn it and it seems like a great way to have fun in mediocre surf and hopefully on downwind runs as well.  I'm super amped to learn this!  Here is a video of our tow session:


And some photos of the setup.  Jeff Chang installed the tuttle box for me in a 8'0 x 31" Taro Chip model, which seems to work great.  The box is 20" from the tip of the tail to the back edge of the tuttle box opening.

808sup:
Nice video Robert. It's important to show the crashes too like you did. Those who are thinking of doing this need to know there is a learning curve that will be challenging for a time. Also glad you and Jeff were wearing helmets as that foil doesn't care if it hurts you .
It looks like a medium length mast. Is that the only one that comes with the foil?I'm thinking a longer one would help to recover in better in between chop. I've noticed that I preferred to have my rear foot on top of the mast and closer to the fin cluster. Less teeter toddler effect. Keep us updated on your progress as we are all trying to figure this out.

blueplanetsurf:
Thank you.  Yes, I'm showing the crashes and want to emphasize that it is dangerous and certainly not easy to learn this sport.  Foiling is awesome and I'm super excited about learning how to do it.  I don't want to discourage anyone but go into it with caution and don't expect too much on your first few attempts.

Regarding mast length, the GoFoils only come with a 24" mast which seems to work well.  When we first tried foiling we were using a kite foil with a longer mast, over 40" long and found it very difficult to use, especially when you are starting out.  When you first get on a foil, the tendency is to lean back too much, which results in the foil going up out of the water, stalling out followed by a crash from higher up if the mast is longer combined with a greater risk of hitting the foil.  Also, for surfing you want to be able to paddle back out without hitting the bottom, so a longer foil is probably not very practical in the surf, even for more advanced foilers.  I think the Slingshot foil with three different mast length options is a good concept for learning:
http://www.slingshotsports.com/2016-Foiling-Flight-School-mast-package#.WFlgi7GZPwc


This was our first "learning to foil" video in case you missed it:

yugi:
nice! I get it. Been there done that (when I was young!).

Tracting for sure is the best way to get early flight time foiling. Here are 4 tips on tracting for those that don’t have an extensive wakeboard/waterski background:

- Get a smooth driver. 
Constant steady speed. Let the rider make the mistakes. Harder than you can ever imagine to find a good driver. Weird but true. 
 
- Hold the handle towards your waist. Usually one hip or the other.   
Think of it this way. If your rams are straight out you are being pulled from your shoulders. So you’ll be top heavy. You want to be pulled ideally from the middle. Just crank your hands down towards your hips to do this. It’s a total core workout and if your stomach muscles aren’t strong enough then go SUP a bit more until they are.

- You’ll learn quickly how to not generate slack in the tow line. 
Meanwhile, if you do get slack, do not pull the line in, raise your arms to take in slack. You’ll see Bob do this at 1:07 and 1:30ish in the first vid.
Sounds weird? Just do it. If you don’t, and try to pull the line in, then you fall backwards. Such is life.

- If you want to let go and keep cruising. 
Turn towards the boat just before letting go. Turning away from the boat increases line pull. You want to have no line pull as you let go (as noted in the vid). Especially foiling.   
Basically generate some slack in the line just before you let go.

I'm not foiling now, I'm saying this from memory. I'm going to sit out the first couple of generations of SUP foils just because I'm an old fart and not in a hurry. But I will foil. I want to ride a boat wake on a lake for miles.

stoneaxe:
+1
I was thinking that foiling behind a boat looks a lot like waterskiing with a lot of the same techniques.

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