Standup Zone Forum

The Foil Zone => Foil SUP => Topic started by: surfcowboy on January 08, 2020, 11:42:33 PM

Title: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: surfcowboy on January 08, 2020, 11:42:33 PM
Just had a weird thought. Am I right that there’s no good way to stall a foil? Do they just breach?

How do you slow one down? Can you, or are you just along for the ride? lol
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: exiled on January 09, 2020, 12:54:47 AM
Hand drag or a strategic touch down. This has probably been the place where board shape has been most critical in my foiling experience: that split second where you are surfing the board again before getting back up on foil.
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: gone_foiling on January 09, 2020, 07:16:30 AM
Nose down works for me, also having a front strap helps. Agree about the board shape for this.
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: flkiter on January 09, 2020, 08:01:34 AM
Once you get past the learning phase, you won't want to slow down. Speed is your friend.
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: Wetstuff on January 09, 2020, 09:18:37 AM
That's an interesting thought! ...'till you don't flkiter. You'd need one of those gravel pits they have for runaway trucks in the mountains.  Watch - some prospector will file a patent for a 'foil drogue'.

Jim
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: WindJunkie on January 09, 2020, 11:10:26 AM
Couple of choices to slow things down.  Pitch the nose up to slow things down, it's like going uphill or stall.  Doesn't work great when you're already going too fast because the foil will just shoot out of the water (overfoil).  I guess overfoiling will stop you quickly.  Second, get out of high energy part of the wave, the upper 30% approximately.  Riding over the back or in front of the wave in the flats will take the speed off.  If you're talking about the take off, then just don't activate the foil,  keep the board on the water.
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: Bean on January 09, 2020, 01:26:28 PM
Maybe not exactly what you are looking for, but I'm impressed by Robbie Naish's steeze in this clip:

https://youtu.be/QQgJupaQubU?t=149
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: surfcowboy on January 09, 2020, 06:47:01 PM
Yeah Bean, I get that depowering a wing slows you. I’m talking about smoking down the line on a waist high wave and realizing you’re headed for trouble.

I do suspect that once going, as long as the path is open, you will get comfortable but I just didn’t follow how to stall.

It does seem that the back of the wave is the gravel pit lol. That’s a great analogy.

Thx guys. I’m about to pull the trigger over here and just starting to think about what I’m getting into lol.
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: jondrums on January 09, 2020, 09:51:43 PM
I've had good luck turning down into the flats, just past straight on the wave, and then carrying that momentum into a bottom turn back into the top of the wave.  Like a mini cutback where you never actually turn all the way back towards the foamball.  The flat at the bottom or in front of the wave has no power at all for a foil so its a good place to slow down if you need to "stall"
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: Califoilia on January 10, 2020, 10:28:24 AM
I just use one of these...
(http://www.isupworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/DSC_0272.jpg)
Just toss it out behind me, and the weight of it sinking/dragging behind me slows me down gradually..and then as another added benefit, once it hooks to the bottom, it facilitates some of the fastest turns/reverses I've ever been able to pull off. Getting it unstuck from the bottom is another story, but other than that.... ;D
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: Califoilia on January 10, 2020, 10:54:39 AM
Yeah Bean, I get that depowering a wing slows you. I’m talking about smoking down the line on a waist high wave and realizing you’re headed for trouble.

I do suspect that once going, as long as the path is open, you will get comfortable but I just didn’t follow how to stall.

It does seem that the back of the wave is the gravel pit lol. That’s a great analogy.

Thx guys. I’m about to pull the trigger over here and just starting to think about what I’m getting into lol.
Slowing down in the early stages of learning are the least of your worries cowboy. Unless you're going to be starting out in some shoulder to head high and above pitching stuff, you're more or less going to wish you had more speed, not less the first bunch of sessions you're trying to get the board off the water.

Once you learn to get the board/foil flying (and under some kind of control), you'll find that you won't suddenly be going "too fast", and have to somehow slam on the emergency brakes (which there really are none), but rather you'll be controlling your speed by staying getting out in front of all the the energy...either (1) down the wave well past the face (even shoulder) or (2) way out in front of it, as you then turn to get down the along the wave to move to position (1) mentioned earlier.

Now this wave was anything but fast...but as you can see, simply riding away from the pocket or whitewater scrubs speed almost instantly....
(https://i.imgur.com/H1DtgzI.gif)
...and you don't start picking it up again until you turn down the ramp, and start heading back towards it.
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: PonoBill on January 10, 2020, 11:12:02 AM
One of the reasons the GoFoil is so good for beginner/intermediate is that the shape makes the foils slower and more controllable. Any time you want to slow with any foil, however, just  running down to the flats or slipping over the top of the wave to the backside drops the available power substantially. You still get some boost on the backside, much more than you'd get if you just run out of the wave onto the flats, but you don't get nailed from behind. I start my cutbacks on the back of the wave. I need some good speed to pull this off, but the lower power decreases the amount of acceleration I get just from turning, which was previously making me overfoil on cutbacks.
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: red_tx on January 10, 2020, 02:25:57 PM
I just use one of these...
(http://www.isupworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/DSC_0272.jpg)
Just toss it out behind me, and the weight of it sinking/dragging behind me slows me down gradually..and then as another added benefit, once it hooks to the bottom, it facilitates some of the fastest turns/reverses I've ever been able to pull off. Getting it unstuck from the bottom is another story, but other than that.... ;D

The knot in sano's rope also helps with drag. See pic.
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: surfcowboy on January 10, 2020, 06:41:17 PM
The anchor is hilarious. I want one.

And the key word is “under some control” lol. But this is all great info. Thx. I was also recalling Pono’s early reports of screaming down the line. Good to hear that that’s all sorted.

I’m looking to get a big slow wing to start for sure. Also making sure I have the draggy tail etc. no performance enhancers to start.
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: clay on January 11, 2020, 03:49:00 PM
Love the anchor idea, classic!

My approach to foiling is like driving a boat with no reverse.   I survey the lineup before getting in the water, before going for a wave, and before doing any turns.  Basically plan ahead and on not being able to stop.  As a beginner I got myself into plenty of situations where i didn't know how to get out of and ended up hurting myself.  Thankfully there was no one around and didn't hurt anyone else.
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: VB_Foil on January 13, 2020, 05:32:19 PM
I second most of what is said above. If all else fails, I just step off the back of the board.  So long as you wear a leash, that’s the quickest way to end a ride. When you are learning, this is a good thing to get dialed.
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: surfcowboy on January 13, 2020, 06:08:35 PM
Man, that’s a great reminder. So bailing off the back is safer than a dodge to the side?
Title: Re: Technique question - slowing down?
Post by: VB_Foil on January 14, 2020, 06:38:31 AM
Yeah for sure!  Bailing off the side is a no go in my opinion, as that can initiate the dreaded kickflip/jackknife.  I simply pick up my front foot and shove the board forward with my back foot.  The foil will then get a bit of air and land around the same time as you, but 6-7' away (depending on leash length). 

So long as you aren't bailing while pumping back out to an oncoming wave, this is  the safest bail in my experience. 
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