Topics

1

Sessions / "magic hour" at Cowells Santa Cruz

« on: January 10, 2021, 11:58:34 AM »

Cowells has been going off for the last week.  Such incredible foiling, I've had a few of my all-time best sessions there just in the last week.  At the right tide and swell, it could well be California's best foiling wave.  The only problem is paddling back out 1km+ and going around the corner to indicators with all the water rushing around the corner against you.  The kelp is almost all cleared out now all the way along west cliff.

The "magic hour" as I've started calling it is the hour just before the place becomes completely swamped with people.  Low tide cowells is pretty special for longboarding - with a small swell it needs a negative tide, but with bigger swell anything less than a foot is perfect.   This past week low tide has been mid-day, with the associated sunshine and the conditions glassing off by mid-morning.   About 2 hours before low tide it isn't quite good enough for the longboarders but perfect for foiling.  It is just barely breaking and backing off, rolling all the way into the beach.  By about an hour before low tide, you can't even make your way up the stairs because its a steady stream of wavestorms walking down, and by low tide there will be literally hundreds of people in the water.  Not a good place for a foil at all.

Every day I've been out there a handful of other foilers are out frothing away and riding so many waves the only limit is the paddle back out, and the need to get back to my car for a zoom call.

On the really big swell days, my white whale is getting one all the way out at middle peak steamers.  I am absolutely positive I could ride it to the beach for an almost 1.5km ride.  I know because I catch the set waves after the surfers drop off them at the statue and ride those to the beach.  I paddled out to middle peak several times now, but I can't get the speed or positioning to drop in.  I've been in the wrong place a few times and got completely and utterly blown up.  I come up for air a couple of hundred meters down the coast with the water moving like crazy.  But, I'm going to get one of those soon...

2

Foil SUP / Staying in Dana Point next week

« on: December 27, 2020, 12:04:25 AM »

Hoping to foil every morning if anyone wants to ride. I’ll be looking to get in the water at first light to make it home around when the kids wake up....   Is Doheny a good option?  How early is the lineup to get into SanO weekdays next week? Feel free to PM me

3

The Shape Shack / Wanted a handle on the bottom of my foilboard - got a gore breather handle

« on: December 20, 2020, 02:26:03 PM »

Should I be worried about the breather being on the bottom side of the board?   Not what I would have asked for, but that’s what the board guy installed.  Never thought to clarify

4

Environment / pruning kelp at a reef break?

« on: November 29, 2020, 10:31:37 PM »

What do people think about going out with a snorkel and a dive knife on a calm day and pruning some of the prolific California kelp around a few good takeoff spots at a reef break? 

As far as foiling goes - I've found that once you're on a wave, getting over top and around the kelp patches is totally doable and actually pretty fun.  But lining up to catch the wave is brutal - the water drops in front of the wave and all the kelp pops up to grab you.

I'm a bit torn about it, and I'm looking for other people's opinions:
1) would doing this even be legal?  enforceable?  Lots of people prune trees and bushes in the summer for good backcountry ski runs on national forrest land and the like.  It isn't legal, but it would be almost impossible to get caught.  And it really does improve the enjoyment for the trail users
2) cutting away kelp *would* be effecting a habitat for all kinds of sea life.  But oh my god there is miles and miles of kelp out there and so few premium reef breaks that need clearing

What say you all?

5

Classifieds / GoFoil GL wings

« on: October 19, 2020, 09:35:23 PM »

Raising money to feed the habit...   broke another mana paddle and maybe a new prone board.  Prices don't include shipping from California or paypal fees. All wings are all-carbon and have a universal fit for any generation of masts

$550 GL140 in great shape (with sleeve)
$550 GL180 in great shape (with sleeve)
$500 GL210 well used - looks the worst in photos, but I've recently filled all the scratches and sanded back to 600grit.  painful to let this one go, I have almost a hundred sessions on it  (with sleeve)
$600 GL240 in good shape  (with sleeve)

6

Foil SUP / GoFoil: amazing wings with crappy tails

« on: October 18, 2020, 03:17:10 PM »

GoFoil, you need to step up your game with respect to tails.  I own 3 generations of GoFoil tails (a few copies of each actually),  and have tinkered relentlessly to get the performance I want.  Each major iteration has been a big step up, but even the latest stuff could be a lot better.   I just put Kane's 15" tail on and everything came alive for me.  You suddenly notice everything wrong with the 14.5" flip-tip tail when your eyes are opened to something better.

I started with the blue Maliko tail.  Cutting that down was a revelation and really changed the way I surfed.  Then came the 18N and 18W, which were both a big step up from the Maliko in terms of drag reduction and smoothness of lift - especially a cut down 18W.  Then the short pedestal and the 14.5" flip-tip - pretty crappy build quality on both, but I forgave that when I rode it.   Turns got a lot more locked in and I couldn't believe I ever even liked the cut down 18W.

Putting on Kane's tail is arguably one of the biggest gear step up I've experienced since going from IWA to GL.  I felt like a hero today, turns were tighter than ever, pumping smoother, and the lift profile across the speed range is superb.  Not really great conditions either, so I know it was the gear.  I literally breached the foil and I could feel it skipping across the surface before dropping back down and keeping going !!??

All that work GoFoil is putting into front wings, you owe it to put some time into the tails.  I was fiercely brand loyal since the very first surf foiling wings they put out, but this makes me question whether the brand is slipping.  Or maybe tails and wings will go the way of fins and boards - mix and match to find your sweet spot.

7

Foil SUP / total geek out post on the GL210

« on: September 22, 2020, 10:54:35 AM »

Yes, foil brain is in full effect even after 3 years foiling for me.  I'm stuck in my house with nothing else to do, so I'm trying to understand the inner workings of foil wings.  I've been using my GL210 as a reference wing.  Hopefully through all this, I can help identify opportunities for improvement (which I think there are still many).

I traced out the foil section profile using paper and scissors and translated it to digital in order to run it through XFOIL software and study the polars.  I had one of my friends operate XFOIL since this isn't (yet) my specialty.  We picked some speeds to look at.  First impressions are that this foil section seems pretty draggy in comparison with more typical glider wing and hydrofoil profiles designed for similar Reynolds numbers.  It is certainly much better than the IWA type section.

I also carefully measured wing twist, so a future analysis could include those effects.  The outer third is pitched negative a bit probably to keep the tips from stalling in dynamic maneuvers.

Before you ask - I WILL NOT post or share the foil cross section.  If you want it that bad, you're going to have to buy your own wing and trace it yourself.  Imitation is flattery, but copying exact is theft. 

8

Classifieds / 2010 Starboard pro 8'5" converted to foil tuttle

« on: September 18, 2020, 10:35:02 PM »

This one is going to go cheap, I need it gone.  Frankly it isn't a very good foil board.  It would work for a first foil board but there are better options.  It was my first foil board and I learned to foil just fine before anybody knew any better.  I used to absolutely love riding it as a SUP though, and it is a pretty classic shape.  Maybe you want it for that?  It was the top of line construction for 2010 - PVC sandwich - and though it has hundreds of sessions on it, no major dings and watertight.  The foil box probably needs a couple layers of glass or just ride it like it is.   I will not ship - thinking $200 if you come pick it up in the San Francisco bay area.



Starboard catalog:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dvv51vx9hbo1kmy/2010_SUP_catalogue.pdf?dl=0

9

Foil SUP / Goddam Sup Foiling is fun

« on: September 09, 2020, 10:08:36 AM »

Wow, it is so incredibly fun to be high performance wave riding when everyone else is bobbing around complaining about how crappy it is.  Literally, paddle out, spin, ride, repeat.   Do I have anything constructive to say that is worth creating a new topic?  No - classic shit-post.

10

The Shape Shack / shape3D guru (help please!)

« on: August 19, 2020, 10:08:40 AM »

I have a board design I want to execute and I can't get Shape3D to do what I want.  I have it modelled in CAD software and can export in STL/IGES/etc - but none of the board CNC guys can program their cutters from anything other than Aku or Shape3D file.   So I'm trying to redo it in Shape3D.  I've got the design I want in there as a ghost, so that's a start.  Need some specific advise from someone with experience.  Private message is fine - thanks!

11

Sessions / Karma

« on: July 30, 2020, 02:58:09 PM »

I had a fairly forgettable sunrise morning out SUP foiling at my local yesterday - except for one remarkable moment.

Its a beach break, but this morning I found a peak that was breaking fairly repeatable on the sets.  This peak had just 3 other people hanging around roughly the same spot.  I'm sitting on the board relaxing waiting on a set when I notice something floating a few hundred yards further from shore - turns out to be some mostly deflated helium balloons.   So I decided to paddle out and go grab them, which I like to do whenever I see trash in the water.  I have a spot in my wetsuit that I stash trash during a session until I can bring it to shore.

So I spent a few moments sitting on my board deflating the balloons and wrapping up the ribbon to stash in my wetsuit.  Literally the moment I gathered my paddle and stood up, here comes a single massive wave that is coming right to me.  Mind you, this is more than a hundred yards outside the normal set wave takeoff zone I was harvesting.  So I spin and grab it and ride it perfectly in the pit - breaking fast right to left all the way past on the outside of the next peak over, and right through the peak after that - with everyone hooting for me.  There literally wasn't another wave even close to that size and quality in the hour before or the hour after, and it was the only one in the set.  Nobody else could have possibly been in the right place for it - and given that it was a beach break it would have been impossible to know where to be for such a wave.

I think I believe in Karma now.

12

Classifieds / WTB: Gofoil short mast 24.5"

« on: June 24, 2020, 10:35:56 PM »

Need one of these for a project - can be thrashed if it isn't broken.  I'm going to cut it up anyway...

13

The Shape Shack / idea: foilboxes set with carbon stringer + bonus foilSUP design images

« on: June 18, 2020, 11:50:06 PM »

I'm thinking about a construction for a foilboard where the boxes are set in at the same time as building in a dual carbon stringer.  The idea would be to route out slots for the foilboxes (without any PVC foam), then hotwire the shaped board into three pieces the long way.  Then layup the stringers and install the foilboxes at the same time.     I would vacuum bag the blank+stringerlayup+foilboxes to get a good adhesion to put the three pieces back together.  The point of all this is to be able to use 1lb foam (divinycell sandwich deck).  What do you guys think?




Or, I am also thinking of possibly splaying out the hotwire cut to give the board some stiffness underfoot while paddling


images of the shape I'm thinking about - pretty much a hybrid between Dwight and Kalama designs with what I think is a little more fair lines.  Blue coloring is just an idea for paint scheme I'm playing with.

14

Foil SUP / The case for a front footstrap - why anything else is holding you back!

« on: June 08, 2020, 10:21:07 AM »

clickbait title alert!

I spent my first 200+ sessions foil SUPing without any footstraps.  Then I finally got a new board that has inserts, so I decided to throw on straps - lo and behold getting up on foil seemed to get easier.  After several sessions I found the back footstrap to be super limiting and took it off.  WOW!  so much better and I never missed it (I'll explain more below).  So I bought some NSI sticky mounts and hacked up the pad on my older board so I could add a front footstrap.  After several sessions and some very carefully orchestrated A/B testing I think I can confidently say that (for me) a single front footstrap is the perfect setup.

About that carefully orchestrated A/B testing...  First session out with my old board and front strap (100+ sessions without straps) - I was catching EVERYTHING.  The ability to push forward and up with my front foot to "pop" into the wave and up on foil is magical.  I kept lining up further and further outside and kept right on catching everything.    Then all of a sudden just as I was popping particularly early into a nice set wave, my front foot flew forward and the NSI sticky mount came off.  My fault for not prepping the surface well enough - I was in a rush the night before.  So I was forced to spend the rest of the session strapless.  It was incredible the difference - I was pretty well calibrated from an hour or so of riding the exact same conditions.   I couldn't grab waves nearly as far outside, and getting into the wave and up on foil was taking noticeably more paddle strokes and effort.  So for me, it was case-closed: front footstrap makes catching waves easier

As far as the back footstrap goes, I've got two serious issues with using it:

1) For the board I've been riding, the flatwater floating balance point of the board is about 6" forward of the foil's center of effort.  That means that if I put both feet in the straps and try to paddle around, I have to have weight quite biased to my forward foot or sink the tail.    Works a lot better to have my front foot in the strap and my back foot about 8-12" forward of the flying position.  With the strap installed, I've got the ball of my foot on the strap screwhead.    Getting into the back strap has to happen just at the right moment, and was prone to frequent error for me.  This is coming from a life-long windsurfer, so I'm used to straps. 

2)  On my strapless board, I have a back foot bump indicating proper flying position.  However, I've found that on certain wave conditions, the foil flies better with my foot 2" forward - yes it makes a difference! 

3) For pumping there is a dramatic improvement by sliding the back foot further forward around 4-6".  This for me is the biggest problem with the rear strap - it's in the wrong spot for pumping!  Furthermore, there is no need to "pull" the board up on the back foot during pumping - it may even be a detriment to the way the water flows over the foil.  On a good pump, I'm fully unweighting the back foot.  Its really hard for me to do that just right with a back footstrap.  On the flip-side, there is a nice benefit on a SUP to being able to pull upwards on the front footstrap.  It seems to help the board pitch upwards and counteracts the extra weight in the nose versus a prone board that pitches up by itself.

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts.  Based on the way I ride, and my careful testing, I'll be running a single front footstrap on all my foilSUP boards from now on.

15

Foil SUP / Cheaper and more durable alternative to kenalu Mana paddle?

« on: May 06, 2020, 10:16:33 AM »

I am absolutely loving my mana 90 paddle for foiling, but I've now ruined several paddles by hitting the foil while I'm paddle pumping.  I can't afford to buy another Mana that I'm just going to crack again.  Any suggestions on an alternative that'll still feel great in the water? - a bit heavier would be a fine trade-off for durability.