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Topics - FloridaWindSUP

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1
My christmas present to myself was a 2020 Fanatic Sky SUP ws edition. I've had it in the water three times but first two times were not nearly windy enough with a 6.8 sail, and third time was only briefly, maybe, windy enough with a 5.7 sail. I can say that the board floats nice and is surprisingly easy to slog upwind despite being so short, but it feels awkward to try to fly it with sail power. I'm really comfortable foiling with my Slingshot Infinity 76 foil on an old formula windsurf board, but I had a tough time getting on the foil and struggled to keep the sail sheeted in and maintain the right trim and elevation when on the skysup. Is anybody else riding a similar style of crossover foilboard that has tips on trimming it? I was thinking I might try putting the mast base as far forward as it will possible go, because the mast track is much further back than it is on my other board.

2
Hi All,

I've been using a Slingshot Infinity 76 front wing and 42 cm rear wing for windsurf foiling, and I'm interested in getting more into SUP surf foiling / downwind foiling / wing foiling.

I was wondering if anybody has had success using the Slingshot Infinity foil system for those non-windsurf kinds of foiling, and what front wings, back wings, masts, etc. they're using.

It would be nice if I could just change the little back wing or something and be good to go, but I have a feeling I might need a different front wing, as well. I'm 75 kg and I live in an area with light wind and small waves. Also not sure if any of the slingshot boards work as crossover for sup foiling and windsurfing foiling. Right now the board I'm using is a formula windsurf board that I think is too wide and clunky for any foil application other than windsurfing. I'd like a board that still works for windfoiling but could also be used for sup foil or wingfoil. 

Thanks,
James

3
Revisiting an inquiry into board platforms that can be used for multiple foil sports, since I saw this 2020 offering from Fanatic:

https://www.fanatic.com/sup/composite-boards/foil/sky-sup-foil-ws

6'11" with a step-tail, and it looks like the mast track is wildly close to the front foot in comparison with most ws foil boards. Seems like an ideal shape for sup foil downwinding and wing foiling, but maybe awkward for windsurfing?

The Naish Hover crossover seems to have a more normal mast track to front footstraps distance.

https://www.naishsails.com/product/hover-crossover-

Any experience with either of these boards or speculations about their performance prospects? The characteristics I'm looking for are:

1. Playful smaller alternative to my current windsurf foil platform which is a huge 230x100 cm formula board.
2. Works for sup foil (most interested in downwind sup foil)
3. Works for wing foil in case I get a wing at some point

Right now I think #1 is the most important for me.

PS- I got to try WINGsurfing this weekend with my buddy's 5.0 Duotone wing. We used it on my 10'4 windsup first, then a 6'6 foil sup. Pretty easy on the first board, pretty hard on the second board. Low performance compared to foil windsurfing. When I wasn't taking a turn on buddy's wingading I was sailing circles around him with my 4.7 sail and foil-equipped formula board. Still, there's a lure to wing thing, and I like the idea of using a smaller board for my foil windsurfing that I could also use as a foil sup for downwinding or gentle waves.

4
The Shape Shack / How far from tail to put foil box?
« on: July 30, 2019, 09:26:59 AM »
I think I'm going to butcher my already-half-butchered 10'4 Angulo Surfa by putting in a track box for a foil mount. I'm calling it "half-butchered" because I already put a flat rocker section, step tail, and twin-fins on it to make it plane. https://jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/2014/01/sup-windsurf-modification-mufin-wave-fin.html That was fun for a while but now I'm over it. (Though it worked, the board was neither very loose on the wave nor very efficient at planing. I also have hardly any waves to use it in here in SW Florida.)

I'm thinking I'll route out the two finboxes I added in the last modification, and put them closer together and more forward to be the track box. I have a track base that came with my Slingshot foil so I think I can use that as the template to make sure I get the distance between the tracks right. (I've been windfoiling on my formula windsurf board with a tuttle box, but that board is 230 x 100 cm with the foil box very near the tail, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work at all for SUP)

I read that the distance from the tail to put the foil box on a SUP is dependent on the length of the board, but the guidelines that I've seen only go up to a board of 8'7 - 9'6 length, for which they say to put the center of the box 23-28" from the tail. I might chop off some of the tail and the nose to shorten my board down, though, which would skew the distances a lot.

Some other dilemmas that I'm having are:

1. Whether to leave the flat rocker section that I added to the board, or file it off.
2. Whether to chop off any of the nose or tail, and if so how much of each. It seems like chopping off some of the tail of the board might be an alternate way to give it a flatter rocker. The original Angulo Surfa had quite a bit of kick in the last foot or so of the thinned out pintail.   

5
Training, Diet, and Fitness / Longer, low-intensity workouts?
« on: June 01, 2019, 04:21:15 PM »
Everyone seems to agree that some high intensity training sessions are good, especially high intensity short intervals workouts. Certainly, people who ONLY do low intensity never seem to get fast, no matter how much they paddle. But I've seen some confusing and conflicting advice on how much, if any, lower intensity workouts to mix in with the high intensity stuff.

1. Some say that the bulk of one's paddling should be longer paddles at HR zone 3 or so, with only one or two high intensity workouts per week.

2. Others say that those long, slower-than-race-pace distance paddles are a waste of time that just makes you slow, and you're better off just alternating your high intensity workouts with rest days or weightlifting

Which is it? I've been following philosophy #2 for the last couple years and it has gotten me fairly fit and fast, but I wonder if #1 might improve my efficiency and endurance in ways that would improve my race performance. 

6
SUP General / Bizarre but fast looking pedal-powered paddle drive
« on: May 24, 2019, 07:35:30 PM »
https://www.facebook.com/groups/188849561244166/permalink/1989354274527010/

I don't know if any of y'all have seen this, but it looks like somebody has built a really unique quad-paddle powered thing for an ultra long distance river paddle race.

Is there any consensus on what the most efficient and / or most powerful "drive" system is for a human powered watercraft? Is there any kind of pedal / paddle / propeller drive system that's better than rowing or kayaking? Now that hydrofoils are getting better I wonder if pairing the right human-powered drive system to a good foil setup could make flatwater foiling practical for more than just a frantic sprint. In my mind I can imagine some kind of "dolphin drive" system with a bicycle chain inside the mast of a foil and an asymmetrical gear inside the fuselage that would flap a dolphin-like rear fin for propulsion.

7
The Shape Shack / Glassing the sharp part on a cutting bow?
« on: April 27, 2019, 06:13:17 PM »
How do you do a glass repair on something that comes to a sharp edge, like the knife-like bow on a Hovie race sup? It seems like it would be strongest and most resistant to splitting again if the glass were folded over the ridge, rather than having the ridge be a seam between two pieces. But I think if I tried to fold the glass at that sharp an angle it would peel back up before it hardened. Is there a way to clamp it while it hardens but not have the clamp get stuck in the epoxy?

Thanks,
James

8
Foil SUP / Practicality / conditions thresholds for downwind foil sup
« on: April 10, 2019, 04:13:09 AM »
I've recently been playing with a Slingshot Hoverglide Fwind 2019 setup on my windsurf and really enjoying it. I think the foil is usuable for surf sup, too, though I might need a larger front wing (Infinity 84 instead of the Infinity 76 that I have).

What I would actually be most interested in doing though would be foil sup downwinding. I think I would need a different board for that because the shape of my windsurf is all wrong for paddling and catching waves (230 x 100 cm / 7'6 x 39" wide formula race board with the finbox all the way at the tail). Before I look at a new board purchase, I want to get some perspectives on if downwind foiling actually works for amateurs in real world conditions.

How much wind and what size bumps do you need to get up and stay up on the foil for a reasonable amount of time? Do you need, like, 25 knot Gorge / Maui conditions or can it work in 10-15 knots with less than waist high bumps?

9
Downwind and Racing / First run with > 8 mph average!
« on: December 20, 2018, 11:53:58 AM »
I'm so pleased with myself that I just had to crow about this. We had great downwinding conditions today in SW Florida (20-30+ mph sideshore to slightly offshore) and I managed to do 13.14 kph / 8.16 mph over 16 km. I was on the 14x27.25 Fanatic Falcon. Prior to this my best average speed on a downwinder was 11.91 kph, so this feels like a big leap. I think more speed would be possible with a little better strategy and work on skills like ambidexterity with regards to goofy vs. regular take-offs and rides.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2027029344

10
Downwind and Racing / 404 ltd 14x25.5 for downwinding
« on: December 14, 2018, 03:39:07 PM »
Today I borrowed my buddy's 404 ltd 14x25.5 for a downwinder. Conditions were sideshore / slightly offshore 15-20+ kts with relatively small bumps less than waist high.

The 404 ltd worked really nicely for downwinding, and I got my best ever average downwind speed on a SUP.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2017298149/analysis

The board felt kind of intermediate between the ease of a big boofy downwind board like my 14x27.25 Fanatic and the quick but unforgiving 14x23 Riviera. Also, the 404 ltd was MUCH better in the rough water / downwind conditions than the older 404 v3 that I used to ride a few years ago. Big evolution.   


11
Downwind and Racing / Stunning speeds of the pros
« on: November 05, 2018, 12:30:41 PM »
There were some big fish in my small river last Saturday for 6.44 km (4 mile) race downriver then back upriver. It was an interesting race format where teams of four were scored by their total times, but didn't necessarily have to finish together.

http://jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/2018/11/race-report-imperial-river-challenge.html

The winner, pro-level Eri Tenorio, did it in 37:54, with an incredible average pace of 10.21 kph. I wouldn't have believed that was possible if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

The next two guys, Florida's top two amateurs, did it in 39:12 (9.87 kph) working together in a draft pair.

They were all on 14x22 or 14x23 Flying Fish sups.

My fastest ever time on the same course was 40:40 (9.47 kph), but I was a lot slower than that Saturday because I'm de-trained and because I was going slower so my buddy could draft the whole way to improve our cumulative team time.

12
Environment / Horrendous Red Tide and Bluegreen Algae Blooms in Florida
« on: August 05, 2018, 02:00:04 PM »
I'm not sure if this is making it to the national news yet, but we are in the midst of a colossal environmental disaster in South Florida, on the scale of last summer's hurricanes, or the Exxon Valdez or Deepwater Horizon oil spills, or the mega California wildfires.

Millions of fishes, hundreds of sea turtles and manatees, dolphins, and even giant whale sharks are dying and washing up on the shores of our lakes, rivers, estuaries, and beachfronts. The culprits are two types of toxic algae blooms of unprecedented size; freshwater bluegreen algae (a cyanobacteria; Microcystis aeruginosa) and saltwater red tide (a dinoflagellate; Karenia brevis). The culprit behind both deadly blooms seems to be excess nutrient input from various forms of pollution, due to decades of rampant reckless development concurrent with a systematic dismantling of the state's environmental regulatory capacity by the current corrupt governor, commissioner of agriculture, attorney general, etc. 

Though the red tide has been simmering since October, it really metastasized about a month ago, at the same time that the bluegreen algae bloom was exploding. A lot of it relates to botched "replumbing" of Lake Okeechobee, which is now drained through canals to the East and West coasts instead of flowing south and filtering through the Everglades. 

The consequences for SUP'ing have been serious. The beaches in SW Florida are almost all very badly afflicted, to the point where you start coughing and get headaches and itchy eyes as soon as you step out of the car, and the freshwater and estuarine areas with the bluegreen bloom are so putrid and toxic that no one would even dare put a board in. We've driven inland to a few blackwater rivers that flow out of unpolluted swamps and are still relatively safe. It's a bad, bad situation, though.

If you want to learn more, I wrote a blog about it.

http://jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/2018/07/eutrophication-word-every-floridian.html

13
Downwind and Racing / Unlimited SUP as alternative to surfski
« on: July 15, 2018, 06:35:37 AM »
I'm about 4 months into experimenting with a 21'x16.9" 2009 Epic v12 surfski kayak that sort of fell into my lap as a cheap deal I couldn't refuse. I'm nearly at the point of conceding that I cannot paddle the surfski without seriously damaging my butt. (I'll spare the gory details.) But it's so fast and has such great potential for efficient upwinding and downwinding that I'm kind of sad at going back to the plain old 14' board.

I'd be interested in getting an unlimited SUP that could fill kind of the same roles that the surfski was intended to fill:

1) Faster and more efficient craft than 14' sup for long distance paddles
2) Faster and easier for downwinders than 14' sup
3) Rudder-equipped to deal with side-winds in open water long distance paddling

I imagine that to fill requirement #1 it would have to be narrowish (< 25" wide) with a non-extreme rocker. Not sure how long would be optimal. I'm 75 kg / 178 cm tall. I like the looks of the Mistral Interceptor, though i'm not sure the board actually exists and is available. Would also like to talk to Yuval about Indigo custom board options and maybe try his out some more.

https://www.facebook.com/mistralsup/posts/mistral's-interceptor-17'6-x-24/1936635846355667/ 

14
SUP General / Sitting (OC1, surfski) vs. Standing (SUP)
« on: July 13, 2018, 06:55:19 PM »
Somehow I got peer pressured into buying a used surfski kayak when all my SUP friends were doing it. My main SUP discipline is flatwater racing with occasional downwinding, and I've had similar intentions for the surfski. Impressions after a few months:

1) It's very difficult to balance in. I have no problem on a 14'x23" sup, but this 21'x17" is insanely hard to stay upright in if the water isn't totally flat.

2) It's very difficult to figure out the stroke. Fat guys with more experience pass me easily while I'm sweating bullets.

3) Despite still sucking at the stroke, I'm 1.5 - 2 kph faster on it than I am on my 14x23 SUP, depending on the distance and the flatness of the water.

4) IT ABSOLUTELY TORTURES MY BUTT TO THE POINT THAT I CAN'T SIT IN A CHAIR FOR DAYS AFTER SOME SESSIONS. Seat pad and paddling shorts don't help.

Have any of you tried surfski or OC1 and then just decided, "Yeah, thanks but no thanks." Because that's about where I'm at with this butt thing. I may just not be physically constructed in a way that I can do sit down paddling without tearing myself up. I've tasted that faster speed, though, and I loath to give it up. I'm thinking about maybe trading it in for a unlimited sup of some kind, if I could find an unlimited sup that was both faster than a 14' raceboard in flatwater and good for downwinders and rough water / allwater conditions.

15
Downwind and Racing / Best downwind board for my area? (SW Florida)
« on: May 27, 2018, 01:39:27 PM »
I live in a spot that's OK but not great for downwinding. Small to medium disorganized chop on top of small swells that tend to head into shore more so than in the direction of the run. Winds typically 10-20 knots on downwind days, with a few 25 knot days a year. 

Of the boards that gzasinets and I have tried here, we both seem to agree that the 14x27.25 Fanatic Falcon is the standout, with a clear speed and ease of use advantage over the runners up SIC 14x27 and AllStar 14x24.5.

Perhaps the only downside of the Fanatic is that it can be a bit sticky and slow when not on a bump, what with the wide shape and big fat nose.

So what do you think- Is the 14x27.25 Fanatic likely to be as good as it gets for here, or might there be some even quicker thing? Would unlimiteds even work in the junky-funky conditions we often have?

 

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