Messages

301

Prone Foiling, Surf foiling, Pump Foiling / Re: Mast Plate Shimming,huge effect for little $

« on: January 13, 2021, 10:38:56 AM »

I bought the carbon foilmount to build a board with an idea I had that turned out to be more or less what Gong did with their new inflatable. I was going to build a rectangular carbon box around an XPS core with top and bottom handles, foot strap inserts, and a foilmount stuck on the bottom and then wrap it with a lightweight shell that is the floaty parts of the board. A rigid, super strong core for all the stressed elements and super light shell around it. I might still do it some time but I have all the wizardhat stuff sitting at my shop. Unfortunately, all that is in Hood River and I'm in La Jolla.

I just ordered the shim set and hardware so I can get rid of my bogus shim. Thanks for the inspiration.

Modular boards are something that could be really interesting.
I would like some manufacturer to make a strong carbon box+core like you describe as the system "base" and sell softboard Wing,SUP and Surfoil bodies to fit around it.
We only need serious stiffnes where we stand.

302

Prone Foiling, Surf foiling, Pump Foiling / Re: Mast Plate Shimming,huge effect for little $

« on: January 13, 2021, 08:59:42 AM »

Yup, the wizard hat hardware.
But mind you, i have not used it, just liked the concept

303

Prone Foiling, Surf foiling, Pump Foiling / Re: Mast Plate Shimming,huge effect for little $

« on: January 13, 2021, 08:34:13 AM »

10mm is a big shim!, nice to know that it works OK, what worries me with bigger angle shims is not the shim(works in compression only) or the screws but the angle you are forcing on the sliding inserts inside the plastic box rails.They will have all the pressure concentrated on the front or back end of each slider, not ideal.
But if yours has not gone bust i guess there is a lot of leeway.

Foilmount sells hardware that will work up to 3* shim ,they have a swivel that will always align the surfaces nicely.
Anyway, i think 1* is a huge change ,3* is mostly meant for surfboard to foilboard conversions where the board has "surf" rocker at the tail.

My Gong has full flat bottom in the back half ,i did try shimming the stab (and different stabs) but in my case it did not help at all.Shimming the mast did the trick.

For comparison,my  Armstrong foils work perfect for prone surfing sans mast shims but do not rise as nicely as the shimless Takuma when winging.

Every manufacturer is setting different angles on their foils, add different rockers and volume distribution on boards plus different disciplines and it can get confusing and frustrating

304

Prone Foiling, Surf foiling, Pump Foiling / Mast Plate Shimming,huge effect for little $

« on: January 13, 2021, 07:23:00 AM »

I have a Takuma LOL 1600 full carbon.I love it for winging but i could not make it work for prone foiling.
It felt super draggy paddling into the waves and it would rise like a psycho when dropping in.
I thought it was too big for my 75kg, or that my board (Gong Matata EPS 5.0) had the boxes too far forward for this foil.I had almost given up on surf foiling it.

But reading about how the Kujira riders are shimming their mast plate for increased angle of attack on wave entry with great results made me think that maybe my LOL needed exactly the opposite.
So i made a 4mm epoxy shim(with some carbon to keep it from splintering) and screwed it on for todays session,thick side at the front to reduce angle of attack when paddling in.

Wow, worked like a charm.Easy paddle in on foamies or unbroken waves, nice controlled rise.Perfect

For winging i like it unshimmed, as the rise on foil is very progressive compared to surf foiling.

This mast plate shimming is a huge factor , so if anybody is having trouble with a particular board/foil/activity combo i encourage them to experiment with this before spending money on stabs,foil wings etc...

3 to 4mm has a huge effect, i would not try more than this as you would need longer screws and even with this the angle would put stress inside the rail inserts. Foilmount makes swiveling hardware that allows for big angles if needed.

305

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Axis Foils

« on: January 10, 2021, 03:05:18 AM »

Where can you order those Kane tails?.
I might buy one for a Takuma LOL.

306

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Gong 2021 boards - 9 models!

« on: January 09, 2021, 12:23:34 PM »

Clever marketing if nothing else. There are some radical designs there, but mostly it's relatively minor variations. You could take every board a builder/designer like Dave Kalama or Mark Raaphorst and give it a different name instead of just dimensions and suddenly you have 40 recognizable sub-brands that people can talk about.

There's a lot to learn from watching how Gong and Blue Planet market their products. Both companies are too small to have a big marketing team using collective knowledge and marketing data to drive their business, but they've been at it long enough to have tried stuff that resonated with their target market.

These are relatively simple products to design and prototype, so the gap between design and testing is short. The real test will be what works in the market--these boards will be winnowed down to the winners, and winner means the ones that get bought. Giving each iteration and easily relatable name even though it will create confusion in the marketplace (which one should I get?) it's much easier to optimize. There isn't an easy way to optimally market just by size and intended function.

Smart people.

I might be wrong but i would say Gong sells +100 boards for every BluePlanet.
It is a big operation.

307

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: 7M Airush/Starboard wing

« on: December 27, 2020, 09:59:38 PM »

For those light wind gybes i find it helps a lot to put the wing flat overhead as soon as you enter the turn.

308

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Gong 2021 Wings Announced - 5 Models

« on: December 25, 2020, 10:50:21 PM »

Double Dacron to stop the exploding gong wings? 

My Ensis also exploded,before even touching the water.The version with windows, they lowered the inflation pressures after that.

Armstrong had to recall a run of AWings, they were self destroying too.

We are guinea pigs, although i expect this third gen gear to be much more reliable from all manufacturers.

309

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: 7M Airush/Starboard wing

« on: December 21, 2020, 11:05:59 PM »

Using larks head on something that has no constant tension and is getting manhandled so much on falls etc is not the best idea IMHO.
I never used it, i removed the part with neoprene  and passed the swivel through its little loop around the depower handle, leash attaches to swivel.
This way you keep the swivel and it cannot undo itself.

310

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: 7M Airush/Starboard wing

« on: December 21, 2020, 03:14:55 PM »

Well,horses for courses.
I have the 6m and 4m Airush, and i like them both a lot.Never tried a 7m.

The review by McKiteboarding is spot on IMHO, and they also liked it quite a bit, power,weight and handling.

Although they did not test the 7m.Maybe the design just does not click at that size.

I am 75kg/175cm and the 6m feels super compact, never have wingtip catch issues.

Bummer that it did not work out for you, i think anything bigger than 6m is going to be problematic unless you are quite tall.
The Gong proto i saw in pics might be an option, it looked almost rectangular with lots of area for the span.But Gong tend to build on the heavy side.

311

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Axis Foils

« on: December 19, 2020, 05:40:31 AM »

15mph=13kt
With a 3.5?

I must be doing something wrong.

I must be doing everything wrong

Not saying i don't believe it mind you, but it is kind of surprising.

312

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: The Winging Speed Thread

« on: December 18, 2020, 12:05:35 AM »

Current wingfoil equipment creates enough speed for foot steering,transitions,surfing and jumping.
Yes, we are slower than kites or windsurfers...so what?.
Wind driven waves are slow unless gale conditions, wingfoil current speed is "in sync" with these waves This is very good IMHO.
Personally i would prefer to see wingfoils focusing on early lift off, glide,maneuvrability&feel (surfiness).

And the forgotten factor,safety.
Riding on top of 50cm carbon katanas is not exactly smart , rubber flex tips and trailing edges or even better, an infinity wing (closed biplane) foil concept are doable.

I remember the windsurfing "speed fever" craze when Pascal Maka broke the sailing speed record.Lots of needle boards are in landfills or gathering dust in garages.Unridable,unsellable.

313

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: 'Wing as pusher' move...

« on: December 09, 2020, 08:10:28 AM »

This guy shows a less fancy move  but seems to work ok:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIgaoTtjWRt/?igshid=1cvgekk9bha3u

314

Foil SUP / Re: Personal tow in

« on: December 07, 2020, 12:11:50 PM »

I want one!!!

315

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: 'Wing as pusher' move...

« on: December 07, 2020, 12:08:05 PM »

Ok,thx!