Another DIY Foil Project

[surfcowboy]

Man, is one looks nice. Is that painted over the glass? How'd you finish it?

Great work.

[SURFFOILS]

The black and orange look sweet. Nice choice.

[oldfartsuperdad]

Ready to rock and roll.  Clearwater Kit married to my L41 SimSup via twin tracks.  Paddled around the lake trying to get up on the wing per Kalama's kid...yeah, that ain't gonna happen!   Small swell at the coast has me thinking its time to get this wet....now where did I put that helmet.

[surfcowboy]

Dude, get that in the water and report back!

[PonoBill]

Find someone with a boat to drag you around. You need to get a feel for the foil, it's very different from what I expected. You probably also want some straps, or at least something to get your feet in the right position, which is right over the centerline, back foot on top of the mast, front foot as far forward as you can comfortably place it and still be able to shift your weight from foot to foot with hip movement. From what I felt yesterday, the foil responds slowly, but you need to get well ahead of the foil in your correction. I got closest to actually flying the thing when I shifted weight to the back foot and then immediately returned weight to the front foot before the foil had actually started to come up. Almost like pumping. Dave told me to emphasize toe pressure, but I got carried away and pushed too hard on the toes, so all my falls were faceplants. What he meant was to not be neutral, which causes the foil to hunt and wobble, but I think a little pressure goes a long way.

I spent a bunch of time last night in bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking through what I felt. Like I said, not what I expected. More flying than surfing. Pitch and roll.

[surfcowboy]

Pono, the toe thing is from snowboarding. You always commit to one or the other, never a flat bottom, wobbly as all get out.

Which foil are you on, a Clearwater?

[oldfartsuperdad]

Thanks PB for the input....I just lined up a friend for some sessions out on Lake Sammamish up here in Seattle.  I have watched and read all I can on this and definitely ready to give it a try.  Im also marking the top with mast location - something I can feel under my foot.  Im hoping my shorter mast will aid in learning as well.  If it all works, Im probably going to build another - mess with the foil as welll as a longer mast....willl report out on progress!  Wish I could have made it down for the Kalama clinic....

[PonoBill]

Get something up front too. Both feet need to be on the centerline. If you don't have something to feel you'll revert to some variation of surf stance. Dave said his cousin Junya is doing sort of a surf stance, but Junya is a balance freak. every time my feet were even a little off the centerline I had no control of the foil.

[Beasho]

I agree: Both feet on centerline. Any time my feet weren't perfectly aligned I would get the wobbles. 

[surfcowboy]

I've got some scraps of deck pad if you need some.

Also, Hobby Lobby and other craft shops have sheets of it for kids. Can't use it for a pad, but 2 or 3 strips cut and layered with glue will make a nice arch pad.