Author Topic: Used Foil Board???  (Read 5779 times)

Quickbeam

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Used Foil Board???
« on: February 24, 2020, 11:26:26 PM »
Hi Guys,

I’m brand new to this sport and as of right now don’t own any equipment. You have all been very generous in guiding me as to what equipment I should and should not consider as I get started on this new venture.

I thought that if I like this sport, and if it’s anything like SUP, I will most likely start out on one board and end up getting different boards as I progress. So I thought if I had the opportunity to get a used board and save some money, maybe I should go that route first.

I’m hoping to get your opinion on a used foil board I found on our local Craigslist. You can see the board in question here (https://vancouver.craigslist.org/van/spo/d/vancouver-sunova-sup-foil-surf-board/7061839000.html).

Do you think this would be a decent board to get me started?

Would a foil set up of an Axis 1020 front wing, Standard fuselage, 500 tail and 68 cm. mast work O.K. on this board (Admin. had suggested this foil set up and I am currently looking into it).

And just so you know, I’m 5’ 8” tall and weigh just over 150 pounds. The wind on the lake I will be learning on is light compared to what you are used to. My wind would generally range somewhere between 9 mph and 12 mph.

As always, your thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated.
Infinity Blackfish 12’ 6” x 23”
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 24”
Infinity Whiplash 12' 6" x 24 1/2"
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 26”
Bark Competitor 12’ 6” x 29”
Red Paddle Explorer (Inflatable) 13' 2" x 30
Starboard Airline (Inflatable) 12’ 6” x 27

supkailua

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2020, 11:36:12 PM »
That looks like a good board to get started with to me.

Admin

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #2 on: February 25, 2020, 02:36:28 AM »
I have no info about this board but if you are looking at used boards/older boards I would check that the foil mount is parallel to the deck and that there is no rocker at the foil tracks.  I used a board early on where the foil angle would change significantly based on where the foil was in the slider (and where it was not parallel with the deck without shims).  That is majorly disorienting!

gone_foiling

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #3 on: February 25, 2020, 04:19:52 AM »
I don’t think it is a good idea to invest in this board at that price level. For $1600 you can get new dedicated foil board like JL or Kalama that will kick the crap out of that one. Not worth it. And that long nose in the front is gonna be a dead weight flying. Stay away.
Addicted to foiling at the moment.
My shenanigans on insta @gone_foiling

Quickbeam

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #4 on: February 25, 2020, 07:42:12 AM »
Thanks guys for your replies.

And gzasinets, I appreciate your feedback and your honesty, but I think the prices you are quoting are in U.S. dollars, and as I’m in Canada, I will pay a lot more for the boards you mentioned. As an example, I looked on Kalama’s website and it looks like the boards are a minimum of $1,749 although there is one on sale for $1,699. But for me, living in Canada, by the time I put the exchange rate and other charges on, $1,699 U.S. will equal about $2,300 Canadian. And then to get it across the border it is going to cost another $225 to $250 so now I’m over $2,500. So now that’s over double what the used board is. I’m also guessing that I might be able to get the used board for at least a little less than the advertised price.

So if this board isn’t any good then I’m not interested, but I’m just wondering if it would be O.K. for a beginner board just to learn on? I’m having thoughts in my head of Pono learning on “Mr. Fugly”. Maybe this could be my equivalent???

So I guess my point in all this is that prices for me are different than what they are for those living in the U.S. But again, I’m not interested in wasting money on something that isn’t going to work.

Thanks again everyone for your input. Positive or negative, it is all appreciated.
Infinity Blackfish 12’ 6” x 23”
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 24”
Infinity Whiplash 12' 6" x 24 1/2"
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 26”
Bark Competitor 12’ 6” x 29”
Red Paddle Explorer (Inflatable) 13' 2" x 30
Starboard Airline (Inflatable) 12’ 6” x 27

Admin

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #5 on: February 25, 2020, 08:04:21 AM »
FWIW we paid $1200 brand new for our Slingshot Outwits.  They are incredibly strong, really light for their sizes and were great to learn on.  These are still our big boards.  The 6'6 would be stable enough for you to start on.

Wetstuff

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #6 on: February 25, 2020, 08:08:46 AM »
QB, Setting aside Sunova not having a tendency to put out real dog boards.  ...perhaps a good way -if you are starting at zero- would be to find an inexpensive board in your currency and use a plate mount.  An AH Sprite may be a better way to learn how adept at, and enjoyable racing is, for you vs buying a new F3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D9nLsD2UJ4&t=3s


Jim
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Quickbeam

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #7 on: February 25, 2020, 08:15:48 AM »
FWIW we paid $1200 brand new for our Slingshot Outwits.  They are incredibly strong, really light for their sizes and were great to learn on.  These are still our big boards.  The 6'6 would be stable enough for you to start on.

Thanks Admin. Funny enough, Slingshot was actually one of the boards I was thinking of as I believe we have a distributor not far from me. I'll need to double check to be sure. Thanks again.
Infinity Blackfish 12’ 6” x 23”
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 24”
Infinity Whiplash 12' 6" x 24 1/2"
ONE SUP Evo 12’ 6” x 26”
Bark Competitor 12’ 6” x 29”
Red Paddle Explorer (Inflatable) 13' 2" x 30
Starboard Airline (Inflatable) 12’ 6” x 27

flkiter

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #8 on: February 25, 2020, 08:53:04 AM »
I use the 6'6" outwit in one of my schools and it works great for teaching wing. The 2020 stuff will be out soon and you'll get even better deals on the strut that's out now. For your size, you can go with the smaller size than the 6'6". The Axis 1020 is great for learning also. I use those and Neil Pryde large wings.

supkailua

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #9 on: February 25, 2020, 10:31:17 AM »
Quickbeam, you mentioned lake and light wind. That should work well for the Outwit.

I believe the Admin has a protected spot to get on the board with lighter winds and where it is not too choppy so again the Outwit worked well.

However, a word of warning for anyone that starts off in a non-protected spot with high winds and extremely choppy water. You need really good wing control to get up in those conditions on the Outwit. Without many hours of successful wing foiling on another board you will not be able to get off your knees.

That was my experience. I can now use the Outwit no problem, but starting out I could not get on it at all in choppy seas. The beveled rails make it tip over easy, and if the wing is pulling you one way, and the chop is pushing you all over the place, it becomes too unstable for a beginner.

Just for reference I had 2 hours of practice on land, and probably 4 hours or so of practice on a big windsurf board with a dagger board, so I though my wing control was already good enough, but it was not. I also was an expert Wind Foiler who could walk all over that size board without issues, and I was using the same exact foil so I know what that foil feels like and had completely mastered it.

After that experience I moved to a 7' 6" board with a flat bottom, similar to the board the OP is considering. With that board I could get off my knees and I started to learn to wing foil.

At my location it is really important to push learning on a bigger board. Unfortunately I see too many skilled foilers use the wing with their smallish SUP foil that they are expert foilers on in the waves. They can foil on those boards in their sleep. Yet they come out with the wing, and they flounder all around, fall in, get no foil time, and than say this is BS and go back to foiling waves.

The other problem I see is an assumption that all that is needed is a size 4 wing in any wind. That is also total BS that gets them in trouble. They come out in wind that requires a size 6 with their size 4 and of course can't do anything other than go downwind holding the wing up.

This poor initial experience is stopping a lot of people from learning wing foiling, and I feel bad that they just had the wrong equipment, the wrong assumptions, so it turned into a bad experience.

PonoBill

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #10 on: February 25, 2020, 12:24:31 PM »
Yes, I think that's your fugly, and when you outgrow it, you can surf it. I'd say grab it knowing it's in Canuckbucks and what your other options are. Sunovas are strong and tough. You should be able to easily get your money's worth out of it.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Beasho

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #11 on: February 25, 2020, 02:58:22 PM »
$1,200 Canadian - That's like Play Money  8)

Just kidding.  I have been paying ~ $900 USD for used, imperfect foil boards.

My go-to this winter has been a 7' 4" L-41 Hybrid like the one you have displayed.  I have 3 foil boards:
  • 6 Foot Jeff Clark
  • 6' 6" Blue Planet
  • 7' 4" L-41

Over the past 15 months 2 of these 3 boards have been broken at different times.  I have put a minimum of 10 hours into fixing EACH of these boards. 

If the waves are below 6 feet I will use the 6' Jeff Clark.  If waves are above 6' and/or there is wind and chop I will use the 7'4".

If I had to use one board to travel, or for all conditions it would be the 6' 6" Easy Foiler.   

There is NO WAY I would have been comfortable on the 6' Clark board in the first 100 sessions.  Too short. 

Short Answer - The big board can be your 1) Beginner Board and 2) Your go-to for imperfect or BIG conditions in the future. 

PS: If you're only Wing-Dinging then I don't know anything.
« Last Edit: February 25, 2020, 03:00:25 PM by Beasho »

Admin

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #12 on: February 25, 2020, 03:53:53 PM »
Quickbeam, you mentioned lake and light wind. That should work well for the Outwit.

I believe the Admin has a protected spot to get on the board with lighter winds and where it is not too choppy so again the Outwit worked well.

However, a word of warning for anyone that starts off in a non-protected spot with high winds and extremely choppy water. You need really good wing control to get up in those conditions on the Outwit. Without many hours of successful wing foiling on another board you will not be able to get off your knees.

We started on our Outwits (6'6 and 5'10) and spent a few days on them.  It was June in the Gorge which meant a lot of wind at a lot of different locations.  We were getting pretty pummeled so I borrowed a bigger board from Bill (which was a sidewalk for me) and Chan used the 6'6 Outwit (which was a sidewalk for her).  I bought a 6'11 142 L and spent a week on that.  We then both went back to our Outwits and those were fine at that point.  If you are starting from scratch it is a little tough because you only need your starter board for a very short while but you do need it for rougher water. 

I am confident that Quik will have a great experience on the 6'6 Outwit.  He is 20 lbs lighter than and will be riding light wind on a lake. The Outwit will be very stable for him and it is a terrific board for cruising and easy takeoffs. 


Dusk Patrol

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #13 on: February 25, 2020, 04:02:04 PM »
« Last Edit: February 25, 2020, 04:07:57 PM by Dusk Patrol »
RS 14x26; JL Destroyers 9'8 & 8'10; BluePlanet 9'4; JL Super Frank 8'6

PonoBill

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Re: Used Foil Board???
« Reply #14 on: February 25, 2020, 06:33:30 PM »
That's a pretty good deal. the Malolo foil is old and that wing is dinky, but the new wings are compatible
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

 


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