Rule #1 for beginners.

[bigmtn]

3 pages of everyone telling someone they are wrong, and they just keep responding with no I'm right, you're all wrong... I love it.

badger, you're using a large foil for your weight, of course you like it back in the tracks.  a lot of us learned with smaller foils, so if we kept the foils in the back of the track we'd still be stuck trying to get the board off the water.  There are so many variables with different boards/foils/stabs/mast length/weight/windspeed/hand wing size that any time someone says do this or do that, you gotta realize it wont work for everyone across the board. When I started I had to have the foil in the front of the tracks, slammed to the front, and i wished I could have moved it farther forward.

Go throw a lift foil on your board and let us know where in the tracks it needs to be.

[Badger]

Good post. It makes sense that the method would work best with larger foils.

[radair]

I've taught a few people to foil off the back of my boat. I start them out with my biggest board, a 5'-8" 115L wing board, and a small foil all the way back in the tracks. In a few sessions we progressively move the mast forward until it's all the way up (where I typically rode it). Then we move to smaller board but same foil. I feel like any reasonably athletic person can pick up foiling relatively quickly this way.

As others have mentioned, winging is a bit of a different animal. Ideal mast location is highly dependent on the board and foil size. As someone mentioned previously, finding a balanced stance location on a floating board (not on foil) is key to being able to slog or taxi, then finding the ideal mast position for that stance location is key to getting up on foil.

Badger, it's great that you have found what works for you. There is so much to learn in this sport and it is so exciting as you progress. I hope we can get together in northern New England for some sessions together next spring. I am headed south in mid-January to get back to warmer water!

[Badger]

I believe the mast back method will help a good percentage of people who start out with entry-level gear.

Over time, some basic universal learning formulas will evolve as more people get into it and the equipment becomes more refined.

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