Author Topic: Seeking cheap alternative to Kalama DW board for flatwater pump up practice  (Read 10821 times)

daswusup

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What up Zoners? I have been perusing windsurf/sup classifieds to repurpose a fast, lightish board so that I can put a foil on and try my hand at the flatwater pump up. I will probably end up getting a Kalama 6'5" at some point but am looking for a cheap alternative to slap a foilmount on and get started. I skipped windsurfing so any of you with knowledge, please chime in on what type of windurfer might work with some similar dims like 23"W, 100-130L, 6-7'Long. Maybe even a tippy race sup. We have had an amazingly windless 60 days here in Reno and I need something to feed my foilbrain. I am convinced that downwind supfoiling is completely doable here on Tahoe, Pyramid and Washoe lake. Looking to pioneer some up wind winging to downwind paddle foiling around here. Send it!!!

Hdip

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No board advice here, but a local foiler was just up in Tahoe and kept putting video's of the lake in his instagram stories talking about how good the downwind bumps were.

daswusup

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Link please?

808sup

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If it’s your first go I would suggest going for stability over board speed. If you can’t stand up and paddle with confidence then a shorter narrower board will be a kill joy. Our open water sup race boards are 14’to 17’ long and are designed to glide on the bumps. A Downwind foil sup 5’ to 7’ isn’t gliding much at all but for the initial forward movement as you attempt to pop up on foil. BTW that pic looks totally doable! I did a Kihei run here yesterday in water with a lot less energy. Not knowing your size/weight/sup skills it would be hard to say what would work for you. Shorter and wider is what I would use for short period swells. Longer and narrower for long period . Hope that helps

daswusup

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If it’s your first go I would suggest going for stability over board speed. If you can’t stand up and paddle with confidence then a shorter narrower board will be a kill joy. Our open water sup race boards are 14’to 17’ long and are designed to glide on the bumps. A Downwind foil sup 5’ to 7’ isn’t gliding much at all but for the initial forward movement as you attempt to pop up on foil. BTW that pic looks totally doable! I did a Kihei run here yesterday in water with a lot less energy. Not knowing your size/weight/sup skills it would be hard to say what would work for you. Shorter and wider is what I would use for short period swells. Longer and narrower for long period . Hope that helps

I used to race paddleboards when that was cool for 3-4 years. 185lbs expert paddler. I am not so concerned about this board working for actual DW, so tippiness not such a big factor.  I just want a cheap flatwater pumper. I think like a grom race board might work. Or a longboard(surf). I should just try my 9'0 x 22 longboard. I want to devise a system to strap on a foil to any board. I did it with a kitefoil once. It shouldn't have to be super bomber, as it only will be used in flatwater. I want to be all trained up and ready for the Kehei run next October.

Hdip

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Instagram.com/foilwithme But the stories are all gone now unfortunately.

I've never SUP'd so take this all with a grain and salt, but from what I've gathered from James Casey, Jeremy Riggs and other online sources. Longer and narrower will give you more board speed, which will help you get on foil faster. You want the largest foil you can get your hands on. Seriously large. AXIS 1150. GoFoil 280 being the easiest candidates.

Watch Jeremy Rigg's instagram for free tips. Your paddle technique is very important. So even if you just buy a cheap SUP and train paddling that with no foil on it you'll have a head start. I've seen PLENTY of really good foilers grab a "downwind SUP foil board" and then fail miserably in very good downwind conditions. Guys who would make 20+ mile runs on their prone boards, only getting a quarter mile of on foil time on the downwind sup. That's all due to them having very little SUP paddle experience.

surlygringo

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Almost all of the cheap windsurfers you see for sale are usually quite old, this means that they are very narrow, foiled out tail, volume way forward, longish and heavy.I would get your DW specific board as soon as you can and spend your time practicing with that.

finbox

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Check the LA, OC & San Diego craigslist - you can get a SUP Foil board board for $600 to $700 - I am not sure the stick on foil mount bracket will last very long if you intend to pump the board.

Hdip

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I just re-read your post. If you can arrange transport from LA I can sell you a wingboard that needs a tiny bit of work for $500. The guy I bought it from fixed the boxes solid, but didn't sand the tail that well and there are at least 3 pinholes I noticed my last go out. I'm sort of lazy about fixing that kind of stuff and might just tape it up for awhile, so I can untape it when I come in and make sure it's fully dry before I have someone fix it.

Winging might be a better option for you since the gear is more readily available so better used deals and it's in a way easier to do.

surfcowboy

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Hdip, he's a winger. Which confused me too.

Let me see if I can summarize. He's a winger who wants to eventually DW SUP. But he's only looking to train on days when there's not enough wind to wing.

TBH if it was me I'd paddle a regular non SUP longboard. A 9' foamie is 24" wide and cheap. Buy that, learn to paddle it without a foil and you're ready for anything the ocean throws at you. If you can't do that, evaluate your choices, right? 😆

Dontsink

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Re: Seeking cheap alternative to Kalama DW board for flatwater pump up practice
« Reply #10 on: February 20, 2022, 12:49:28 PM »
?
It is not that complicated to understand.
He wants to DW SUP but prefers not to buy an expensive board right now,without giving a try at the uber difficult flat water Sup foil takeoff.
So he is looking for a used windsurfer or sup with the foilmount to check it out.
IMHO is not a bad idea, on paper that is :).

 

Hdip

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Re: Seeking cheap alternative to Kalama DW board for flatwater pump up practice
« Reply #11 on: February 20, 2022, 02:11:02 PM »
The problem in his plan is Jeremy Riggs who can paddle up a kalama downwind board in three paddles, says he tries other guys boards and can’t get them off the water.

Jeremy even paddled up the kalama wearing a 20 pound weighted vest.

Gear is so important in this stupid sport.

Dontsink

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Re: Seeking cheap alternative to Kalama DW board for flatwater pump up practice
« Reply #12 on: February 20, 2022, 03:22:40 PM »
The problem in his plan is Jeremy Riggs who can paddle up a kalama downwind board in three paddles, says he tries other guys boards and can’t get them off the water.

Jeremy even paddled up the kalama wearing a 20 pound weighted vest.

Gear is so important in this stupid sport.

Yup
Having tried the flatwater pump on a 6.2 Supfoil board i have to agree..it is a very humbling experience.
My board is not DW specific but it was disheartening because i did not feel even the slightest bit of lift  no matter how hard i tried to paddle&pump.And the foil was a big LOL 1900 for my 73kg.
I have put this on the backburner, first the dockstart and then i may try again.

Hdip

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Re: Seeking cheap alternative to Kalama DW board for flatwater pump up practice
« Reply #13 on: February 20, 2022, 10:14:03 PM »
I couldn't edit my post above, but I just thought of something else. James Casey was saying he used wingnut screws to mount a foil and it causes extra drag. I kind of scoffed at that and asked Zane Westwood to do a blind test with him on a downwind run. Two boards and foils setup the same, one with wingnut screws and one with regular hardware that is flush. They BOTH laughed at me and said there's no reason to do it, the extra drag is obvious. So using a foilmount to try and flat water pump seems like a non-starter to me.

Thatspec

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Re: Seeking cheap alternative to Kalama DW board for flatwater pump up practice
« Reply #14 on: February 20, 2022, 10:31:16 PM »
Hard to believe wingnut screws are going to have more drag than the fact that they eliminated the Tuttle box and put a handle on the bottom of the new Kalama downwind boards ???

 


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