Swim Missiles

[Chan]

That's some great motivation right there.   Has anyone calculated the speed at which a foil (with limited variables) will generate the lift needed to fly?  I'm considering what my target swim sprint should be.  With the apple watch swim app I can have a very accurate idea of where I'm at in relation to the goal.

[Califoilia]

I was down at Dave's on Tues., and your boards are looking awesome, and super light! The 15" track boxes are going to be great for dialing in just where your foil needs to be...which I gotta believe finding the exact prone position on a longer board is going to be a bit more complicated than finding it - or adjusting to it via foot placement - on my sup DW board (that also has 15"ers just in case ).

[Hdip]

That's some great motivation right there.   Has anyone calculated the speed at which a foil (with limited variables) will generate the lift needed to fly?  I'm considering what my target swim sprint should be.  With the apple watch swim app I can have a very accurate idea of where I'm at in relation to the goal.

Here is an example of people knee paddling up onto foil in flat water. In bumpy water it will be doable prone and much easier I bet.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CkuUos8PHRk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Looks easier in bumps.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ck9uYPSgK33/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[Chan]

They look like they haven't generated much forward speed, but they are creating bounce lift.  It would be interesting to see Garmin or Apple data of the point of speed that various SUP and prone paddle foilers are hitting prior to takeoff.

[Hdip]

I've always used 8 MPH as the speed the foil needs to lift me out of the water. But I used an AXIS 1300 recently and I think I got down to 6 MPH a few times while staying on foil.

[tarquin]

What did the little girl discover?

[PonoBill]

Slight detour. But have you looked at "jets" yet PonoBill? The shroud seems safer, but it also seems to be the way that people lose fingers in efoil accidents. The jet seems much safer.

Yup, I made one. It's very complicated to make them efficient. They need lots of intake area and impeller prop speed well suited to the flow rate the outlet venturi is optimized for. My lame effort would make a good immersion blender, but the output was pathetic. I corresponded with a guy who made one with far better engineering than my piece-o'-crap. He used a high RPM, high power motor and a lot of gear reduction. Did all the math right, and the output equivalent to 3+HP being consumed (2500 watts of input power) would barely lift him--and he's skinny.

[Admin]

I was down at Dave's on Tues., and your boards are looking awesome, and super light! The 15" track boxes are going to be great for dialing in just where your foil needs to be...which I gotta believe finding the exact prone position on a longer board is going to be a bit more complicated than finding it - or adjusting to it via foot placement - on my sup DW board (that also has 15"ers just in case ).

Sweet!  Full agreement Cali.  Setup is going to be trial and error and I am glad to have the long tracks.  I have no idea what is going to work foil wise.  We ordered a bunch of big glidey Axis stuff (1310, 1150, standard fuses, 75 hi mod masts, 400 and 425 tails) to start with.  Best guess.  That is all here now.  Bill also (thanks!) lent his 1300 and a short fuse, so we have an amazing test bed.  Dave is going to put some light gray pads on these and send them off.  Then its time to get cold. 

[PonoBill]

I am thinking glue on rail grips once we get an idea of how everything lines up.  We are pretty narrow on these, so deck mounting may be awkward (and painful for that inevitable nose stuff wipeout : ).

Stick on NSI strap mounts. Those things are wickedly potent. Just be sure you know where you want them before you let them touch the board. The mounts are easily rigid enough to support hard handles. I'd use two for each end, but you could get by with one. I don't have inserts added to any new boards. Once I know where (or if) I want a strap I get the NSI mounts. I think Mark Raaphorst buys them by the carload.

Oh, and Brrrr. Belly crawling in the Columbia in the winter. I used to windsurf through the winter when I was young, stupid, and desperate (now I'm just 1 for 3). I still haven't warmed up and that was more than 30 years ago.

[Admin]

That is a great idea.  I used those for the footstraps on my original Slingshot wing board and I sold it with them in place a year later.  Very good stick.  I want to make sure I am not constantly rubbing on whatever I do because this will be a lot of swimming. 

[SUPeter]

I made another post because I have a different application, and think that longer fuselages could help the rest of the SUP foil world, but Sam also shared this Dead-Sexy Mutant.

The idea was to raise the tail, to breach before the main wing, and keep flying rather than face-planting at high speeds - which apparently is horrible on a boogie foil rig.

Sam said this T-Tail configuration worked well on small waves but NOT on bigger waves (I assume bigger means 6 foot faces or more).

My first ever iteration of a surfing foil 95 years ago or so) used a raised tail like Sam's.  It was about 5" higher than the fuse.  It actually worked for preventing breaches if your rate of climb was gradual(slow).  If quickly rising, no help at all.

[Admin]

Swim Missiles have arrived!  So stoked with the way these turned out.  Both boards came in under 8 lbs which feels hysterical.  I am more than excited to test these out, but the weather is pure shite. 

[Dwight (DW)]

They look real nice!

[jkseattle]

Wow, those look sweet & fast!  Nice build.  Hope you get to test sometime soon when weather gets better.  Very curious to hear how they work and what foils you try out. 

[surfcowboy]

Accessorize : )

I'm thinking of trying these.  How are they on the shoulders?

Chan, sorry, I dropped out of this thread. I use Amazon bands and they work great with the swimming motion. I do sets of 40-50 strokes which simulates paddling back out for a wave. I also hang from them leaned back and they help keep me in shape to hang onto wings when I take my all too frequent month long breaks from riding. So far it's made a real difference for me.

For those struggling to pop up, stretch your hips. If you do that you can pop up. It takes forever if you're not 25 but you can build flexibility over 40.