400 Hours On Foil: A summer on narrow boards and the search for a perfect surf e

[Wingfoil2001]

Great info B-Walnut. My go to board is a 5’3x22 and 74lts, but unlike you we don’t get proper waves but bay swell. I too am winging for chasing swell and using the smallest hand wing possible, I want the wing to feel gone when on the swell.

I have been riding a 900sqcm HA wing but recently picked up the new Naish HA1440, no I would never have thought I would ride a big wing again but was chasing extra glide and pump that the 900 just didn’t provide. I’ve have tried other larger wings but I was always over foiled, struggled to keep them in the water at speed. Not so with these new generation wings, they are very thin at the tips and turn easily, pump is brilliant and I can now link swells on long down wing runs.

I’m now using one size hand wing smaller than on the 900, my 5 mtr gets me going in 10knots and I quickly drop to my 3mtr as the wind builds. The 1440 is very low drag and a few pumps in the light wind the wing lifts the board and you then pump the board onto the plane. Tacks are super simple as the wing just keeps gliding through the turn.

So foilers riding small front wings, have a try at the new larger area thin foil wings that are being offered, no longer are they just for the beginners.

[Badger]

After a few more sessions and giving it more thought, I see what B-Walnut is saying about being able to go with smaller foils with a downwind board. I think I could easily go down a size or two from the HPS 980 I'm currently using for the windier days. While I don't need a complete re-quiver, I'd call it an expanded quiver since I foil in everything from 6 to 36 mph. The downwind board has allowed me to really push the light wind limits of the 980 which gives me room to go smaller in higher winds.

[PonoBill]

Very interesting thread, and thanks for all the detail. I have a new Flying Dutchman "Kalama style" board--I don't recall the dimensions and it's in a bag on my car, so let's guess 8'5" X 22". I wasn't impressed at first because I tried it with my usual setup for my 5'11" X 29" board. I'm heavy and old, so I tend to use larger wings more so I can get up on the board rather than needing power once I'm standing--it's either that or a walker frame on the board. A week or so ago I tried it with a 4.0m wing, 890 foil, and 400/60 stabilizer. What a difference. The 890 has always been a chore for me to get flying, though I love it once I'm up. With the long board, I was up and flying before I was ready and before I even did the first pump. The 890 is a very "turny" foil, and it felt great.

I'm out of the water for a week or so with an infection on my shin from winging in the skanky Kahalui harbor (idiot!). No cut, just probably micro skin tears from kneeling on the board. I can't wait to get back on the board. Lots to learn. I just need to stay out of the fucking harbor.

[VB_Foil]

Great write-up B-Walnut!  I agree so much. Getting to the point where you are properly powered up on a smaller wing and foil is just sublime.  If anything is out of balance, it’s just not as good. 

I’m behind you at around 300 hours on foil and since I’ve picked up my 6’3 x 18.75 x 85L, I’ve hardly touched my 4’11 x 23 x 60L board, and I definitely have not touched my 7M or 5M for that matter. 65 KGs here.  I’ve also sold all of my bigger HA foils and mainly ride my ha525, ha725, MA625, or MA800, unless I’m going for distance dw and grab the new DW930 or 755 from Armstrong. 

I have a new 4’4” x 18.5” x 40L on the way for when I really want to let loose. I’m nervous that the length is so short when it would probably ride the same if it was stretched out to 5’.  I’m thinking I’ll probably sell my 60L and keep it to the 85L and 40L as my board quiver.

Powered up carves from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock on the DW board feel great! The narrowness really frees up the angles more than my 60L. I was even doing these types of carves with my dw board, 955dw foil and 93.5 cm mast in flat water and having a blast with tips out. Adding the elevation changes for speed and fluidity through the carves just adds to the awesome sensation.  Snowboarding pow turns for free (once the gear is paid for at least)!

[B-Walnut]

Glad to hear everyone is having so much success!

For what it's worth, I'm now 123 sessions deep into this year and have just put in an order for a 5'10"x20"@85l Sunova Carver as my next board. No footstrap inserts and vapor construction, hoping for a 10lbs build! Pulled the trigger on two new foils as well, the Code 720s and 770r. I've recently started to feel as though my Cloud IX fs850 is my "old man foil" which is probably just due to the fact that I have gotten so extremely comfortable on the smaller sizes and am looking for more speed.

Current winter conditions in the gorge are gusting up towards 60 knot days so I'm out on 2m wings with 850 foils as the largest and continue having too much fun as the season has wound down for most others! The increased board efficiency continues to be an absolute blast to experience day after day.

[PonoBill]

I'm officially back in the water. My infection turned out to be a leaky blood vessel, probably got squashed from kneeling on the board, and I'm on blood thinners, so it has sort of a steady trickle. Doesn't look like a typical hematoma. There's no reason to stay out of the water, but it's a good reminder that I should wear a helmet. The doctor says if I hit my head, I need to go straight to the ER. Of course, every sport I enjoy other than foiling requires a helmet--now I guess foiling does too.

Anyway, I've been doing some measurements on my Flying Dutchman barracuda-style board and realized how much it resembles one of the fastest downwind boards I ever owned, the Penetrator. the board was 28" on the deck, but had big, steep chines and a rounded bottom, so most of the time it was really 19" at the waterline. It was hard to ride because it would roll a little, catch itself as the roll made the board wider on the side I was rolling toward, and then it would roll the other way and catch itself. After it got damaged badly, I had it repaired; it was heavier and, therefore, sat lower in the water. The difference in stability was surprising.

My new long skinny board is 125L, and I'm about 105kg, so it sits fairly low. The stability is remarkable. This afternoon, I tried paddling it without a foil. It wasn't easy, but I can do it.

The prediction for tomorrow is light (10-15) winds in a good direction. I'm going to put all this theory to the test. Pumped.

[Wingfoil2001]

Hi PonoBill, I’m on blood thinners and got the same advice, wear a helmet as a head bump can be serious. Only wore one intermittently when winging before but mandatory now.
Goodwinds

[PonoBill]

Hi PonoBill, I’m on blood thinners and got the same advice, wear a helmet as a head bump can be serious. Only wore one intermittently when winging before but mandatory now.
Goodwinds

Yes, it is absolutely mandatory. My cardio doctor said if I bump my head, like if I just trip and fall, I need to go to the ER right away and get checked. I told him I was doing wingfoiling and adventure dirt bike riding, and he just shook his head. He didn't really know what wingfoiling is, so he found a video while we were talking. He finally said, "I think if you hit your unprotected head doing that, you wouldn't make it to the ER." So yeah, helmet.

I questioned the wisdom of being on anticoagulants when I do so much crazy shit. He said (I'm paraphrasing, not quoting), "You've had AFIB, and you have deep vein insufficiency in your legs, so the likelihood of you getting a clot without anticoagulants is fairly high. If you have a stroke, your life will change, and you probably won't be doing anything you enjoy. The anticoagulants are a calculated risk; you can manage the risk to keep it fairly low, and the outcome of an incident could be minor and can be mitigated with medical care. The risk without them is high, you'd have no control over the risk, and the outcome of an incident will absolutely suck."

So: anticoagulants and helmets for everything but sleeping.