My first post on this forum! I've just taken up windfoiling and have a few hours practice time. Lots of horrendous crashes. Not really sure if I like it yet - there are rare moments when it feels good, but a lot of swearing in between.
I've bought a high quality used freeride foil with a large front wing - and am pairing it with a loan board of the same brand that is a good few years old.
I've seen a good deal on a used freeride foil board, but it is a different brand to my existing foil. Is it advisable to mix and match foil and board brands - or is it always best stick to one brand for the whole foil and board setup?
It looks like the relationship between foil / fin box postion, footstraps position and mast base position could be slightly different between these two brands - studying various photos online. Is this likely to be the case?
Cheers!
What are the brands of the foil and boards you are using, and also considering on getting? Chances are someone here has tried the combo you are looking into.
The biggest issue is boards that have a deep tuttle as some brands can play well with certain tuttle positions, but it isn't right for others. If the board has a foil track instead, it makes things a lot easier to adjust.
Both boards are deep tuttle.
The foil is GA Mach One carbon, currently on a brand-matching Tabou board.
The used board for sale is a Starboard Freeride 150.
Welcome and good luck, keep up the practice as learning to fly calmly takes a little time. If you're coming from plenty of fin windsurf experience don't try to take off *too* aggressively and be fairly still (especially legs) when flying as everything is super sensitive. Sorry if you're already well into this stage, ignore me!
You using the 90cm fuselage I assume (?) as GA do a 75cm as well which will be v pitch sensitive if trying to windfoil.
I've had a Starboard Freeride 125 and 150, the foil box, straps and mast track positions worked well Vs a "foil ready" non dedicated foil board. The position of the front wing between the straps when viewed from above is a nice all-round starter.
Have fun ;)
Are we to assume you are in NZ?
However just in case - if in WA and u were ringing shops today give me a PM
With tuttle mounts on windfoil boards, you problem you can encounter is that the position of the tuttle box relative to the footstraps and the back of the board can differ enough to create an unbalanced setup. Looking at images from Tabou and Starboard boards, that does not seem to be the case, though. The extra volume and length in the Starboard may make things a bit easier.
The tips from jstone1 are spot-on. Another thing to keep in mind is that some windsurf "reflexes" are totally the opposite of what you need to do when windfoiling. When windsurfing, we often sheet out in a gust; on the foil, that causes the nose to go up, and overfoiling, which can create "horrible crashes". Learning to instead sheet in to put pressure on the nose and keep it down can be hard, since you need to overcome muscle memory. Take-off is similar, but the other way around: to get planing on a windsurfer, you sheet in; with a foil, sheeting out a bit after picking up speed first can get you on the foil. Then, sheet in right away again to stop the rise. Initially, it's a good idea to even put the board back down onto the water after a very short flight. Then, extend the length of your flights. And if you crash, hold on to the boom - you can't fall on the foil when you're holding the boom.
I have happily combined Starboard tuttle foils with Fanatic boards for years
play with mast base position - small changes make big differences
It really doesn't matter, provided you can achieve a balanced setup. Adjust your footstraps position so the front foil is between them. Your aim is to get even pressure on both legs when flying. Adjusting the sail mast base also helps. Forward to reduce front foot pressure. Back to increase front foot pressure. Shimming the stab does the same thing, but that's a little bit more complicated. Another good thing to do when learning is to remove your back strap. Don't be afraid to do the adjustments to get balanced flight, then time on water will improve your muscle memory.
I got this tip from Andy Brandt and it really seems to help beginners.
1) slog up wind
2) bear off to start to get speed and lift off
3) immediately head back up wind to kill off power
This allows individuals that haven't quite mastered the sail pumping needed to get up with smaller sails to still fly and not end up reaching and breach.
The only downside is that they may get stuck up wind and need to slog downwind
he describes it here
Hi AoetearoaSailor
Good luck on the journey, It is fun. My foiling experiences are mostly logged on seabreeze, starting with my first 20 or so sessions, including racing after just 13 attempts at foiling.
My best training tips are in this playlist on YT: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrHB6IE31HOsooGGme1-dUCawbXCrgySq
and an index of tips based on what you need at any given point... i hope:
Foil Racing - Index of All Technique Threads | Windsurfing Forums,
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Foiling/Foil-Racing-Index-of-All-Technique-Threads
Thanks ALL! Great to have some encouragement and useful advice here. I've gone for the Starboard freeride foil board, which I think will make things a little easier when I am able to pick it up in a few weeks. The current loan board I'm using seems to be more of a 'freerace' style board, which I think is a little tricky, but not impossible to use intially. The from foot strap feels too far outboard and slightly too far back, meaning I find I'm sometimes adopting this 'stilletto' front foot position to compensate. I even tried avoiding the troublesome front footstrap entirely and riding with both feet out the footstraps and placed more inboard, which seemed to work once I got used to the 'balancing-on-a-wet-wobbly-table' feeling.
I am improving with each session - I managed over 1km of sustained flight yesterday in ideal conditions. Weirdly, I find everything so much easier on starboard tack, which I find I'm doing longer more controlled flights on, rather than port tack, which I tend to wobble about and do massive crashes on. It must be something to do with dominant hand / foot, etc. When on the slapper, I absolutely hate chop-hopping on port tack, but love jumping on starboard, so there seems to be a bit of a theme here!
Advice about learning to come down under control is a good one. The inevitably competitive side of me means I have been focussing on reaching ever longer flights to exhaustion, so I really must work on finesse things more, rather than just heading for the horizon