Impact of Fuselage lenght on pumping

Select to expand quote

Filow said..
All is in the title ! Of course a shorter fuselage will make the foil more easy to turn, more loose but regarding the pumping speed and the effort / foward movement ratio what do you think ?

This is not as easy as a blanket answer. There is so many things that will account for pumping and the effect, and most of it is skills.

Theoretically I would say the longer fuselage should give you a more powerful pump with the rear wing achieving more "power" from its leverage and creating a stronger down force (therefore strong up force on the front wing) over a shorter fuselage.

BUT....

Personally I find pumping on the shorter fuselage extremely efficient, and with smaller and higher aspect foils somewhat easier over a longer distance provided you keep your speed up and have good technique.

The shorter fuselage is less stable, so therefore may make an actual controlled input harder for a novice rider. Some like a longer fuselage for DW'ing as it helps with control especially at speed.

So, where is this all going. I would suggest the standard length of Fuselage seems to be around 65cm. And this is a great starting point. It is efficient and easy to pump with, has control and power to pump. As your skill grow and control is no longer such a massive issue, then moving towards a shorter fuselage may be something you wish to visit to achieve a looser and free'er feeling ride especially for surfing.

I use a 55cm Fuselage for everything. Surfing, SUP, prone, Winging, DW'ing. I also nearly always use 1240-1250 cm2 foils.

I would not suggest going short fuselage early in your foiling journey or until you have mastered pumping.

Hope this helps a little,

Ride safe,

JB

Great timing.

Ive been tapping holes into my Gofoil setup for a while. Last hole puts the measurement @ 575mm from main leading edge to stab trailing edge. From memory the original Kai and Maliko were 750mm??

I rode it last night at my regular spot, onlyother difference was a new HA stab cut to 16" instead of the usual 18". Ive been running it at 645mm for weeks (GL210 plus 18" stab).

It pumped well, but I had to adjust technique....short shallow pumps mostly seemed to be the go. (KDMaui trot) It felt a little more efficient when I was coasting. I'd have to say it was a fair bit less forgiving due to pitch sensitivity and I ploughed into chop a couple of times, but that got better after a while. I had to narrow my stance. I went back a notch to 610mm and that was great, required a bit less attention and felt kind of felt drivey.
Pretty sure after a session or two and it'll be the new normal.

The big plus was the turns. They were amazing at times. It felt so much tighter. I can't wait to get some groundswell and put it on some proper walls.

Ill try with the 18" stab today for a fairer comparison.

This the 575 position. She's short! (Thanks Kent!)

Select to expand quote

tightlines said..

Clamsmasha said..
Great timing.

Ive been tapping holes into my Gofoil setup for a while. Last hole puts the measurement @ 575mm from main leading edge to stab trailing edge. From memory the original Kai and Maliko were 750mm??

I rode it last night at my regular spot, onlyother difference was a new HA stab cut to 16" instead of the usual 18". Ive been running it at 645mm for weeks (GL210 plus 18" stab).

It pumped well, but I had to adjust technique....short shallow pumps mostly seemed to be the go. (KDMaui trot) It felt a little more efficient when I was coasting. I'd have to say it was a fair bit less forgiving due to pitch sensitivity and I ploughed into chop a couple of times, but that got better after a while. I had to narrow my stance. I went back a notch to 610mm and that was great, required a bit less attention and felt kind of felt drivey.
Pretty sure after a session or two and it'll be the new normal.

The big plus was the turns. They were amazing at times. It felt so much tighter. I can't wait to get some groundswell and put it on some proper walls.

Ill try with the 18" stab today for a fairer comparison.

This the 675mm position. She's short!

Surely that is a typo and it is the 575 position?
Yep it's short.

Yep, 575mm thanks Kent, edited above.

Select to expand quote

JB said..

Filow said..
All is in the title ! Of course a shorter fuselage will make the foil more easy to turn, more loose but regarding the pumping speed and the effort / foward movement ratio what do you think ?

This is not as easy as a blanket answer. There is so many things that will account for pumping and the effect, and most of it is skills.

Theoretically I would say the longer fuselage should give you a more powerful pump with the rear wing achieving more "power" from its leverage and creating a stronger down force (therefore strong up force on the front wing) over a shorter fuselage.

BUT....

Personally I find pumping on the shorter fuselage extremely efficient, and with smaller and higher aspect foils somewhat easier over a longer distance provided you keep your speed up and have good technique.

The shorter fuselage is less stable, so therefore may make an actual controlled input harder for a novice rider. Some like a longer fuselage for DW'ing as it helps with control especially at speed.

So, where is this all going. I would suggest the standard length of Fuselage seems to be around 65cm. And this is a great starting point. It is efficient and easy to pump with, has control and power to pump. As your skill grow and control is no longer such a massive issue, then moving towards a shorter fuselage may be something you wish to visit to achieve a looser and free'er feeling ride especially for surfing.

I use a 55cm Fuselage for everything. Surfing, SUP, prone, Winging, DW'ing. I also nearly always use 1240-1250 cm2 foils.

I would not suggest going short fuselage early in your foiling journey or until you have mastered pumping.

Hope this helps a little,

Ride safe,

JB

What brand has a 55cm Fuselage or is it a custom job?

Here's my rough overview:- The longer fuse feels more comfortable & easier to pump when you first hop on a shorter fuse. Some people freak out and go that's terrible too hard and swap back to the longer fuse. You need to stick at it you will get used to it. The shorter well get you turning harder and faster in and out of turns generating more speed , the pump again at first will feel tricky because its a shorter pump arc , you will soon master this as well and be pumping faster and more efficiently. Once you get used to it next is reduce your tail wing and you get everything above x 2.

For all the Axis users out there , the std Fuselage is really long 76.5cm , their short is actually normal length 68cm and the "Ultra Short" is what you consider "Short." 62.5cm

Just starting to get the hang of pumping. I am on the axis standard fuse 920 S front and 500 rear. Which would give the best bang for buck?
$300 for a 400 rear or $400+ for the short fuse. Now going into winter don't think l will be dinging for a while, so mostly sup foiling. Cheers.