I am new to this forum, So hello.
I have been foiling now since last september and am loving it. After 30 years of windsurfing I am so fired up to sail in 12 knots of wind it is ridiculous.
I have learnt on an RRD H fire 91 board with the RRD aluminium foil. It has been a great combination, fast stable and very early to foil.
I am now ready to mix it up a bit and want to get more into the carving side of foiling. The RRD has a definite Race feel to it.
I am looking at the Slingshot wizard 125 with the Slingshot Aluminium foil to go with it. The only thing I am a little unsure of is if I should go for the Wizard 105 instead. I am about 80kgs and use a 5.8 as my biggest sail.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
cheers
It's nice to have a board that's easy to uphaul. It's something you do a lot of foiling.
My vote would be the 125
Read this post.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Foiling/Slingshot-wizard-105
For light winds I would go the 125
Hi Nemo,
I have the wizard 125 and wouldn't swap it for anything!! Its all I have sailed for the last six months, in all sorts of conditions. Can foil in about 12 knots with a 5.9 and the Slingshot Infinity 76 (I'm 80 Kgs). Also happy with the 125 when it gets windy. 20 to 25 knots and I rig a 4.2 and replace the Infinity wing with the Timecode 68.
You're only problem might be getting hold of one!!
I have a whole array of boards, but have solely been using my 105L lately. Its not a slingshot but an F-One prototype, however, both boards are similar. If you use 5.8 as biggest it should work on the 105 and in my opinion the smaller the board the better. After some practice you can tack these boards without trouble, and the 105 isn't that short that you can't uphaul. (That would be the 103)
before I had the 105 I used my 92L from 10kts up with my 86kgs, max sail 5.7 and 900cm2 wing. At the moment I can even do 5.1 in the same wind, as long as its a little gusty (8-12/13kts or so instead of 10kts flat.)
i think either board will actually help you win in early planing compared to the H-Fire and RRD Foil, I personally felt the RRD Alu was too wobbly / unstable laterally and didn't like it. I do think the slingshot will give you a wholly different feeling, but the slingshot foils (I know their's a lot of fans) don't really have that smooth and slippery feel the RRD and a lot of faster foils have. I found them quite heavy / blunt feeling when sailing and think you might too.
Try before you buy and maybe look at the Ghost Whisperer, since you are used to more slippery / faster foils anyway, and from what I've read in another topic they'll soon be compatible with the Infinity range of wings.
for early flight you really do not need the enormous wings, good technique will get you there too, and the ~1000cm2 of the GW is already quite a lot.
Select to expand quoteWhiteofHeart said..
I do think the slingshot will give you a wholly different feeling, but the slingshot foils (I know their's a lot of fans) don't really have that smooth and slippery feel the RRD and a lot of faster foils have. I found them quite heavy / blunt feeling when sailing and think you might too.
You might not have read in nimo1972's original post that he "wants to get more into the carving side of foiling".
I reckon the Slingshot Infinity and Time Code wings excel at waveriding and downwind carving on swells.
They carve hard and securely and top speed (around 21 knots) is fast enough in the ocean or chop to crank upwind quickly.
I can't see any advantage faster high aspect race/freeride wings would give you - you'd either be outrunning the waves/swells or breaching the foil when accelerating down a swell or carving a tight turn.
Select to expand quoteazymuth said..WhiteofHeart said..
I do think the slingshot will give you a wholly different feeling, but the slingshot foils (I know their's a lot of fans) don't really have that smooth and slippery feel the RRD and a lot of faster foils have. I found them quite heavy / blunt feeling when sailing and think you might too.
You might not have read in nimo1972's original post that he "wants to get more into the carving side of foiling".
I reckon the Slingshot Infinity and Time Code wings excel at waveriding and downwind carving on swells.
They carve hard and securely and top speed (around 21 knots) is fast enough in the ocean or chop to crank upwind quickly.
I can't see any advantage faster high aspect race/freeride wings would give you - you'd either be outrunning the waves/swells or breaching the foil when accelerating down a swell or carving a tight turn.
I agree with you on that point. I Read "the carving side of foiling" as being up/ downwind 360's, linking jibes etc. Not as wavesailing with a foil.
for the ocean the infinity setup might be better, however, its "feel" is alot less refined than for example the GW.
The GW is not a race foil but more of a freestyle foil in my optics. The MW683 and MW790 wings are 1000 and 1500 cm2 respectively, but offer more glide than the infinity range of wings.
The slingshot range is great, but i think nimo1972 might be surprised to how heavy / draggy the slingshot foils feel under water compared to the RRD Alu. The entire forum is super positive, that's why I wanted to put it out there.
Thanks for the response guys.
I appreciate all the input. I am based in the UK so will be sailing in a wide variety of conditions. from very light wind to open ocean carving on windblown swells. top speed is not really my thing as I prefer an upright stance with the option to carve and pop off of small waves and chop .
This is how I sail regular windsurfing and want my foiling to be an extension of that.
I really like the idea of the wide variety of front wings for the slingshot Alu setup.
I take the points about it feeling slower than the RRD setup, that seems to be very fast compared to other people I have foiled with.
I think I have settled on the 125 wizard, they are readily available here and seem to fit the bill.
I will let you know how I get on.
