Hydrofoiling has ruined me a bit.

[plummet]

lol..... sounds more like your're getting too much time on the water than you know what to do with.

For higher upwind angles, get some bigger fins on your Mutant - I have twin 11cm's on the rear and 5.5cm mid fins & although its nothing like a hydrofoil, its pretty good - failing that, get a sector 54 V4 which is almost as good as a hydrofoil for angles and you can just about use it waveriding.

your probably right on both counts

[Mossy 757]

lol..... sounds more like your're getting too much time on the water than you know what to do with.

For higher upwind angles, get some bigger fins on your Mutant - I have twin 11cm's on the rear and 5.5cm mid fins & although its nothing like a hydrofoil, its pretty good - failing that, get a sector 54 V4 which is almost as good as a hydrofoil for angles and you can just about use it waveriding.

your probably right on both counts

I can't escape the thought that you might be at a bit of a plateau that you need to push through. You mentioned that your maneuvers aren't 100% yet, that might be something that changes the way you feel about the discipline. You're also riding a homemade hydrofoil with a very large wing, you might discover that there are some inherent issues in your setup that have capped your progression or the flexibility of your kit in a way that a racier, cruisier, or just production-made foil wouldn't present.

[Peter_Frank]

lol..... sounds more like your're getting too much time on the water than you know what to do with.

For higher upwind angles, get some bigger fins on your Mutant - I have twin 11cm's on the rear and 5.5cm mid fins & although its nothing like a hydrofoil, its pretty good - failing that, get a sector 54 V4 which is almost as good as a hydrofoil for angles and you can just about use it waveriding.

your probably right on both counts

I can't escape the thought that you might be at a bit of a plateau that you need to push through. You mentioned that your maneuvers aren't 100% yet, that might be something that changes the way you feel about the discipline. You're also riding a homemade hydrofoil with a very large wing, you might discover that there are some inherent issues in your setup that have capped your progression or the flexibility of your kit in a way that a racier, cruisier, or just production-made foil wouldn't present.

Agree fully with you Mossy and was thinking the same - it sounds very "different" that you Plummet after 3½ months only, has reached your limit and asks "what next" - as this takes several years for most skilled riders even if out a lot I would say, and some never get to that point
Even the really good always finds something to get better at.

Or maybe you need someone to ride with on occasions even if far away - it changes EVERYTHING hugely in terms of progression and skill and objectivity of what you can, and what is possible and how different gear performs

You will find some amazing things, both in terms of speed and agility - videos are worth nothing, compared to riding with others no matter if freeride/freestyle/wave/race/speed - it is truly a "gamechanger" if I were to use this overused word.

And will also say like others - too much "compromise" will dull every board down to being boring and a short fad only - which is why I dont think the hydrofoil TT got a chance, just as an example


It could also be the point you say that you are "not enjoying the journey" Plummet, that is REALLY different from many others ?

I think, that most really love the journey - learning new skills even when crashing whilst doing it, is awesome and the very motivation.
Especially when so difficult and different - it gives even more satisfaction, the very journey, seeing how you slowly can get better at some both big and small things, till they suddenly click - OR they suddenly succeed but you have to find out how to get it to click so not just a one shot
And knowing you can go on and on and get better, so there is nothing stopping you from progressing for years and years to come !

PF

[Bille]

...

I have a picture in my head of what the perfect board wold be for winder conditions. Something like the sector 54, but when I've tried the sector it didn't feel quite right. I want three straps and larger-than-surf fins for blasting upwind and boosting off waves. I really like directionals and actually like gybjng though, so I think we are looking for different things.
...

How about a directional that had a cord-loop, with Velcro, which attached to your thy
some-where ; pull on one side and your Long fin went down for more up-wind ability
and pull on the other side of the cord, and the fin came up to make it much smaller ?
Kinda like a small daggerboard for a catamaran ; that was adjustable .

Bille

[bigtone667]

Random comment:

A lot of dudes I know have struggled with the hydrofoil because they are so good at either TT or Directional kitesurfing. They struggle because of the re-learning factor. You are used to big waves and big jumps (which require high order skills), so there was always to going to be the "I am missing my usual stoke challenge".

But I can tell you now, most kitesurfers are not doing what you are doing on a foil after three months.

I have found that most of my sessions are broken into two types now:

light wind: foil baby yeah!!!! (starting to learn foot switching and tacking ... OMG it's weird)
better wind: have a foil first on the lake, finish with a couple of downwinders on the surfboard

I have now progressed to a point where foil riding stoke is now equal to downwinder wave riding stoke. I hate the crashing still but it's all been worth it.

[OzBungy]

Sounds like you're confusing your skill plateau with an enjoyment plateau. I have had lots of skill plateaux where I stopped progressing and even went backwards. I just kept plugging away and the plateau evaporated too.

In terms of fun and enjoyment, that's all in your head. You choose to get enjoyment out of the thing you're doing. In my case the powered carving gybe on the foil is the most magic, enjoyable feeling there is. I am getting to the point where I can do it with both feet in the straps and add a boost on the way out. Yesterday I got closer than ever to landing a decent jump with a foiling landing. What's not to love about that? How is that different to messing around in the waves on your mutant? I am also more comfortable foiling with a bigger kite and getting some wave action. It all comes with experience.

As my skill improves I am starting to do closer passes to the shore. I know where the bars and reefs are and managed to pull of a nice close pass with a little wave action on the way through.

The thing about all this is I stopped fretting about advancing and learning and just started to ride for fun. It all comes with time on the water.

A pleasant side benefit is that when I feel like it I can whip out a surfboard or TT and find that my skills haven't degraded at all. It's really nice being a competent all-rounder.

PS. Whenever I think that foiling too hard or I need a new piece of kit I watch this video. That was what put me onto the J Shapes foil. I can do about 2/3 of what you see in the video. Still working on the tacks and 360's (with a low level of success so far. ). Their Facebook page has videos of guys surfing the exact same board and foil as me so there's heaps of room for growth.

I also look at the riders who are pulling off tacks and think, "If they can do it, I can.".

[plummet]

lol..... sounds more like your're getting too much time on the water than you know what to do with.

For higher upwind angles, get some bigger fins on your Mutant - I have twin 11cm's on the rear and 5.5cm mid fins & although its nothing like a hydrofoil, its pretty good - failing that, get a sector 54 V4 which is almost as good as a hydrofoil for angles and you can just about use it waveriding.

your probably right on both counts

I can't escape the thought that you might be at a bit of a plateau that you need to push through. You mentioned that your maneuvers aren't 100% yet, that might be something that changes the way you feel about the discipline. You're also riding a homemade hydrofoil with a very large wing, you might discover that there are some inherent issues in your setup that have capped your progression or the flexibility of your kit in a way that a racier, cruisier, or just production-made foil wouldn't present.

I think I have just pushed through a plateau. So I've just reached a point where there shouldn't be horrendous amounts of crashing for a while. I don't think my foil wings are too large at a tad under 600m2 intermediate which shape. So I think i'm not limited with the foil as yet. In fact its a lot better than I expected it to be. Perhaps one disadvantage to the gybing practice is a my low volume board. Perhaps a high volume board would surface gybe a lot easier? My progression was longer at the start because I also had to learn where to set up the straps and the aoa of the rear wing. But at the same time there are advantages, My foil floats side on its the water and makes water starts and body dragging through surf easier than say a heavy base model alloy foil.

I wont be buying a production foil now or possibly ever. It simply isn't in my budget and I enjoy building and riding what I have built.

[plummet]

The thing about all this is I stopped fretting about advancing and learning and just started to ride for fun. It all comes with time on the water.

I think this is key and I have found my self expecting to progress fast. Which is down right strange. I don't have the same urgency in any of my other sports!.

[Starsky]

I still have things I "work on", and tend to do it in concerted blocks of time. Usually after the first fall once I'm wet, but sometimes when you run into a flat area that makes it easier. 15-20 min of focused attempts at whatever it is. Then just go ride for a bit and enjoy to get some of the stoke back. Ten minutes later I usually try what I was working on and often it goes well.

[plummet]

Random comment:

A lot of dudes I know have struggled with the hydrofoil because they are so good at either TT or Directional kitesurfing. They struggle because of the re-learning factor. You are used to big waves and big jumps (which require high order skills), so there was always to going to be the "I am missing my usual stoke challenge".

I think that is a valid comment. When I look what gives me the biggest stoke it is when i am riding agressively and pushing my limits with the conditions and terrain I am riding. It doesnt matter if its on a mountain bike, kite buggy, mutant or foil. The same applies.

With all my other sports/disciplines I am skilled enough to be able to push to that limit. With the foil I am not yet skilled enough to push hard. Therefore more stoke isn't as high as when i am skilled and pushing to the limit.