If your target is to ride underpowered then the size is that one that gets you going without having to move much the kite once on the foil, an example would be: a 75kg rider on a 8m LEI in 12 knots.slowboat wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 10:13 amPeople talk about having just enough kite to waterstart and then once on foil, "you are good to go". I am finding that that is not always the case. When I select a kite small enough that I have to work at the waterstart (lots of "sine-ing" back and forth, etc), I still feel underpowered once on foil. I have to move the kite around just to maintain enough power to cruise upwind for example. Am I trying to go too small? What's your gauge for knowing you have selected the right kite size?
I thought it was the other way around. The bigger the wing, more lift so you can ride with a smaller kite.
And that is the irony. A foil with more lift may indeed start you flying at a slower board speed, but with added drag of a higher lift wing, you may need more kite to even get you up to that speed and to maintain that speed.
slowboat wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 10:13 amPeople talk about having just enough kite to waterstart and then once on foil, "you are good to go". I am finding that that is not always the case. When I select a kite small enough that I have to work at the waterstart (lots of "sine-ing" back and forth, etc), I still feel underpowered once on foil. I have to move the kite around just to maintain enough power to cruise upwind for example. Am I trying to go too small? What's your gauge for knowing you have selected the right kite size?
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