I’m using a SS Dwarfcraft 3’6” right now with 2 front straps and no back strap. I have the back of the mast plate set on the 5cm setting. (My foil is a Lift 150.) I’ve never measured the actual distance from the back of the board, but I would estimate it is at least another 5cm. I have experimented a little with mast placement, but I haven’t given it a real try with it further back because my back leg gets too tired on long tacks.
My question is this: other than lift differential—i.e., all else being equal, the further back you put the mast the less lift the board will have, and the implications of that fact on foot pressure—are there any other differences that mast location makes? Greg Drexler rides with the mast at the back of the board, and the Kanaha Shapes board doesn’t have tracks, but, instead, just has inserts at the back of the board. What are the benefits of this? Does the foil respond differently in turns with the back foot right over the mast as opposed to behind the mast?