Though looks like it could do with some glass to stiffen up a little.
That's cool! Gotta try my Arbor Fleetwood 43" deck at the cable park... easier to find it when it sinks
Wouldn't a carbon UD strip do the job to stiffen it up enough for foiling, while keeping the flex in skate mode unaffected?
There was a video a couple of years back with a guy riding a zeeko foil on the shinn foil plate (the stiffener bit that goes on the bottom of the shinnster to make it foil compatible). When he fell it bobbed just under the surface of the water. I seem to remember he did a quick test first by just dropping the foil in the water to see what would happen. From memory it bobbed under the surface for a minute - though I don't recall if it sank after that time.
The shinn foil plate isn't much difference in size to a skateboard so it might work? I remember he did use the carbon foil which may have a better layer of air trapped in it though. Not so bad if you can use the kite to waterstart. Wouldn't fancy swimming that pump foil back to shore if you fell off.
Well, I ride a Zeeko foil. Aluminum one, and it weighs just under 4kg. It most def does not float! Rode it for two years bolted to a wood skim (43" by 19") five ply hardwood just like a skate deck with a full double thickness deck pad. It barely floats the foil. Some wipeouts when it all wend straight down it could take 20 sec to slowly surface. Long enough to get your heartrate up!
@ nothin2, Maybe the Zeeko carbon foil floats, but I'm pretty sure the Shinn plate is solid carbon and sinks. I would have to see it to believe it.
Either way, a skateboard deck is not much flotation and "most" carbon foils weigh somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3kg and don't float. Not saying it's impossible, but it would take a particular foil to make it work.
Pretty sure the gofoil floats too, definitely will with the bigger wings for sure. I think most of the all-carbon surf foils either float or are at least reasonably bouyancy neutral.