Shin Shinnster and El Stubbo first ride!

[robclaisse]

I've had my El Stubbo and Zeeko Alu foil for a week and so far 4 sessions in and I'm loving it. This was my first time on a foilboard, so I can't compare it to anything else but my first sessions were in pretty light gusty winds (10-15 knots) on a 10m and the board and foil worked great. I'm now getting some good runs up on the foil and trying to get my head around gybes (board on the water). Definitely challenging, which is great but not as difficult as I first thought it may be, just needs some perseverance and taking the time to not rushing to get up on the foil immediately!

I actually wrote a blog post about my first day with 3 tips I think helped me, interested on anyone else's thoughts...
http://www.progression.me/blog/3-tips-f ... oil-board/

[ronnie]

I've had my El Stubbo and Zeeko Alu foil for a week and so far 4 sessions in and I'm loving it. This was my first time on a foilboard, so I can't compare it to anything else but my first sessions were in pretty light gusty winds (10-15 knots) on a 10m and the board and foil worked great. I'm now getting some good runs up on the foil and trying to get my head around gybes (board on the water). Definitely challenging, which is great but not as difficult as I first thought it may be, just needs some perseverance and taking the time to not rushing to get up on the foil immediately!

I actually wrote a blog post about my first day with 3 tips I think helped me, interested on anyone else's thoughts...
http://www.progression.me/blog/3-tips-f ... oil-board/

Hi Rob,
Did you mount the foil in the most rearward position when you started?

[robclaisse]

Did you mount the foil in the most rearward position when you started?

Mistakenly I put it in the middle position for my first couple of goes, which seemed fine, but then I read what Mark said in this thread and changed it to the rear position for my last session and it worked well that way. I can't say I really noticed the difference but the conditions were very different too and I'm learning so much with every session.

[ronnie]

Did you mount the foil in the most rearward position when you started?

Mistakenly I put it in the middle position for my first couple of goes, which seemed fine, but then I read what Mark said in this thread and changed it to the rear position for my last session and it worked well that way. I can't say I really noticed the difference but the conditions were very different too and I'm learning so much with every session.

Thanks Rob.

[bigtone667]

I've had my El Stubbo and Zeeko Alu foil for a week and so far 4 sessions in and I'm loving it. This was my first time on a foilboard, so I can't compare it to anything else but my first sessions were in pretty light gusty winds (10-15 knots) on a 10m and the board and foil worked great. I'm now getting some good runs up on the foil and trying to get my head around gybes (board on the water). Definitely challenging, which is great but not as difficult as I first thought it may be, just needs some perseverance and taking the time to not rushing to get up on the foil immediately!

I actually wrote a blog post about my first day with 3 tips I think helped me, interested on anyone else's thoughts...
http://www.progression.me/blog/3-tips-f ... oil-board/

Great tips ..... The only two comments I would add are:

1. Think of your legs like pistons: Allow your legs to bend and capture a fast rising board. You can then use your bent legs to drive the board back down.
2. Learn to fall away from your board during crashes. I will often lift my feet to completely clear the board during a crash.

[ronnie]

[Slappysan]

I'd love to get more feedback on the El Stubbo without the foil.

While I've has my Shinnster for a couple years now I used to love the ride but now I find it's poor performance at strapless airs quite annoying. I'm hoping that the El Stubbo's crazy width make it stick to your feet better or if it's still too heavy to use for strapless airs in moderate winds.

I demo'd an Ocean Rodeo Duke recently and was really impressed by it's strapless air abilities, and it's made in a non-dingable construction too which is one of the best things about the Shinnster/El Stubbo.

[bigtone667]

I'd love to get more feedback on the El Stubbo without the foil.

While I've has my Shinnster for a couple years now I used to love the ride but now I find it's poor performance at strapless airs quite annoying. I'm hoping that the El Stubbo's crazy width make it stick to your feet better or if it's still too heavy to use for strapless airs in moderate winds.

I demo'd an Ocean Rodeo Duke recently and was really impressed by it's strapless air abilities, and it's made in a non-dingable construction too which is one of the best things about the Shinnster/El Stubbo.

I have the El Stubbo and I suspect I am probably a tad too big for it (at 100kg), but it is a really fun board in waves and on the flat. I was riding it strapless and it is a lot of fun in a small package. I had intended to do some jumping on it, but I found the rear strap positions to far back.

It feels a bit stiffer and more solid than the shinnster/paipo, so it should be good for strapless airs.

I also bought the foil plate and attached a hoverglide foil to it. It's a great foil board because it is wide and there is almost no swing weight because it is so short. Only down side of the hoverglide attachment is the foil weight. The foil is almost heavy enough to sink the El Stubbo.

I will attach the zeeko foil to in next few days and see how that runs. Hopefully it will be faster than the hoverglide.

[Flag53]

I Bought a Shinn el Stubbo as my first Hydrofoil.
As a learner I am obviously not qualified to comment too much about the foil but I do have some thoughts that convinced me to change to a Moses Fluente.
Firstly i found that there is next to no buoyancy. So much so that sometimes after a wipeout , the board would be submerged for up to a minute . A few times I thought that it had just sank completely!
Secondly. When using the Stubbo board on its own with no Foil and plate as a skimboard . It was way too skittish ( I've ridden wave and skimboards unhooked for over 8 years )
Thirdly , I'm no physicist but slapping a lump of Carbon on the bottom of a skimboard probably doesn't do much for the Hydrodynamics.
Fourthly its marketed as the perfect travel setup , but compared to the Moses , the weight of the Shinn setup would be very restrictive.

A more experienced Foiler might appreciate the this setup , but as a beginner it was very frustrating.
Sorry Mr Shinn for being so critical as I normally like your products.

[mig27]

I Bought a Shinn el Stubbo as my first Hydrofoil.
Firstly i found that there is next to no buoyancy. So much so that sometimes after a wipeout , the board would be submerged for up to a minute . A few times I thought that it had just sank completely!

Totally agree with that.
Not only for getting on the board buoyancy is a great help, but also in case of emergency (wind gone, not unusual when hydrofoiling): you can use the board as a floatation device.

Thirdly , I'm no physicist but slapping a lump of Carbon on the bottom of a skimboard probably doesn't do much for the Hydrodynamics.

Basically it makes almost no difference for getting up the hydrofoil. As soon as the board is moving forward the wings are creating lift. Even if not lifted out of the water yet, it creates much less drag for the whole set-up.

The Moses fluente is a nice and rather affordable carbon foil. Nevertheless it weight 2750grams (foil and mast without board) against 3800grams for the aluminium Zeeko foil. Just a bit more than a kilogram, which is notable but not really heavy.
Does the stubbo weight so much more than the Moses board?