SUP Foiling

[Don Lester]

I, like a lot of others, have an old 70cm, three fin Race board, a Mike's Lab, to be exact. It's 62"(158cm) long x 27" (70cm) wide at the tail. I'm thinking of putting a " Lift " 170 foil on it to paddle and hopefully foil downwinders on. The board is very light weight as is Lift foil and I weigh 150lbs (68kg). Those race boards are very efficient at early planning and I'm wondering if I can paddle this set-up onto a foiling plane in open ocean very light wind swells, like Baja, no kite just paddling.

Anybody have any experience with this idea ?

[Eltreato]

Put a fin on it and try paddling it as is. Can you even stand up on it and get a few paddles in? Now try in swell. If the answer is still yes maybe you could make it work, but it still seems like it would be really really really small. How many liters do you think it is?

[omg]

Just based on liters it could work; if it's square like 158 x 70 x 10cm = 110 liters. Then subtract the parts where there is no board =) Looking at Fanatic's site, they have a 80 liter board, which is for 50-70kg riders. Obviosly it's mostly for the level of Airton Cozzolino expertise riders...

[gmb13]

Well it works to kite with, but have you ever tried to paddle a raceboard? It is really not easy. Also the position for the foil is really far back, which makes taking off really difficult. It's pretty fun with a kite, but paddling is a nightmare.

Raceboards top out at about 90l volume, and if you weigh more than 70kg, your will have issues even standing on it.



--
Gunnar

[Peter_Frank]

Gunnar, do you mean "surf" paddle is difficult because it is so wide and short ?

Or do you mean "SUP" paddle with a paddle ?

The term paddle is a bit confusing sometimes, as some use it for surfing and others for SUPing

Agree, the rearward mast position is not good for taking off early, not even with a kite if marginal winds.

But as his is a kiteboard and not a hydrofoil, he can mount the mast just a tad further forward - eventhough then the length might be a problem

I have an idea that the short length 158 cm is a bit or a lot more troublesome than one thinks at first, regardless of volume, for SUPing (but I dont know).

If it does not work, you have the best weapon possible for marginal winds with a kite, and can use it for that instead Don

PF

[gmb13]

I mean stand up paddle as I am assuming that Don wants to Stand Up Paddle it.

If he wants to mount the foil farther forward, then he will need to move the existing or install another box.

--
Gunnar

[Peter_Frank]

Yes, okay I get it.

I thought he would install a hydrofoil specific box, but of course if he has one that fits the current center raceboard box it will be easy, but extremely far aft, and most likely too weak

PF

[Don Lester]

Hey, thanks guys for your input.
Yes, I was planning to install new fins boxes to accept the " Lift" mast , which will probably end up being forward of the rear Tuttle box. But before going on with this project I was hoping to hear from anyone who has Foil Paddling SUP experience. I'm an experienced kite foiler and I'm excited to see guys Foil SUP in on-shore waves.
When I'm in Baja, over the winter, there's good rolling swell on light wind days and for something else to do and get more upper body exercise I'd like to try Paddling a SUP Foiling set-up and do downwinders. Sounds like fun to me and I already have this old race board, so instead of turning it into a coffee table I thought about Foiling SUP.
I'm light, 150lbs and the Race board is very light as well and very efficient at early planning. Does this idea stand any chance of working.........or am I just dreaming......again

[gmb13]

Hey, thanks guys for your input.
Yes, I was planning to install new fins boxes to accept the " Lift" mast , which will probably end up being forward of the rear Tuttle box. But before going on with this project I was hoping to hear from anyone who has Foil Paddling SUP experience. I'm an experienced kite foiler and I'm excited to see guys Foil SUP in on-shore waves.
When I'm in Baja, over the winter, there's good rolling swell on light wind days and for something else to do and get more upper body exercise I'd like to try Paddling a SUP Foiling set-up and do downwinders. Sounds like fun to me and I already have this old race board, so instead of turning it into a coffee table I thought about Foiling SUP.
I'm light, 150lbs and the Race board is very light as well and very efficient at early planning. Does this idea stand any chance of working.........or am I just dreaming......again

Hi Don,

If you can actually paddle your Mikes Lab without the Foil in it, then you will have a chance. So try that first. If you can catch a wave with it, then go for installing a box for the foil.

I spend most of my free time sup foiling. The smallest board I can handle is my 7'2 102l JP Slate and only if there is zero chop eg. no wind. I have tried paddling my Aguera and Temavento and it is virtually impossible with my 82kg/180kbs.

--
Gunnar

[Don Lester]

Hi Guys, thanks for your input on this project.

I tried to SUP ride a 70cm Race board today and was very surprised to find how too small, without a kite, a Race board is.

I could only kneel on it and even then at my 150 lbs I still had to be in the perfect spot on the board. The board was very tippy, which really surprised me. Even if I added a foot or so in length I think it still would be too small, certainly not ideal for trying to SUP paddle foil ocean swells.

Plus, when paddling, even with a 12”x 4” ( total rectangle) fin in the back the board had absolutely no directional stability. Granted I’m not an experienced paddler, but it would need a lot of work in that area as well.

I can’t believe I thought this would work……..I guess it just goes to show how much weight the kite actually carries.