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Everything is going very nicely in my foiling world, except for one thing. I keep damaging the edges of my board with harness hook impacts. It's reaching I am considering having a full second foiling kit so I am not reduced to riding the TT or surfboard. That's not a huge problem because I have multiple foils and masts for difference purposes, and will acquire a second board for the same reason. It just seems like overkill to have two of everything.

I suspect I am not the only one who has this problem. I have seen other local foilers doing running repairs on their boards.

I have two questions:

1. Is this a common complaint for most foilers?

2.What have people done to reduce the risk of damage to their board?

I don't want to ride something heavy and horrible like the many production boards using snowboard construction method. That should not be necessary. I am prepared to pay more for extra strong construction using carbon, Inegra etc.

I have bought a new kite bar with soft ends and less metal hardware, so that source of damage is reduced.

I am considering getting a hookless spreader bar. That would remove the hook, but most of those have metal ends so if my torso brushes the board during a crash then there is still a chance of scratches and chips.

I am a freeride kite foiler, lots of carving turns on waves and jumps. Yesterday's session was as energetic as any TT or surfboard session and a pure joy (except for finding a ding in the board at the end). I want more of that.

I ditched the hook entirely and went to a sliding type of harness where I close the chicken loop around a rope that forms the spreader bar. Loop slides to my hip when riding toeside and no more hook dings. excellente . An example of this is the Ride Engine option bar
http://www.rideengine.com/GEAR/All-Sale ... ar-10.html

The gel coat on my Zeeko Slash 5'4 is chipped everywhere from harness hooks and buckles encounters, but that's just cosmetic damage and I don't bother much with that.
I've got a Snowboard construction board (Cab's double agent) that can take a lot of abuse, and it's not specifically heavy or horrible. Saying so, I haven't been spoiled yet with a super light foiling kit, so what is acceptable for me might not work for you...

Maybe having a full EVA pad on the deck would limit that kind of damage?

Explain how this is happening...I don't think I have ever made impact with my harness hook.

As far as I can guess, there are two circumstances:

- Working on foiling 360's (probably other moves as well, but most noticeable on 360's), I get all the way round but the kite timing is out. The kite loops and powers up and drags me over the top of the board, which is on it's side in the water. The kite bar, the harness and hook, and all of me goes shooting over the edge of the board. Notionally everything metal that comes into contact with the board can scratch paint or chip, or tear a hook shaped hole.

- I mess something up and fall, and the board stays up on the foil. The hook catches the edge of the board as I fall past.

I don't think this happens on a surfboard because the board is on the water, not at waist height compared to the rider. You can fall straight down off a foil. You tend to fall off to the side on a surfboard.

I owned a Liquid Force with the extra tough construction. It is was super heavy. My lightweight carbon kit seems to be more prone to impact damage, but much more resilient to general abuse. I do sizeable jumps almost every session. The mast and foil seem to handle the abuse very well.

I have looked at the Ride Engine and Dynabar hookless spreaders. The Ride harnesses are outrageously expensive in Australia at $500-600.

Adding a Dynabar to my existing harness would be cheaper. The spreader looks a bit clunky.

Both the Dynabar and Ride have big metal hooks on the end of the spreader bars. Other harness have much neater attachments than those. The hooks could do damage to the board. If I am going to spend money I would like the problem to be properly solved and not just shifted around a bit.

I have just found that Mystic do a Clickerbar Surf that looks compatible with my harness.

https://www.mysticboarding.com/products ... lor_000000

I took an old spreader bar, cut the hook off, filed it smooth, drilled holes near both ends, and had a welder weld some short pass-through tubes in and then put a piece of dyneema between to create what looks similar to the mystic bar above. Stainless welding part was the only real cost... looks only slightly ghetto. lol

cwood wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 02, 2018 3:36 am

Explain how this is happening...I don't think I have ever made impact with my harness hook.

Me neither, not even back when learning and crashing all the time, for some reason

Today, when I mess up (quite often), it seems that I always fall quite far away from the board - also on missed 360s.
This is most likely kind of a skill that you develop over time, so your "dings" will not be present when you have foiled for even longer Oz

OR, it could be individual habits how you "fall and crash", which is worse of course...

PF

Hi OzBungy, I was finding the same problem as you so I bought an Ion Rope Spreader bar.
This fits any Ion harnesses and I have it on a Ion Apex.
it definitely helps to stop dinging the board

Peter_Frank wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 02, 2018 9:22 am

cwood wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 02, 2018 3:36 am

Explain how this is happening...I don't think I have ever made impact with my harness hook.

Me neither, not even back when learning and crashing all the time, for some reason

Today, when I mess up (quite often), it seems that I always fall quite far away from the board - also on missed 360s.
This is most likely kind of a skill that you develop over time, so your "dings" will not be present when you have foiled for even longer Oz

OR, it could be individual habits how you "fall and crash", which is worse of course...

PF

Maybe we aren't trying hard enough or pushing it enough . The thought of being dragged over the board on its side makes me cringe....because that wing is also on its side sticking up!