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Does weight matter?

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cwood
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Re: Does weight matter?

Postby cwood » Mon Feb 04, 2019 12:34 am

OzBungy wrote:
Sun Feb 03, 2019 11:46 pm
The only negative of a light foil is that they float. If the board floats on its side then it can sail along crosswind without you. If you have fallen then you have to drag back upwind to get back to the board. On the plus side, the foil is less likely to scoot off downwind away from you.

This only really maters when learning new things and you are likely to fall. It saves a heap of time if the foil comes back to you instead of having to drag back to it.
Not really true. Some with hollow cores do. Most carbon sinks with mast down.

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Re: Does weight matter?

Postby BWD » Mon Feb 04, 2019 12:53 am

Hmmm, mileage may vary with that. My 8.5 kg -ish Al foil + paipo setup didn’t follow me downwind well (because it barely floated.). I’m building a new carbon/foam board for a ~2.5kg carbon foil, total weight should be <5.7 kg. Wonder how it will behave...

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Re: Does weight matter?

Postby Jyoder » Mon Feb 04, 2019 3:35 am

Weight of the board makes a big difference. Weight of the foil, yes but not so much.

My long heavy board is MUCH more yaw stable on the same foil than my short light board, due to board’s forward center of gravity and inertia.

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Flyboy
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Re: Does weight matter?

Postby Flyboy » Mon Feb 04, 2019 4:21 am

It sounds like it's not really the weight but the reduced drag of the ensemble that increases the performance ... & I can see that the weight of the fuselage & wings may be more significant than the weight of the mast.

As a beginner I have been surprised how easy it has been to stay close (but not TOO close) to my board/foil during my (many) crashes. I'm not sure what that means? In spite of bailing from a height & making a point of pulling away from the board (which I wouldn't bother to do on my SB), I never ended up that far from the foilboard.

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Re: Does weight matter?

Postby jatem » Mon Feb 04, 2019 4:51 am

I recently moved from a 155cm board that weighed 3+kg to a J Shapes 1m pocket board which weighs 2kg. The difference in maneuverability was huge, it felt like I was using a completely different wing. I am still using the same carbon mast and cruiser wing.

The much shorter board length and lower weight has transformed the apparent swing weight. I love how this setup rides. It feels so nimble.

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Re: Does weight matter?

Postby jakemoore » Mon Feb 04, 2019 5:56 pm

You don’t feel the weight in the water and the foil weight is insignificant compared to the rider.

It’s heavier to carry and more hanging off your feet if you get into jumping so lighter is nicer in the long run.

Light boards are very nice for carving but don’t sacrifice rigidity.

Durability vs weight is a trade off for a beginner.

For injury prevention I would choose no sharp edges over weight until riding consistently.

Earlier BRM Cloud Foiling Greg Drexler videos demonstrate that Alu G-10 would not hold my riding back (it’s my clumsy self).


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