Re: One vs two front straps on board
Posted: Sun Sep 29, 2019 6:25 pm
It will come pretty fast, toeside, just use two straps in front, and one in the rear quite far rear.
The first years when hydrofoiling escalated, it was around 2013-2014 here, the obvious thought was to use a center strap to get the surf feeling when carving around.
But we quickly found out it made no sense, as you dont have any advantages having your front foot over the center at all.
On a surfboard yes, it is needed like that, a center strap quite wide so you can have your front foot over the center pushing the leeward rail in lean over bottom turns.
But hydrofoils dont work nor turn this way, so here you can stand with both feet on your heelward edge when using straps, and still carve tight lean over turns.
If not having a rear strap, or strapless, the best balance is when either both feet are at the center, OR, quite often even better IMO, the front foot towards the heel edge, and then the rear foot towards the toe edge.
This is most likely how you would ride with two front straps also, and having no rear strap or your foot in front of the rear strap - standing with the rear foot a bit more inside.
It will give you a perfect balance standing on line with the mast.
But more importantly, it will be easier to ride toeside because your body is opened up more so you dont have to twist your body like a circus contortionist, and when riding normal heelside you have a much better open body position for riding upwind.
Sometimes it feels good to stand front foot on the center too when carving strapless, simply personal taste but even more simply a great way of mixing it up.
Two front straps, not in doubt.
When you have to learn to rolltack, two frontstraps makes it 100 times easier as you can almost just slip around from one to the other.
Peter
Just visualisation, and strapless, but show how perfect 2 frontstraps will work.
Here the classic hydrofoil stance front foot more to heel edge rear foot to toe edge:
.
.
.
And also a bit more on the leeside works no problem, so even with 2 frontstraps and one rear strap you can carve tight and ride toeside:
The first years when hydrofoiling escalated, it was around 2013-2014 here, the obvious thought was to use a center strap to get the surf feeling when carving around.
But we quickly found out it made no sense, as you dont have any advantages having your front foot over the center at all.
On a surfboard yes, it is needed like that, a center strap quite wide so you can have your front foot over the center pushing the leeward rail in lean over bottom turns.
But hydrofoils dont work nor turn this way, so here you can stand with both feet on your heelward edge when using straps, and still carve tight lean over turns.
If not having a rear strap, or strapless, the best balance is when either both feet are at the center, OR, quite often even better IMO, the front foot towards the heel edge, and then the rear foot towards the toe edge.
This is most likely how you would ride with two front straps also, and having no rear strap or your foot in front of the rear strap - standing with the rear foot a bit more inside.
It will give you a perfect balance standing on line with the mast.
But more importantly, it will be easier to ride toeside because your body is opened up more so you dont have to twist your body like a circus contortionist, and when riding normal heelside you have a much better open body position for riding upwind.
Sometimes it feels good to stand front foot on the center too when carving strapless, simply personal taste but even more simply a great way of mixing it up.
Two front straps, not in doubt.
When you have to learn to rolltack, two frontstraps makes it 100 times easier as you can almost just slip around from one to the other.
Peter
Just visualisation, and strapless, but show how perfect 2 frontstraps will work.
Here the classic hydrofoil stance front foot more to heel edge rear foot to toe edge:
.
.
.
And also a bit more on the leeside works no problem, so even with 2 frontstraps and one rear strap you can carve tight and ride toeside: