I grew up surfing.
The balance thing on a foil board is complicated with the strap....i guess...
Will removing the strap altogether make learning even more dificult?
Bad idea?
That is the answer!jumptheshark wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:46 pmI'm 100% strapless foiler, but I didn't start that way. Was a long time strapless kiter before foiling came along and saw a couple of anecdotes like the above that professed learning to foil strapless. I am not a particularly slow learner, so I thought I would be able to make a go of it. Now, I was say off the mark on a few key aspects. Had a super rockered, low volume board, full length aluminum mast and a 550 ish cm2 wing. Couldn't even get myself standing on the board first time out and very quickly realized this board behaves very differently to anything I had any experience on. Took some advice from Peter and others and mounted the foil to a floaty surfboard. Kept just the front strap for aid in waterstart positioning. Made a massive difference, and on that set up, I was taxying around and upwind on the first session. Progressed to up on the foil pretty quickly and ditched the front strap within the first say 15 sessions. Every board since then has been strapless.
That front strap was absolutely a big time saver for me. As I moved to more and more ideal board and foil set ups, it might have been less key to early success, but with an alloy foil that will sink while water starting and a surfboard with decent volume, full length mast, and relatively small wing that required decent take off speed, it was a HUGE aid that I was thankful for.
Getting the timing of the sink rate of the foil with the mechanics of the waterstart was they piece it helped me with, and once I had the timing, I could ditch the front strap and simply use my back hand to steady and position the board through the initial moments of waterstart. Eventually, with the right low volume board, it all became second nature and I often don't even touch the board with anything more than my feet, but I still rate the utility of the front strap for the start of the learning curve. If your board has inserts, it just makes sense to swallow a little pride and use the front one until you get the idea.
No one says you have to use it after that.
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