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How to sit on the board during relaunch

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mountain_lake
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How to sit on the board during relaunch

Postby mountain_lake » Tue Jun 22, 2021 12:32 pm

How do you guys sit on your foilboard during relaunch?

If I sit with my but on the board it feels like it is not providing much resistance and I loose my balance quite quickly and I slide of the board. And then I mostly try relaunching with one hand and holding the board in the other. Which isn't good either.

I ride a big wing 1250 cm2 and a no volume 130 cm board.

All help is appreciated.

Cheers from Switzerland
mountain_lake

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Re: How to sit on the board during relaunch

Postby airsail » Tue Jun 22, 2021 12:38 pm

Is it a big floaty wing, your going to struggle. Deep in the water it will make the foil board unstable to sit on. The guys who are good sitting on a board are surfers, we have spent a lot of time doing it.

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FLandOBX
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Re: How to sit on the board during relaunch

Postby FLandOBX » Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:08 pm

At the risk of stating the obvious, I suggest focusing on pointing your board directly at your kite while you sit. If your board is pointed even slightly to one side, the force of the kite will usually pull you off balance. This is especially the case once the kite begins to power up for relaunch.

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Re: How to sit on the board during relaunch

Postby elguapo » Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:09 pm

just sit in the middle of the board..the "center"

you'll eventually find your balance.....main thing (just like everything else) is to just do it.

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Peter_Frank
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Re: How to sit on the board during relaunch

Postby Peter_Frank » Tue Jun 22, 2021 5:42 pm

Agree with above - you are most likely not a surfer, so you havent learned to balance relaxed sitting on a small board in waves.

Find the center, and over time you will learn how to :thumb:

Also, when there is pull from the kite when relaunching, you simply lean back a bit, so both your wing and board and you make even more resistance in the water - and you got the best options for launching now.

You can also sit sideways to the wind, but this require even more balance and can be tricky.

8) Peter

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jumptheshark
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Re: How to sit on the board during relaunch

Postby jumptheshark » Tue Jun 22, 2021 5:52 pm

Well I’ve got pretty good balance, can sit comfortably on a tiny surfboard in swell and have a hell of a time sitting on my foilboard.

108cm and barely any volume, it is very tricky to keep underneath you while relaunching, especially with the flotation in my vest, so I generally don’t bother getting on it, but drape over it sideways with its tiny bit of flotation under my upper arms and chest. Board is secured, hands are free and it’s easy to tilt the board for resistance against the kite. It’s basically already in position for water start once the kite goes up.

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cglazier
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Re: How to sit on the board during relaunch

Postby cglazier » Tue Jun 22, 2021 11:55 pm

Another technique is to stand on your fuselage (which is under water). Your board should be sideways between you and your kite and its mast downward. Put one foot in front of the mast and one behind. Your arms rest on top of your board and allow you to hold your bar and easily control the kite. If you lean back a little your foil will resist moving and help you relaunch.
Try it.. it's much easier than trying to balance sitting on a small board.

;-) CG
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Re: How to sit on the board during relaunch

Postby Cdog » Wed Jun 23, 2021 4:14 am

+1 for cglazier method but I only use 1 foot on the fuz the other kicks around underwater for balance and I pull the board to my chest and lean back
No harness hook I use a rope slider Fixed

mountain_lake
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Re: How to sit on the board during relaunch

Postby mountain_lake » Wed Jun 23, 2021 8:19 am

Thanks all for your input. And yes, your guesses are correct, I didn't spend enough time in the water with a surfboard to call myself a surfer :lol:...

Next time on the water, I'll try out your tips. Especially the ones from cglazier and jumptheshark as they sound easier to manage. If I understand it correctly both methods are comparable with the difference, that cglazier puts the feet on the fuselage.

Cheers
mountain_lake


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