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Foil board size

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opti2k4
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Foil board size

Postby opti2k4 » Sun Jul 17, 2022 9:03 pm

Hi,

I am beginner trying to purchase my first gear but I don't know should I go for 4.6 or 4.2 board (Duotone Pace). I am 184cm, 85kg. My aim to foil in between 10 and 20 knots, but at 16+ knots sea gets very choppy at my home spot so I assume I should go for 90cm mast? I agree getting 65cm for learning should be way to go, but just don't want to throw money away.

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Re: Foil board size

Postby airsail » Sun Jul 17, 2022 9:39 pm

I would just go the 90cm mast, easier to learn on as you get more margin for error regarding height control. The 4’2 is the pick size for daily use. The 4’6 will be slightly easier to learn on but you will end up on the 4’2.

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Re: Foil board size

Postby leeuwen » Mon Jul 18, 2022 6:39 am

Agree with airsail.
I would say either 4.2 (130cm) or maybe 120cm for a volume board is the right size for most people.
Still able to learn on but not to big/heavy so you don't neccesarily want something smaller later on.
Go with the 90cm mast. Anything below approx. 80cm is something you probably won't (should not) be using after your first few sessions unless you have a very shallow spot.
I personally love my 100cm mast but I am not sure how nice that would be to learn on, 90cm certainly is doable.

It might sound counter intuitive but note that adding mast length makes the foil more stable / less twitchy
I think it is because you are moving the board further away from the pivot point so it has less impact on the foil angles when you move it around.
Short masts do make the first session or two less painfull but after that it is going to sit in storage.

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Re: Foil board size

Postby Windigo1 » Mon Jul 18, 2022 1:33 pm

Go with the 4'2 and 90cm mast the 75cm mast is not bad easier to learn and still usable in shallow water but you will need the 90 too. 4'6 is just too long you don't need all that surface with a big wing!

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Re: Foil board size

Postby Flyboy » Mon Jul 18, 2022 10:12 pm

Same: don't worry about a shorter mast. Your crashes will be a bit more violent, but in the end it's not really that much more difficult to learn on a 90cm mast & after 3 or 4 sessions you will want to be on a longer mast anyway. A 4'6" board will be easier to learn on for sure and will serve you for a much longer time than a short mast, so may be worth investing in, especially if you can get a less expensive used one.

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Re: Foil board size

Postby Oldman_Dave » Mon Jul 18, 2022 11:41 pm

alternative opinion: I struggled to learn on initial gear, 45cm mast made it so easy in comparison. Invaluable for first 3-5 sessions IMHO.

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Re: Foil board size

Postby IWantToFly » Tue Jul 19, 2022 2:44 am

I’d say investing in one session behind a boat is better than buying any of those things twice - go with the shorter board and longer mast and a boat/jet ski session.

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Re: Foil board size

Postby opti2k4 » Mon Aug 15, 2022 11:02 pm

I went with 4'6 board , 75cm mast and 950 spirit carve wing. Since wind is pretty bad close to I went to cable park to learn foiling but it proved to be pretty difficult. I am trying various cable speeds, 18-22km/h, but I am very unstable even without getting board out of the water. Can't say I am progressing at the speed I would like. Once I learn i'll leave this board and replace 75cm mast with 90cm and wing model will be the same just 750.

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Re: Foil board size

Postby ieism » Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:51 pm

I'm impressed you're trying it on a cable, but I would think that's pretty fast for a foil already right? Not surprised you're not progressing, just being pulled behind it would be hard for me I think. I mean I can ride a wakeboard at the cablepark pretty ok, and I can kitefoil. But I would absolutely not dare try that.

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Re: Foil board size

Postby lifeinthehood » Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:14 pm

opti2k4 wrote:
Mon Aug 15, 2022 11:02 pm
I went with 4'6 board , 75cm mast and 950 spirit carve wing. Since wind is pretty bad close to I went to cable park to learn foiling but it proved to be pretty difficult. I am trying various cable speeds, 18-22km/h, but I am very unstable even without getting board out of the water. Can't say I am progressing at the speed I would like. Once I learn i'll leave this board and replace 75cm mast with 90cm and wing model will be the same just 750.
I am also learning. Just a note of caution about being towed on foil. I have tried being towed behind a friend’s boat and successfully got onto foil on my third attempt (using my kite foil setup). However, when my friend started going a little faster, I couldn’t keep the foil in the water and breached. I quit after that because i got a bit of a scare on my fall. The board hit my left knee giving me a nice bruise and the the foil came WAY too close to my face for comfort.

Lots of people recommend learning by being towed (or via cable) but having had the experience, I think it's kind of risky since you have very little control over the direction of your fall. In my case, the foil came up in front of me and the momentum from the horizontal pull of the tow rope sent me heading right for the foil. Thankfully, the board pointed slightly left and my face missed the foil. You also don’t have direct control over your driver’s speed (I did NOT want my friend to speed up just yet) or in your case the cable speed. If you do not yet have good pitch/roll/yaw control, IMHO being towed on a foil is too risky.

On a kite, assuming your kite control is halfway decent, you can send it up and away from the foil. It buys you a few precious seconds of reaction time, you can redirect your fall, and use your feet to push the foil in a different direction. So far, I have not yet had a close call scare with the foil when practicing with a kite. Not saying it can't happen, but I feel like there's more control over the situation. Just my $0.02.


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