ok I finally understand why everyone has carbon masts

[edt]

I just weighed my aluminum mast and g10 wings and tails combined it's 5kg, so I think that I only need 10 liters flotation to keep it above water. 5 liters is 5kg flotation but you want more than neutral buoyancy so I think 10 liters will be safe. That means I should be able to get one of those tiny tray 90cm carbon boards, and won't need the 20 liters flotation the somewhat larger pocket size 110 cm boards.

[br44]

I just weighed my aluminum mast and g10 wings and tails combined it's 5kg, so I think that I only need 10 liters flotation to keep it above water. 5 liters is 5kg flotation but you want more than neutral buoyancy so I think 10 liters will be safe. That means I should be able to get one of those tiny tray 90cm carbon boards, and won't need the 20 liters flotation the somewhat larger pocket size 110 cm boards.

5 kg foil is not the same as 5 liters floatation: Archimedes’ law. Because of the water displacement, a 5 kg foil will float with around 2-3 liters of floatation, depending on its volume. Make sure you check first. Anyways a few liters extra is good for better visibility.

[bragnouff]

I just weighed my aluminum mast and g10 wings and tails combined it's 5kg, so I think that I only need 10 liters flotation to keep it above water. 5 liters is 5kg flotation but you want more than neutral buoyancy so I think 10 liters will be safe. That means I should be able to get one of those tiny tray 90cm carbon boards, and won't need the 20 liters flotation the somewhat larger pocket size 110 cm boards.

5 kg foil is not the same as 5 liters floatation: Archimedes’ law. Because of the water displacement, a 5 kg foil will float with around 2-3 liters of floatation, depending on its volume. Make sure you check first. Anyways a few liters extra is good for better visibility.

yes, and inversely, the floatation of a 10l board will be reduced by the weight of the board, so maybe you have only 7-8l of effective buoyancy to keep the whole system afloat.

[Nak]

I'm riding the Slingshot 103 cm Hopecraft. Plenty of volume at 14L, and so stiff that it feels smaller than it actually is. This is by far my favorite foil board I've ever ridden.

[Foil]

another point is in choppy conditions, a low in the water board can be hard to see,
I ended up looking for a friends brand new foil kit just purchased that day and was the boards ist time on the water, heavy type of carbon mast, and heavy carbon looking wings but not the lighter foam/wood core type, so in the choppy water it became invisible when body dragging to retrieve it, i had to sail around on my kit boosting to get up and look around, each time i found it only due to the bright footstraps popping up to the surface every now and then.

[leeuwen]

I have a T35 (13.5L) and Sabfoil carbon but its still extremely hard to spot in chop even with some of the board above the surface.
It is black and in murky waters and I usually ride strapless so nothing sticking up on the board.
I don't often get separated from my board but I am considering screwing on a rubber ducky for visibility.

[edt]

I bought an axis 94 carbon tray flotation isn't listed it's only 2-3cm thick and at a guess it has less than 10 liters flotation it looks like a potato chip however it easily holds my heavy mast in the water and thankfully the top is entirely white and very easy to spot in the water. Took it out yesterday still getting used to a tiny board, but that's the plan. Thanks everyone for the help. White is great! I love white boards.

[Flyboy]

I don't often get separated from my board but I am considering screwing on a rubber ducky for visibility.

Very cool idea!

[Peter_Frank]

I don't often get separated from my board but I am considering screwing on a rubber ducky for visibility.

Very cool idea!

Works great, I did it on my 3 foot foil skimboard:



Hardly possible to see without as it almost sinks

Peter

[Nak]

White is great! I love white boards.

Actually, white can get lost easily in all of the spray and foam. I used to run rescue for Kiteboarding for Cancer, and it always amazed me how hard a white board was to see even from up on a Wave Runner. I always add bright neon green or bright neon red tape to my boards. Green is more visible, but sometimes you need red for the color scheme. Neon red seems to work well enough. (Regular red disappears at a fairly short distance.) Especially after a big crash in Baja I used to find it hard to find boards, even using the kite to boost up and get a better view. Now I can spot them pretty quickly. The red that Kanaha Shapes uses is quite bright and easy to see, as is their yellow and green. No tape needed there.