Tips for knee starting or water starting

[irwe]

In case anyone is wondering, the smaller the board that you can stand on, the lower the winds needed to get on foil. So my 5'1" 90 liter, I can pump onto foil 6-8 knots, if I'm on a 7 foot board, then I better have a solid 12-15 cause the more material in front of you the more negative effect on the foil. All about leverage. So a board with a lot of flat area after the foil tracks can't pop onto foil as easily as a board that has no flat area after the tracks. This isn't like kite boarding a twin tip, more surface area isn't your friend, it's all about the liters in the board.

I agree a smaller board is easier to pump onto the foil. As well as having foot straps. but for a lot of newbie Wingers the most difficult part to over come is stability on the board from a kneeling to standing position. A high volume big board (especially inflatable helps). I found the 7'6 Inflatable F-One was 'pumpable' and the nose literally bounced off the small waves unlike a solid wingboard that would have probably pearled. Have you tried an Inflatable Wingboard?

[mike dubs]

The width is more important. My board is 6’ 115L but only 26.5 wide. Was a struggle at first getting on, to knees then standing. Now I’m fine with it and will now be able to progress. Definitely get 30/40 liters over ur weight get as short and wide as possible. If you’ve foiled before( I hadn’t) it helps, same as if you’ve windsurfer before ( I had for 20yrs). The wing is like a windsurf sail in vertical plane(but don’t lean back), kite in horizontal plane, standing on board is like windsurf/SUP. And flying foil needs you changing muscle memory from weight on back to weight on front. Make no mistake there’s a lot going on to start with but you improve quickly. Mike

[slingshotucf]

Yes, I've actually ridden that F1 inflatable. A buddy of mine got it as his first board and I found it to make riding harder than using a 6' solid board cause of the bouncing of the nose. But to each their own. A good point of the inflatables is they're soft to fall on. I'm with Mike on the width, that can make a 5' board as stable as a 7' board. Plus once you get into the waves, a longer board sucks and when you learn to jibe, you'll need a longer mast to get through the turns easier. I see so many beginners but these big boards and then struggle, I put them on a short wide board and they're up and riding in minutes.

[slowboat]

Sport is pretty new and evolving. I do see the trend towards more width in wing specific boards but the trade off is hitting the side of the board in turns or waves. The Gong crew uses very wide boards but they also use very long masts. For many wingers who are on medium length masts, too much width can be a problem.

Except for travel or space issues, I just don't get the appeal of inflatables. They are in general heavier, less stiff, often lack handles or strap inserts, are a pain to pump to a stiff pressure, hard to leave mast attached to and there is always the risk of a leak at an inconvenient time.

[dksurfer]

Thanks for the tips, it is great. What would be the ideal width and volume for a beginner board?

[OzBungy]

[gmb13]

This is how I do it with Low Volume Boards.



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Gunnar

[fluidity]

This is how I do it with Low Volume Boards.



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Gunnar

Hi Gunnar, Is that wing pumping reduced much if you are on a chunky high lift slow foil?
thanks,
Graham

[fluidity]

Sport is pretty new and evolving. I do see the trend towards more width in wing specific boards but the trade off is hitting the side of the board in turns or waves. The Gong crew uses very wide boards but they also use very long masts. For many wingers who are on medium length masts, too much width can be a problem.

I've seen video with people breaching wide wings cornering hard, do they usually settle into a clean water flow again after a tip breach?

[gmb13]

This is how I do it with Low Volume Boards.



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Gunnar

Hi Gunnar, Is that wing pumping reduced much if you are on a chunky high lift slow foil?
thanks,
Graham

Yes.

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Gunnar