What is overpowered?

[Dave K]

I hear people talking about being "overpowered". I have been using my 5m wing in winds around 30 knots and I can't say I've ever felt overpowered.

There have been moments when I have thought that a smaller wing might have been more fun, but no moments when I have thought I have to get back to the beach before something bad happens or come in and change wings to complete a session.

What do you think?

So my question back to you is how often are you tacking with that 5m in 30knots? Both toe to heelside and the even harder case of heel to toeside. If all your doing is jibing and down-winding it’s a different world,... at least from my perspective. I won’t even mention harder freestyle type moves like backwinded 360’s or wing pass tacks. I don’t consider basic tacking freestyle moves, and I would think you’d be a lot more sensitive to wing size once you start doing lots of tacking in strong winds. Even just doing fast, tight aggressive jibes with a lumbering big ole wing doesn’t work nearly as well as a smaller more nimble wing. Definitely not as fun.....my feeble 2C

[OzBungy]

Just gybing and riding heel and toeside. Not much. But neither is anybody else.

I fully agree that riding the "right" size wing is much better. No argument from me there.

I do have a bit of a phobia about being underpowered. It seems that a small drop of wind frequently ends up with everybody being on the surface and slogging in. Yes, if I stay up on the foil I can ride through a lull, but as soon as I lose apparent wind I'm stuck on the surface too. Even much more experienced riders than me with purpose built light wind foils end up stuck. It's not just me. But that's a different story.

I was riding today in around 30 knots. The trailing edge gets a bit messy. That's about it. No getting pulled off the board. No being out of control. No getting slammed. No trouble starting. No struggling at all. Easy to complete gybes. I might have been better off on a smaller wing. But that's a completely different thing.

[Dave K]

Just gybing and riding heel and toeside. Not much. But neither is anybody else.

I fully agree that riding the "right" size wing is much better. No argument from me there.

I do have a bit of a phobia about being underpowered. It seems that a small drop of wind frequently ends up with everybody being on the surface and slogging in. Yes, if I stay up on the foil I can ride through a lull, but as soon as I lose apparent wind I'm stuck on the surface too. Even much more experienced riders than me with purpose built light wind foils end up stuck. It's not just me. But that's a different story.

I was riding today in around 30 knots. The trailing edge gets a bit messy. That's about it. No getting pulled off the board. No being out of control. No getting slammed. No trouble starting. No struggling at all. Easy to complete gybes. I might have been better off on a smaller wing. But that's a completely different thing.

Definitely a good point about fear of being underpowered. I’ve had a couple of off-foil schlogs getting back to shore. Not fun. There are some days that are so variable, that no matter what wing size you choose, your either way overpowered or underpowered all in the same session! I have gotten slightly better at tacking in overpowered conditions but there is no way I’ll attempt certain moves, like backwinded 360’s, when I’m seriously overpowered

[bragnouff]

When the wing has to be held depowered to the point that the canopy is fluttering most of the time, ruining the silent glide of the magic carpet ride, then this is an overpowered state.
If you have to reduce your speed for fear of getting out of control, then it's another sign of being overpowered.
Doing some of the above in 20% of the time of your session is kind of ok, but when it's the case in most of the session, then it's not so fun anymore, and a smaller size would be so much better.

[OzBungy]

When the wing has to be held depowered to the point that the canopy is fluttering most of the time, ruining the silent glide of the magic carpet ride, then this is an overpowered state.

Not really. It's ugly and less than pleasant. It's sub-optimal. It's not overpowered.

If you have to reduce your speed for fear of getting out of control, then it's another sign of being overpowered.

Absolutely. I would call that overpowered. It's what happens with a kite when you're totally maxed out. I have not experienced anything remotely like that with a wing.

Doing some of the above in 20% of the time of your session is kind of ok, but when it's the case in most of the session, then it's not so fun anymore, and a smaller size would be so much better.

No argument with that either. But that's more about sub-optimal gear selection. It's not overpowered.

[Herman]

For me overpowered is just a loose term that means you have more power on tap than you need for the type of riding you are engaged in, so at times, you will be reducing power by sheeting out, bearing away, heading up etc. Can be better to be overpowered for stop start sea states, but could be sub optimal in good conditions. If it is a case of not being able to handle it then it is too much wind. That is from a windsurfing background but it is not gospel, just the way I have used the term over the years.

[joekitetime]

Nothing better than holding a tiny wing with the weight of a tissue that you don't notice when parked while riding swell.

Sure, I can fly big wings but always to try fly the smallest I can. The other day I went out in 10-12mph on my 3.5 (because my new bigger wings hadn't arrived yet). I pumped like crazy and was shocked to get on foil. But once on foil it was pretty sweet!

[Eltreato]

Hi Joe, what's your setup and weight to be making a 3.5 work is such light wind?