Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Tacking and gybing advice please

A forum dedicated to Hydrofoil riders
User avatar
cglazier
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2640
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2002 1:00 am
Gear: Naish, Flysurfer, Alpine, Moses
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Has thanked: 65 times
Been thanked: 119 times

Tacking and gybing advice please

Postby cglazier » Sat Oct 19, 2013 12:56 am

I would like to tack and gybe my hydrofoil. I can do both moves pretty well on my surfboard and also on my raceboard. I would appreciate any tips for the hydrofoil.

- Which is easier to start with, the tack or the gybe?
- Does anyone do the regular tack or is it always the roll tack?
- I presume it is easier strapless.. correct?

This video from another thread seems worth studying. If there are other good ones please advise.

Thanks in advance
:wink: CG


User avatar
Hawaiis
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1375
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 11:39 am
Local Beach: Kailua
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 10 times
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Tacking and gybing advice please

Postby Hawaiis » Sat Oct 19, 2013 3:18 am

I find gybing easier than tacking. It is very similar to gybing a surfboard.
The only difference is the front tend to pop up on most boards. Jumping gybe will prevent the front to lift up too much. Or you can move the back foot to the front first during transition.

User avatar
ChristoffM
Medium Poster
Posts: 196
Joined: Tue Jul 19, 2011 5:26 pm
Local Beach: Langebaan and Cape Town.
Favorite Beaches: Anywhere in the Cape, South Africa.
Style: Hydrofoils! (And surf and old school)
Gear: Cape Town Foilboard and Spotz hydrofoils.
Any kite that can keep up with the hydrofoils.
Brand Affiliation: Cape Town Foilboards
Location: Langebaan (Cape Town)
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0
Contact:

Re: Tacking and gybing advice please

Postby ChristoffM » Sat Oct 19, 2013 6:18 am

I find gybing a foilbaord easier than my surfboard. You must just get used to the way the foil will hold the board and stop it sliding like a surfboard. Start by putting the board down, and keep your weight to the front of the board to avoid it popping up. Then you can slowly turn around and swap your feet. I find it much easier to swap my feet on a foilbaord that is flat on the water than on a surfboard, because the foil acts like a super stabilizer that holds the board flat even if I place my feet off center.

The gybes in the air are obviously much harder, as you progress you can turn around in the air, and then just drop the board onto the water for a quick feet swap and pop the board back up all in a smooth action.

I find the regular tacking much easier than the duck tack. If you can do a raceboard and a surfboard then you should learn the foil tack quite fast. I bring the board onto the water, and then do a regular tack. It takes some practice to figure out how hard to force the board to come around. I sometimes still keep the board in the air when I throw the board around and tack, but allow the board to fall ontot he water during the tack so that I have the stability of the board on the water while I put my feet onto the new positions.

BraCuru
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1023
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:00 pm
Local Beach: Grzybowo, Kołobrzeg, Polish Baltic Coast
Favorite Beaches: Polish Baltic Beach
Style: foilboarding
Gear: Flysurfer Souls, Moses Hydrofoil, BraCuru Boards
Brand Affiliation: Moses HF
Has thanked: 20 times
Been thanked: 47 times

Re: Tacking and gybing advice please

Postby BraCuru » Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:56 am

Good one!
Last edited by BraCuru on Tue Jan 14, 2014 5:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ronnie
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4189
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2005 6:39 pm
Has thanked: 31 times
Been thanked: 61 times

Re: Tacking and gybing advice please

Postby ronnie » Tue Jan 14, 2014 11:07 am


User avatar
cglazier
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2640
Joined: Sat Apr 13, 2002 1:00 am
Gear: Naish, Flysurfer, Alpine, Moses
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Has thanked: 65 times
Been thanked: 119 times

Re: Tacking and gybing advice please

Postby cglazier » Sun Feb 02, 2014 3:31 am

Thanks everyone for the tips and links posted above.

And Christoff, you are quite right that the jibing and tacking on the foil board is not very difficult if you touch down on the water. Right now it is a relief to be able to change directions without getting wet. I will continue to work on staying up foiling during transitions, but it is challenging.

I found to my surprise that the foil board feels more like a surf board (turns fast) than like a raceboard during my tacks (I am doing regular not roll tacks yet). And I agree that the jibe is surprisingly easy when touching the water.

I am on an Aguera board with a Spotz foil now. Very nice gear.

:wink: CG

ronnie
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 4189
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2005 6:39 pm
Has thanked: 31 times
Been thanked: 61 times

Re: Tacking and gybing advice please

Postby ronnie » Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:30 am

Another video from Adam Withington showing the kite during tacks and gybes.


User avatar
Peter_Frank
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 12734
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2002 1:00 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Denmark
Has thanked: 1005 times
Been thanked: 1187 times

Re: Tacking and gybing advice please

Postby Peter_Frank » Tue Feb 04, 2014 12:16 pm

cglazier wrote:Thanks everyone for the tips and links posted above.

And Christoff, you are quite right that the jibing and tacking on the foil board is not very difficult if you touch down on the water. Right now it is a relief to be able to change directions without getting wet. I will continue to work on staying up foiling during transitions, but it is challenging.

I found to my surprise that the foil board feels more like a surf board (turns fast) than like a raceboard during my tacks (I am doing regular not roll tacks yet). And I agree that the jibe is surprisingly easy when touching the water.

I am on an Aguera board with a Spotz foil now. Very nice gear.

:wink: CG
I think (and find) it is way easier to tack "normally", and not doing a roll tack :thumb:

Unless of course, you are REALLY good at roll tacks now, on wave and raceboards - then you should just continue on the foil :rollgrin:

But most, except for the very best maybe, are not capable of doing roll tacks steadily and confident :roll:

8) Peter

User avatar
Laughingman
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2979
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:35 pm
Local Beach: Kettle Point, Mitchell's Bay, Rondeau Bay
Favorite Beaches: Kettle Point, Mitchell's Bay, Rondeau Bay, Long Bay, Cayo Guillermo, La Ventana
Gear: Ocean Rodeo Gen6 Flites 10m, 12m Gen2 Roams 6m and 8m, Cloud D 4.8, 6.2, 8.0, 10.4
Xeon Laluz, Mako Wide 150, Jellyfish Custom surf board quad fin 6', LF Impulse Foil and Kanaha Shapes 37" board
Engine Harness with slider
Location: Southwestern Ontario
Has thanked: 17 times
Been thanked: 17 times

Re: Tacking and gybing advice please

Postby Laughingman » Tue Feb 04, 2014 5:44 pm

I'm confused... Can someone show me the difference between a roll tack and a regular tack using a directional?

User avatar
Peter_Frank
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 12734
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2002 1:00 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Denmark
Has thanked: 1005 times
Been thanked: 1187 times

Re: Tacking and gybing advice please

Postby Peter_Frank » Tue Feb 04, 2014 6:06 pm

Laughingman wrote:I'm confused... Can someone show me the difference between a roll tack and a regular tack using a directional?
Certainly.

A normal tack is where you jump around back to the wind - whereas a roll tack is jumping around face to the wind :thumb:

Normal tack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Dmz3x8ZpIc

Roll tack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf1DLSdbqME


The roll tack looks easy - but the timing has to be incredibly precise all the way :naughty:

Can be carried out on raceboards and waveboards and foilboards and strapless or strapped.

8) Peter


Return to “Hydrofoil”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: jhonson and 114 guests