Hello Craig,
could you give me advices for wingfoiling. I am 1,83m 68kg.
Following your recommendations and the availability of equipment I own since 2021:
- Fanatic sky wing 5.8 (2021/110ltr)
- Fanatic Aero Foil High Aspect (1500/250) w. Alu Mast750 and fuselage 800
- Duotone echo 6.0
Purpose for winging is to extend my time on the water in low wind / small wave conditions, lake and north sea. Wind <15kn, swell <0,5m
It took me some time to get away from riding “windsurfing specific”. Now I feel quite confident with the board and I am able to jibe on the foil (1-2 out of 10), ride switchstance (although still a bit uncomfortably) and able to pump foil and wing if the wind is above 8-10kn. Since last week I use footstraps on the board (all the way forward) which help me to pump the board onto the foil significantly. Foil is in the most rear position because otherwise I needed to stand forward of the footstrap mounts and therefore touchdowns are likely to fail. My complaint about the board to always turn downwind and hard to keep upwind with low wind still exists but does not bother me right now anymore if the windspeed is higher than 5kn.
The foil itself is foiling early and stays in the air up to very low board speeds. I like to feel/hear the threatening of breaking to the surface to be able to counteract before stalling the foil.
What would I like to improve:
- The effort to pump on the foil
- Handling of the wing, the tips occasionaly touch the water when foiling (acceptable)
- When pumping, the wing feels ineffective. I can not pump hard because avoiding the tip to touch the water the wing has to be too horizontally to be effective?
Begin 2022 I sailed on tenerife DPC a 2022 sky wing 5.6 with Aero HA 1500. The combination felt as comfortable as my 2021 5.8 with Aero HA 1500.
Duotone slick5.0 felt way easier to handle and although I could not yet pump properly felt nearly as powerful as echo 6.0?
What could be the next steps?
- Upgrade board from 5.8-2021 to 5.0-2022? Less drag versus less lift
- Upgrade or replace echo wing 6.0 to slick 5.0? Less power versus better pumping?
- Upgrade to or add smaller foil?
Always considering favorite wind range 8-12kn or preferably lower, wind max 15kn, flat water or small waves <0,5m.
I also windfoil occasionally but feel when I improve on wingfoiling I will quit windfoiling?
Looking forward to your answer
joerg