Dip916 forum posts in last 60 days

HOLD ON TO THE BOOM AT ALL TIMES
HOLD ON TO THE BOOM AT ALL TIMES
WEAR BOOTIES IF YOU DON'T WANT TO CUT YOUR FEET ON THE FOIL / STABILIZER AT FIRST

Remember those things and you'll at least come home in a state ready to try again tomorrow :-)

It's so cool when you first get a controlled flight. It all goes quiet and suddenly you are going too fast and can't keep the board from riding too high. Turning upwind is a way to slow down, as there aren't too many options for that.If over-powered (even sheeted out), going upwind is a way to get things under control again. It can be quite hard to sail across the wind (beam reach) when its windy, so I find myself going hard upwind for a bit, then doing a down-winder and sailing super-deep with the sail flagging and riding the bumps with occasional sheeting in if I slow down too much. Going really deep downwind (commit!!) is a way to kill power as you quickly approach the windspeed (or at least enough to make things tolerable). This behaviour gets addictive and before you know it, you have become a free-ride foiler, looking for the slightest lump to turn on and ride. Your squiggly GPS tracks then become a source of pride and accomplishment.

It'll be awesome. Report back with battle scars and tales of epic rides.

Lanolin was what was recommended to me when I started and it works well. I think it stays in place better and doesn't "creep/seep" out onto areas you don't want it, ie the foil itself.

Dubbin for shoes works just as well, as it's a similar waxy stuff. Only need tiny amounts, just coat the threads and on surfaces which might bind or corrode. It gets dirty over time so clean it out of bolt threads once a season and replace. I do the same at the end of summer.

Everyone probably has their own tricks for maintenance of foil hardware. I'm sure there are other ways and things people do. I just found the Slingshot mast and fuselage particularly corrosion prone.

With the Slingshot gear, you need to really take care and put some effort in to prevent corrosion. The fuselage is the worst for it. Clean and re-reapply lanolin (I used some Dubbin from the shoe cleaning box at home) on bolt threads a few times per season and before storing it for any time. Same care is also needed for the front end of the fuse where it goes into the front wing as it is a socket, unlike other brands. Leaving it all assembled between sessions is fine, but wash with fresh water whenever you can, and do the complete disassembly and clean / lanolin thing periodically, and at the same time check for fine cracks or things that might be about to fail. Best to find those on land than out in the water.

Big tip!! Never get oils of any sort on foil surfaces, even avoid on the mast if you can. The change in hydro-stickiness promotes cavitation and therefore crashes. That includes sunscreen.

I learnt with an i76 and it was fine for that purpose. As soon as you get the hang of it, you'll want something more slippery / better glide / faster, and that's fine. At least then you'll know what you want to do in your more advanced foiling. eg, speed, light wind with big board and sails, waves / freeride, etc.

It good to learn on for how to get in and out of the water, bash on rocks, not slash your legs on sharp tips, etc. I'd have cut my foot off when learning if I was learning with the Patrik foil I use now.