Hello from the other side of the earth (France),

I have carefully read a 2018's topic about using a Airush Sector 60 for foiling. I would really appreciate to get some feedback about it one year later. I already own this board and I plan to get a cheap foil (second hand Gong Allvator) in order to try and learn water foiling.

I'm only 72 kg (160 lbs) ... do you think the 'big' size off the board would be really difficult to handle on a foil ?
The foil is provided with a top plate. In ideal world, I would have put a foil-mount (or rails) in order to adjust the foil position, but it's more expensive and complex than to drill and exposy 4 holes at the 'final' (and perfect) position on the board. If someone could help me on it (giving the distance between the rear of the board and the front edge of the mast for example). Maybe i am a little optimistic and the position of the top plate would changed a lot from a foil to an other ?

Cheers,
David

Jans S,
Hi, I will measure up my Sector 60 setup and post pictures tomorrow (Sunday 21st). If U check my profile pictures there are a couple there.
Once you become aware of the pros (="+ve") and cons (="-ve") and can take advantage of these I have found it is excellent for light wind.
I use a Slingshot infinity 76 - which is a big wing for kiting but with an OK speed range - this will bias my opinions.
I weigh-in at 72 pies (1 pie = 1- 1.05 KG). My goal from the get-go was to be able to cruise and carve ocean swell.
Board mods = tracks, 3 foot hooks and extra grip. The weight 5kg+ so 5.2 or 5.3 I would have to re-weigh - the board has had a few repairs over the years (pre-foil conversion) which have probably added 250-400 grams. The track setup was specified with a lot of re-enforcing (which is excellent but added to the weight).
Pictures, measurements and some thoughts on positioning a plate setup coming.
Once a point if view is posted in this section I have had great feedback. So hopefully you can nail this project.
Cheers
AP

Could've been a kiwi pie. That's about 1.05 on current exchange rate.

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janssendja said..
Hello from the other side of the earth (France),

I have carefully read a 2018's topic about using a Airush Sector 60 for foiling. I would really appreciate to get some feedback about it one year later. I already own this board and I plan to get a cheap foil (second hand Gong Allvator) in order to try and learn water foiling.

I'm only 72 kg (160 lbs) ... do you think the 'big' size off the board would be really difficult to handle on a foil ?
The foil is provided with a top plate. In ideal world, I would have put a foil-mount (or rails) in order to adjust the foil position, but it's more expensive and complex than to drill and exposy 4 holes at the 'final' (and perfect) position on the board. If someone could help me on it (giving the distance between the rear of the board and the front edge of the mast for example). Maybe i am a little optimistic and the position of the top plate would changed a lot from a foil to an other ?

Cheers,
David

Hey David
I have a friend at my local who did the same a couple of years ago. At the time I suggested it would probably work but would probably also quickly prove to be too big. He struggled for 4 months and finally bought a proper board for his foil and I was able to give him a big "I told you so'
It would have been cheaper, easier and better to just pony up for a proper board in the first place, which is what I suggest you do. There should be no shortage of excellent, cheap second hand foilboards in France considering the frangas invented it.

I can't comment on Snalberski's point I have not used another board...
..
Sector 60 mods for adding a foil...
First up have you read this post ..?
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Foiling/Airush-Sector-V3-60-with-foil-wing?page=1
GeoffD suggested 370mm back from front foot strap settings. Lets call this start screw hole the Datum.

My board a V1 is 1760mm long. 5.2Kg without the foil setup attached.
The build
The tracks (Slingshot) are 250mm long - the tracks are 360mm back from the Datum, so 360 - 610mm back.
The pictures show the set-up and the current position I use for the mast. (I have added 1 picture at the bottom more in my gallery).
Mast position.
In the picture the front of the mast is 445mm back from the datum. I started as far back as it could go which is 23mm
further back. I also had shims on my stabiliser to stop the foil lifting too much for few sessions.
I could move the foil forward by another 20mm there is a lot of space to move your feet to balance the board. The front
foot hooks are as far forward as they can go, when I am cruising and (fairly) level I often am not touching front or back foot hook.

The SS plate has 8 screw holes if your plate has less say 4, but room for more without weakening it then do this to
give you a bit of movement with mast position.
My wing (Infinity 76) is big and I liked the idea, when positioning the tracks in the board, of being able to move front
foot position forward as I pick up speed, so I have biased my mast position towards the back of the board. I can move
the front foot hook position 120mm further back.

So if I had to fix the mast in one position I would have it as per picture, there is enough room to re-adjust foot
position to allow for different wings. If possible, I would have another set of holes in the base plate to allow you to
have movement of about 20 mm forward.

Pros... So it is heavy-ish but g8 for very easy starts it has a lot of buoyancy and planning area - just not quiet
enough for stand-up paddling!! It tracks well without lifting off the water and is very easy to get just off the water
without feeling you are on the foil. There is a big length in front of the front foot straps (800mms!!) which has helped
for touch downs (heavy ones!!) without falling off. There is a lot of room to move your feet around to balance the board
so a slightly different foil mast positioning will not be a problem.

Cons... do not think it is easy to hold a big buoyant board in position to start it is not (my foil is heavy),
especially in lighter conditions. Once you get the hang of water starts you can to a large degree just go for it and
not fuss about top marks for your technique!! I rarely use the rear foot strap once I am up and moving just to help
hold the board on its edge to start. Be aware that this level of board buoyancy with probably most foils but certainly
mine gives the foil a license to use any surface waves / chop and motor off down-wind by itself - fine as long as you
have good kite power but in light conditions a real concern - I have a strap between the front foot hooks and a spare
leash to avoid this problem.

Other points..
Once I was up and fairly steady I rarely moved my feet off the deck grip area (black), but in the learning phase - I
ended up sticking a deck grip over all the edge between the foot hooks.
I am (very slowly!!) building a way smaller lighter board and this will have a fixed mast position. To avoid
compressing and damaging the sandwich layer advise was to pick-up carbon fiber tubes and epoxy them in - These are very
tough and surprisingly cheep.

Luck with the project.
Cheers
AP

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AquaPlow said..
I can't comment on Snalberski's point I have not used another board...
..
Sector 60 mods for adding a foil...
First up have you read this post ..?
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Foiling/Airush-Sector-V3-60-with-foil-wing?page=1
GeoffD suggested 370mm back from front foot strap settings. Lets call this start screw hole the Datum.

GeoffD is my mentioned friend

Back from week-end,

Thank you all of yours for your detailed answers. It's really kind to give me so much details and feedback. The top plate I plan to used got 8 holes, so I would be able to adjust the position. The photo and build guidances are really helpful.
Reading the Pros and Cons, I will try to put a foil on my sector 60 ..... and in case I would be disappointed by the result, I could say "snalberski
told me so !"
I will put some pictures once it has been done.

Cheers
David

Hi David,

Let me just weigh in here. Disclaimer - my Sector was (is) a 66, so wider than yours. I'm probably bigger than you (6'6", and around 115kg) so take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt.

What I found is that the extra volume makes water starts quite easy, but the board and foil combination is quite heavy and unwieldy. The main problem I had after a couple of weeks was that the Sector is so wide that I had to position my rear foot past the centre line to the leward rail to get the weight distribution properly sorted, otherwise the whole rig had a quite pronounced tendency to carve upwind with no real control. I ended up taking off the back straps so I could get my rear foot position sorted, and as I'm sure more experienced foilers here will tell you, you either go strapless or fully strapped. Just straps on the front foot seem to be a recipe for knee and ankle injuries. You may not have the same issue, the Sector 60 being narrower, but just keep it in mind.

After about two or three months I transitioned to a North Free Foil board - narrower, smaller, lighter and a lot more nimble. It's also more comfortable to ride. Easier to travel with, too.

Was it worth doing the modification to the Sector? Yes to start with, but I did find I wanted something better after a couple of months. Again, let me stress that there's a big difference between the 66 and the 60, so you may not have the same issues. Make sure you get the distances between the back of your front straps and the mast position correct, and it should work fine.

Let us know how you get on. Simon, how's tricks? I've been off the water for about three months, too much work.

Good luck!

Cheers

Geoff.

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GeoffD said..
Hi David,

Let me just weigh in here. Disclaimer - my Sector was (is) a 66, so wider than yours. I'm probably bigger than you (6'6", and around 115kg) so take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt.

What I found is that the extra volume makes water starts quite easy, but the board and foil combination is quite heavy and unwieldy. The main problem I had after a couple of weeks was that the Sector is so wide that I had to position my rear foot past the centre line to the leward rail to get the weight distribution properly sorted, otherwise the whole rig had a quite pronounced tendency to carve upwind with no real control. I ended up taking off the back straps so I could get my rear foot position sorted, and as I'm sure more experienced foilers here will tell you, you either go strapless or fully strapped. Just straps on the front foot seem to be a recipe for knee and ankle injuries. You may not have the same issue, the Sector 60 being narrower, but just keep it in mind.

After about two or three months I transitioned to a North Free Foil board - narrower, smaller, lighter and a lot more nimble. It's also more comfortable to ride. Easier to travel with, too.

Was it worth doing the modification to the Sector? Yes to start with, but I did find I wanted something better after a couple of months. Again, let me stress that there's a big difference between the 66 and the 60, so you may not have the same issues. Make sure you get the distances between the back of your front straps and the mast position correct, and it should work fine.

Let us know how you get on. Simon, how's tricks? I've been off the water for about three months, too much work.

Good luck!

Cheers

Geoff.

Hey Geoff. I'm not bad cobber and probably like most of the other locals haven't done any kiteboarding for a couple of months or more through lack of wind. I have been down for a look a couple of times in the last couple of weeks but its been directly on shore and ultra choppy.... one decent boost and your on the beach. Couldn't be bothered.