The bending of the tuttle connector can be somewhat of a sacrificial saver. This can happen after a decent breaching buck and rail fall. Although not common, every instance has been on the first use of the foil where the rider has tried to get up on the foil with out learning the needed skills first. There is just too much surface area and volume between the board and foil and when you fall on the rail something has to give. If you built the tuttle connector either the board or the mast would fail, so this is an easier and more cost effective measure. The new plate connections are stronger, but the same caution must be taken to avoid injury and damage.
I can not stress enough, slow baby steps!!!
For your first session you should not be trying to actually foil, but testing where lift kicks in and practicing getting the board down. No extended flight. The more you learn the basics, the better you will be in the long run.
IMO - The perfect first session is behind a boat following this process.
- First 5 minutes, Do NOT go up on the foil. Keep the board in the water applying pressure to your front foot. Just get the feel of having the foil under you. Travel at approx. 6kts.
- Next 10 minutes, try allowing the foil to lift very slowly by releasing pressure from your front foot and allowing the board to pitch slightly upwards. as soon as the board lifts, put it back down by applying pressure with your front foot. repeat without getting more than a few inches out of the water. By the end of this, your back thy should be feeling it, and get out and have a break and let someone else have a go.
- Once back in the water, your next 10 minutes should be spend going a little higher but still not gliding, as soon as you reach 3-6 inches get back down. This whole process teaches you how the foil lifts, how much pressure is needed to ground it and lets you build the muscle memory at a comfortable and safe height where damage and injury are going to be very minimal.
- Finally for the remainder of your session practice this method extending your glide time by a little bit each time. It is so important to master this and on your next session, you can go for longer glides and it will be easy.
Remember, slow it all down, you need to be in control of the foil. As soon as the foil starts taking charge the ride is over and get off. Here is a great vid from Dave Kalama (where I got this technique from) -
Ride safe,
JB
. Is that a one off or is this something that is fairly common with tuttle foil connections? I must admit, although they look a bit clunky in comparison, the 4 bolt plate looks like a much stronger design.
