some extra length and rocker in nose does help the porpoise stage but can add inertia to the front of board that can cause some wobbling,
there are quite a few foils added to surfboards and I believe mounting them to avoid crushing the board is more a factor than how much plating you add.

this is a Qld based Slash with foil mounted. the fins are there for show.

This is our demo, mounted to a long directional kiteboard. the nose rocker is worth it weight in anti nose diving but you have to watch the extra inertia steering front of board etc.

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Kamikuza said..

. Newind has a split surfboard that a guy on kiteforum has converted to take a foil, and rates it highly. If you're after a travel board, something like that would cover the bases much better, IMO.

You'll notice the lack of volume, but you'll get better at water starts faster and it's motivation to control ride height :D

Newind seem to do a custom order with a foil already. Agree it looks like a nice every board - could travel with some smaller kites, hit the surf and foil when its light!


http://xtremebigair.com/Newind-HydrofoilSplit-surf-board-P1812.aspx

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jackforbes said..

Kamikuza said..

. Newind has a split surfboard that a guy on kiteforum has converted to take a foil, and rates it highly. If you're after a travel board, something like that would cover the bases much better, IMO.

You'll notice the lack of volume, but you'll get better at water starts faster and it's motivation to control ride height :D

Newind seem to do a custom order with a foil already. Agree it looks like a nice every board - could travel with some smaller kites, hit the surf and foil when its light!


http://xtremebigair.com/Newind-HydrofoilSplit-surf-board-P1812.aspx

Yeah sorry. For some reason I had it in my head they only did the foil...

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cqclay said..
Thanks for the replies fellas. I do travel a lot so one all round board would be ideal. The last couple of years i have just been using the board i surf with. 6'8" firewire (47 litres). Ride strapless or i have fitted my own straps i use sometimes. I usually just ride waves so i like it that the board has the same feel when paddle surfing or kite surfing. Do you think a "normal" surfing firewire board would handle the pressure of a foil. I would make a couple of plates for top and bottom to distribute pressure. I understand foiling is a different thing to surfing but one board for everything i do appeals to me. Would extra size, volume effect the foil riding due to wind resistance etc?

No need for complex modifications for adding inserts to a surfboard.

Gradient is key though.

The core of your surfboard has a low density while your inserts will have a high density so torsion from the foil will be likely to crush the foam around the inserts.

An easy way to avoid it is to route through the glass/foam, then insert a bloc of PVC foam (divinycell, airex, herex). This type of foam have a higher density than your EPS core so you can then glue your inserts in the PVC foam and re-glass over it.

I guess a shaper would charge around $200 for this but if you have the skills and the tools/materials, it will cost you between $20-80 (depending if you are happy with just a "bolt through" set up or if you want to use tracks like US fin box or mast tracks).

Has anyone seen any reviews or have feedback for the Slingshot hover (ms2 i think)? Are they available anywhere in oz yet?

Houston kiteboarding US, posted a hoverglide review last week check it out on you tube, Have various Hoverglide parts on back order from the US,Even over there seems to be a supply shortage at the moment ,Expected May delivery sometime.

okay this one might not be entry level but what a beauty !!

My second home made foil, looks quite the shiznit compared to the first, 1.5 X1 meter of 3k carbon, 1/2 cup of resin, and 1/5 role of PLA.

I've already made the blank of the third, which has 60% of the thickness of this one.

Rear stabilizer is Like a knife!

Going to be good to compare the three !

love the home builds - hate the commercial foil hype in kiteboard marketing right now - disproportional to reality

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dachopper said..
My second home made foil, looks quite the shiznit compared to the first, 1.5 X1 meter of 3k carbon, 1/2 cup of resin, and 1/5 role of PLA.

I've already made the blank of the third, which has 60% of the thickness of this one.

Rear stabilizer is Like a knife!

Going to be good to compare the three !

Very nice!!

What's under the carbon? How did you foil it?

3d printed pla core in 4 parts, . With halves vacuum bagged and laminated separately, then vacuum bagged together and then post cure heated slightly. Was going to wrap the whole piece, but the vacuum gluing was so successful that I don't think it needs it.

Might make a center carbon layer on the next one, but this one is stiff as anyway.

How do people transport these between home and the beach? Do they have to unscrew the foil before putting it in the car, or is everyone driving utes?

Not sure what a "ute" is but I've seen people stick them in the back seat of their cars. Seem to fit well in small crossovers too.

I drive a Subaru wagon. I normally fully disassemble the foil and put it in the bag. The board goes in the back seat.

Full assembly only takes a few minutes. When packed it fits very neatly into the car and for storage at home, and I can inspect the parts for looking for corrosion or damage.

It just takes a bit of practice and a routine and it becomes very easy to do.

If I am in a hurry when I leave, or planning to foil the next day I just remove the foil from the board and sit it across the back of the car, with the back wing sitting inside my plastic gear tub.

I can get the fully assembled foil and board into the back of the car but I hate doing that. It becomes a messy pile of junk instead of a neat, accessible set of gear.

10 years old Prado. Slides in nicely with one part of the middle seats folded, and third row taken out. No disassembling required

Anything will fit.
You just have to MAKE it.

Since mounting my foil upside down on the roof, I have noticed my cars performance has improved.

How I used to take my foil to the beach before I got a van.

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Bletti said..
How I used to take my foil to the beach before I got a van.

wow mate! respect!

This is the Swedish way to transport your foil to the beach

Hey guys. Does anyone know when or if the slimgshot hoverglide nf2 will make it to australia? Or anyone have info? I saw a video comparing several entry level foils. The hoverglide was heaviest but i like the idea of different size masts and like the shape. Seems more medium aspect than a couple of the others.Thanks.

From my very recent experience at learning to foil. And still learning.
The first hour or so is focusing on keeping the board down, then slowly moving back foot back till you can let foil lift you.
For me this was a ever slower rise till foil broke surface then bail out.
Then working out the balance to control the decent.
I can't imagine the frustration I would have had if that slow rise and few seconds of feeling of achieving something was cut short by having a mast shorter than the 90cm one I have.

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RAL INN said..
From my very recent experience at learning to foil. And still learning.
The first hour or so is focusing on keeping the board down, then slowly moving back foot back till you can let foil lift you.
For me this was a ever slower rise till foil broke surface then bail out.
Then working out the balance to control the decent.
I can't imagine the frustration I would have had if that slow rise and few seconds of feeling of achieving something was cut short by having a mast shorter than the 90cm one I have.

I'm inclined to agree. I gets a bit hairy being ejected from a meter up with sharp edges flying all around your head, but all the mast length is there allows you get it under control. Goal should be getting the board hovering just above the water and holding it there, not trying to get the whole mast out.

BUT. If you don't have a good spot, then short masts may well be a good idea. I actually bent the fuselage on my LF because I'd get sick of body dragging out or got excited that I was up and riding, and try to ride in the shallows before I had enough control . . . cue the ventilate-to-kamikaze dive bomb straight down to the bottom, with all my weight on the front tip of the fuse . . . boom! I got good enough to not do that right about the time I spent $300 shipping a new fuselage over :D

Kami. I'm not sure I've ever seen a LF foil in the flesh without a bent fuselage.

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RAL INN said..
Kami. I'm not sure I've ever seen a LF foil in the flesh without a bent fuselage.

LOL

The new one hasn't bent yet. But then, I've stopped slamming into the bottom so hard. I've also cut down the mast so the base is square; the mangled bit would just keep allowing the fuse to bend. And once is was weak...

Just ran a straight edge over my LF fuselage. It's dead straight. A little bit of a scratch from a reef hit but otherwise mint after about 40 hours use.

I must admit I was paranoid about the aluminium parts bending and corroding but so far none of that has happened.

I think the worst thing about hollow aluminium masts is that they fill up with water. You have to either drain it all out or put up with it dribbling into your car. I sealed my mast with marine grade silicone and it's been good ever since.

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Kamikuza said..

RAL INN said..
From my very recent experience at learning to foil. And still learning.
The first hour or so is focusing on keeping the board down, then slowly moving back foot back till you can let foil lift you.
For me this was a ever slower rise till foil broke surface then bail out.
Then working out the balance to control the decent.
I can't imagine the frustration I would have had if that slow rise and few seconds of feeling of achieving something was cut short by having a mast shorter than the 90cm one I have.

I'm inclined to agree. I gets a bit hairy being ejected from a meter up with sharp edges flying all around your head, but all the mast length is there allows you get it under control. Goal should be getting the board hovering just above the water and holding it there, not trying to get the whole mast out.

...

The whole point of the shorter mast is to allow you to get the feel of the vertical balance without the need for continuous waterstarts. Yes the short mast will result in more episodes of surface ventilation, but the short mast allows the beginner to continue on after the ventilation because they aren't getting ejected from a meter up. It is a lot easier to recover from 40-50cm height and carry on resulting in more time getting the hang of that slow rise and less time avoiding sharp edges and practicing waterstarts.

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RAL INN said..
...
Then working out the balance to control the decent.
...

I don't think it's an issue of "...working out the balance..". I can balance just fine.

I think it's more your body learning to filter all the similar inputs until you can feel the foil and separate that from the effect of the waves and the board pitching and your body moving about.

One minute it's up and up and the bounce of death. The next minute it's "....press the foil..." and off you go.

For me and my kiting partner it took us about 6 hours in relatively short sessions.

If a short mast helps in getting that feel without doing the face plants then go for it. I think it's about $185 for a set of short masts which seems a fair amount of money for something you're going to stop using after a short time.

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harlie said..

Kamikuza said..

RAL INN said..
From my very recent experience at learning to foil. And still learning.
The first hour or so is focusing on keeping the board down, then slowly moving back foot back till you can let foil lift you.
For me this was a ever slower rise till foil broke surface then bail out.
Then working out the balance to control the decent.
I can't imagine the frustration I would have had if that slow rise and few seconds of feeling of achieving something was cut short by having a mast shorter than the 90cm one I have.

I'm inclined to agree. I gets a bit hairy being ejected from a meter up with sharp edges flying all around your head, but all the mast length is there allows you get it under control. Goal should be getting the board hovering just above the water and holding it there, not trying to get the whole mast out.

...

The whole point of the shorter mast is to allow you to get the feel of the vertical balance without the need for continuous waterstarts. Yes the short mast will result in more episodes of surface ventilation, but the short mast allows the beginner to continue on after the ventilation because they aren't getting ejected from a meter up. It is a lot easier to recover from 40-50cm height and carry on resulting in more time getting the hang of that slow rise and less time avoiding sharp edges and practicing waterstarts.

Yeah I get that, which is why I said "inclined to agree": I can see the reason for having it, but it seems like extra cost/hassle for very little value, outside the very short term. Given how quickly people learn with "long" masts. . . .

I do, however, question that it's "a lot easier to recover from 40-50cm height" unless you mean touching (slamming? :D ) back down on the water, in which case I'm of the opinion that the board is more a factor.

Unless you're some kind of alien, you're going to spend a lot of time practicing water-starts anyway

Yes I agree the board having enough nose rocker to ride out the touchdown may well be the biggest factor.
But coming down nose first after a ventilation incident is only a percentage of the ways that bloody thing will spit you off.