One day I'm in the factory watching Jimmy Lewis at work finishing off this custom Flying V & the next day the guys out riding it in Kahalui Harbour & Jimmy messaged me-
Hey Rob, Here's the guy who got that orange (reddish) carbon custom board from me on one of his first waves. Check how the rail doesn't catch or hang him up when it splashes in the water. Aloha, Jimmy

What size is that board? is the shape different from the production Flying V?

Hi DaHammer, The shape is exactly the same but from memory it was 5'7-5'9" in length... Jimmy does them in a full carbon custom layup on Maui fo the local riders who want their own colours or measurements... I nearly got him to make me one so it was an original colour because no 2 boards are the same when the pigment is mixed with the resins but I prefer the strength & weight of the production models...The customs aren't Jimmy's Signature Sandwich construction that the factory does.... This is the "stock" 5'11 I'm riding whereas the custom ones are Cabon glassed boards over epoxy blanks...

Thanks for your feedback. That's the board I'm after, 5'11" Flying V. I am presently riding a 6'6" 115L but it's heavy and needs to be replaced. How do you find the paddle back out on the 5'11V?

Hi DaHammer, I was worried coming down from the 6'5" Flying V that I would notice a big difference in the paddling back out on the 5'11 but it was fine & hardly any difference... I spent the week foiling on it at Ka'a on Maui & the paddle back out is over 1km so I really got to test it & had no problems... The beauty of the shorter board is the glide you get from pumping as well...The width & litres aren't too dissimilar from the 6'5"..

Good to know that the step down to the 5'11" is an easy transition and can imagine pumping a lighter smaller board is much more efficient. I also ride without straps and have notice that some board manufacturers are using arch bars along the center line to help with foot placement. My present board has a rear arch bar which was good when I was learning but a year later I have developed a relaxed style, and as in your picture, my feet aren't always going to be on the center line. At this point I find the arch bar to be distracting under foot. I feel that the visual ques Jimmy has incorporated on the deck pad make more sense for intermediate to advanced riders who ride strapless.

Can you tell me which which GoFoil setup your using in the picture? Tuttle or plate? Wing setup? I ride with GoFoil on the 25" mast cause that was what was available at the time. Although, I'm considering going to the 29" but my main spot is a really shallow reef and maybe best to keep it short since I have bonked the reef a few times.

HI DaHammer, yes as you can see i don't use straps at all... I like to be able to move around on my board even more so with downwinding...I surf a variety of reef & beach breaks where I live so definitely prefer to be able to move up & down the board... But my mate rides a front foot strap on his 6'5" JL Flying V & swears by it so I think whatever people are comfortable with or what their background is...
The next batch of JL's will have a kick pad just behind the mast but again I'm really use to my deckgrip & just knowing by instinct & feel where my sweetspot is...
I use the 29.5" GoFoil mast exclusively now on both my prone 5'4 SuperFly & my Flying V sup & find I can't go back to the shorter mast even though again my mate is only using the 24.5" mast to sup surf or downwind... We both surf the same reef & beach breaks & other than having to swim a little further out from the shore i have no dramas with the longer mast hitting bottom...Especially here in Aus but i did hit reef on Maui a few times but so did everyone...But again all personal preference... A lot of the good "prone" guys in Hawaii as still using the shorter mast...
I mainly use the GoFoil IWA with Kai tail to sup foil & then the M200 & M280 for downwinding or the Kai & IWA for prone foiling & always just the Tuttle mount because it's just "plug & play"... And stronger...