Has anyone tried a "stick on foil mount" - they look good ?:-)

I haven't tried them but that is because I wouldn't trust them.
Have heard a lot of stories of boards delaminating when using them and I know how much force a large wing can generate.
I'd spent the extra and get someone that knows foils to install a set of tracks properly.

I wouldn't do it to a board I had any love for. The mount itself- especially the carbon version is great- the manner in which it is attached to a composite/ foam core board- not so much. Being glued to the skin of the board- and the forces of a long lever applying a prying force- it is only a matter of time before it de-lams and then rips itself and the glass it is attached to from the board. This is especially true for the beating a rig takes from someone just learning.
What I've seen- usually happens within 5-6 times on the water. I'm sure if you figured out a way to through bolt it to a plate to attach to the deck you could get more life out of it- but it's not really a permanent solution- will do a number on the board. A buddy of mine learned to foil w/ a stick on and spare parts from his garage. He MacGyvered an old sponge-board w/ hardware from his work bench to through bolt it to the board.

I've been using a stick on to learn to wing. I bought an old sup with it already stuck on. It's been fine after about 10 sessions but I have noticed it is coming unstuck a little at the front. It's still solid but I tie a cord from the mast and loop my leggie rail saver through it just in case it comes off so I don't lose the foil. I will upgrade to a proper foil board when I am ready but it's been a great way to see if I like it without buying a foil specific board and then I will still have the sup to use when I am done with it.

I have , mixed success . No good for custom boards they just delam . Need production boards that are a pretty solid build , also no good on boards that have been painted or with concaves. I peel them off and get some more 3m tape and reuse them. I did this video over 3 years ago and that Sunova board is still going and we have been towing in on it.

Thanks Piros might try the old duck tape system first (your original idea ages ago) as I have an old previously creased 95L 7.8 Naish that is still pretty light, small & large enough for me to learn on :-)
Any advice would be much appreciated?:-)

Beginner foiler here. Be really careful to get the angle right. Foiling is frustrating if your gear isn't right. Small things like position of the foil (balance) and angle can keep you from flying.

Also the lower volume in the tail of a regular board makes them makes them harder to paddle into a wave since you can't be truly in surf stance or your tail sinks. This may not be the case on your board, but look out for this.) you can shuffle your feet when you catch the wave, but it's one more thing to think about.

i did a boat session and one paddle session on my converted board and then ended up building my own Foil SUP. I'd actually consider the duct tape method (with a leash on the foil) as a valid idea to get started behind a boat.

You can 100% learn to foil on a Converted board but there's a reason everyone talks about how much easier it is on a foil specific board once they switch. Good luck man! It's unbelievably addictive.

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surfcowboy said..
Beginner foiler here. Be really careful to get the angle right. Foiling is frustrating if your gear isn't right. Small things like position of the foil (balance) and angle can keep you from flying.

Also the lower volume in the tail of a regular board makes them makes them harder to paddle into a wave since you can't be truly in surf stance or your tail sinks. This may not be the case on your board, but look out for this.) you can shuffle your feet when you catch the wave, but it's one more thing to think about.

i did a boat session and one paddle session on my converted board and then ended up building my own Foil SUP. I'd actually consider the duct tape method (with a leash on the foil) as a valid idea to get started behind a boat.

You can 100% learn to foil on a Converted board but there's a reason everyone talks about how much easier it is on a foil specific board once they switch. Good luck man! It's unbelievably addictive.

Thanks surfcowboy for your advice, also I have no access to a boat so just in the surf, also what about pumping on a sup - is it possible? and what about the paddle does it help with wave catching / to get going etc?:-)
thanks :-)

I'm just getting started but I know guys (Steamroller) who pump on a SUP. Like all things just time to get the feel.

Keep an eye out for boats though. You can use a tiny dinghy to tow. I went 7 mph on my first run behind a fishing boat. So the cheapest boat in the rental fleet will tow you and an hour or two is a long time. All you need really. But otherwise read everything you can on here and other forums and you'll get it.

be careful and have fun!

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Piros said..
I have , mixed success . No good for custom boards they just delam . Need production boards that are a pretty solid build , also no good on boards that have been painted or with concaves. I peel them off and get some more 3m tape and reuse them. I did this video over 3 years ago and that Sunova board is still going and we have been towing in on it.

This is a response that doesn't make any sense.

Sunova make custom boards. Please explain why why their production boards would be fine with it and their customs wouldn't?

From a builder's perpective, the stick on mount is just wrong and asking for trouble.

From memory they sell for $250 which is not far from what one would pay to get tracks installed. A stick on mount makes your board unusable for anything else.

A prime example of a product that doesn't has its place on the market..

I was surprised at how little impact the foilmount has when I just ride my sup normally (without the foil). Then again maybe that says more about my lack of ability. It certainly hasn't limited my use of my sup and I also get to use my sup to learn to wingding. I'm happy with it but will definitely get a board with tracks installed when I'm ready to upgrade.

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Livit said..

Piros said..
I have , mixed success . No good for custom boards they just delam . Need production boards that are a pretty solid build , also no good on boards that have been painted or with concaves. I peel them off and get some more 3m tape and reuse them. I did this video over 3 years ago and that Sunova board is still going and we have been towing in on it.

This is a response that doesn't make any sense.

Sunova make custom boards. Please explain why why their production boards would be fine with it and their customs wouldn't?

From a builder's perpective, the stick on mount is just wrong and asking for trouble.

From memory they sell for $250 which is not far from what one would pay to get tracks installed. A stick on mount makes your board unusable for anything else.

A prime example of a product that doesn't has its place on the market..

Sunova's are a very different construction they have a Balsa skin very very strong , most other custom boards just have a single layer of 6 oz. As I said above you can remove the stick on mounts and re fit to other boards , so no it doesn't make your board unusable for anything else.

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Piros said..

Livit said..

Piros said..
I have , mixed success . No good for custom boards they just delam . Need production boards that are a pretty solid build , also no good on boards that have been painted or with concaves. I peel them off and get some more 3m tape and reuse them. I did this video over 3 years ago and that Sunova board is still going and we have been towing in on it.

This is a response that doesn't make any sense.

Sunova make custom boards. Please explain why why their production boards would be fine with it and their customs wouldn't?

From a builder's perpective, the stick on mount is just wrong and asking for trouble.

From memory they sell for $250 which is not far from what one would pay to get tracks installed. A stick on mount makes your board unusable for anything else.

A prime example of a product that doesn't has its place on the market..

Sunova's are a very different construction they have a Balsa skin very very strong , most other custom boards just have a single layer of 6 oz. As I said above you can remove the stick on mounts and re fit to other boards , so no it doesn't make your board unusable for anything else.

I am very familiar with Sunova's construction since I've visited theIt factory and own 5 of their boards.

What you are talking about is tensile strength which wouldn't be much different to what you call "most other custom boards", at least not enough to make the stick on foil mount a reliable option.
I don't know any shaper who would recommend the foil mount and that sums it up pretty well.

Even you are saying that you had mixed experience with this thing whereas 3 years ago you thought it was a great product....

When I attach my $2.5k foil onto a board, I certainly don't want a half baked product with a proven high proven high failure rate, and I am sure most others would feel the same way.

my recommendations to anyone interested in this product is to talk to a shaper.

For everyone's information I work for Sunova and we would never recommend to stick one of those things on any of our boards, they aren't designed for the forced exerted and you will have issue pretty quickly. I've seen damage to a range of boards, including ours from the stick on mounts, smaller boards are definitely less susceptible if they are well built.

IMO the best option to reuse an old board is to retrofit with a twin track plate system, even these can fail if not installed properly. They really need to be tied into the deck somehow to last and at the very least installed with plenty of fibreglass and carbon over and under the PVC around the boxes to have any lasting success. We found this out with some of our earlier boards, you may not see issues to start but 12-18 months they might arise.

The forces you are exerting on these things is ridiculous, add in a long mast and an experienced foiler whose pumping and linking waves and you've got a recipe for board destruction unless it's built right!

^^ agreed with last two. Anyone who has repaired ANY board and seen how easy it is to peel glass away from foam by hand would immediately recognise it is a silly idea.

Saying custom boards are weaker is a very strange assertion

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Mark _australia said..
Saying custom boards are weaker is a very strange assertion

It is just a poor choice of words, I guess. He meant only glass/carbon layers on the hull, that you can find on custom or production boards. Just like you can find full vacuumed 5mm PVC sandwich boards in custom or production.

Yes what Colas said , what I was referring too was your local shaper customs who just hand lays a single or double layer of glass not customs from the big production guys . Kiters have been using these things for years but kite boards are a super heavy build to withstand huge jumps and overall very strong with dense heavy cores and multiple layer construction with no concaves , so very suited to a stick on. I'm not saying the stick on works on all boards but will work well on the right board .