Hi
after some advice on a sup surf foil board I'm going to make.
I ride a SMIK 9'2" most of the time for reference. wing foil 6'6x21" @82kgs.
Do I go wide for stability getting the push from a wave or go narrower like a DW board to get on foil?
waves usually 3-4', fat then close out, have to work hard to catch them on a sup usually. I don't think I will be doing any DW as can't be bothered with transport etc.

Thanks in advance.

Just copy the Egg or the Kalama E3 narrow version.
I'm riding a 92L Egg which is 5'10 by 23", awesome SUP foil board and light wind wing board.

Just re-read your post, why don't you SUP your wing board, dimensions sound good.

The Naish DW board at 7'5 and 125L is a great SUP foil board. It is all I have been using at 85-87kg
the additional length helps with paddle speed for dealing with fat waves
the narrower width also helps with paddle speed also for dealing with fat waves
Not being DWnarrow (18-22") , but 25" helps with stability in mixed up seas and current. This stability also helps with applying power through your paddle.
I can catch unbroken waves with it as long as the wave jacks up like it is going to break even if it does not break.

Option 2 would be to get a foil drive to give you a boost to get in to the fat sections

I use the duotone sls 7'8 x 22.5 x 135L @ 98kgs, it's perfect for sup foiling, I use to have a 6'9 x 26 x 128L and my wave count improved dramatically going to the duotone board due to the narrowness of the board, and tbh it is not that much more unstable and worth the effort to learn the narrow boards. I wouldn't even consider a wider board now and looking to go narrower to improve wave count even further. I can catch unbroken waves easily on the duotone board and I'm positive a 19-20' board would improve my wave count and I doubt it'd be that much more difficult to balance on

Long and skinny. 8' x 20". Downwinding and surfing waves are pretty much the same. I haven't touched my short fat board since I went long.

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robbo1111 said..
Just copy the Egg or the Kalama E3 narrow version.
I'm riding a 92L Egg which is 5'10 by 23", awesome SUP foil board and light wind wing board.

Just re-read your post, why don't you SUP your wing board, dimensions sound good.

My skills are way off to sup surf my wing board :)

sounds like long and narrower are the way to go. thanks for response guys.

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rgmacca said..

robbo1111 said..
Just copy the Egg or the Kalama E3 narrow version.
I'm riding a 92L Egg which is 5'10 by 23", awesome SUP foil board and light wind wing board.

Just re-read your post, why don't you SUP your wing board, dimensions sound good.

My skills are way off to sup surf my wing board :)

sounds like long and narrower are the way to go. thanks for response guys.

It actually depends, on a narrow board you have to be moving all the time but has many advantages, Robbo rips on his. It's hard work and conditions need to be clean. I have a 6'6 x 26, similar shape but wider. Goes really well, and it's very comfortable standing still waiting for waves and I can handle chop no problem. Had a narrow board before, but opted for comfort. I don't sup often so I want to have fun when I do. I am also heavier at 88kg.
narrow board goes on foil a bit earlier.

If we're talking real supfoil wave riding at 85 kgs and learning which kinda sounds like the case from OP I'd definitely go around 115Lx28" wide, Kalama makes something close to that as going skinny less than 28" for getting into supfoiling you'd be punishing yourself unless you have cat like balance or extremely smooth daily glassy conditions,I ride a 6'6"x30 139L Kalama my fav supfoil board but I'm over 100kgs apples/oranges and I'm fairly advanced supfoiler for a heavier rider.I would definitely steer away from a DW style supfoil board for getting the hang of it as fun factor definitely be higher.
when you get supfoiling wired which is not a overnight learning curve Lol then think about a more DW style board for supfoiling or FD assist foiling IMO

I started on 6'5x27.5. Super stable but catching non breaking waves was a challenge. I am now on 7'6x23.5 with the tracks very forward. Way easier to catch small waves and stability is virtually the same. And due to the tracks position feels more agile than 6'5. If I knew how easy it would be to adjust to a narrow board I would have gone to even longer and narrower - 22 or less.

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bolocom said..

rgmacca said..

robbo1111 said..
Just copy the Egg or the Kalama E3 narrow version.
I'm riding a 92L Egg which is 5'10 by 23", awesome SUP foil board and light wind wing board.

Just re-read your post, why don't you SUP your wing board, dimensions sound good.

My skills are way off to sup surf my wing board :)

sounds like long and narrower are the way to go. thanks for response guys.

It actually depends, on a narrow board you have to be moving all the time but has many advantages, Robbo rips on his. It's hard work and conditions need to be clean. I have a 6'6 x 26, similar shape but wider. Goes really well, and it's very comfortable standing still waiting for waves and I can handle chop no problem. Had a narrow board before, but opted for comfort. I don't sup often so I want to have fun when I do. I am also heavier at 88kg.
narrow board goes on foil a bit earlier.

That's my fear with a narrow board, spend all time balancing then miss the wave falling in. I
Im just an average sup surfer. When I go for a wave it's a hard 6-8sec paddle to catch the wave, wondering how I would get on putting that much energy into paddling a really narrow DW style board.

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BigZ said..
I started on 6'5x27.5. Super stable but catching non breaking waves was a challenge. I am now on 7'6x23.5 with the tracks very forward. Way easier to catch small waves and stability is virtually the same. And due to the tracks position feels more agile than 6'5. If I knew how easy it would be to adjust to a narrow board I would have gone to even longer and narrower - 22 or less.

My aim is to catch the non breaking fat waves out back, my local spot is a beach break, they roll in then usually catch them just before they break, two turns if you are lucky, occasionally get a longer ride.
Maybe 7'6"x23" is a good starting point. can't afford a foil drive setup, can see the advantages of one though.

What is your weight by the way. That will help everyone better with giving you advice.

Also don't be afraid with going big. I dont know if you have seen Dave West's videos about kinda what you are looking for. May help you compare to what you are looking to achieve. Getting into the unbroken waves like you want is similar to downwinding. Probably harder. DW wind guys are looking for the windchop sections within the swell. Catching the swell by itself will be tough because it moves faster.

I have a Gong Zuma 6'9" which is proper wide 31" and also the Gong Crusader 7'6"xl at 22" wide. 93kg 58 YO and intermediate SUP foiler at least I think so, there are not many people into SUP foil up here.
The difference between the two boards is huge and I can score waves on both. But water state makes a massive difference to the session. My local break has a river mouth and tidal lagoon often with strong currents and is often quite choppy. I can stand around on the Zuma in comfort but it paddles like a slug and I have to be near the break to catch waves. The Crusader slips along much faster when its glassy and I can catch waves much further out on the swell but often have to paddle out prone and get a lower wave count because I spend a lot of time climbing back on.
At New Year I got a chance to surf with two friends from further East who are both on narrow DW boards and while I could paddle about on the Zuma they were proning about on the DW boards and popping up to paddle for sets. There wasn't as much difference in where we were catching waves as you might think and my wave count on the Zuma was fine for the session.
The Zuma can't be turned as well as the Crusader despite being shorter as its much wider and it limits the bank angle.
But if your getting into SUP Foil I would maybe not go narrow too fast. As said above unless you have cat like reflexes when conditions are not perfect its a good way of doing lots of falling in rather than surfing. :)

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rgmacca said..

BigZ said..
I started on 6'5x27.5. Super stable but catching non breaking waves was a challenge. I am now on 7'6x23.5 with the tracks very forward. Way easier to catch small waves and stability is virtually the same. And due to the tracks position feels more agile than 6'5. If I knew how easy it would be to adjust to a narrow board I would have gone to even longer and narrower - 22 or less.

My aim is to catch the non breaking fat waves out back, my local spot is a beach break, they roll in then usually catch them just before they break, two turns if you are lucky, occasionally get a longer ride.
Maybe 7'6"x23" is a good starting point. can't afford a foil drive setup, can see the advantages of one though.

There are plenty FDAs second hand that work just fine for your purpose.
I just bought FDA plus and had my first session for just over 1hr, endless waves returning out back on cruise control- 36% battery left. Me 74kg.

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ninjatuna said..
What is your weight by the way. That will help everyone better with giving you advice.

Also don't be afraid with going big. I dont know if you have seen Dave West's videos about kinda what you are looking for. May help you compare to what you are looking to achieve. Getting into the unbroken waves like you want is similar to downwinding. Probably harder. DW wind guys are looking for the windchop sections within the swell. Catching the swell by itself will be tough because it moves faster.

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ninjatuna said..
What is your weight by the way. That will help everyone better with giving you advice.

Also don't be afraid with going big. I dont know if you have seen Dave West's videos about kinda what you are looking for. May help you compare to what you are looking to achieve. Getting into the unbroken waves like you want is similar to downwinding. Probably harder. DW wind guys are looking for the windchop sections within the swell. Catching the swell by itself will be tough because it moves faster.

I'm 82kgs dry. Prob add 6kg with wetsuit/helmet/impact vest.
Intermediate wing/long board sup sufer. thanks.

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FarNorthSurfer said..
I have a Gong Zuma 6'9" which is proper wide 31" and also the Gong Crusader 7'6"xl at 22" wide. 93kg 58 YO and intermediate SUP foiler at least I think so, there are not many people into SUP foil up here.
The difference between the two boards is huge and I can score waves on both. But water state makes a massive difference to the session. My local break has a river mouth and tidal lagoon often with strong currents and is often quite choppy. I can stand around on the Zuma in comfort but it paddles like a slug and I have to be near the break to catch waves. The Crusader slips along much faster when its glassy and I can catch waves much further out on the swell but often have to paddle out prone and get a lower wave count because I spend a lot of time climbing back on.
At New Year I got a chance to surf with two friends from further East who are both on narrow DW boards and while I could paddle about on the Zuma they were proning about on the DW boards and popping up to paddle for sets. There wasn't as much difference in where we were catching waves as you might think and my wave count on the Zuma was fine for the session.
The Zuma can't be turned as well as the Crusader despite being shorter as its much wider and it limits the bank angle.
But if your getting into SUP Foil I would maybe not go narrow too fast. As said above unless you have cat like reflexes when conditions are not perfect its a good way of doing lots of falling in rather than surfing. :)

Thanks for feed back. which board do you prefer now? my local break is Belhaven, it's something I don't see happening that often as waves are fickle. if it's windy I would be winging, can get going in 8-10knts. Be those rare glassy days or as a very light wind wing board.

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rgmacca said..

FarNorthSurfer said..
I have a Gong Zuma 6'9" which is proper wide 31" and also the Gong Crusader 7'6"xl at 22" wide. 93kg 58 YO and intermediate SUP foiler at least I think so, there are not many people into SUP foil up here.
The difference between the two boards is huge and I can score waves on both. But water state makes a massive difference to the session. My local break has a river mouth and tidal lagoon often with strong currents and is often quite choppy. I can stand around on the Zuma in comfort but it paddles like a slug and I have to be near the break to catch waves. The Crusader slips along much faster when its glassy and I can catch waves much further out on the swell but often have to paddle out prone and get a lower wave count because I spend a lot of time climbing back on.
At New Year I got a chance to surf with two friends from further East who are both on narrow DW boards and while I could paddle about on the Zuma they were proning about on the DW boards and popping up to paddle for sets. There wasn't as much difference in where we were catching waves as you might think and my wave count on the Zuma was fine for the session.
The Zuma can't be turned as well as the Crusader despite being shorter as its much wider and it limits the bank angle.
But if your getting into SUP Foil I would maybe not go narrow too fast. As said above unless you have cat like reflexes when conditions are not perfect its a good way of doing lots of falling in rather than surfing. :)

Thanks for feed back. which board do you prefer now? my local break is Belhaven, it's something I don't see happening that often as waves are fickle. if it's windy I would be winging, can get going in 8-10knts. Be those rare glassy days or as a very light wind wing board.

I tend to pick the Zuma because although I am improving on the Crusader we don't get surf regularly enough for me to want to spend a lot of time swimming, especially in the winter. My local is Nairn and although it's not famous for surf because it's a slow breaking wave, on the SUP Foil I can get long fun rides which are way more fun than the SUP.
I have a few SUP boards from 10' long board to 8' Hypernut but just don't use them since I started SUP Foil as the speed is pretty addictive and I tend to SUP foil all the time now even when the waves are fast and steep like Sandend.
The foil is also opening up breaks here like Burghead that no one really surfed before but has amazing long rides on the SUP foil. Think Scotland is full of untapped waves and downwind potential for foiling.
The Crusader works really well as a light wind wing board and I am also keen to DW with it but am building skills to get there. I SUP foil it when it's usually pretty glassy which is quite rare here.
I think ideally the Zuma could be narrower and a little faster to paddle which could be a good middle ground. For sure I am getting better on the Crusader and should probably practice paddling more on that.
If you haven't yet gone narrow for light wind winging a cross over board like the Crusader that makes sense.
(Never tried foil drive and have only seen one down in Pembrokeshire surfing Newgale where the guy was stealing every wave, didn't seem right somehow. And super expensive so probably not for me)

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FarNorthSurfer said..

rgmacca said..

FarNorthSurfer said..
I have a Gong Zuma 6'9" which is proper wide 31" and also the Gong Crusader 7'6"xl at 22" wide. 93kg 58 YO and intermediate SUP foiler at least I think so, there are not many people into SUP foil up here.
The difference between the two boards is huge and I can score waves on both. But water state makes a massive difference to the session. My local break has a river mouth and tidal lagoon often with strong currents and is often quite choppy. I can stand around on the Zuma in comfort but it paddles like a slug and I have to be near the break to catch waves. The Crusader slips along much faster when its glassy and I can catch waves much further out on the swell but often have to paddle out prone and get a lower wave count because I spend a lot of time climbing back on.
At New Year I got a chance to surf with two friends from further East who are both on narrow DW boards and while I could paddle about on the Zuma they were proning about on the DW boards and popping up to paddle for sets. There wasn't as much difference in where we were catching waves as you might think and my wave count on the Zuma was fine for the session.
The Zuma can't be turned as well as the Crusader despite being shorter as its much wider and it limits the bank angle.
But if your getting into SUP Foil I would maybe not go narrow too fast. As said above unless you have cat like reflexes when conditions are not perfect its a good way of doing lots of falling in rather than surfing. :)

Thanks for feed back. which board do you prefer now? my local break is Belhaven, it's something I don't see happening that often as waves are fickle. if it's windy I would be winging, can get going in 8-10knts. Be those rare glassy days or as a very light wind wing board.

I tend to pick the Zuma because although I am improving on the Crusader we don't get surf regularly enough for me to want to spend a lot of time swimming, especially in the winter. My local is Nairn and although it's not famous for surf because it's a slow breaking wave, on the SUP Foil I can get long fun rides which are way more fun than the SUP.
I have a few SUP boards from 10' long board to 8' Hypernut but just don't use them since I started SUP Foil as the speed is pretty addictive and I tend to SUP foil all the time now even when the waves are fast and steep like Sandend.
The foil is also opening up breaks here like Burghead that no one really surfed before but has amazing long rides on the SUP foil. Think Scotland is full of untapped waves and downwind potential for foiling.
The Crusader works really well as a light wind wing board and I am also keen to DW with it but am building skills to get there. I SUP foil it when it's usually pretty glassy which is quite rare here.
I think ideally the Zuma could be narrower and a little faster to paddle which could be a good middle ground. For sure I am getting better on the Crusader and should probably practice paddling more on that.
If you haven't yet gone narrow for light wind winging a cross over board like the Crusader that makes sense.
(Never tried foil drive and have only seen one down in Pembrokeshire surfing Newgale where the guy was stealing every wave, didn't seem right somehow. And super expensive so probably not for me)

I've built a couple of skinny light wind wing boards and for me it's a revelation, so much easier as you get older (59). Now my go to board for all conditions. A couple of guys are using foil drive in Northumbria with success, but out my price range, spent enough already ;)