Just getting into foiling. Am a pretty solid surfer, SUP surfer. Go bout 90kl. Ride 105l Sup to surf. Have GoFoil/Iwa w/ 26" mast. Need a board to bolt it to. Don't really have a beater SUP to throw a tuttle/track in. So.... looking for a used SUP board. Have a line on a Sunova / 7-4 / 2 in 1. Also looking at a Kings / 6-10 x 28 / 110L SUP foil board that has a Tuttle and track install. Any feedback on the feasibility of learning on these boards? I don't have unlimited funds so hate to pay for a board that I'll soon want to replace. Give it to me.

Where abouts are you situated?

San Diego USA for now. Have a home on Big Island Hawaii, but won't be back until spring.

Bugger i guessed that, i have a tuttle fitted 7'6" x 28 105 litres you could have had for a few hundred bucks which is great to learn on.

suggest go the 74 lenght if you want to learn quicker. The shorter board be better in the long run but a little harder to learn, depends on clean your conditions are (no wind or chop)

Right on- both same volume- figure maybe 7-4 little better paddler/ getting in- the 6-10 better/ easier once up. The 6-10 does have mire beveled rails- maybe more current sup foil board design.

Since the foil gear is easy to resell, I would go with some comfortable length. Although you should quickly outgrow it, getting too short a board has prevented some people I know to learn to foil. They never got to the point of flying reliably.
Basically, you should use the same kind of board that you are comfortable SUPing on.

Thanks colas. I surfed a 7-8x 29 103L SUP pretty comfortably. Was thinking the foil would add stability. The volume is actually greater. Basically trying to determine exactly how board length factors in with the learning process.

The foil adds stability... after some time getting used to.
In the beginning, you will find the foil less stable, as it catches all the underwater movements.
Also, you will want to foil in crappy conditions, meaning more chop than in your regular SUP sessions.

But in all fairness, unstability brought by the foil is easy to get used to, with some paddling practice if needed. I do not think it is worth getting a board that is more stable than the one you use in SUP. So a 100 / 105 liters foiling board should be OK for you.

However, on takeoff with a foil, you will be overwhelmed with everything that is hapenning, so all the "SUP"ing aspects (balance, row effect) should be managed by you in "autpilot" mode, leaving all your mind focused on the new foiling issues, that cannot be learned on flat water. So you should not start SUP foiling on a 6'8" if you only SUPed a 7'8", as you will then have both the foiling and the paddling to learn.

The king board seems a bit risky for a first board: the outline is quite curved, meaning more row effect, and there are no rear fin boxes. Small keel fins could help a lot mastering a too-short foiling board by making your paddle strokes much more efficient. The sunova seems better: more paralell rails and fin boxes.

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colas said..
The foil adds stability... after some time getting used to.
In the beginning, you will find the foil less stable, as it catches all the underwater movements.
Also, you will want to foil in crappy conditions, meaning more chop than in your regular SUP sessions.

But in all fairness, unstability brought by the foil is easy to get used to, with some paddling practice if needed. I do not think it is worth getting a board that is more stable than the one you use in SUP. So a 100 / 105 liters foiling board should be OK for you.

However, on takeoff with a foil, you will be overwhelmed with everything that is hapenning, so all the "SUP"ing aspects (balance, row effect) should be managed by you in "autpilot" mode, leaving all your mind focused on the new foiling issues, that cannot be learned on flat water. So you should not start SUP foiling on a 6'8" if you only SUPed a 7'8", as you will then have both the foiling and the paddling to learn.

The king board seems a bit risky for a first board: the outline is quite curved, meaning more row effect, and there are no rear fin boxes. Small keel fins could help a lot mastering a too-short foiling board by making your paddle strokes much more efficient. The sunova seems better: more paralell rails and fin boxes.

Dude are you advising keeping the sup fins in all the time ? The paddling is what is killing me - as I am a complete beginner ( just found out what a J stroke is!) anything that helps the paddling will be great.

Converted a 7"8 hypernut to learn on. Has been great. Also good you can just use as a normal sup.

Re: colas's trailer fins
On his suggestion on seabreeze, I grinded down 2 old plastic fcs fins to about 4cm high and placed in the two rwar positions (hypernuts are quad)...I think it helps a little with row...and has zero other impact...

I am about to start with a 8 5 x140 l takuma foil board, initially I will just keep all 4 fins in , other than a little weight what problems could they cause if I get foiling given they will be out of the water, and they will help when paddling.

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icharus said..
Dude are you advising keeping the sup fins in all the time ? The paddling is what is killing me - as I am a complete beginner ( just found out what a J stroke is!) anything that helps the paddling will be great.

Yes.
Only the rear one(s) should be sufficient.
The idea is to get rid of any distraction outside of foiling issues.

This said, it seems that you need to practice your technique first. Fins do not cancel the row effect, they just slow it.

See my explanations at www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Tips-for-straighter-paddling

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stevet73 said..
I think it helps a little with row...and has zero other impact...

It helps a lot cancelling little paddling mistakes, so you can go all out paddling and rocking the board for takeoff.
It will not be enough to cancel the row for you by themselves, but it can make the difference between catching the wave or not.

I also found out their have a great side effet: the boards has less drag when touching waterby the tail. It seems that finless, especially on wide tailed board, touching the water with the tail when flying would make the tail want to "escape" to the side, thus inducing yaw as the board is free to pivot around the mast, and the foil and mast then suddenly add a lot of drag as they are not aligned with the water flow anymore.

With fins, touching the water with the tail doesnt slow the board as much and allow a quick recovery. And as we are going faster than paddling speeds, the fins are even more efficient than while paddling, so small fins suffice.