Hey. I've done a mischief to my back and will be flat water based for a month. Am looking to make it interesting by adding some sort of a makeshift sail to help doing cruises up and down tidal rivers. I would love to be able to go walking speed if possible when the board hits windy patches. Was thinking of something like an umbrella or a makeshift wing like what you blokes use for wing foil but smaller and very very dodgey built. I'm talking like one maybe two time use kind of thing. Just really trying to keep the mind occupied really. Any ideas at all?

So is only going in a down wind direction ok?

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DavidJohn said..
So is only going in a down wind direction ok?

Yeah. Going across like a windsurfer would be great but like I said I only want to go at a walking speed at most. And it's going to be a novelty at its best also. I actually do have a thing on the sup for a proper windsurf sail to go on too but don't know how if they would even work on an sup, or be practical

If you have a windsurfing mast attachment point then just look for a rig around 5m.

I've used my foiling wing on a sup when I needed to learn the basics of wing control. It works pretty well. A small second hand one would do the trick. Probably easier to deal with than an attached windsurfing mast, unless you have a windsurfing background.

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Grantmac said..
If you have a windsurfing mast attachment point then just look for a rig around 5m.

agreed. it works great and somebody would lend u a rig surely

BUT clean the insert in the board first. They get corroded, then the base won't unscrew and it is a major deal to remove. Trust me... done a few repairs on them.
Fill it up with vinegar for a few mins and scrub out/rinse.

What are the dimentions of your board and how heavy are you?

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theSeb said..
I've used my foiling wing on a sup when I needed to learn the basics of wing control. It works pretty well. A small second hand one would do the trick. Probably easier to deal with than an attached windsurfing mast, unless you have a windsurfing background.

I feel like an idiot asking this but did you take a paddle with you? Were you using it in the ocean or flat water and did you have to attach a fin at the front of the board too?

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DavidJohn said..
What are the dimentions of your board and how heavy are you?

Jp Wide body 8'2. 88kgs

Since you have the insert a windsurf rig would be the easiest solution. The lack of a longboard box isn't ideal, but if you don't have to go upwind it is less of an issue. A wing will work, but you will have a lot more success if the wind is fairly consistent and if you really mean it when you say you don't need to be able to go upwind. I have messed around a bit on a sub 8' sup with a wing and even with a big single fin it takes good technique to keep it to windward. It can be fun especially if you have some wind, but if your conditions are light with lulls I would stick with the windsurf rig.

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supguythesecond said..

theSeb said..
I've used my foiling wing on a sup when I needed to learn the basics of wing control. It works pretty well. A small second hand one would do the trick. Probably easier to deal with than an attached windsurfing mast, unless you have a windsurfing background.

I feel like an idiot asking this but did you take a paddle with you? Were you using it in the ocean or flat water and did you have to attach a fin at the front of the board too?

No paddle. I do it in a sheltered bay that is a popular location for kite and wind surfers. No fins at the front, but having some sort of extra drift stopper device would be nice. Having said that, I just cruise back and forth across the wind and always managed to get back to where I started, or very close to it, despite a bit of drifting downwind.

JP was actually what I have done most repairs on - the insert goes into something akin to plastic and hot glue for some inexplicable reason, really sh1t for a windsurf company. So definitely try, you will love it. But make sure that thread is clean as a whistle first.

No location - if WA, will sort you out with a windsurf rig anytime

Mark
MOzCustoms
South Fremantle WA

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DavidJohn said..
So is only going in a down wind direction ok?

Didn't have time to prepare anything this morning but went up with the tides about 3km then unleashed the kids sized umbrella I borrowed and drifted the rest of the way back like Mary Poppins. Enough push from that to get me back. He to paddle one tiny part. It was addictive I can only imagine what it feels like with a proper sail or wing and then a foil on top of that.

Dead downwind is not a really fun point of sail with either a wing or windsurfing sail. Better with the sail though I'd say.

Maybe something like a 2-3m trainer kite with short lines? I'm not a kiter but that seems like something which could work and they are out there used. Not great if you have trees etc though.

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Grantmac said..
Dead downwind is not a really fun point of sail with either a wing or windsurfing sail. Better with the sail though I'd say.

Maybe something like a 2-3m trainer kite with short lines? I'm not a kiter but that seems like something which could work and they are out there used. Not great if you have trees etc though.

Kites don't hold power downwind unless they are constantly moving through the window and the board is on a rail, or it's blowing well over 25 knots. really if they're any further off wind than somewhere between a beam reach & a close reach it takes a lot of work and skill even to keep kites in the air, especially in light wind. I agree that a windsurf rig would be best.

Just like kites windsurfing sails don't like going straight down wind either.. I would recommend a cheap small wing like this V1 Naish 4m wing.. They should be very cheap now if you can find one..

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DavidJohn said..
Just like kites windsurfing sails don't like going straight down wind either.. I would recommend a cheap small wing like this V1 Naish 4m wing.. They should be very cheap now if you can find one..

Thanks. Bit short on cash so I'm making one with pvc pipe and glad wrap. Either way it will be an upgrade on the umbrella.

Say where u are and you might get something better as a loan.....

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Mark _australia said..
Say where u are and you might get something better as a loan.....

Goldcoast. thanks for the offer. Spent the day making this. Took it out with the paddleboard and could not for the life of me work out how to get it to go in the right direction.

I'll explain below but when I explain I have changed the direction of the wind so it's sounds understandable.

On a 128l widebody sup. No paddle. Just the wing. wind is straight south. I'm trying to go east. I can't get it to go east it, I can only get it to go north east. My hope was to get it to go south south east. Tickets. Is this cause I have a paddlebord with fins at the back only, and this stops the board from going even 5 degrees upwind, or is it cause the wing sucks? Was it cause I was using the wing sideways like a windsurfer sail and not above my head like a wing?

When I hit a nice spot of wind it had some movement but before that the kids umbrella was better but again that was straight downwind.




The wing was heavy but I'm gonna take some of the plastic off and get a sail that's not so thick and heavy.

Getting upwind with even a good wing just isn't easy without a foil.

You would be much better off with a windsurfing rig. Better yet just look for a cheap (or probably free) windsurf race/longboard. Then you can sail all over the place.

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Grantmac said..
Getting upwind with even a good wing just isn't easy without a foil.

You would be much better off with a windsurfing rig. Better yet just look for a cheap (or probably free) windsurf race/longboard. Then you can sail all over the place.

So I'm better off going downwind on an angle?Cheers

Less better off, more like only able to.

Basically if you end up with a wing do your best to go across the wind and you will end up going at least slightly downwind.:)
If you improve your technique(especially at doing a pretty tight little pivot gybe so you don't lose ground) and/or modify your board to use a big single fin you may be able to stay upwind in ideal conditions. I suspect if you were really serious about it and installed a forward fin box that would make a huge difference, but I have never tried a board that had that feature.

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Surlygringo said..
Basically if you end up with a wing do your best to go across the wind and you will end up going at least slightly downwind.:)
If you improve your technique(especially at doing a pretty tight little pivot gybe so you don't lose ground) and/or modify your board to use a big single fin you may be able to stay upwind in ideal conditions. I suspect if you were really serious about it and installed a forward fin box that would make a huge difference, but I have never tried a board that had that feature.

Would practicing using it with a skateboard help?

A wing works very well with a skateboard, especially if you have one with surf style trucks. Unfortunately a skateboard has very little rolling resistance, turns on a dime and goes upwind like a demon, so many of the things you will be able to do on a skateboard will be a lot harder or impossible on a sup. I do think that it is a quick way to learn how to use the wing and that could be a big help.

Skateboard is a good foil analog, but poor practice if foiling isn't the goal.

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Surlygringo said..
A wing works very well with a skateboard, especially if you have one with surf style trucks. Unfortunately a skateboard has very little rolling resistance, turns on a dime and goes upwind like a demon, so many of the things you will be able to do on a skateboard will be a lot harder or impossible on a sup. I do think that it is a quick way to learn how to use the wing and that could be a big help.

Modified the design. Took out all the dead weight and got a plastic sheet for the sail. It pulled me along on some occasions but the area I was using had a decent amount of rotor coming off buildings and only one small section had good wind and the other spot I went this arvo had better wind in spots but was uneven and rough road. I think the wind size/my weight/wind strength and the skateboard with work bearings is making it a lot harder than it needs to be. Have to find better spots. It's addictive when you get a bit of a rhythm going. Think I'd prefer water for the constant wind. Might try a downwinder on my paddleboard with the sail. Do you know any decent videos explaining how to use the sails properly and how they work?
this thing is 2 meters wide at the front and 1 meter at the back and 1 meter from the front to the back. This would be way to small for 90kgs right?

Yes way too small, they do sell sup sails cheap online.

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Hydrosurf said..
Yes way too small, they do sell sup sails cheap online.

Took it out in the ocean yesterday and it actually worked. About 20knots. Crazy fun! The surfers I went past (was a safe distance away from them) were laughing at me much like the women who saw me attempting with the skateboard.

Loving the Mcgyver spirit keep us posted SG2-you da man