2 broken fuselages in the last 12 months, they where brand new, the last one was broken 1 month after buying it in the shop.
I am using the long fuselage that is supposed to be suitable for windfoiling, I have been sailing on my wizard 125 and wizard 103 and infitity 76 (90%of the days) and infinity 99 using sails from 5.3 to 3.5.

I am a heavy sailor 1.95m and 98 kg, so probably thats the reason, I am very happy with the perfomance of the infinity 76 i love it.
Didnt crash with anything, it was just a loud noise while foiling, it seems the aluminuin quality of the fuselage is not very good.

Still waiting for the answer of slingshot for the warranty but I am sad to say that Iam thinking of changing to another brand becuase I need something more reliable. Any sugestion??? Looking for something similar to the infinity 76

I had success with a slingshot warranty after broken fuse. Including replacement of the front wing that was damaged.

I sail in salt water and at that time never rinsed my gear.

Wings most like the infinity 76 would be the phantasm PFI 730, old Moses 790 or it's replacement the sabfoil 950.

I personally feel the sabfoil 799 was an improvement over the infinity 76 which is one of the best wings ever.

Most important thing is choosing a brand with lots of wing options, 2nd thing is to make sure the brand offers a long fuse for windfoil, third is the structural integrity/design

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thedoor said..
I had success with a slingshot warranty after broken fuse. Including replacement of the front wing that was damaged.

I sail in salt water and at that time never rinsed my gear.

Wings most like the infinity 76 would be the phantasm PFI 730, old Moses 790 or it's replacement the sabfoil 950.

I personally feel the sabfoil 799 was an improvement over the infinity 76 which is one of the best wings ever.

Most important thing is choosing a brand with lots of wing options, 2nd thing is to make sure the brand offers a long fuse for windfoil, third is the structural integrity/design

I'd reverse your order. Having wing options doesn't mean much when they are at the bottom nor when the foil marginally balances out.

imho, once upon a time, the i76 was the bellweather for intermediate freeride windfoiling. Since then, more manufacturers and riders have come to appreciate the virtues of mid-aspect wings (vs older shapes like the 76 and Moses 790) and there are a lot of options now in the 1100-1500cm2 space. Of course, the direct analogs are SABFoil and SS Phantasm. The Phantasm, though, is at a different price point from the Hoverglide series and will require a bigger investment. There seem to be a lot of other options now that people have spoken of highly here: Zeeko (who also OEM for Simmer and others), Severne, Starboard (Superflyer), Fanatic Flows, Axis, F4 (and I'm probably leaving someone's favorite out). You may want to read about others experiences here and get a flavor of what kind of riders favor particular foils.

I will also say that, imho, the original Switch Fuse is a dated design and leave it at that.

The other thing to look for in a brand is future compatibility

AFS 85 cm freeride foil with F1080 cm2 wing and F770 wing covers 8-22 knots easy, solid carbon wings, stab., fuselage and mast, really bomb proof and nothing to corrode. And the mast/fuselage is a one piece T-bar, super stiff and no assembly required. If no local dealers, can order direct from AFS at foilandco.com website. I ordered a wing from them after US dealers stoped carrying them, it was not due to quality issues, but high shipping costs according to one dealer.

The new fanatic carbon fuse looks sweet af

That sucks. I had my fuselage bend upwards four or five degrees, in the same spot as your break, but I think it was a Foilworks clone and not a Slingshot fuse. I recall hearing that Slingshot changed their manufacturing of these fuselages a while back to address this issue going from cast to forged, or something like that, I'm not sure. Did your 76 wing float with the fuselage hanging out of it like that? It's nice you got it back, it's a fun wing, even if it is a bit low aspect. Maybe if your board can accommodate it, running in the B position on your next fuselage, if you were in C already, willl provide less leverage on the fuse, though this assumes that you can slide your foil mast forward the 2" or so needed to do so.

I feel the HG has two main flaws, the fuse to mast connection, where the mast sits flush on the fuse instead of sliding into a recessed hole on the fuselage, and the front wing to fuselage connection, though it improved for me considerably when I bought an HG tightening shim. I feel that a redesigned HG fuselage that still accepts HG wings would be a good thing.

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Windbot said..
That sucks. I had my fuselage bend upwards four or five degrees, in the same spot as your break, but I think it was a Foilworks clone and not a Slingshot fuse. I recall hearing that Slingshot changed their manufacturing of these fuselages a while back to address this issue going from cast to forged, or something like that, I'm not sure. Did your 76 wing float with the fuselage hanging out of it like that? It's nice you got it back, it's a fun wing, even if it is a bit low aspect. Maybe if your board can accommodate it, running in the B position on your next fuselage, if you were in C already, willl provide less leverage on the fuse, though this assumes that you can slide your foil mast forward the 2" or so needed to do so.

I feel the HG has two main flaws, the fuse to mast connection, where the mast sits flush on the fuse instead of sliding into a recessed hole on the fuselage, and the front wing to fuselage connection, though it improved for me considerably when I bought an HG tightening shim. I feel that a redesigned HG fuselage that still accepts HG wings would be a good thing.

Thanks for your point of view,thanks goodness the front wing floats in this situaci?n.
Its a pity,I was very Happy with the Infinity 76 may be its time to look for a new foil,.and.will be more expensive.Foiling makes me so Happy but sometimes can be very expensive

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thedoor said..
The other thing to look for in a brand is future compatibility

nice, but I am leery of a two piece carbon mast/fuselage, I know Loke foil does it, but it is not a standard connection. AFS was doing a two piece 95 cm mast/fuselage for a short time and then went back to one piece. There was a very good reason for that decision, and I am guessing it had to do with strength and durability, they want their foils to last.

Don't know what grade of aluminum they are using. 6061-T6 is most common, but in high volume production, no telling. 7075 would be better, but the material cost is $$, so I doubt they went that route. That's a tough one as you will probably just keep breaking them with the same wing. They make adapters for phantasm fuse to HG mast, but dont know about Inifinty wing adapter for a phantasm fuse/if they exist. Hopefully they will get you sorted with a solution.
I broke the bolts that hold the base plate to the mast at 135 lbs. I switched to the phantasm gear and no issues yet, but I'm also a flyweight.

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albertem said..
2 broken fuselages in the last 12 months, they where brand new, the last one was broken 1 month after buying it in the shop.
I am using the long fuselage that is supposed to be suitable for windfoiling, I have been sailing on my wizard 125 and wizard 103 and infitity 76 (90%of the days) and infinity 99 using sails from 5.3 to 3.5.

I am a heavy sailor 1.95m and 98 kg, so probably thats the reason, I am very happy with the perfomance of the infinity 76 i love it.
Didnt crash with anything, it was just a loud noise while foiling, it seems the aluminuin quality of the fuselage is not very good.

Still waiting for the answer of slingshot for the warranty but I am sad to say that Iam thinking of changing to another brand becuase I need something more reliable. Any sugestion??? Looking for something similar to the infinity 76

You can make your own fuselage with steel square bar - not difficult and supercheap.
With good quality stainless bolts to the mast the set up will never break.
It's heavy but I didn't notice the weight when I was up on foil.
If you're interested I'll post pix.

The Infinity 76 wing was ahead of its time - we ride more HA wings now but the 76 can still hold its own, just requires more effort

Is it fair the say, that given the anecdotal record of breakage, that the Infinity mast and fuselage is under designed.

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azymuth said..

albertem said..
2 broken fuselages in the last 12 months, they where brand new, the last one was broken 1 month after buying it in the shop.
I am using the long fuselage that is supposed to be suitable for windfoiling, I have been sailing on my wizard 125 and wizard 103 and infitity 76 (90%of the days) and infinity 99 using sails from 5.3 to 3.5.

I am a heavy sailor 1.95m and 98 kg, so probably thats the reason, I am very happy with the perfomance of the infinity 76 i love it.
Didnt crash with anything, it was just a loud noise while foiling, it seems the aluminuin quality of the fuselage is not very good.

Still waiting for the answer of slingshot for the warranty but I am sad to say that Iam thinking of changing to another brand becuase I need something more reliable. Any sugestion??? Looking for something similar to the infinity 76

You can make your own fuselage with steel square bar - not difficult and supercheap.
With good quality stainless bolts to the mast the set up will never break.
It's heavy but I didn't notice the weight when I was up on foil.
If you're interested I'll post pix.

The Infinity 76 wing was ahead of its time - we ride more HA wings now but the 76 can still hold its own, just requires more effort

I was thinking about making.my own fuselage made of steel,It would be great if you can give me more information of how to do It.

It is a shane but.the quality construction of the hoverglide package is not very good,

Thanks in advance!!!!

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azymuth said..

The Infinity 76 wing was ahead of its time - we ride more HA wings now but the 76 can still hold its own, just requires more effort

If it was ahead of it's time, it would have been a full carbon, high aspect, quality piece of kit, that didn't bend, wobble, and break. You know there are foils from Starboard, Axis, Armstrong, MFC, AFS, F4 etc, that are full carbon high aspect and have been available for years, yeah?

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obenebo said..

azymuth said..

The Infinity 76 wing was ahead of its time - we ride more HA wings now but the 76 can still hold its own, just requires more effort

If it was ahead of it's time, it would have been a full carbon, high aspect, quality piece of kit, that didn't bend, wobble, and break. You know there are foils from Starboard, Axis, Armstrong, MFC, AFS, F4 etc, that are full carbon high aspect and have been available for years, yeah?

Yeah.
Show me a video from 4 to 5 years back of anyone carving ocean swells on windfoil with any of those wings

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obenebo said..

If it was ahead of it's time, it would have been a full carbon, high aspect, quality piece of kit, that didn't bend, wobble, and break. You know there are foils from Starboard, Axis, Armstrong, MFC, AFS, F4 etc, that are full carbon high aspect and have been available for years, yeah?

Seen plenty of broken parts from some of the brands you list. Carbon or no carbon.

I have always worried that running the fuselage in the C position would stress the front of the fuselage too much. I run my i76 in the B position and have had zero problems in Florida salt water. I do disassemble and rinse for storage.

Hey thedoor, you might have written a typo up above. The SAB 950 is nowhere near the same as the i76 or Moses 790. Much higher AR. In fact, the 950 is almost an overlay copy of the Phantasm 926 that everybody likes. The 950 is my default wing at home.

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segler said..
I have always worried that running the fuselage in the C position would stress the front of the fuselage too much. I run my i76 in the B position and have had zero problems in Florida salt water. I do disassemble and rinse for storage.

Hey thedoor, you might have written a typo up above. The SAB 950 is nowhere near the same as the i76 or Moses 790. Much higher AR. In fact, the 950 is almost an overlay copy of the Phantasm 926 that everybody likes. The 950 is my default wing at home.

Agreed on the leverage. my buddy snapped his fuse when he had the infinity 65 in C position, when everyone else was using B. Although I snapped mine when in B position but I think corrosion played a big role in my snap.

I think what I was trying to say was that the 950 was considered a replacement for the 790, when the 790 was retired. Certainly they are quite different in aspect ratio but the impression I got was that if one liked the 790 then one would also like the 950. But this is all hearsay, as I have never riden the 950 and have never windfoiled the 790 either (I have prone foiled the 790). Sorry if I was off base

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thedoor said..
I think what I was trying to say was that the 950 was considered a replacement for the 790, when the 790 was retired. Certainly they are quite different in aspect ratio but the impression I got was that if one liked the 790 then one would also like the 950. But this is all hearsay, as I have never riden the 950 and have never windfoiled the 790 either (I have prone foiled the 790). Sorry if I was off base

Your intention was understood here. The 950 is definitely putting smiles on faces locally and adds one more data point on my preference on mid-aspects for most intermediate riders . Interesting that over time, those on original SS gear here seemed to gravitate to the 84 and 99 from the 76 but that may have been a matter of skill level. Intermediates seem to prefer the tamer behaviour and earlier lift of the bigger wings despite giving up a little speed.

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azymuth said..

obenebo said..

azymuth said..

The Infinity 76 wing was ahead of its time - we ride more HA wings now but the 76 can still hold its own, just requires more effort

If it was ahead of it's time, it would have been a full carbon, high aspect, quality piece of kit, that didn't bend, wobble, and break. You know there are foils from Starboard, Axis, Armstrong, MFC, AFS, F4 etc, that are full carbon high aspect and have been available for years, yeah?

Yeah.
Show me a video from 4 to 5 years back of anyone carving ocean swells on windfoil with any of those wings

Also agree the infinity 76 revolutionised freeride windfoiling. Not only were the high aspect wings at that time focused on race gear, their short fuses made them impossible to gybe. And the best thing about the infinity wings is that you needed to learn how to control that lift, through shifting your weight, using harness or changing your angle of sailing. All crucial skills for foiling.

Yes hoverglide had some design limitations but it came with 5 sport flexibility, lots of wing options, and was somewhat affordable.

I do think they should have pursued fixed attachment fuses for hoverglide with a cup to help with loading, but with limited time and money I think they focussed their energies on the carbon line

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albertem said..
2 broken fuselages in the last 12 months... Any sugestion???

Yes: switch to a different brand that has properly designed fuselages. I also had 2 Slingshot fuselages break mid flight, without hitting anything (at 90 kg). I found plenty of reports about others having similar problems.

Most other brands have fuselages that are significantly thicker in the critical area between the front wing and the mast attachment. My current favorite wing is a Starboard Freeride 1100. It's a bit faster than the i76; the SuperFlyer 1300 may be more comparable. But there are plenty of other brands out there where you don't have to worry about parts breaking. Just stay away from any brand that puts stainless (or titanium) screws directly into aluminum. That shows a disregard for very basic engineering principles. Most brands (but not Slingshot Hoverglides) use stainless steel inserts when connecting to aluminum.

Yep I had a NP/F4 full carbon race foil that was neigh on impossible to gybe, when the infinity 76 and 84 first arrived on the scene it was an instant success, and that foil wing shape was years ahead of its time.

To the OP try and demo a Slingshot Phantasm, plenty wind foilers also use it on the forum and this foil platform was completely redesigned, at 90kg I can often boost 8-12 feet (wing foiling) and have had zero issues, I use almost the exact same set up for wind foiling just switch to the 872 fuselage. The phantasm mast is very stiff, and the fuselage is excellent design as well.

the HG system is probably 7 years old and designed before windsurf foiling was even really a big thing. this video put windsurf foiling on the map for me and it's 5 years old



previously, SS was using HG for kite foiling I believe and maybe wake foiling... probably two years before they started actively windsurf foiling. It was never the best engineered system, but it worked at the time if you were careful w/ your stuff and paid attention to fastener tightness and greased things well.

that combo of Slingshot Wizard and Infinity 76 was really magic at the time

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albertem said..I was thinking about making.my own fuselage made of steel,It would be great if you can give me more information of how to do It.

Steel is a cheap option and will last forever - you do have to paint often to hold off the rust but it's no biggy.
Easy to grind down the steel bar to fit the front wing - I tried grinding heaps from the rear but it took forever so I just left it overly thick.
You need to insert helicoils - I used M8s but you could copy the original and use M6.

This was back in the day when there were no decent alternatives to HG for swell foiling - now I'd go the Simmer Blackbird Cruz for an inexpensive upgrade

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azymuth said..

obenebo said..

azymuth said..

The Infinity 76 wing was ahead of its time - we ride more HA wings now but the 76 can still hold its own, just requires more effort

If it was ahead of it's time, it would have been a full carbon, high aspect, quality piece of kit, that didn't bend, wobble, and break. You know there are foils from Starboard, Axis, Armstrong, MFC, AFS, F4 etc, that are full carbon high aspect and have been available for years, yeah?

Yeah.
Show me a video from 4 to 5 years back of anyone carving ocean swells on windfoil with any of those wings

Yeah nah, I'll let you just keep polishing that turd

I jumped on Mark's Wizard 105 and Infinity 76 Hoverglide - first time back on that kit for maybe a couple of years.
Easy river conditions - W15 knots, 5m Ezzy.

Compared to my Wizard 114, Phantasm 103W carbon mast and Simmer 920 cm2 high aspect wing (probably close to "state of the art" for swell windfoiling) it wasn't bad at all.
The HG carves/turns almost as well and is only 10-15% down in average speed. Noticeably less glide and acceleration but flys at lower speed.
Easier to uphaul the W105.

If I can offer any advice to beginner-intermediates - chasing kit upgrades will buy you maybe a 10% improvement.
TOW and practice (in all conditions) will help you progress faster

Iam very Happy with the Infinity 76, thats why I was looking for a solution to my broken fuselage(thanks azymuth).using on my wizard 125 and 103 its a lovely foil,.really easy to gybe,nice to surf and very stable my next foil.wiil be phantasm but at the moment the Infinity gives me all I want