Not sure if there will be enough wind tomorrow. Wind forecasted to be 5-7 mph gusting to 10 mph. 60*F air temps and a cold 42*F water temp. The warmest day here in Oregon yet this year, so I have to try it. I put a rear foot strap on as a handle for carring the board from shore too water. I inserted an Allen wrench in strap shown in this pic to check Tuttle bolts while on water, and will attach my leash from foil too foot strap as well, so the strap has some purpose. Wish me luck!

If you leash, make sure it's actually connected to something and not just looped around the mast. We lost a fol that separated at the head and the rest of it just slipped through the leash.

That's pretty marginal conditions but I understand the desire to give it a whirl. Keep your expectations reasonable. For a lot of us, the first few times were a bit sketchy so don't feel like everyone was getting long flights straight off. Have fun and good luck.

No front straps?

I'm going strapless. I have a mount I purchased that you peel and stick to the top of the mast that has a loop on it. I tied line around the loop and tie it around the foot strap.

Let ya know how it goes. If I can fly for at least 3 seconds , I'm happy! Maybe longer, but if not I'm ok with that.

I've just a few sessions in front of you Magic ride and started with just front straps. My first session was just to get the feel of the mass of the foil under the board and how to sail in sub flight how to carry the foil,board and sail combined .
My second session was getting the feel of foil taking off (and crashing)
Then my last season was the light bulb moment and had quite a few sustained flights my tip is don't rush it when the foil and board is in good neutral balance and try be over that central balance point small movements stand in a rigamortious stance over centre of foil then after a few lifts in control relax and wow I was foiling . I'm still a numpty on the foil but gonna love this foiling thing.

REACH FOR THE SKY

Hey Magic,

You have the NSI stick-on leash loop. I have those, too. Got them at Windance. They are a good idea.

Good idea to start out strapless. When you figure out where you like to have your feet for flight, you will want to mount the front footstraps there for your front feet. And then maybe keep the back straps off until you get better at it.

Where in Oregon will you sail? I live in Tri-Cities and sail mostly in the far east gorge at Port Kelley, Arlington/Roosevelt and 3-Mile. But my favorite spot is Charbonneau Park on the Snake River. Yes, things are starting to get spring-like up here. Days at 55-60F and water still at 41F out here. I have been out three times since New Year. Because I absolutely postively MUST stay out of the cold water, I foil with a formula board. When it gets warmer I will go back to my NorPac foilboard. Here is a short youtube from last week.

Getting ready to hit the water in a few hours from now. I'm going to be more over cautious because the water is so cold! I'm going to shoot for little heights, not to high. I want to experience getting on foil and off foil.

I live in Klamath Falls. I go to Hood River for a week every year in August as well. Here's a picture of my spot.

Looks good spot

OK, right. You told me about your spot in Klamath Falls. That looks like nice wind out there right now. Have fun.

Went out and had fun. Couldn't get on foil. I know it wasn't windy enough. Wind was down graded to 4-6 mph wind. Board shloged well. Felt like my mast step could be farther back or all the way back. Felt like I couldn't reach to get back over the front wing in the sweet spot because the mast felt too far forward. Was that because it wasn't windy enough to move all the way back? What do you think? Didn't fall in or crash. Yay! Guess cuzz I didn't get on foil yet.

Yeah that is super light. I need what I believe is 10kts to make it worthwhile and that's with my 7.3 and Infinity 84cm. For lightwind with my Wizard I slam the mast all the way back in the track to get as much of the rig's weight back as far as possible to unstick the board and to help give the wing a good angle of attack to start doing it's its job. At least you got to experience how manageable the board is when there's barely a breeze.

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Windbot said..
Yeah that is super light. I need what I believe is 10kts to make it worthwhile and that's with my 7.3 and Infinity 84cm. For lightwind with my Wizard I slam the mast all the way back in the track to get as much of the rig's weight back as far as possible to unstick the board and to help give the wing a good angle of attack to start doing it's its job. At least you got to experience how manageable the board is when there's barely a breeze.

That's what I was feeling. With the mast all the way back, that should get me to the back of the board easier. I haven't been on a 130L board in a long time. Amazing how floaty it is compared to my 115L bump n jump board.

I wonder if 8 mph winds gusting to 10 would be enough for me to tinker around with better and maybe get on foil? I'm 175 pounds on the i84? So excited to try it again and my spot I sail is a 7 minute drive away from my house.

At 175 lb with a i84 you will have no trouble flying at 10 mph wind. If, however, it is GUSTING to 10.0, be prepared for lots of mixed slog/flight sessions. Actually, such a day offers you the chance to rest between flights.

In looking at the posts above , I don't see what sail size you are using. That said, I would recommend you start with something like a 6.5 to 7.0 for those light conditions. You will have to pump it. Many foilers in Seattle and the gorge are loving the light-wind flying on the i84.

But, if you are still in purchase mode, I would strongly recommend the i76. It has more range, it is big enough to get you flying as easily as the i84, and it will make a bit more speed. Eventually you will find that speed is your friend. Those foilers in Seattle and gorge also run the i76 and really like it. Just a bit more versatile. A friend who foils at Roosevelt swears by his i76. He doesn't even want anything else. He foils it with a 4.2 in 20-25 mph winds. Same board as yours.

Try it.
8-10 is plenty once already up and moving.
MPH, most guys need close to 12 to even bother to pump and hope.
Now if you used a 8+ meter sail and i84, you'd have a good chance.

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MagicRide said..

Windbot said..
Yeah that is super light. I need what I believe is 10kts to make it worthwhile and that's with my 7.3 and Infinity 84cm. For lightwind with my Wizard I slam the mast all the way back in the track to get as much of the rig's weight back as far as possible to unstick the board and to help give the wing a good angle of attack to start doing it's its job. At least you got to experience how manageable the board is when there's barely a breeze.

That's what I was feeling. With the mast all the way back, that should get me to the back of the board easier. I haven't been on a 130L board in a long time. Amazing how floaty it is compared to my 115L bump n jump board.

Rig big and/or wait for some more wind! For me at the beginning the most difficult thing was to figure the sail size to rig. Now I am developing an eye for it, and it is also somewhat getting to the point where I can manage with a bigger sail than needed. I am learning how to release the sail the second I am up, the opposite of windsurfing where you lean back or load the harness lines. It is very different and you go against decades of muscle memory. I have the Moses 790 foil that takes off very early and a 6.5 seems to be all I will ever need. I am 72 Kg.

My largest sail is a 6.8, and will be on that in the lighter winds. Pretty much spent all the money I'm wanting to spend on this for now, so I will get dialed into the i84. So many people love this wing is why I got it. I only want to foil in 15 mph winds and under, then I take my bump n jump board out. If I were to foil in the 12-20 mph range, I would have chosen the i76, but we get lots of 10-12 mph wind days here.

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MagicRide said..
My largest sail is a 6.8, and will be on that in the lighter winds. Pretty much spent all the money I'm wanting to spend on this for now, so I will get dialed into the i84. So many people love this wing is why I got it. I only want to foil in 15 mph winds and under, then I take my bump n jump board out. If I were to foil in the 12-20 mph range, I would have chosen the i76, but we get lots of 10-12 mph wind days here.

I have the Infinity 84 that I use with a formula board and sails ranging from 8.2 4 cams (sailwork NX) to 4.2 wave sails. I know that foiling is more efficient than finning, but I sail in a windy area (Puget Sound) so I tend to rig bigger; that way, I spend lees time slogging or pumping and when the gusts hit, I just sheet out (sheeting out is totally fine when foiling). For example, if someone is sailing with a 7m sail, I could be with my 8.2; I will be pumping less and slogging less but then I will have "too much sail" when the other guy is totally confortable with his smaller sale. Again, I sail in gusty lake Washington (today the forecast was 18-53 mph...)
To sail in very light wind you might want to use a bigger sail. But before you buy any new gear, just go out and enjoy what you have. You will be surprised how little pumping and wind you need to foil. For me, a day on the water slogging 95 percent of the time and only one or two flights are rewarding!

Edit: I forgot to add that that I weigh 175 pounds. And regarding my biggest sail, I use it in very light wind only.

All sounds really good! I moved my mast base all the way back, so that may help me get myself farther back on the board. I have a feeling 8-12 mph winds would be good starter winds for me with the gear I have.

Your 6.8 with the i84 will be fine. Going out, trying it, adjusting stuff, trying it again, adjusting stuff, etc., is a big part of the fun. You will find a configuration that works. Once you find that, mount your front foot straps where you front feet have been. You will like it.

6.8 is the biggest sail I use for windfoiling in Florida. I weigh 195 bone dry.

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MagicRide said..
My largest sail is a 6.8, and will be on that in the lighter winds. Pretty much spent all the money I'm wanting to spend on this for now, so I will get dialed into the i84. So many people love this wing is why I got it. I only want to foil in 15 mph winds and under, then I take my bump n jump board out. If I were to foil in the 12-20 mph range, I would have chosen the i76, but we get lots of 10-12 mph wind days here.

I have a Moses 790 that has a similar surface to the i76. Besides the way better construction compared to Slingshot, the Moses with my 72 kg takes off VERY early with a 6.5. I cannot really imagine needing something bigger, and I eventually will pair it with the Balz special 720 (a fast little demon). You should be good with the 6.8 and the bigger wing when you get a bit of breeze.

10-20 mph winds forecasted at my spot tomorrow. That should be enough wind to get me up on foil. Hope for the best and hope the wind won't crap out on me. So far I've been out 2 days, no flights and very little wind. I feel it, tomorrow will be the day!

Yeehaa!! Oh what fun it is to foil!! Today was the day! So the wind was SW, pretty up and down. 5-15 mph winds. Was hesitant to What sail to rig, but I chose my 5.2. Turned out that sail worked perfect! It all started out leaving the beach with a schlog, and a gust came up, I pumped got on plane stepped back farther and zoom, the board lifts off, I'm laughing and smiling, so happy and then the board goes higher and higher and boom, I fall off! Haaa! I realized I over foiled. I get back on gust comes, pump, harness in, start planing and up it goes gust dies board starts dancing side to side in flight and I fall off hooked in. I regroup. Get back on, harness in, start planing, un hook, scooch back and there it was, a controlled flight. Went up higher, leaned forward, had a gental touch down, bounced up with a nice flight, stayed up a little longer and touched down again. Felt so good, nice control. Couldn't stop smiling for like 15 minutes after I came it.

Some advice! Mast base is all the way back. It felt pretty good, but should I move it up a hair for better control? Or should I keep it where it is and get more dialed in? I'm strapless and it feels great that way. My feet are right over the holes where front and back straps should go. I love the feeling of stepping my back foot a little past where the back strap would go, then when I start to lift off, I slide that foot forward more to balance out and control the hight.

Nice that sounds great! Welcome to the addiction. You will figure out with practice what works best for mast base placement. For me I will run my base fully back when I know I am going to be underpowered or when sailing my biggest sails. It's a combination of both sail size and how powered I am. I generally like sails far back to get the board to unstick sooner when pumping. If I am breaching the foil them I will slide the base forwards to keep the nose down. So far I have only.ever used the back half of my mast track. YMMV.

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Windbot said..
Nice that sounds great! Welcome to the addiction. You will figure out with practice what works best for mast base placement. For me I will run my base fully back when I know I am going to be underpowered or when sailing my biggest sails. It's a combination of both sail size and how powered I am. I generally like sails far back to get the board to unstick sooner when pumping. If I am breaching the foil them I will slide the base forwards to keep the nose down. So far I have only.ever used the back half of my mast track. YMMV.

And that was my smallest sail I had on yesterday. My other sails are 6.0 and 6.8. Wondering if I'd over foil more easier with those sails if I keep the mast base in the same spot, all the way back? On my fin board, I have been able to keep my mast base in one spot which is in the middle of the mast track with those 3 sail sizes. I wonder if I could do the same on the foil board or not?

On the flight school videos from SS, the dialer board's mast base is all the way forward from what I can see. That's complete opposite from what I have. Why is that?

My SS Allen wrench rusted! I painted it and put some primer on it.

Search of the iwindsurf using the Northwest USA & Canada forum (Home of SS) "wizard". I'm sure there's useful info.

www.iwindsurf.com/forums/search.php?mode=results&sid=3d20d18bf5f0836682ead4bccf31f937

So far no hardware has loosened up while on the water. 10-15 mph winds forecasted for Monday and Tues this week. Can't wait to get out and get some more experience on the foil. I will do a go pro video of the session and post it.