Wow! Thank y'all for the valuable comments. A lot to digest and think about, which I'll do over coming days, then get back. Incidentally, I only commented on 2 messages that came to me first - from JKSmurf & thedoor. All the others (that were sent first) came later (and swamped my aging brain), so please don't think I'm ignoring them. I'll chew on them and get back soon.

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Awalkspoiled said..
I wonder if it's not more about technique than gear. If you've been windsurfing and kiting you may have an ingrained tendency to move back as the power comes on, and that is murder for foiling because the foil angle of attack goes up and blasts you out of the water. Likewise the windsurfing tendency to sheet out in a gust is dangerous because you'll lose mastfoot pressure. Instead, really committing weight forward, not just to the front foot but driving down into the mastfoot will keep you more level. Sheeting IN, hardening up into the wind, railing the board to windward will all help, and they're all more or less backwards from finning techniques. You probably know all this...

As far as gear, I may be talking through my hat since the only way I'd get to 73 kg is by sawing a leg off, but fwiw: I really like the idea of half-straps in front and no back straps. Gives you something to push against and with the front foot in the strap you'll often just bring your back foot right next to it as the lift comes on. I'd definitely try shimming that big back wing for less lift. I bet a longer fuse would give you much more pitch stability even though it would increase the power of the front wing. I assume you're moving the sail's mastfoot forward when the foil starts lifting too much? That helps a lot.

For us older guys I think there's a lot to be said for bigger sails. With small rigs it's really easy to lose mastfoot pressure and then you'll breach even at moderate speeds.

See if you can get @Milsurf involved in the discussion before you invest in a new wing - good sailor both on fin and foil and he's on the Axis gear also. I'd guess he's around 85kg and I think his big wing is 1300ish on the 899 fuselage.

This is great advice, and I would agree.
Be mindful of the mastfoot pressure that you're generating.
Shim your rear wing until you have the front/rear foot balance that you're looking for.

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WsurfAustin said..

I have been influenced by Greg Glazier to use big foils and small sails. Possibly I need to reverse that as a relative beginner?? (Certainly, it would help with water-starting!)

You and The DOOR are inspiring doing this at that age. I'm 60 and hope I can make it as long as you guys. 35 years jumping mountain bikes has done a number on my joints . I'm of the bigger wing, smaller sail group. Way easier on the joints + small sails in big wind is just fun.
I started I'm on the SS Infinity 76, 114L board.). I'm 63kg, and when I started, had a big problem breaching.

My end solution was moving the foil all the way back which wasn't enough. So drilled some holes 1" farther forward on the mast pedestal to move further back in the tracks. That was the ticket for me. Keep in mind the is relative to the most forward foot strap position to get my weight as far forward as possible. Strapless, it didn't matter, I could move as far forward as I wanted. I wish I had started learning strapless. Not because it's better, but to find out where the balance needed to be. Everything got so much easier and obvious where the problem was. Then I adjusted UJ base and foil to work with the front foot strap position, and re-installed the straps.

FYI, I had a couple foot injuries but wanted to use snug straps, so made these. Been almost a year in testing and will be available this spring.

"My end solution was moving the foil all the way back which wasn't enough. So drilled some holes 1" farther forward on the mast pedestal to move further back in the tracks. That was the ticket for me. Keep in mind the is relative to the most forward foot strap position to get my weight as far forward as possible. Strapless, it didn't matter, I could move as far forward as I wanted."

Did you ever try using the Slingshot A position for that 76? That would move the wing further back relative to the board. I'm waiting until spring here in the northern hemisphere to try it but I have read that it can really help against too much lift and make the board more maneuverable.

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marc5 said..

WsurfAustin said..

I have been influenced by Greg Glazier to use big foils and small sails. Possibly I need to reverse that as a relative beginner?? (Certainly, it would help with water-starting!)

You and The DOOR are inspiring doing this at that age. I'm 60 and hope I can make it as long as you guys. 35 years jumping mountain bikes has done a number on my joints . I'm of the bigger wing, smaller sail group. Way easier on the joints + small sails in big wind is just fun.
I started I'm on the SS Infinity 76, 114L board.). I'm 63kg, and when I started, had a big problem breaching.

My end solution was moving the foil all the way back which wasn't enough. So drilled some holes 1" farther forward on the mast pedestal to move further back in the tracks. That was the ticket for me. Keep in mind the is relative to the most forward foot strap position to get my weight as far forward as possible. Strapless, it didn't matter, I could move as far forward as I wanted. I wish I had started learning strapless. Not because it's better, but to find out where the balance needed to be. Everything got so much easier and obvious where the problem was. Then I adjusted UJ base and foil to work with the front foot strap position, and re-installed the straps.

FYI, I had a couple foot injuries but wanted to use snug straps, so made these. Been almost a year in testing and will be available this spring.

"My end solution was moving the foil all the way back which wasn't enough. So drilled some holes 1" farther forward on the mast pedestal to move further back in the tracks. That was the ticket for me. Keep in mind the is relative to the most forward foot strap position to get my weight as far forward as possible. Strapless, it didn't matter, I could move as far forward as I wanted."

Did you ever try using the Slingshot A position for that 76? That would move the wing further back relative to the board. I'm waiting until spring here in the northern hemisphere to try it but I have read that it can really help against too much lift and make the board more maneuverable.

Thought about the A position, but read it made it more pitchy. I Also only needed a 1/2". The track nut actually popped out once when I had it in the ideal position. The extra holes to bring the nut futher in the track was a quick easy fix. I'm on the phantasm mast now which has plenty of adjustment.

59kg, riding the SS HG 84cm wing for most days. I just foil light (sub 11kts) days. Prefer fin over foil if enough wind. Added the 48cm stab after a couple days of "overfilling". Rarely experienced a breach I couldn't control after adding the 48. Don't really recommend the 84. Outside of very slow even with the 42 stab. When approaching it's real low stall speed it tends to drop straight down vs. gliding down. The good is with a 5.5M sail and a few light pumps easy to foil in 7kts.

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OldGuy3 said..
59kg, riding the SS HG 84cm wing for most days. I just foil light (sub 11kts) days. Prefer fin over foil if enough wind. Added the 48cm stab after a couple days of "overfilling". Rarely experienced a breach I couldn't control after adding the 48. Don't really recommend the 84. Outside of very slow even with the 42 stab. When approaching it's real low stall speed it tends to drop straight down vs. gliding down. The good is with a 5.5M sail and a few light pumps easy to foil in 7kts.

Dang,
Your lighter than me. I struggled with keeping the I76 under water, can't imagine riding the 84 !.

After 15 knots the 84 is a handfull. I'm looking for something a lot smaller for 15 plus winds. I weigh 165 lbs.

Thanks again for all the suggestions! I've been off the water for 3 weeks with twisted knee, so have had time to do some research and I've made a list of all the things I'll try:
Gear:
- I'm usually happy with the size of gear that I start on, but I'll try starting with smaller foils and bigger sails and pump more. (I don't usually pump much at all.)
- Sails: I've done a lot of reviewing instruction videos and Seabreeze blogs recently and think that most people use bigger sails than I do for particular wind conditions.
- I'll try my 400 Freestyle stab with all FWs and also try shimming the 500AN stab with -1degree for my 1150 FW (i.e. for less lift).
- I'm going to try a pair of wide Fanatic footstraps (165mm wide x 40 high) on the front & stick with an old Predator foot hook on the back (mounted to the tuttle box). I think that will be loose enough to let my feet slip out. I expect to also try SS half-straps on the front.
- I'll move my mast foot forward (gradually) by 25-50mm.
Technique:
- I'll try 60/40 front foot bias.
- the balance board practice sounds a good idea, so I'll get back into that.
- looking forward, not down: I've been trying that but find that I tend to creep higher, so I've been looking down more. I'll try to reduce that.
- I was doing a lot of "ripple-clipping", but less more recently. I'll go back to doing more.
- I think that I have probably been more in windsurf habits that I thought I was, so I've watched all the videos and will work on changing that. e.g. I am probably moving my weight around too much without realizing I'm doing it, so I'll work on that too.

Phew, quite a list there! I really appreciate all of your suggestions. I believe they will make the crucial difference!

In my personal experience, using a HA foil kit, i've found out that a good starting point is placing the mast base at 115/116 cm far from the front Tuttle screw. This is way forward than what i did the past summer, when i almost never scored more than 200 m flying before getting ejected while breaching!
Now it's much easier to use my weight to contrast the increasing lift (but still working on it. F...k windsurfing tow!!).
As you all say, the spot where you place the back foot is another key point.
But, to be honest, the hardest is switching from (slalom) windsurf "sheeting in/pull the back hand/rake back the sail" to "let it go/ stay rigid and stand still/pull the front hand/slowly and gently shif your weight eventually forward"...
Plus, i've noticed that staying over the board but "flat" helps the get lifted out. Better tilting the board windward trying to applying a costant pressure both on the mast base and on the board trhough kegs

Yeah, theory is here but practice is in the making (whileforecast is for more than 20 kts!!)

I'd recommend reviewing the speed thread...
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Foiling/F4Foils-Tuning-Tips-Towards-30-knots-?page=6#4
It is getting a bit long but going fast you can't afford to breach - or touch down! - so relevant if you are breaching at slower speeds.
As einstein said, speed is relative!

And also the speed video