Hi,

We are 5 students in mechanical engineering at the University of Sherbrooke
(Canada) engaged in a 2 years design project. We've decided to work on a
windsurf hydrofoil. We'd like to have your comments on the subject. If you can
take few minutes from your time to answer the following questions, we will be
gratefull.

1. How long have you been windsurfing ?
2. What do you like about windsurfing ?
3. Have you ever ride with a hydrofoil ?
4. Would you like to ride one ? and why ?

thanks for your collaboration

Team Levarius

Q 3 "HAVE YOU EVER RIDE WITH A HYDROFOIL" if I was on a 2 year
design project with a university you think you would proof read
first.
or may be it's a bombay call center...

Yes guys, if you want a good response you need to establish some credibility first!
Your questions read like market research, are you planning to sell the thing in Aus?

Do any of you know anything about windsurfing, cause it doesn't sound like it.

Is the purpose of the exercise to improve some aspect of windsurfing if so what??

Or are you just doing it as a technical exercise?
If so are you aware it's already been done?

If you're aware what do you plan to do different?

Give us some detail, get us interested, and you'll get a better response.

This forum can be very helpfull, once we are "onboard"

must be from french canada becasye of the bad english, but isnt there alread hydrofoil fins being developed for normal boards, and tehere is already hydrofoil.
but
1. 2 years
2. the speed and hights
3.no
4. eventually, but no, because the whole controlabilty and predicibility thing,

quote:

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Originally posted by jord070

must be from french canada becasye of the bad english, but isnt there alread hydrofoil fins being developed for normal boards, and tehere is already hydrofoil.

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It figures that they'd post to as many forums as google came up with.
Interesting the boards.co.uk mob are more helpfull than we are.

hi guys,

this isn't a market research, we're trying to find where are needs, it would help us to find a real goal to our engeneering project.

We don't want to put it on sell after the project.

If you are still in doubt on our serious, you can still visit ou university conception project site : conception.gme.usherb.ca

Yes we are french canadien, so be a bit lenient with our english please. :)

Team Levarius

1. How long have you been windsurfing ?
7 years
2. What do you like about windsurfing ?
Physically demanding, Exciting, great crew to sail with.
3. Have you ever ride with a hydrofoil ?
No
4. Would you like to ride one ? and why ?
Yes, I'll give anything a go , but it would have to be able to contend with weed, which from what I see about previous and current designs would be an issue.

OK, so you've thought up a project and now want a reason for doing it, is that correct???

quote:

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Originally posted by Levarius



1. How long have you been windsurfing ?
2. What do you like about windsurfing ?
3. Have you ever ride with a hydrofoil ?
4. Would you like to ride one ? and why ?

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1 20 years

2 Everything!!! It can just be relaxing after a stressful day.
A total buzz in head high down the line peeling waves
Big adrenalin rush screaming downwind trying to crack a top speed PB

3 No

4 I find the hydrofoil concept interesting, attempts so far although they work, don't seem to have enhanced any aspect of windsurfing yet.
Although I'm sure it's a different experience, and I wouldn't mind trying it just to find out.

The only area where I can see they might have a possibility of improving is speed in choppy water. At the moment serious speed sailors need to find a lot of wind over flat water and these conditions are very rare.
If hydrofoils allowed 40+knts to be achieved in choppy water, for the average speed sailor, that would be a huge advantage.

quote:

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Originally posted by Levarius

hi guys,

this isn't a market research, we're trying to find where are needs, it would help us to find a real goal to our engeneering project

Team Levarius

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Design a working hydrofoil that will fit into a standard fin box .

Windsurfing is usually practised in shallow water. I expect this is the reason it has never become popular to use hydrofoils on sailboards.

1 - 25yrs
2 - Extends surfing and has less crowds
3 - No, but would consider designing and build some.
4 - I think any harmless experience is good and also some harmful experiences.

Good luck!

1) 10 yrs
2) Speed and freedom of being out on the water driven by the wind
3) no
4) yes and no. Awesome idea but flight control will be extremely difficult.

I worked for a company designing ride control systems for high speed ferries for several years so looked into hydrofoils are lot. The hardest thing is controlling depth of foil and hence lift.

Rush Randle has designed a windsurfer foil that looks to work ok but the video of anyone riding it shows that stability is a big issue.

Good Luck. Nothing better than spending a universities money on your final year project doing something you love.

PM me if you want some links for hydrofoil sites etc.

1. How long have you been windsurfing ? 20 yrs
2. What do you like about windsurfing ? speed, water, wind, jumps
3. Have you ever ride with a hydrofoil ? no
4. Would you like to ride one ? and why ? yep, its supposed to be quiet and smooth. looks fun

quote:

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Originally posted by Levarius

hi guys,

this isn't a market research, we're trying to find where are needs, it would help us to find a real goal to our engeneering project.

We don't want to put it on sell after the project.

If you are still in doubt on our serious, you can still visit ou university conception project site : conception.gme.usherb.ca

Yes we are french canadien, so be a bit lenient with our english please. :)

Team Levarius

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i knew they where french

quote:

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Originally posted by jord070

i knew they where french

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What's your excuse Jord?
Too much windsurfing and not enough school perhaps?

quote:

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Originally posted by Samb0

quote:

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Originally posted by Levarius

hi guys,

this isn't a market research, we're trying to find where are needs, it would help us to find a real goal to our engeneering project

Team Levarius

---

Design a working hydrofoil that will fit into a standard fin box .

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It's not making a hydrofoil which fits that is the problem.. It's convincing the finbox to stay in the board!

quote:

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Originally posted by 555

quote:

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Originally posted by jord070

i knew they where french

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What's your excuse Jord?
Too much windsurfing and not enough school perhaps?

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could be one of two things.
1..staring out window at the wind, instead of keyboard
2..too much school and not enough windsurfing

Make us all a hydrofoil windsurfer, please.
But it must be faster than everybody else on all points of sail.
The only one that I know of is the Rich Miller Hydrofoil, which one could buy as a kit for 500 US$. His breakthrough (he has let the patent lapse) was to use a Y shaped foil and an adjustable supercavitating canard.
This would be the best starting point, but without a competent windsurfing test pilot on hand the project would lapse into futility, surely.

Good luck