Good morning all. When I get out in lighter wind and need to pump a bit to get up on foil, i find i can do it easier on Port tack than i can on Starboard tack, i assume that a lot of people have a "strong side". My issue has been that when I pump the sail, my board tends to "round up" into the wind, even though I am trying to bear off wind a bit.
While I was out yesterday, I rigged up and hit the water with a 6.0 Sailworks flyer and the i84 front wing. The wind was enough that I rarely needed to pump at all, but when I did the usual happened, I round up. Towards the end of the session the wind dropped even more, i quickly slipped my i99 wing on and went back out. As I began to try and pump, I again rounded up. As I recovered from nearly falling to windward, my rearward hand slipped back towards the end of the boom. I recovered immediately tried to pump again and found that with my rear hand further back, the board did not round up on me, and I was able to get on foil a bit easier. Did I accidentally figure out what everyone else already knows?

Here's my guess. By moving your back hand further back, you are keeping the sail sheeted in, which increases the mast base pressure (MBP).

Increased MBP keeps the nose down and off the wind, thus preventing rounding up. This applies also for fin sailing, especially while waterstarting.

Instructors will tell you that increasing the MBP is pretty much the solution to most windsurfing ills. Sheet in, young man.

+1, my back hand is behind my adj out adjuster when pumping, then slides forward when up on foil after hooking in.

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segler said..
Here's my guess. By moving your back hand further back, you are keeping the sail sheeted in, which increases the mast base pressure (MBP).

Increased MBP keeps the nose down and off the wind, thus preventing rounding up. This applies also for fin sailing, especially while waterstarting.

Instructors will tell you that increasing the MBP is pretty much the solution to most windsurfing ills. Sheet in, young man.

Good to know!

Do you sheet out when getting too powered up, or sheet in to keep the pressure on the nose?

Hands back gets the rig forward and upright. In really light wind oversheeting is the bigger problem.

I have found when I'm on foil nicely powered and then a gust comes that is too much to handle when sheeted in, I sheet out and lean forward a tad to compensate for sheeting out to keep my flight hight where I want it. This adjustment works perfect for me. So when I past the gust I sheet back in and resume my normal position again. I have not tried not sheeting out and riding the gust out. Not sure I want to try that route or I'm not ready to try that route.

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MagicRide said..
I have found when I'm on foil nicely powered and then a gust comes that is too much to handle when sheeted in, I sheet out and lean forward a tad to compensate for sheeting out to keep my flight hight where I want it. This adjustment works perfect for me. So when I past the gust I sheet back in and resume my normal position again. I have not tried not sheeting out and riding the gust out. Not sure I want to try that route or I'm not ready to try that route.

Push the mast forward like the control column in an aircraft. Your foot pressure will naturally follow but in a much more subtle way compared to directly weighting the feet.

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Grantmac said..

MagicRide said..
I have found when I'm on foil nicely powered and then a gust comes that is too much to handle when sheeted in, I sheet out and lean forward a tad to compensate for sheeting out to keep my flight hight where I want it. This adjustment works perfect for me. So when I past the gust I sheet back in and resume my normal position again. I have not tried not sheeting out and riding the gust out. Not sure I want to try that route or I'm not ready to try that route.

Push the mast forward like the control column in an aircraft. Your foot pressure will naturally follow but in a much more subtle way compared to directly weighting the feet.

I like it, makes great sense! I will try that. This foiling business is turning me into a darn kid. I just can't wait to go again! Haa!

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Grantmac said..
Hands back gets the rig forward and upright. In really light wind oversheeting is the bigger problem.

This. Back hand back puts the rig upright. Huge point of getting on the plane in general, so very nice you figured it out ;).

I think what happens is when the back hand goes back on the boom, the sail moves forward relative to you and the board. This will tend to drag your body weight forwards, putting more pressure on your front foot, and tending to steer the nose of the board off the wind. Having your hand further forwards on the boom means the sail sits more to the back of the board, loading your back leg more and turning the board into the wind.

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martyj4 said..
I think what happens is when the back hand goes back on the boom, the sail moves forward relative to you and the board. This will tend to drag your body weight forwards, putting more pressure on your front foot, and tending to steer the nose of the board off the wind. Having your hand further forwards on the boom means the sail sits more to the back of the board, loading your back leg more and turning the board into the wind.

Well that makes perfect sense. Going to put all these thoughts and tips to use.

Thank you!

As they say a picture says more then a thousand words so I threw together a short clip with different techniques.

Long video on footstraps 32 minutes.

Heel vs Toes. 2 minutes.
Check out the diagram at 16:48. Small picture of foil pump toes vs heels.
?t=1407

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VCRWoody said..
Long video on footstraps 32 minutes.

Heel vs Toes. 2 minutes.
Check out the diagram at 16:48. Small picture of foil pump toes vs heels.

?t=1407

Sick as

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stehsegler said..
As they say a picture says more then a thousand words so I threw together a short clip with different techniques.

Great video, thanks! What kind of setup is at 1:30? How (non)windy was it?