Very experienced windsurfer but very much a beginner on a foil - teaching myself because there's no one else around who windsurfs, much less windfoils - but I'm having good success getting the board up out of the water, and am close to making gybes, just touching down at the sail flip.

Here's my question - what the trick to getting acceleration once I'm foiled up? Whatever speed I'm at once the board lifts, that's pretty much where I stay. That SS84 foils lifts early - but If I hold the board on the water a little longer as I'm pumping I'll get to a decent speed - equivalent to planing the board on a fin, but once I'm up all I'll do is maintain, not accelerate.

I'm a 108kg heavyweight on an Infinity 84 plugged into either an old-style 95cm Formula board or a Kona CarbOne (which is surprisingly easy to foil). I know the 84 isn't the fastest foil but it's faster than I'm getting it to go...

I think the fact you're riding an i84 is the main reason you're not going fast. It's designed to lift early and top out quick, perfect for catching swells, but not for setting speed records. Think of it as a B-52 wing with the flaps down vs a fighter's wing. The B-52 will take off earlier with a big load, but won't be able to catch the supersonic fighter that has a higher takeoff speed.

What size/kind sail? How much wind? Are you reaching or bearing off?

And as said above, the 84 hits the wall sooner than smaller foils.

I'm a newbie, too. I only had a couple of sessions on our i84 (got it yesterday), and ~15 sessions on the i76. My top 2 second speeds are about 13-14 knots, compared to 15-16 knots on the i76. I find speed perception on the foil quite deceptive - 15 knots on the i76 feels much faster than 20 knots windsurfing. The i76 seems to pick up a lot of speed when it goes from higher to lower flight, but I don't see much acceleration in the GPS numbers, so this may also be deceptive. For me, the i84 seems a lot easier to control. I have not had a well powered session on it yet, but Slingshots claim that its top speed is ~5 knots lower than for the i76 sounds about right. The feeling of speed may be even more different, since the i84 seems well behaved.

When windsurfing, I always had a hard time telling how fast I went. For example, 25 knots in chop usually feels a lot faster than 30 knots on flat water. I don't know if I'd do any better on the foil - speed is something I track because it also reflects progress, but not something I'm going for at this time.

Windbot's comment probably nails it. I've looked at speeds when foiling a bit, and it's rare to see speeds above 20 knots for the i76. Guys who post speed in the 25-30 knot range are usually on more race-oriented foils like the F4 or Starboard GT.

If you're using a GPS as a foil beginner, be aware that you will see lots of spikes in the GPS tracks from crashing and swimming. I got excited seeing some 23-25 knot tracks from i76 foils, but they all turned out to be spikes; real top speeds are closer to 21 knots. You pretty much need to either look at tracks carefully, or use "strict" software like GPSResults or GPS Speedreader and a GPS with error estimates like the GW-60 to get the correct numbers.

To figure out what works to make the i84 go (a bit) faster, you could try using software that announces the speed while you're foiling, like GPSLogit. Once you're up and things get quiet, you should be able to hear the speed announcements without problems. Just make sure to double-bag your phone for the more interesting crashes since all waterproof bags will eventually leak..

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Awalkspoiled said..
Very experienced windsurfer but very much a beginner on a foil - teaching myself because there's no one else around who windsurfs, much less windfoils - but I'm having good success getting the board up out of the water, and am close to making gybes, just touching down at the sail flip.

Here's my question - what the trick to getting acceleration once I'm foiled up? Whatever speed I'm at once the board lifts, that's pretty much where I stay. That SS84 foils lifts early - but If I hold the board on the water a little longer as I'm pumping I'll get to a decent speed - equivalent to planing the board on a fin, but once I'm up all I'll do is maintain, not accelerate.

I'm a 108kg heavyweight on an Infinity 84 plugged into either an old-style 95cm Formula board or a Kona CarbOne (which is surprisingly easy to foil). I know the 84 isn't the fastest foil but it's faster than I'm getting it to go...

The foil you are using I would classify as a more freeride, surf style wing which can be pushed to go fast. Head off the wind powered up and you should accelerate. Also you can pump the sail and load up the foil for more initial acceleration. With a wide 95cm board you can take advantage of the more race/freerace foils and here is where you will experience an increased level of speed and acceleration. For example the Starboard Race foil or GT-R foil. These race foils will typically require you to use larger sails than you would use on a surf foil.

high speed foil video

www.facebook.com/windzonerz/videos/2078524085519325/

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Paducah said..
What size/kind sail? How much wind? Are you reaching or bearing off?

And as said above, the 84 hits the wall sooner than smaller foils.

So far I've used mostly a 7.5 Zephyr in gusty 0 to 18 but I've also tried:
an 8.5 Cheetah (not really any better than the Zephyr)
a 6.2 North wave sail (I was overpowered/underpowered in gusts/lulls and not happy)
a 10.0 HSM Speedfreak just for grins (very light monster sail which pumps well - had me foiling in 8mph wind but going maybe 9-10 at best)
5.1 and 5.6 1991 Sailworks Race (this was a blast and very fast but it was blowing 20 so I could have probably plugged it into a slalom board. Took my only BIG crash so far when the board just flew out from under me on the 5.1 in a gust)

Highest speeds have been on broad reaches, most sensation of speed is close-hauled. My suspicion is that the secret is somewhere in the interaction of mastfootpressure and foot positioning. I also think I've been setting my sails too full. The Sailworks worked very well set very flat. I was in touch with Bruce P who says that sail was part of the experimentation process which led to the current Flyer line - the 1991 sails had a very firm leech even downhauled to the max. It was fun to get them on the water again after many years of hibernation. I'd be curious to try a dedicated foiling sail but it'll probably have to wait until I get back to Florida in September.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts!

The low speed foils are great to learn on and playing in the swells. ( I have one on order)
But the faster foils are awesome fun. They feel so much more slippery and efficient once you are up and going, and are incredible in the light sub 10 knot winds with a race sail.
If you sail mainly on flat water I would suggest you take the training wheels off and get a faster foil. It is a great adrenaline rush over 25 knots which will get addictive.
( 30 on a foil is the new 40 )
:))))))

I use the SS 84 wing very frequently - and it's slooooow but a lot of fun. Very early lift and stays up. My setup is the Levitator 160L/90 cm mast and I have both the 76 and the 84 wings.
Top speed on the 84 is 16 knots so far - I don't expect to go faster. Average max speed on my sessions is 14.5 knots and my average flight speed is probably 12 -13 knots.
I'm going to use my 76 wing a little more in the future to see how fast I can push that.

It's not about speed, it's the vibe.

Enjoy the serenety

www.windfoilzone.com/post/windfoil-speed

Also, the faster foil often makes better upwind angles
www.kitetracker.com/gps/tracking?r=frpgear_11e

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ZYX said..
Also, the faster foil often makes better upwind angles
www.kitetracker.com/gps/tracking?r=frpgear_11e

Wow, you finally got a Naish foil.

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elmo said..

Wow, you finally got a Naish foil.

What is Naish foil?

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ZYX said..

What is Naish foil?

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Foiling/Windsurfing-Foiling-2018?page=10#2268398

Sorry,
wrong gps.
Here is my gps:
www.kitetracker.com/gps/tracking?r=OceanAddict_1e
What spot are you foiling at? I may be able to come see you guys or ask someone local with the foil to come.