Jules67 said..
Aeroengr, Bit late to the party on this but was struggling to get my Seabreeze login working. Apologies in advance for the monologue...

I have been using a modified Starboard GTR set up fro about a year now. 95 carbon mast, 95+fuse, 800 front wing and the 255-2 rear wing. I have the original JP135 Hydrofoil (heavier epoxy sandwich). I sail on Botany bay in anything from 14-15kn with an old 8.4m Maui TRX up to about 22kn plus gusts with a 5.6m. Before this set up I had an original slingshot aluminium foil (older blue wings) that maxed out at about 23knots and was pretty scary. On the GTR I got 24kn almost straight away and worked up to 26kn back in February. Since then, I have been playing with a whole bunch of adjustments over winter to increase speed.

Rear shims: from -2.0 to -0.5 (noting that the 255 stab is already -2);
Mast track position: as far forward as possible for a while, but now backed off slightly;
Footstraps: Removed rear footstraps (about 4 sessions) for easy weight shifting downwind to control flight height, but found I really struggled controlling the board on the reach with only the front strap, particularly in stronger winds where you want to angle the upwind rail. They are back on now;
Changed footstrap positions AND angles; I squared the front strap up to move my front heel forward for more frontwards pressure but then my foot was getting stuck in the strap during gybes (not pleasant trying to yank your foot out mid gybe - tends to launch the board in an unwanted direction (upwards, sideways ).
Harness: started with waist harness, but much prefer seat harness for me as it allows me to create more mast foot pressure to control ride height.
Boom height: higher is definitely better for me, with harness lines spread wider than normal and front strap slightly further forward. Again I find this helps with really hanging on the boom on downwind runs to get the weight into the mastfoot to control ride height and take the gusts through to the board without sheeting out.
In/out of rear strap: I have tried both. Out definitely a LOT less scary providing the ability to quickly weight shift when the board rises too quickly (and the ease of rapid dismount ) but I struggle to get as much power from the gusts through the mast foot so try to use both straps whenever possible.

So after all of this, I got up to 27.4kn about a month ago which was pleasing progression. However, the 800 wing does feel like it struggles to accelerate quickly at this speed. So I ordered the 650 wing and a 115++ fuse from France which arrived early last week. Theory is that I can use the 115++ with the 800 in lighter winds with smaller sails (rather than buy a larger 1000 front wing) although yet to test that combo. Tried the 650 wing/95+fuse/255-2 with -0.5shim last Thursday with Dieter in about 20-24kn NEer using a 6.2m Severne R8 - we both did max 2s of 29.5kn! The 650 is so much quicker to accelerate in gusts, but also way looser. A few scary breaches, swerves and catapults when heading more downwind, one of which left me upside down about 1m underwater . It felt like it preferred more broad reach with a bit of board angle to keep some pressure against the foil. My sailing style was Bouncing Dolphin. Seemed much harder to control ride height, although it was pretty gusty conditions, so now need to try different shim angles.

Just watched a video that suggested more down haul with slalom sails for downwind runs.

Can't wait to get out again and see what's next.

berowne said..
I've always prefered a seat harnsess for slalom and speed sailing but with so few examples of them being used on foils I have swapped. But like Jules notes, I think for absoute downforce the seat will have an advantage. I'll be trying again. One beachside commentator said that the problem with a seat harness is that it can easily LIFT you off your feet, so reduce pressure on your feet. We will see...

WillyWind said..



Based on what I was told by a starboard guy, the 650 pairs well with all fuselages. I have the 115+ and 95+. I live in a place with very gusty wind. When I use the 1000 I feel the 115+ is more comfortable than the 95+. I only care about having a wing less powerful than the 1000 because the 1000 becomes too lifty above 25mph winds (at least with my skill level). BTW, I know a smaller fuselage helps with lift.
I ordered a 650 because I think the 725 will overlap a little bit more with the 1000 than the 650.

SA_AL said..




I recently got 115+ fuselage with 1000 front wing -255 backwing 0 shim using 150 L freeride board. I have been struggling to manage balanced runs as I felt it's very slippery with the set up. Today for the first time I use my 800 front wing, I felt very balanced compared to 1000 wing. I felt I could load my weight on the sail and keep board steady while 1000 was not easy manage. I am curious if you see a difference between these wings and given the same conditions and same set up. Based on discussion so far, I may also use 650 front wing when it is very strong windy days.

LeeD said..
1000 for windfoil, in hi aspect form, is huge and should be limited to sub 19 breeze and course slalom.
600 is a good allaround slalom size, adjusting stab and sail sizing for breeze from 15-25.
Smaller needs steady boatspeed? which comes with skill, steady breeze, and active sailor.
Rider from around 65 -90 kg.

Jules67 said..

Foiling experience (TOW) - from what I have read, most foilers go through speed stages, where you max out at a certain speed for a while, then maybe make a couple of changes and get another speed burst. I was talking about this with Berowne yesterday, how we were both stuck around the 23-24kn mark for a while. As with all sailing I think the time-on-water improves your reading of the conditions, how to respond and your response time to make the many subtle adjustments needed to keep the board at a fairly constant flight height. Fast is still scary as hell though

Jules67 said..
Some really interesting discussions here. I think it is important to calibrate the forum feedback to your local conditions in 3 areas - weight, venue, foiling experience.
Weight - I am 84-88kg (depending on season ) so definitely need some additional lift in lower winds. Larger sail size, larger front wing (800cm2 is my largest) and now the 115++ fuse, which sets the front wing even further forward and provides ridiculously quick lift on the reach, resulting in some interesting breach launches.
Location - I have always read in amazement about people foiling in 8 knots of wind, which I wouldn't even consider here in Sydney on a low aspect foil. Maybe not hugely significant but air temperature, pressure and humidity all affect the air density. So cold, low humidity air can have up to 10-15% more 'weight' than hot, humid air for the same wind speed. Wind consistency is also a big factor (see below).
Foiling experience (TOW) - from what I have read, most foilers go through speed stages, where you max out at a certain speed for a while, then maybe make a couple of changes and get another speed burst. I was talking about this with Berowne yesterday, how we were both stuck around the 23-24kn mark for a while. As with all sailing I think the time-on-water improves your reading of the conditions, how to respond and your response time to make the many subtle adjustments needed to keep the board at a fairly constant flight height. Fast is still scary as hell though

Example: sailed on Friday in 15-19kn with a Maui TRX 8.4 and the 800 front wing. A little overpowered in the peaks but perfect in the 15-18kn range and sailed across the holes. The 800 does feel like it maxes out at 28kn for me, probably because I aim to ride about 20cm above the water to have buffer for the gusts. The really fast guys look to be flying higher which would reduce mast drag.
Personally, I am looking to use the 650 in upwards of about 18kn wind.

Re harness lines - I just reduced mine from 30 down to about 26-28, with the waist harness to get more downforce on the board. May not be the right way to go but also depends on wind consistency. Leaning back and keeping lots of upwind rail pressure is probably great if you have a consistent wind, but Sydney can be very gusty (particularly this year) with bullets followed by lulls, so hard to get that low to the water. But try it out and see what works

Sandman1221 said..
Interesting, I only take my AFS F1080 to ~11 knots, then on F770 and it is so easy and stable, but max it out in 15-17, so getting the S670 this Monday!, will be interesting to see what my speed is like with it,very close to the SB 650 in size, AFS is reporting max of 34 knots VMG with it.

Freeflight said..




your current 770cm2 is not what I would call a big wing, out of interest what is your current 2sec and 5 x 10sec speeds

WillyWind said..
At 165 pounds, I use a 3.7 fringe with the 650 foil and 115 plus fuse when it's over 20-25 mph gusty wind and it works quite well. It might not be the fastest setup but with that windspeed the lake usually have big chop so I prefer to hood around and practice my gybes. It's actually fun. Maybe you can just try a smaller sail of yours before buying anything else

WillyWind said..
At 165 pounds, I use a 3.7 fringe with the 650 foil and 115 plus fuse when it's over 20-25 mph gusty wind and it works quite well. It might not be the fastest setup but with that windspeed the lake usually have big chop so I prefer to hood around and practice my gybes. It's actually fun. Maybe you can just try a smaller sail of yours before buying anything else

aeroegnr said..
The thing is in light wind, around 15 knots, the 650 feels GREAT with the 9.0HGO and 115+ as long as you don't reach too much. Those winds are fairly common here on summer seabreezes. I think with that 105+ fuse, reaching is going to be a lot more enjoyable. Today was a fairly rare windy day but it showed up so late I only grabbed the 9.0 and 6.6 and didn't drive a mile to less gusty places.

Sandman1221 said..




aero you may want to check you anemometer, I get the seabreeze on the Gulf, so no obstruction, and I only wish 15 knots was common on a Summer seabreeze!