Trying to figure how rightly use the (waist) harness in foiling...

Using a freerace stuff so far, it seems that everytime i got hooked (while flying) the power goes away.

-Body weight too far forward? Little power? Not rightly hinging at the waist? Lines too long?

Or, sometimes when power is on, sail is too close to my face and i can't control the gust hitting, getting airborne and crashing....

- Lines too short? Not using the body weight to balance the kit?

I think i'm still (too much) in "fin-mode" (not really upright stance, not really feeling the power flowing, ......)
When i'm in manual mode (not hooked) somehow i can balance the kit and fly longer (?) till the speed/power increase and i crash as i can't hold up with that.

H.E.L.P. !!!

Don't be in any hurry to get hooked in. A lot of windfoilers go all day without ever hooking in (I'm one of them). This is possible since windfoiling involves smaller sails and more upright stance. I hook in only for cranking upwind.

Get everything else figured out first: balance, sail size and sheet, foot position, etc., so that you can foil all day without crashing. Upwind, downwind, abeam, light wind, strong wind, flat water, rough water, big foil, small foil, big sail, small sail, big board, small board, everything. Then add the harness as a final advanced tweak.

Based on you other post where you said that you are a newer foiler, What Segler said.
having said that, pay attention to your stance when foiling unhooked; maybe you want to replicate that stance when you are hooked so you will need to adjust your harness lines accordingly. Most new foilers start with very short lines and slowly start using longer ones.
it will take you at least few sessions to learn how to transfer the sail power while using the harness; but when you learn how to do that, you might not go back.
With freerace foil gear, your stance will be similar to finning, that is, you will be leaning out a lot compared to freeride foiling gear.

What board are you using? Full on foil board or windsurf board? If you are using back straps, I'd suggest leaving them off for a bit until you are comfortable in the harness.

I'd say that it sounds more like harness lines are too short and perhaps forward. That may be why it feels close to your face and when you hook in, the power goes away. Yes, you do need to be more upright and the boom will tend to be a bit higher. Take a look at the Sam Ross videos on youtube if you haven't already. Your lines should be as long or longer than you use on a fin but as WillyWind suggests, you may have to slowly adjust to get there. He also makes the great suggestion to fly comfortably and then hook in and if it goes all wrong see what changed. If you are suddenly committing a lot of weigh to the harness, then that will push the nose down.
Applying power is a bit different than a fin board because of the subtle effects it has on ride height. You have to be a lot more active feathering the power while still keeping consistent pressure on the harness and the rig well away from your body.
For example, if the lines aren't balanced - too far forward, say - when you sheet in with the backhand, that will be opposed by back foot pressure which will tend to make the board rise. Same thing when overpowered, trying to lean back against the power will do all sorts of goofy things instead of staying upright and just feathering the sail.
Also, a great suggestion from Sebastian Kordel that I thought sounded stinking obvious but I've found myself noticing it more and more. Focus on sheeting out by pulling the front hand toward you. It lessens the tendency just to let the back hand dump power too quickly and seems, to me, to be a bit more sensitive. It also won't work well if your harness lines are too forward.
The one thing I'd like to vary a bit about WillyWind's suggestions is that while you do lean out windfoiling, your torso is more erect and the legs (especially front) are bent unlike the straight legs on a fin. Again, Sam Ross's videos are a great help.
Take a look at these two pics from the Prince of Speed competition.

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w100 said..
Trying to figure how rightly use the (waist) harness in foiling...

Using a freerace stuff so far, it seems that everytime i got hooked (while flying) the power goes away.

-Body weight too far forward? Little power? Not rightly hinging at the waist? Lines too long?

Or, sometimes when power is on, sail is too close to my face and i can't control the gust hitting, getting airborne and crashing....

- Lines too short? Not using the body weight to balance the kit?

I think i'm still (too much) in "fin-mode" (not really upright stance, not really feeling the power flowing, ......)
When i'm in manual mode (not hooked) somehow i can balance the kit and fly longer (?) till the speed/power increase and i crash as i can't hold up with that.

H.E.L.P. !!!

Not sure how you could have less sail power and be hooked in?

Unless you are using too much arms to sheet out. Can you release your one of your hands when hooked in?

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w100 said..
Trying to figure how rightly use the (waist) harness in foiling...

Using a freerace stuff so far, it seems that everytime i got hooked (while flying) the power goes away.

-Body weight too far forward? Little power? Not rightly hinging at the waist? Lines too long?

Or, sometimes when power is on, sail is too close to my face and i can't control the gust hitting, getting airborne and crashing....

- Lines too short? Not using the body weight to balance the kit?

I think i'm still (too much) in "fin-mode" (not really upright stance, not really feeling the power flowing, ......)
When i'm in manual mode (not hooked) somehow i can balance the kit and fly longer (?) till the speed/power increase and i crash as i can't hold up with that.

H.E.L.P. !!!

I can only relate my own experience, I had the same issue when I switched from seat to waist harness while free foiling. I use the same 28 inch harness lines, but I've raised the boom 6 inches. This solved the problem.

Thanks all for your advices.

Yes, seen ANY video from Sam Ross (and much more!).

The combination of wrong foil model/bad wind conditions led to a significant delay in progression curve.
Wrong (for me) foil model and most probably wrong settings didn't give the confidence to play when wind was a bit stronger than 12/14 kts. Meaning i used to let the foil in the box in favor of fin. And 2021- first half od 2022 have been very windy here...

Being used to slalom fin the habits are hard to switch into foiling mode.

Since i have a new foil (same program but different brand) everything seems easier and i now foil in more than usual (for me) wind. Confidence increases (despite i still crash quite a lot) and i eager for more!

I can take off easily (expecially if i'm unhooked). For me, At the moment, "be hooked and take off" doesn't really work.
I can fly "manual" (unhooked) for quite a bit but, as told you earlier, with speed raising also the sail pull raises and i feel the need to squat to balance everything, till i can't hold it on. If or when i try to avoid the speed raising i'm not good at keeping the gas constant (despite the front arm pull & release technique), so the kit planes down the water surface. Yes, I feel the need to keep constant power output/input but also to evacuate the surplus wind to not easily get airborne. This seems to be the real trick while i'm hooked.

Maybe harness lines / dody weight /sail PP are not rightly settled and i'm still figuring how to sort this issue.
But also, i think, i'm not yet used to hang down the boom instead of off the boom. I mean, to do that some minimum speed is mandatory. Maybe i'm slower to reach this thresold than i get hooked?

In fin windsurf i mostly use the seat harness and switch to waist when water surface is very rough and i'm very overpower. This way i don't need to raise the boom up, as there's already enough lift! But yes, in foil "normal wind" i tend to use the boom higher than normal and this helps the upright stance for sure.

p.s. in few hooked long runs everything happened with no my intention! ahahah, i can't really describe the feeling as i was aware to not move nothing! ahahahah

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w100 said..

I can take off easily (expecially if i'm unhooked). For me, At the moment, "be hooked and take off" doesn't really work.
I can fly "manual" (unhooked) for quite a bit but, as told you earlier, with speed raising also the sail pull raises and i feel the need to squat to balance everything, till i can't hold it on.

How are you taking off? You are unhooked, power in sail, then what do you do to get airborne?

w100, what sail size are you using in the upper teens? How much do you weigh (if you don't mind my asking)? Have you tried a small wave/camless freeride instead of a larger cammed one in those conditions which would be a bit easier to handle? It sounds like you have plenty of power as you don't mention pumping and you get off the water easily. fwiw, I foil a 4.7 in conditions that I used to use a 7.0 with fin. Also, your comment about holding it until you can't suggests you have the fin habit of just pouring on more power when the wind picks up. On a foil, at your level, you really can't so much. As a gust hits, it's about dumping power and staying in control. Instead of sheeting in and hiking harder, feather and stay upright.

Also, remember that when overpowered, reaching is the worst thing you can do, imho. Either go upwind to kill the speed or deep downwind (you'll probably unhook and back foot in the center) to kill the power. It'll feel scary to turn off the wind but it really works. If you get hit by a 20 kt gust but are going deep downwind at 18 kts, there really isn't that much pressure in the sail.

If you are used to a slalom position and hook in before getting off the water, I can see that would cause problems. When I was starting out, it would always take me about 5-10 minutes to get out of "fin world" and into "foil world" so that I didn't go into auto pilot with fin habits.

It sounds like you are close to getting it but there's a bit of an old habit that keeps asserting itself at the wrong time. I think you are almost there.

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aeroegnr said..

w100 said..

I can take off easily (expecially if i'm unhooked). For me, At the moment, "be hooked and take off" doesn't really work.
I can fly "manual" (unhooked) for quite a bit but, as told you earlier, with speed raising also the sail pull raises and i feel the need to squat to balance everything, till i can't hold it on.

How are you taking off? You are unhooked, power in sail, then what do you do to get airborne?

In 7-9 kts i pumped like crazy the foil and the sail (because i've not yet used more than 7.7 to foil), get some speed and (when i'm ready to die!) i succeed to lift the board up (but i mostly am too tired to really sustain the flight...)

in more than 10 kts it takes very few pumps (unhooked) to take off (front foot already in).
To be better settled and start a longer sustained flight i tried (like Sam Ross advices) to take off already hooked. This way i need to run longer to raise some speed to take off and when i'm flying i'm not yet able to find the right spot on the board. So i tend to place myself too much "out board". Trying to work on that

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Paducah said..
w100, what sail size are you using in the upper teens? How much do you weigh (if you don't mind my asking)? Have you tried a small wave/camless freeride instead of a larger cammed one in those conditions which would be a bit easier to handle? It sounds like you have plenty of power as you don't mention pumping and you get off the water easily. fwiw, I foil a 4.7 in conditions that I used to use a 7.0 with fin. Also, your comment about holding it until you can't suggests you have the fin habit of just pouring on more power when the wind picks up. On a foil, at your level, you really can't so much. As a gust hits, it's about dumping power and staying in control. Instead of sheeting in and hiking harder, feather and stay upright.

Also, remember that when overpowered, reaching is the worst thing you can do, imho. Either go upwind to kill the speed or deep downwind (you'll probably unhook and back foot in the center) to kill the power. It'll feel scary to turn off the wind but it really works. If you get hit by a 20 kt gust but are going deep downwind at 18 kts, there really isn't that much pressure in the sail.

If you are used to a slalom position and hook in before getting off the water, I can see that would cause problems. When I was starting out, it would always take me about 5-10 minutes to get out of "fin world" and into "foil world" so that I didn't go into auto pilot with fin habits.

It sounds like you are close to getting it but there's a bit of an old habit that keeps asserting itself at the wrong time. I think you are almost there.

7.0 or 6,3
180 cm / 80 kg
Despite i have an old wave sails quiver i never ever used them (neither for foiling). I have a full slalom sail quiver which can be used instead?
Not sure i feel ok with camless sail feeling but i could consider that if it helps. Even tough people i've asked to tend to say few cams help...
Yes, i dump the power but it happens only if unhooked.

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w100 said..

aeroegnr said..

w100 said..

I can take off easily (expecially if i'm unhooked). For me, At the moment, "be hooked and take off" doesn't really work.
I can fly "manual" (unhooked) for quite a bit but, as told you earlier, with speed raising also the sail pull raises and i feel the need to squat to balance everything, till i can't hold it on.

How are you taking off? You are unhooked, power in sail, then what do you do to get airborne?

In 7-9 kts i pumped like crazy the foil and the sail (because i've not yet used more than 7.7 to foil), get some speed and (when i'm ready to die!) i succeed to lift the board up (but i mostly am too tired to really sustain the flight...)

in more than 10 kts it takes very few pumps (unhooked) to take off (front foot already in).
To be better settled and start a longer sustained flight i tried (like Sam Ross advices) to take off already hooked. This way i need to run longer to raise some speed to take off and when i'm flying i'm not yet able to find the right spot on the board. So i tend to place myself too much "out board". Trying to work on that

Ahh ok, I was trying to figure out if you were sailing typically overpowered or underpowered. You are pumping hard to get going and flying, sometimes only briefly, when underpowered.

Still don't know what foil/board you are on, it would help to know.

Also, where the footstraps are set? Inboard or outboard?

I usually only take off hooked in if I'm well powered on race gear. On freeride gear I sometimes hook in early depending on what the water/gust state is. But, we're talking closer to 20kts than 10kts and in that situation it's a little kick and not much pumping at all.

Otherwise, it's pump like crazy, unhooked, and work my rear foot more outboard as my speed increases. Because I have inboard footstraps on the freeride I also get my front foot more outboard, but still toes in the straps, to help me sheet in more. Once the speed increases, squeeze a bit upwind to get more apparent wind. On a wide board this lets you get the rear foot more outboard and sheet in more. Once stable and flying and happy, then hook in. There isn't a real rush on freeride gear, or shouldn't be.

Your harness lines and boom position may need more tweaking to get you in there comfortably. I was worried that you were flying overpowered, but you may just be learning out laterally too hard with too small a sail. With a 6.3 or larger on freeride it's usually too light for me to get out very far and I'm much more over the board. With bigger sails on race kit, if I'm flying I can usually lean out much further as apparent wind gets you quite a lot of support with a 9.0, but sounds like you are on freeride kit and smaller sails so you probably have to be more ontop of the board. And boom high in light stuff.

For harness lines I keep the boom side a little loose so I can position them while flying. I tweak them a little bit fore/aft to get them in the right place while on the foil, it's the only way I can be sure. I also play around some with taking both hands off to make sure I can do that briefly. I can't do it for long but it helps me know that the sail is balanced. Also, I (and apparently some others) sometimes put the front hand too far forward and this can depower the sail and also throw off your ability to sense if the harness is balanced.

One personal thing I do struggle with in light wind to stay powered is to keep the ankles/kneees/hips/shoulders in a straight line for a nice 7. It really can help keep the sail upright and kill some slop and looseness in the foil control, and I will think I'm there but then look at video of myself and realize that I'm not quite there.

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w100 said..

I can fly "manual" (unhooked) for quite a bit but, as told you earlier, with speed raising also the sail pull raises and i feel the need to squat to balance everything, till i can't hold it on. If or when i try to avoid the speed raising i'm not good at keeping the gas constant (despite the front arm pull & release technique), so the kit planes down the water surface. Yes, I feel the need to keep constant power output/input but also to evacuate the surplus wind to not easily get airborne. This seems to be the real trick while i'm hooked.

Maybe harness lines / dody weight /sail PP are not rightly settled and i'm still figuring how to sort this issue.

Yeah, I think practice will fix your problems.
also remember that foiling is so much efficient than finning that you can get easily overpowered. In finning you might hold it and point downwind but in foiling you might want to try to point upwind and see how it goes.
what fuselage length do you use and what type of front wing are you using? I think you are using a freerace-race foil, correct? A fuselage around 100-105 is the one generally used for slalom and the 110-115 cm for course racing. But with both you can get things under control if you point upwind. I know that you can also put more mast base pressure, weigh the harness more, etc., but at your level you want to start figuring things out the easy way and pointing upwind when overpowered is super easy.

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w100 said..

Paducah said..
w100, what sail size are you using in the upper teens? How much do you weigh (if you don't mind my asking)? Have you tried a small wave/camless freeride instead of a larger cammed one in those conditions which would be a bit easier to handle? It sounds like you have plenty of power as you don't mention pumping and you get off the water easily. fwiw, I foil a 4.7 in conditions that I used to use a 7.0 with fin. Also, your comment about holding it until you can't suggests you have the fin habit of just pouring on more power when the wind picks up. On a foil, at your level, you really can't so much. As a gust hits, it's about dumping power and staying in control. Instead of sheeting in and hiking harder, feather and stay upright.

Also, remember that when overpowered, reaching is the worst thing you can do, imho. Either go upwind to kill the speed or deep downwind (you'll probably unhook and back foot in the center) to kill the power. It'll feel scary to turn off the wind but it really works. If you get hit by a 20 kt gust but are going deep downwind at 18 kts, there really isn't that much pressure in the sail.

If you are used to a slalom position and hook in before getting off the water, I can see that would cause problems. When I was starting out, it would always take me about 5-10 minutes to get out of "fin world" and into "foil world" so that I didn't go into auto pilot with fin habits.

It sounds like you are close to getting it but there's a bit of an old habit that keeps asserting itself at the wrong time. I think you are almost there.

7.0 or 6,3
180 cm / 80 kg
Despite i have an old wave sails quiver i never ever used them (neither for foiling). I have a full slalom sail quiver which can be used instead?
Not sure i feel ok with camless sail feeling but i could consider that if it helps. Even tough people i've asked to tend to say few cams help...
Yes, i dump the power but it happens only if unhooked.

It may take experimenting with sail trim unless you can find a guide to using those sails with foiling. On wave or freestyle sails I have found that releasing downhaul by 1-2cm makes a big difference in foiling. It makes the leech tighter and I only add more if I'm really starting to feel overpowered. Cammed slalom sails will be different and may need a different kind of adjustment. But that should improve sail feel for foiling. Cammed foil sails feel excellent but also they are spendy.

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w100 said..

Paducah said..
w100, what sail size are you using in the upper teens? How much do you weigh (if you don't mind my asking)? Have you tried a small wave/camless freeride instead of a larger cammed one in those conditions which would be a bit easier to handle? It sounds like you have plenty of power as you don't mention pumping and you get off the water easily. fwiw, I foil a 4.7 in conditions that I used to use a 7.0 with fin. Also, your comment about holding it until you can't suggests you have the fin habit of just pouring on more power when the wind picks up. On a foil, at your level, you really can't so much. As a gust hits, it's about dumping power and staying in control. Instead of sheeting in and hiking harder, feather and stay upright.

Also, remember that when overpowered, reaching is the worst thing you can do, imho. Either go upwind to kill the speed or deep downwind (you'll probably unhook and back foot in the center) to kill the power. It'll feel scary to turn off the wind but it really works. If you get hit by a 20 kt gust but are going deep downwind at 18 kts, there really isn't that much pressure in the sail.

If you are used to a slalom position and hook in before getting off the water, I can see that would cause problems. When I was starting out, it would always take me about 5-10 minutes to get out of "fin world" and into "foil world" so that I didn't go into auto pilot with fin habits.

It sounds like you are close to getting it but there's a bit of an old habit that keeps asserting itself at the wrong time. I think you are almost there.

7.0 or 6,3
180 cm / 80 kg
Despite i have an old wave sails quiver i never ever used them (neither for foiling). I have a full slalom sail quiver which can be used instead?
Not sure i feel ok with camless sail feeling but i could consider that if it helps. Even tough people i've asked to tend to say few cams help...
Yes, i dump the power but it happens only if unhooked.

My preference: cams 6.0 and greater. no cams 5.4 and down. Cams help in light air to keep the shape stable and for big sails in heavier air to keep the draft stable so the board isn't going up and down every time the sail pressure changes. I had a very stable no cam 7.0 that turned out not so stable on a foil board. Went to a 2 cam sail and my life changed. One of my favorite sails is a no cam 15 yr old freeride 5.4. With smaller sails and shorter booms, the issues the cams solve are a lot less significant. (I also have a 4 cam 8.0 )

How are you dealing with gusts when hooked in?

One last thought - adjust and move around things so that when you hook in, you barely put in pressure on the harness (akin to aeroegnr's comments). Then take notice of everything you are doing as you put more pressure on the harness, including foot pressure, body twist, hand grip (I went from front underhand to overhand when I began foiling to get better down pressure on the boom, ymmv). If you see a gust or big lullcoming, it's okay to unhook to deal with it until it passes. The marvelous thing for inexperienced windsurfers who begin foiling: footstraps and harness are optional. If not using the harness gets you sessions with less frustration, you can do that. Just don't do it for so long that you become hesitant to use it.

Lots of good advice by the others.

I use a slalom foil kit (fuselage 100 cm) and a 83 cm foil board.

I've tested/experienced many of the take off techniques but i now suspect that many failures happened because of wrong mast base placements and too little a sail size. With more tow i've now figured what i need to take off easily (in terms of power).

But, as you all know, take off power is often in contrast with flying power (expecially at beginner stage and when you are not good to hook in and handle that power).

Next time i'll try to use your advices.
With light power i need to stay more upright and relaxed ON the board, possibly shortening tha harness lines? It would be much better with a freeride frond wing (which i currently miss)
WIth nice power i'll try to hook in and hang down the boom, applaying more pressure to the mast base. Will stretch harness lines and will rotate the hip towards the front, trying to keep constant pressure on the board/foil

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w100 said..
I use a slalom foil kit (fuselage 100 cm) and a 83 cm foil board.

I've tested/experienced many of the take off techniques but i now suspect that many failures happened because of wrong mast base placements and too little a sail size. With more tow i've now figured what i need to take off easily (in terms of power).

But, as you all know, take off power is often in contrast with flying power (expecially at beginner stage and when you are not good to hook in and handle that power).

Next time i'll try to use your advices.
With light power i need to stay more upright and relaxed ON the board, possibly shortening tha harness lines? It would be much better with a freeride frond wing (which i currently miss)
WIth nice power i'll try to hook in and hang down the boom, applaying more pressure to the mast base. Will stretch harness lines and will rotate the hip towards the front, trying to keep constant pressure on the board/foil

Power needed to foil is about 30-40% less than to plane at low speeds. Sometimes it's helpful to sheet out just for a moment as you come off the water so you can readjust to the amount of power needed in flight. Light air is shorter but not much shorter lines. The difference is that you'll be standing a bit straighter and won't need to bend the knees as much to depower. If you have a set of adjustable lines, it's a big help as you can try different lengths.

When you are powered up, note that when you start hooking in and applying pressure to the mast base, it will force the nose down. You'll need to compensate a bit by either body or back foot shifts.

A wing from 1000-1400 cm2 will help at your stage if you are using something smaller like 800.

It sounds like you have some good ideas here to experiment with on your next session. Give it a go and let us know what you find out. Good luck!

How long are your lines currently? If less than 30" you'll need them longer.

Another thing about the harness is catapults. Catapults are inevitable as you learn how to get things in balance and learn how to control the pitch with feet/hips and sail sheet. Yes, you will crash forward. We all did, and do.

If you catapult without the harness, no biggie. You go forward, crash into the water, come up for air, and continue. (Oh yeah, always keep at least least one hand on the boom throughout the crash. This prevents you from kicking your foil with your legs/feet, and prevents the gear from drifting downwind faster than you can swim.)

If you catapult while hooked in, things are a lot different. It is pretty easy to hit the board with your legs, and it is pretty easy to break stuff.

Harness lines are really nice. For learning to foil, however, you can wait until late in your learning curve. Figure everything else out first.

Yes, (at my stage) after taking off some "figuring it out" moments are needed. But using less than 1000 cmq front wing doesn't help that.

At the moment the lines i use are classic vario 24-30 but i've ordered the foil model (clacleat) longer ones.





Never ever seen lines that long!!!


Segler, unfortunately i know well the crazy conseguences of catapult. It is a common issue and they happened to me thousands of times (fin). Recently 've got a serious injury because of that. Risked my life. That's the main reason i'm struggling with the "hooking lesson" in foil. I'm basically terrified new **** could come again. So, when in trouble, i tend to eject back and aside the foil kit. This way i never try to really "tame the horse".
But things are slowly getting better.....

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w100 said..So, when in trouble, i tend to eject back and aside the foil kit. This way i never try to really "tame the horse".
But things are slowly getting better.....

Whatever you do, do not let go of the boom. Just ejecting without it allows the opportunity for the foil to flip up while you are on the same side of the board. You don't get bonus points for being high on the foil, especially while learning. Keep it on the low side. An occasional touch on the surface or across the top of chop is okay. If you are foiling out frequently at this stage, that suggests some issues we can help you address.

The second thumbnail is a great example of while both fin and foil sailors extend away from the rig, the foil sailor (and rig) is more upright. Everyone in that pic is powered up so you may not have such an extreme position much of the time.

W100, you wrote, "This way i never try to really "tame the horse". But things are slowly getting better....."

That is the benefit of TOW. I think we have all found that TOW is the main way to tame the horse. Muscle memory.

While you are spending your hundreds of hours out there getting experience, do it without the harness. That has worked for me and for many others.

Also, check the video here:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Foiling/30-knots--video-

He is an expert foiler. In the video he did not use the harness. One snippet showed him hooked in, but the rest of it he is not. Note how long his harness lines are.

Another session, basically underpowered. with patchy and gusty 10-13 kts (forecast 13-18 kts).

I think this session could have been the right one to try many of your advices but, forced to slog most of the time and flying shortly with not proper wind for my 7.0, i was limited big times.

However i can use this session for some experience storaging.

Noticed that hooking anyway is not yet an option for me. Meaning i need to reach some minimum flight speed, sustain it and then (when i'm sure power is there to sustain the flight), try to hook and stabilize further the system.
Step by step i tended to desire short harnes lines in the first part of the flight which would be lenghtened along the run....
This is because after taking off (being upright onto the board) in reaching mode i tried to hang down the boom using the "seat stance". This was such a good feeling (as long i could keep up in manual mode/not hooked).
...but, at that point and with my limited ability, i didn't want perturbate the flight and stayed "free-hook".
My proposes for the next session are:

- try to not be underpowered (expecially in light wind)
- fly longer in upright stance, gain confidence and hooking
- since i'm hooked not suddenly transit to "seat stance" but be gentle along the process (trying to not perturbate the good stance and kill flight power)

p.s. happy to have flown with both feet into the foot straps and happy to figure that (some) power is friend....

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w100 said..
Another session, basically underpowered. with patchy and gusty 10-13 kts (forecast 13-18 kts).

I think this session could have been the right one to try many of your advices but, forced to slog most of the time and flying shortly with not proper wind for my 7.0, i was limited big times.

However i can use this session for some experience storaging.

Noticed that hooking anyway is not yet an option for me. Meaning i need to reach some minimum flight speed, sustain it and then (when i'm sure power is there to sustain the flight), try to hook and stabilize further the system.
Step by step i tended to desire short harnes lines in the first part of the flight which would be lenghtened along the run....
This is because after taking off (being upright onto the board) in reaching mode i tried to hang down the boom using the "seat stance". This was such a good feeling (as long i could keep up in manual mode/not hooked).
...but, at that point and with my limited ability, i didn't want perturbate the flight and stayed "free-hook".
My proposes for the next session are:

- try to not be underpowered (expecially in light wind)
- fly longer in upright stance, gain confidence and hooking
- since i'm hooked not suddenly transit to "seat stance" but be gentle along the process (trying to not perturbate the good stance and kill flight power)

p.s. happy to have flown with both feet into the foot straps and happy to figure that (some) power is friend....

fwiw, in light air, not uncommon not to put back foot in and sail primarily off the back foot instead of both feet. This is where not having the back straps on at your level would be a big bonus. Also, allows you to sneak the back foot in a touch towards the center so you aren't committing so much to the rail when underpowered.

Excited about your progress. You're learning something each time you get out on the water. Thanks for sharing the progress.

A peak of what it looks like at 1:35 (and apparently thumbnail)

Some explanation to go with what Paducah posted. Seems to be geared more towards race style foils.

...meanwhile I've got 4 foiling sessions..
Mostly ranging from 12 to 18 kts.
Everyrime used my biggest foil setup (750/240 cmq) and no tail shim.
Could have used the 590 cmq but the idea was to search for flight stability at my low speeds.
As flights are now longer (because I finally use a more rigid stance and my knees don't bend) I've slowly found a bit of confidence to hook.
Using my longest line often resulted I was too close to the sail with no margin to react to gusts. This was experienced also by my foiling buddy (who's taller than me by 7 or 8 cm).
Waiting for the foil vario lines yesterday i used a sort of custom (fixed) longer lines. But now, despite i was as powered up with my 6.3 as I could easily water start, they were too long...
Rethinking at my experiences I guess a sort of "right length" could be a touch longer than my usual ones?

W100, where are you foiling in WA? Lots of guys with experience on the Swan that usually love to give pointers. Lots go from Foilville below Heathcote, the Strand Applecross. Do a trip south , Bunno -K Bay & Busso for a new experience & getaway.

In light winds, 9 knots, I noticed that when I hooked in with my 23.5" lines the sail depowered because I was pulling the sail over too much, so I made the lines longer to keep the sail more upright and then the sail stayed powered up when hooked in.

Select to expand quote

w100 said..
...meanwhile I've got 4 foiling sessions..
Mostly ranging from 12 to 18 kts.
Everyrime used my biggest foil setup (750/240 cmq) and no tail shim.
Could have used the 590 cmq but the idea was to search for flight stability at my low speeds.
As flights are now longer (because I finally use a more rigid stance and my knees don't bend) I've slowly found a bit of confidence to hook.
Using my longest line often resulted I was too close to the sail with no margin to react to gusts. This was experienced also by my foiling buddy (who's taller than me by 7 or 8 cm).
Waiting for the foil vario lines yesterday i used a sort of custom (fixed) longer lines. But now, despite i was as powered up with my 6.3 as I could easily water start, they were too long...
Rethinking at my experiences I guess a sort of "right length" could be a touch longer than my usual ones?

If they aren't at least 30" they are too short.

Select to expand quote

w100 said..
...meanwhile I've got 4 foiling sessions..
Mostly ranging from 12 to 18 kts.
Everyrime used my biggest foil setup (750/240 cmq) and no tail shim.
Could have used the 590 cmq but the idea was to search for flight stability at my low speeds.
As flights are now longer (because I finally use a more rigid stance and my knees don't bend) I've slowly found a bit of confidence to hook.
Using my longest line often resulted I was too close to the sail with no margin to react to gusts. This was experienced also by my foiling buddy (who's taller than me by 7 or 8 cm).
Waiting for the foil vario lines yesterday i used a sort of custom (fixed) longer lines. But now, despite i was as powered up with my 6.3 as I could easily water start, they were too long...
Rethinking at my experiences I guess a sort of "right length" could be a touch longer than my usual ones?

The 750 is not a big wing by any means, especially for light air. I would avoid the 590 until you are much further along the path. At your stage it will be more challenging to control and take much more wind to get off the water.

If you feel like you are too close to the sail, you probably are. You should be in a relatively upright position with arms extended. If you check your stance without lines, you'll probably see what it would take for a start. fwiw, all the people I'm aware of who foil without harness lines use much bigger front wings like about twice the size of yours.