Hi, nice to meet you, I am new to foiling I bough a rrd freride foil (wh flight alu 85) for my jp supersport windsurf 125l board, it's the second run for me,
I can go back an forth with both feet in the straps and hooked on my harness, but I can only go with foil flying low on the water (10 15 cm) if seldom going up I loose totally control and ended in a crash. moved straps all way forward and inside, tryed mast base all way down versus straps and in the middle (better I think). Sometimes today foils flight out of the water and I crashed.

What I have to control? Wind is gusty around 15 kmots sail 5.8 m2 , a bit overpowered under gusts.

Thanks for sharing hints, sorry if my question is easy and maybe already explained somewhere (not finded)

Welcome. A couple of things to keep in mind.
1) Fly at the height that you are comfortable at. A lot of the pictures you see of someone flying high might be on a 95 or even 105 mast. You will be flying closer to the water even if both of you have your wings the same distance under water. Nobody is grading you on how high you are flying so if you skip off the water some (or even a lot) at first, that's okay. As your flights get longer and steadier, you'll have the confidence to fly a bit higher but skipping off the water is better than flying too high, ventilating and crashing - "foiling out".

2) A lot of people, especially if using a regular windsurf board, find it easier to not use the back straps. You can even take them off. This allows you to move the back foot in for control and move it up and back as you need to balance the flight. First flights are generally easier with the back foot in as the foil is more sensitive to foot steering and it's easy to press on the rail without realizing it.

You may be already doing this but I'm obligated to say it: Always hold on to the boom when you crash. That's what keeps the foil away from you.

Good luck! We're always happy to answer questions.

Just keep going! I remember when I was starting, rideing at mid height seemed impossible! Time on the water is the answer.

Thanks guys, saw here also a video on how to setup straps in the middle of front wing I'll try

Keep you informed thanks for your support

in the beginning most people don't use the back strap so they can quickly shift their back foot forwards if the board starts to lift too much. With experience people control lift by heading up wind, weighting the front foot and leaning into the harness to increase mast foot pressure.

Also, don't sheet out when the foil starts to overlift, this usually decreases mast foot pressure and increases the liklihood of crash, turn up wind instead.

Beware that almost all foil videos are on FOIL boards. For a fin board the placement of the backfoot is different. I found that I was crashing a lot/round upwind every time I put my front in strap and backfoot (foot arch) on centerline of board. I have a freeride board with the backstraps in front of the powerbox. I'm using SS Gamma 68cm, 24" mast in Position C (wing forward), F2 Stoke 135L 255x70 Freeride.

Things to try:
Remove backstraps.
Put your backfoot heel on the centerline or farther away from the centerline (leeward side).
Hold the boom with overhand grip thumbs on top and try to feel the sail mastbase pressure.
Try toes down heel up to apply roll pressure.
Keep the mast vertical.

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thedoor said..
... Also, don't sheet out when the foil starts to overlift, this usually decreases mast foot pressure and increases the liklihood of crash, turn up wind instead.

This is a hard one and I agree with thedoor's general point. But, imho, it's a bit more subtle than that. Foils are quite sensitive to weight distribution in a way that regular boards aren't - as you are discovering. For your first several times this will feel overwhelming but soon it becomes muscle memory like most of what you do windsurfing.

If you just sheet out in a gust and take pressure off the mast base, yes, you will rise exactly when you probably don't want to. So, you can sheet out if you can still maintain pressure on the harness, downward pressure on the front hand or shift your weight (hips, shoulder, head) forward. You can also compensate by moving that back foot a touch forward (reason #17 starting off without backstraps helps). So, you can sheet out if you do something else to keep things in balance.

I bother to mention this because the opposite is also a problem. A lot of beginning foilers will move their harness lines too far forward. When a gust comes, they have to pull more strongly with the back hand which drives against the back foot. Essentially, you've created the same problem - too much pressure in the back and the board rises.

The next time you get hit by a gust and you'll rise more than you want, you can think back to this and figure out why it went wrong and what's the easiest thing for you to do the next time to prevent it.

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Paducah said..

thedoor said..
... Also, don't sheet out when the foil starts to overlift, this usually decreases mast foot pressure and increases the liklihood of crash, turn up wind instead.

This is a hard one and I agree with thedoor's general point. But, imho, it's a bit more subtle than that. Foils are quite sensitive to weight distribution in a way that regular boards aren't - as you are discovering. For your first several times this will feel overwhelming but soon it becomes muscle memory like most of what you do windsurfing.

If you just sheet out in a gust and take pressure off the mast base, yes, you will rise exactly when you probably don't want to. So, you can sheet out if you can still maintain pressure on the harness, downward pressure on the front hand or shift your weight (hips, shoulder, head) forward. You can also compensate by moving that back foot a touch forward (reason #17 starting off without backstraps helps). So, you can sheet out if you do something else to keep things in balance.

I bother to mention this because the opposite is also a problem. A lot of beginning foilers will move their harness lines too far forward. When a gust comes, they have to pull more strongly with the back hand which drives against the back foot. Essentially, you've created the same problem - too much pressure in the back and the board rises.

The next time you get hit by a gust and you'll rise more than you want, you can think back to this and figure out why it went wrong and what's the easiest thing for you to do the next time to prevent it.

Yeah, TOW is most important. There must be a lot of subtle adjustments we make with body weight, harness pressure, even mast angulation that we don't do intentionally as we gain experience

For me the sheeting out leading to breaching thing was particularly relevant when my harness lines were too far forward or when I was unhooked

Bad habit from windsurfing 37 years, I always sheet in too much as I get overpowered, so the nose drops drastically then starts to rise as my weight moved towards backfoot.
I gotta learn to SUBTLELY sheet out.

thanks guys for precious info given, one more question if I start with a single straps is not more prone to ingiuries my front feet? and after learning that my back straps is better in more center of the boards I nedd to drill down some more inserts?


thanks

If I would learn again I would:
- remove backstraps
- make the front strap a bit wide so you don't get stuck when falling
- move mast all the way back and see how that works. If noses rises all the time, move mast base forward 0.5 cm at a time till you find a balance. Mark the spot on the mast track.
- shorten the harness lines in the beginning
- learn to keep the sail open i.e. not sheeted in
- learn to keep my back leg straight.. as soon as you get going try to straighten the back leg. The longer you can foil back leg straight the better and more stable.
- try not to fly high. Don't force the foil / nosetnose come up. Let it come up by itself as speed gathers and lift increases. In fact adopt a stance to press the nose down rather than a stance to get the nose up.

It's a lot to absorb but you're facing the most exciting learning curve! Enjoy!

Learning to foil reminded me of when I learned to drive a manual transmission vehicle. The sail is your power and your feet are like the clutch and gas pedal. Both feet have to work together for correct pressure for desired ride hight. Things are a little rough at first, but everything will smooth itself out. You will learn to work the sail with your foot pressure to keep ride hight where desired. Once dialed in, your in harmony.

If you foil setup is already OK, give it ten--as in TEN, 10--sessions before you start to decide to adjust or change things. It takes you that long to learn the new muscle memory for the new dynamics of windfoiling. Don't be in a hurry. You will get there.

And don't windsurf 5 days for every ONE foiling day.

Hi,

today I keep some measure put the track 45inches from the fin screw (almost all way to the front) as another video here suggest, removed back straps and done a session in medium wind 20 knots of gusts, choppy water, reduced sails to 5,3, everything run more smootly, I can flight in control for some long track, better upwind.

Many thanks for the hints given very useful.

keep train

thanks

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segler said..
If you foil setup is already OK, give it ten--as in TEN, 10--sessions before you start to decide to adjust or change things. It takes you that long to learn the new muscle memory for the new dynamics of windfoiling. Don't be in a hurry. You will get there.

True, but it's difficult to know if the setup is indeed ok when you're a beginner. With a mix & match setup, it's always possible that things are quite unbalanced.

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mava70 said..
thanks guys for precious info given, one more question if I start with a single straps is not more prone to ingiuries my front feet? and after learning that my back straps is better in more center of the boards I nedd to drill down some more inserts?

Don't worry about the back strap. You'll find that your back foot moves to different positions as your foiling improves.

If you make the front strap wide enough so that you can turn your foot sideways in a crash, the risk of injury is minimal. You could also take the front straps off, too. I never use straps for foiling. The biggest problem with not having straps is positioning your feet correctly or consistently.

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mava70 said..
I can go back an forth with both feet in the straps and hooked on my harness, but I can only go with foil flying low on the water (10 15 cm) if seldom going up I loose totally control and ended in a crash.

You could try not using the harness. The foil is so efficient that you don't really need it. It's easier to react to gusts or chop if you're not hooked in. I often hook in to get going, but then unhook once I start to fly.

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start to fly.

I'll try thanks.

Big ass straps