It seems that on classic boards (wide slalom/formulas) the foot strap position isn't ideal
Locally a few guys have gone strapless or have repositionned the straps, what about you guys ?

They need the long straps like on the Phantom raceboard

Foils have front wings placed at different positions. And bigger and smaller.
Foilers go out in different conditions.
Weights vary greatly, as does sailing style and preferences.
One size fits all? In dreams.

went out yesterday with a different set up
I normally use the gts (large stab/800 front wing/"short" fuselage)
So yesterday I tried the race fuselage (115) + 1100 front wing and large stab
Instant take off, that combo is a beast in light wind. Upwind is just so easy. Control too : I started carving on flat water!

Down side : simply impossible to keep my back foot in the straps, I could sometimes put the front foot (but only if going tight upwind).
So it's a bit mixed feelings for now, great setup, but I miss being in the straps (for now)
Could also be that I need to get used to the combo and move my body weight... or smaller stab (I was told by the experts on the beach LOL)
so many questions and so much gear to try !!!

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seanhogan said..
went out yesterday with a different set up
I normally use the gts (large stab/800 front wing/"short" fuselage)
So yesterday I tried the race fuselage (115) + 1100 front wing and large stab
Instant take off, that combo is a beast in light wind. Upwind is just so easy. Control too : I started carving on flat water!

Down side : simply impossible to keep my back foot in the straps, I could sometimes put the front foot (but only if going tight upwind).
So it's a bit mixed feelings for now, great setup, but I miss being in the straps (for now)
Could also be that I need to get used to the combo and move my body weight... or smaller stab (I was told by the experts on the beach LOL)
so many questions and so much gear to try !!!

I tried Race yesterday for the first time, after foiling on Slingshot and Horue Vini. What a difference in stability and control!
Used it with JP SLW 154. Found that fore-aft balance was fine, but need more heel support esp under rear foot to bank the board to winward and in general to keep it stable. Will probably try to build up some winglets like Steve Allen did on his foil board.

I put on the slingshot half straps when foiling to bring the back straps forwards and it makes it easier to move your foot around. The two holes in the slingshot half straps line up with the back two foot strap holes.

pretty cool !!! been thinking about those for a while !
The price tag is holding me back a little, not much use if I don't like them afterwards..

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evilC said..
I put on the slingshot half straps when foiling to bring the back straps forwards and it makes it easier to move your foot around. The two holes in the slingshot half straps line up with the back two foot strap holes.

I like how you put them in the forward position. Treat them kind as they have a bad rep in the kite community for snapping, but that seems to be mostly the result of jumping or learner's torquing thmt when bodydragging.

My opinion on strapplacement is that having them as far forward as you guys do really impare learning the proper windfoiling stance. The straps on my JP135 are further aft than on a regular slalomboard (backstrapscrew in line with aft finscrew). This also works great with foils like the starboard race. Having the straps further back increases power for early flight, but also up/down performance and opens up jibing. With your straps that far forward where are you gonna put your feet during the jibe? Even further forward? Your weight should be situated over the front foot, with steady flight with even preassure on both legs when with your backfoot out of the backstrap. This also allows you to jibe without having to keep pushing the backfoot (big plus). See pic below (beamreach) for an example of a somewhat correct (in my not so humble opinion, but please excuse me) stance. With the straps that far forward you are most probably still clinging to your standard slalomstance with power on the backleg. Riding a foil is quite similar to riding a freestyleboard, also when racing!

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seanhogan said..
It seems that on classic boards (wide slalom/formulas) the foot strap position isn't ideal
Locally a few guys have gone strapless or have repositionned the straps, what about you guys ?

Wow was just talking about this with someone that maybe another set of straps forward might be the way to go for when you are foiling at speed as the front lift increases!

Just food for thought.
Thanks to Asmaster for making this image.
JP 135 indeed has the rear most position of the straps. Way more back and closer together than JP155, which is surprising given shorter and lighter nose of JP135. I watched Amado foiling on 155 and SB race in Bonaire, when Guy Cribb was shooting his drone video, and his straps were in neutral position, and his stance was comfortable. And boy was he flying!

I went strapless at the back from about my 2nd sessions and have never put it back on. I find being able to adjust the back foot position give me greater control of the flight.

Remember when you first started to ride in straps and the back strap was just too far back and you couldn't get your foot in it. You might even have added some strap inserts so you could use the back strap.

Then you got better at riding and you found yourself riding in the rearmost strap position.

Foiling is similar when everything is new and you're obsessing about irrelevant trivia. Possibly the best thing you can do is free yourself from your dependence on straps so that you can come back to them later on with enough skill to make an informed choice.

It depends on the foil specs. I have two fuselages for my SB Foil now, the 75cm (GT) and the 115cm (Race). After having dialed in my GT, with mast and foot positions, I found that I'm more aft in foot positioning. Even when the wind comes up, I'm able to add more front foot pressure to keep the lift down. When I put my Race fuselage on, I needed place the footstraps and mast base forward.

However you achieve it, what matters is that the front wing MUST be nearly midpoint between the front and rear straps. You noticed this when you changed from the GT with 75 cm fuse to the Race with 115 cm fuse. You had to stand further forward because the Race wing is further forward.

Since I could not move the footstraps on my L6 formula board, I moved the finbox 3" further forward to get the fore-aft balance. While they were at it, I had them reinforce the finbox as well. Now my L6 is perfectly balanced for the GT, AFS-2, and LP.

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segler said..
However you achieve it, what matters is that the front wing MUST be nearly midpoint between the front and rear straps. You noticed this when you changed from the GT with 75 cm fuse to the Race with 115 cm fuse. You had to stand further forward because the Race wing is further forward.

Since I could not move the footstraps on my L6 formula board, I moved the finbox 3" further forward to get the fore-aft balance. While they were at it, I had them reinforce the finbox as well. Now my L6 is perfectly balanced for the GT, AFS-2, and LP.

I also have a formula board (08' starboard) and also find the fin box could be moved forward so I don't have to weight the back leg so much in light winds. My box Isn't reinforced. Did you have any problems with your non-reinforced box. Where did you get this surgery done.

Hi,
I have old SB Youth Formula 156 (modified quite a bit).
I've shifted rear footstraps 2" inward to keep my back heel on rail. Otherwise it was hanging over. This problem especially appears when I ride in standing position.

I've found that deep kite footstraps give more tilt control.

Regarding longitudinal footstraps position - it all depends on front wing location.
For my board that is quite heavy it is 1" forward from mid-straps line.
And I still feel my set is quite back-footed even at high speed.

I think before moving footstraps for SB long fuselage one need to try to reduce stab AoA and its size.

PS/ my foil is kite-foil Alpinefoil 5 Access V2 that I've got 3 years back when no SB or NP windfoils were available. I had to make DIY front wing and stab, that is because the kitefoil wing/stab was too small for me. Also I've added reinforced finbox in front of the existing one.

I had my surgery done by a board shop in Hood River, since I live near there. They did a great job. They reinforced the new deep tuttle box by fastening 12 inch long stringers to the box and running those forward inside the board. This make the box super strong to carry the cantilevering forces exerted by the foil. They know what they are doing. They make custom windfoil boards. Sailworks sells them.

Many formula boards already have the stock deep tuttle box in the right place with respect to the back footstraps. Mine did not. My box was completely aft of the back footstraps. In order to get the foil to lift I had to almost step off the stern with my back foot. So, I had the box moved forward.

For most foils (but not for the F4 or the Starboard Race), you want the front fin screw to be at or near the mid point of the back footstrap. That will usually get your front wing at or near the midpoint between front and rear footstraps, for most foils. Look carefully at the pictures above. The front screw is at the midpoint of the back strap.

Note, the F4 front wing is further aft, and the Starboard Race front wing is further forward than the front wings for most windfoils.

Also, if you cannot move the finbox or adjust the footstraps enough to achieve the midpoint balance, for some foils (like the Slingshot) you can use the Powerplate. This not only spreads the load but permits a large range of fore-and-aft adjustment.

Gave a try to Slingshot half-straps thinking they would prevent the back foot from slipping off the tail if I install them in the last holes and open t o the front so I can move my foot forward in small increments to find perfect balance. Very uncomfortable from the start, poking in my foot. On top of that, one of them took the whole damn bottom window out of my sail resulting in a $100 repair. Very unhappy with myself