Foil vs fin ,do both right?
Foiling is the future they keep telling everyone.
I want to go fast i say.

Foiling ,sailing with brake on and off to control foil lift.
, did that come out right,(here they come girls.)
But on a fin you are pushing full throttle all the time ,just going for it ,the edge...(unless your a foil or wing ding, free ride ,wave pussy).
I don't get it, foiling is nothing to a little 30-35-40 knot ball banging run, depending on your level..
Boredom rant ...thanks ,feel better now...

Use a smaller foil if you want to go fast.
Thinner high aspect, same for stab and mast.
My normal front wing is the Naish kitewing 600 sq cm.
I have a friend who uses a custom 450 sqcm.
Of course, to go fast means you cannot go slow with the same gear.

Slalom foil is getting faster. Most of the faster foilers over here can clock somewhere round 30knts (when its windy) without too much fuss, and they don't really need flat water to do it.

normal gear is still faster, but foiling in 18 plus knots of wind is utterly terrifying (for me at least), let alone trying to send it.

Foiling-slow, Fin-fast. It just comes down to surface area and drag. No foil has the small surface area of a fin, so if speed is your thing, stay finning. Fins are also much more controllable when the wind is up.
But, if you want to be able to hit high speeds, say up to 30knots in lightish winds, foils are the way to go.

For finning, the water surface controls your vertical (pitch). You can keep the hammer down and control your roll and yaw.

For foiling, you control your vertical (pitch) with stance and body. A whole new dimension. Roll, yaw, AND pitch.

Select to expand quote

BigFoiler said..
Foil vs fin ,do both right?
Foiling is the future they keep telling everyone.
I want to go fast i say.

Foiling ,sailing with brake on and off to control foil lift.
, did that come out right,(here they come girls.)
But on a fin you are pushing full throttle all the time ,just going for it ,the edge...(unless your a foil or wing ding, free ride ,wave pussy).
I don't get it, foiling is nothing to a little 30-35-40 knot ball banging run, depending on your level..
Boredom rant ...thanks ,feel better now...

I agree, if you like speed there is no point in using a foil. At least right now they are slower in all conditions.

What I envy of people that can actually foil is cruising. I still limp on a foil board, and I have almost zero motivation to spend time on it to learn better, but having a 120-170L board that has very good upwind and down would seem to open a wider range of exploration than my biggest slalom board (110L). But maybe I am wrong, and a bigger slalom would do as well.

Keep ranting! There is not much else to do during the Pandemic!

Select to expand quote

Subsonic said..
Slalom foil is getting faster. Most of the faster foilers over here can clock somewhere round 30knts (when its windy) without too much fuss, and they don't really need flat water to do it.

Taty Frans just did 32 knots on hist first outing on an F4 slalom foil. That's in Bonaire, where it's usually not super windy.

I still struggle to get above 32 knots with a fin unless it's super flat (which Bonaire is not). Taty is a few classes above me in skills, but reaching about 90% of his top fin speed in his first session on a new foil brand is darn impressive, considering that he's done many sessions tuning his regular slalom gear.

The Kite foiling option seems to always get left out of these what's fastest discussions. Why is that?

Select to expand quote

Ian K said..
The Kite foiling option seems to always get left out of these what's fastest discussions. Why is that?

This is just a few clowns honking each others noses.


No need to invite the rest of the circus.

Select to expand quote

boardsurfr said..

Subsonic said..
Slalom foil is getting faster. Most of the faster foilers over here can clock somewhere round 30knts (when its windy) without too much fuss, and they don't really need flat water to do it.

Taty Frans just did 32 knots on hist first outing on an F4 slalom foil. That's in Bonaire, where it's usually not super windy.

I still struggle to get above 32 knots with a fin unless it's super flat (which Bonaire is not). Taty is a few classes above me in skills, but reaching about 90% of his top fin speed in his first session on a new foil brand is darn impressive, considering that he's done many sessions tuning his regular slalom gear.

I am just an average sailor but I, and other, regularly hit 30-32 knots at the local sub-optimal flat water location. The problem is that to do the same on a windfoil you need to be a Pro level sailor ...

Or, to look at it in a different way, AA last year set the nautical mile record for a foil. It was a bit more than 30 knots, can't remember exactly. It sounds amazing until you look at his more than 40 knots nautical mile on a windsurf in the same days and location.

Foiling Kites? Sure they go faster than than a Windfoil, but they are still slower than regular kites or windsurfs. You will not see a kite foil beating the current kite or windsurf speed record any time soon.