For wingfoil:
Does board thickness matter for the foil feel or pumping the board in air?
Some say thicker board is like longer mast. And the weight is more important. But if they weight the same, a 3" should feel better than 5", in my opinion and experience.
And the ability to pump a board is dependent on? Weight? Weight distribution? Liter? Narrower board =better?
"Recessed deck to lower center of gravity for excellent board control"?

Mechanically, you will get the same feel on a 5" on a 30" mast than a 3" on a 32" mast.

because, you know... physics!

And if there is a difference, it will be in favor of the 5" board:

- the board will be more rigid (better "sandwich effect" or "beam effect") for the same weight, or lighter for the same rigidity.
- the center of weight will be slightly lower
- the volume of the board can be fit closer to the center, lightening the tips
- the boxy rails walls can be higher, for more stability in water, and getting out of it more easily
- the shape can be narrower for faster take off speed

The only advantage of the 3" board will be a hull theoretically 2" higher, allowing a bit more of room for avoiding chop and banking a bit more in turns. But the 5" can compensate with a smarter volume distribution (moving volume out of the rails & tips to raise the hull there)

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colas said..
Mechanically, you will get the same feel on a 5" on a 30" mast than a 3" on a 32" mast.

because, you know... physics!

And if there is a difference, it will be in favor of the 5" board:

- the board will be more rigid (better "sandwich effect" or "beam effect") for the same weight, or lighter for the same rigidity.
- the center of weight will be slightly lower
- the volume of the board can be fit closer to the center, lightening the tips
- the boxy rails walls can be higher, for more stability in water, and getting out of it more easily
- the shape can be narrower for faster take off speed

The only advantage of the 3" board will be a hull theoretically 2" higher, allowing a bit more of room for avoiding chop and banking a bit more in turns. But the 5" can compensate with a smarter volume distribution (moving volume out of the rails & tips to raise the hull there)

Thank you for the excellent information!

I notice board thickness a lot, can't stand overly thick boards. Feel corky on the water and disconnected in the air.

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Grantmac said..
I notice board thickness a lot, can't stand overly thick boards. Feel corky on the water and disconnected in the air.

+1

Although I think you get used to the corkiness and feel reasonably quickly, I'd be happy to increase the width of my 20" board (95l Carver) by 1 or 2 inches to reduce thickness.
A direct benefit of the corkiness is that high thickness/narrow width boards have better rebound when you're trying to bounce them up into planing mode

Everything matters. But, does it matter to you? That's the beauty and the burden of assembling your perfect wingfoil kit. Sure, a thinner board is great. But... at what cost? Volume? If you drop 2" (40%) of volume you aren't going to be using the same foil and wing.

So, it's an ultra complex issue to figure out but once you know what you like then you know what you like!

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Grantmac said..
I notice board thickness a lot, can't stand overly thick boards. Feel corky on the water and disconnected in the air.

If the board has too much volume it will be corky, not just because it is thick. Once in the air you are feeling the increased distance to the foil, provided you have a stiff well made board. To get a more connected feeling use a shorter mast.

Shapers increase thickness to make shorter and/or narrower boards. If the board has the correct volume for you then the only penalty is the increased distance to the foil.

Physics says one thing. But I do feel the difference, riding thin board your more connected to the foil. Have tried 75 cm vs 85 cm mast, shorter is better in right conditions but doesn't change the connection feeling. :/

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hilly said..
"Shapers increase thickness to make shorter and/or narrower boards."

+1

I don't think it's entirely a volume thing. For me I'd rather they add length than thickness or width (talking >20" boards), I haven't ventured into really narrow stuff.

I'd like to demo one of the Starboard inflatables which bolt the foil right under your feet to see how it fits my theory.

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Grantmac said..I'd like to demo one of the Starboard inflatables which bolt the foil right under your feet to see how it fits my theory.

Try it with different length masts.

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Retina said..
Physics says one thing. But I do feel the difference, riding thin board your more connected to the foil. Have tried 75 cm vs 85 cm mast, shorter is better in right conditions but doesn't change the connection feeling. :/

I wondered if the connection on thinner boards is something to do with when you roll or pitch the foil you are doing this via the mast plate, so on a thicker board the deck-to-plate is a longer hypotenuse and steeper angle. Can't figure it out but the feel is there

Having tried a lot of different boards including very thick ones I prefer slightly lomnger and thinner boards over really thick ones.When they are in the water the thinner ones feel less corky as thicker boards and less bounched around in the chop.Once on a foil it doesnt really matter, but hey you gotta first get there.
I think the trend of overly thick boards is also changing. With the SUP DW boards you see the last 1.5y that boards are getting longer but especially a bit thinner again.

So a board with cutoff at foil box tail area should be the better option for better feeling. Like super K ??

I have a SuperK 92l and not sure if that makes it as it good as it is, but really love that board.In general for board/foil feel you want to have as less as delay as possible/ being the board stiff as f#ck.But imo a thinner board that is stiff feels better as a thick stiff one (like the Appletree Slice V2 I owned).An thick and rather flexible construction between boxxes and deck is as bad as it can be but I can imagine that a bit more flex in the nose wouldnt hurt. That is also quite common with windsurf wave and slalomboards.

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Jeroensurf said..
I have a SuperK 92l and not sure if that makes it as it good as it is, but really love that board.In general for board/foil feel you want to have as less as delay as possible/ being the board stiff as f#ck.But imo a thinner board that is stiff feels better as a thick stiff one (like the Appletree Slice V2 I owned).An thick and rather flexible construction between boxxes and deck is as bad as it can be but I can imagine that a bit more flex in the nose wouldnt hurt. That is also quite common with windsurf wave and slalomboards.

True thanks. Kt drifter 4 seems to have good foil feel =stiff. Don't know if I should get KT drifter or gong cruzader Diamond FSP Pro 2025. Is the extra money for KT worth it?

I haven,t used the new drifter or Diamond so hard to say anything about them. I do really like with KT that boards stay the same for 2years. That means the product is well thought through and as far as stuff do...keep a bit of value.

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hilly said..

Grantmac said..I'd like to demo one of the Starboard inflatables which bolt the foil right under your feet to see how it fits my theory.

Try it with different length masts.

I have, it's not a mast length thing.

4" thick is my upper limit, I'd go longer or wider before I'd go thicker. Hate that corky feel especially in our bay where it's often choppy, makes getting up and going a real pain. Once up I didn't notice the thickness made much difference.