Hi guys. I've finally been able to get up & foil with my Cabrinha 6M Xwing2 on my JP 6ft 8" 26 wide foil board. With Neil Pryde XL standard foil. I'm 80kgs give or take 2 kilos. Loving it. But still a long way to go. Still need to turn / jibe whilst up on foil. Lose balance & fall off. Haa!
Anyway, this is my comparison of wing build convenience to my V1 Naish Wingsurfer. I cannot yet comment on materials. Both seem quality, durable & adequate.
I like the convenience of the Naish air valve better. Just one press of the valve drops the air quickly for deflation. Better than screwing & unscrewing valves.
Handles: Cabrinha are simple & effective if you can get a hold of the front handle when getting started. It can be annoying having to reach for it which made me unbalance & fall. I'm thinking of making up a removeable centre handle to make it convenient in the learning stage. The Naish was more convenient with its multiple handles.
Also the Cabrinha handles made it more difficult to pack up to put in its pack. But that's a minor issue and will be a lot easier with practise.
I also liked the Naish pack with its double shoulder strap & pump holding straps. Cabrinha has one shoulder strap. The pump holding straps are ok.
I rather like the feel of having a backpack.
Again all these camparisons are very minor.
On the water I found windows would be an advantage. When I was close to others I couldn't see them. But I chose a wing with no windows due to hearing that there are some complications with window material.
I found that there is a fine line between having enough windspeed to get up on foil or not. I'm guessing 15 knots was not enough but up to to 20 knots was much easier with the 6M Cabrinha. I cannot comment on the Naish V1 4M in this. 20 knots was so easy without pumping anything. Just pointed board up to load the foil & up I went.
What I also found out was that it was easier to get up on foil at the beginning when the wind pushed from a standing start as I could feel the resistance of the wing pulling hard against my arms. Maybe even in 15 knots. A bit like a chin up bar I could pull myself upwards as I loaded the foilboard upwards. But when travelling with the wind I found I had to pump more to get up on foil as there was less resistance from the wing. Unless I get a gust in the 15 knot wind.
So in my view the best to get up on foil is speed over the shortest distance possible & that's why doing both pumping board & wing at the right time equals the best success whilst travelling. Or pulling yourself up quick when wind resistance is felt.
Oh. And not to forget. The Cabrinha was so stable & behaved itself when hovering on its own. Even better when it was upside down with my handleash attached to the leading edge nose handle. It would hover about half a metre above the water surface when doing my walks or paddles of shame. Haa!
I swapped the Cabrinha hand leash for one better with a cord attachment, (pigtail), to make it longer.
But again. I'm just a beginner. So should improve in lighter winds with experience.