Long time prone and kite foiler. Windsrfer in another life. 220 lbs. Goal is WAVE

Day 2, Loving the wing, once i'm up on foil i'm ripping for 30 min or so till i get sloppy trying new things, 100% no switch downwind transitions, speed runs, playing on bumps, its grand. Tried a few upwind transitions but i'm having trouble getting the nose around.

I hate getting up tho, the pumping feels harder than it needs to be. I'm a good prone foiler so i know how to pump my ass off. Wondering if my gear is holding me back.

Board is a Slingshot Wingcraft 120 V1. This board feels like a dog. That huge nose feels heavy on pump up and the hard step tail feels like its dragging on the pump. Thinking of moving to the Naish 110. Seems fairly pulled in on the nose and lighter and the soft step looks better on pump. Am i tricking myself thinking this will help? Should i go smaller?

Foil is a GoFoil NL 160. Im already topping out speed runs wishing for my RS 1000 so i'm gonna be reluctant to switch to a bigger wing unless thats absolutely necessary. This is my biggest surf foil wing.

Wing is a naish S25 5.3. Canopy tension is non-existant and the wing runs small(smaller than armie 4.8) Don't really want to go to a 6, like to keep it small and nimble. thinking about the naish Matador 5M, seems like a grunty, tight, powered up wing for its size. Will a tighter, stiffer wing make a difference on pump up?

Thanks for the advice looking to progress quick and keep my momentum once i'm home.

Lighter smaller board, rs1000 and tighter more powerful wing will all help. But no substitute for time on the water. You will get more efficient and more skilled and then it all comes together.

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hilly said..
Lighter smaller board, rs1000 and tighter more powerful wing will all help. But no substitute for time on the water. You will get more efficient and more skilled and then it all comes together.

So i'm not BSing myself thinking a smaller board will help? I weigh 100 kgs. At what point do diminishing retruns kick in? Target 95L?

I am 105kg and use a 5 2 90l board which is very easy even for my 59 yr old knees. Lots of guys here use sinkers around 30 to 40l. At your weight try a few 75 to 90l boards. Flat bottom with concave deck as light as possible. Sub 6kg makes a huge difference.

Don't give up on the NL160 just get a new tail. I use the FTS14.5 and its transformed the NL.
The RS1000 is a whole new level of awesomeness too, but at my 70kgs, I'm going to have to go the RS650 or maybe GT750 for bigger days.

The wing will hold you back. Some 4s will pump you off the water better than that 5.3. Get a decent wing with plenty of stiffness if you wish to get off the water easiest.

The prone pump experience only helps the start a little as it is wing pump timing with the board unweighting, that comes with time, that is most crucial to efficient starts. A good 5 should do the job but a 6 will kill it.

Your foil will likely be fine as the NL160 is made to start easy but you would be surprised how much more time the rs1150 will give you in tacks and gibes and an even bigger foil will provide easier starting again.

Light smaller boards become even more important as you get better.

Thanks all! Got a naish matador LT 5M on order. Looking for a 85-100 liter board!