Foil Drives are awesome

This was my first attempt with a foil drive (with a few mods that my MacGyver friend helped me with)

I didn't know what to expect and wondered if all this work would even get me up and going because I'm old and weigh about 100 kgs..

I'm using my huge 140L board and huge 2140 foil.. It went pretty good..

Well done ??

Kitefoil semi race boards work brilliantly with a Foildrive, very slippery through the water so easy to gain speed for flying. This one is a Sabfoil T65, 32 lts, works great at my 80kgs.

Has anyone tried a booster type of fin to get up and sustain flight by pumping?

my foil assist setup lies dormant in my garage. this is because it has been nothing but a disappointment to me. my setup is more like 'airsail's above than DavidJ's. I have the max length cord which can reach only about 8 inches down my mast, as the unit itself is necessarily mounted to the front of my board. i find having the prop that far up the mast doesn't help much since as soon as i get on foil, it's out of the water and i immediately drop down thereafter without the help of the prop. this might work DWing or riding waves, but it's kind of useless in the conditions DavidJ shows. i also find i need 100% power to even get up on foil, and this means the battery lasts less than 10 minutes. hence, the relegation to my garage. i'm 90 kgs and my board is 98L. maybe a much bigger board?...

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NicoDC said..
Has anyone tried a booster type of fin to get up and sustain flight by pumping?

A friend has one of those booster fins (it eventually turned up after waiting a couple of years) and it's only a slow push on a SUP board so I don't think it would have enough power to get you up on the foil.. unless you have great pumping skills.. I'd be interested to know if anyone has managed to make it work.

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DavidJohn said..

NicoDC said..
Has anyone tried a booster type of fin to get up and sustain flight by pumping?

A friend has one of those booster fins (it eventually turned up after waiting a couple of years) and it's only a slow push on a SUP board so I don't think it would have enough power to get you up on the foil.. unless you have great pumping skills.. I'd be interested to know if anyone has managed to make it work.

Decathlon has this one: www.decathlon.be/nl/p/elektromotor-voor-supboard-en-kajak/_/R-p-343462?mc=8771733&gbraid=0AAAAADtRiRel-CndH9i-j8fCdDNzlx9hu&gclid=CjwKCAjw6vyiBhB_EiwAQJRoptpbYnAsP3k5HBZ32Ap5AHqPjIb-kCJNStN2TeaMOU_qcPW1D4qdThoCdhEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

A video on youtube shows it has a 3.5kg pull, don't know if that's enough. You could stick one of those to your board with a plastic sup finbox, or diy something to mount to your fuse / bottom of mast. It's a lot cheaper than a new big foil or dw board

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DavidJohn said..

NicoDC said..
Has anyone tried a booster type of fin to get up and sustain flight by pumping?

A friend has one of those booster fins (it eventually turned up after waiting a couple of years) and it's only a slow push on a SUP board so I don't think it would have enough power to get you up on the foil.. unless you have great pumping skills.. I'd be interested to know if anyone has managed to make it work.

Decathlon has this one: www.decathlon.be/nl/p/elektromotor-voor-supboard-en-kajak/_/R-p-343462?mc=8771733&gbraid=0AAAAADtRiRel-CndH9i-j8fCdDNzlx9hu&gclid=CjwKCAjw6vyiBhB_EiwAQJRoptpbYnAsP3k5HBZ32Ap5AHqPjIb-kCJNStN2TeaMOU_qcPW1D4qdThoCdhEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

A video on youtube shows it has a 3.5kg pull, don't know if that's enough. It's pretty light and compact. You could stick one of those to your board with a plastic sup finbox, or diy something to mount to your fuse / bottom of mast. It's a lot cheaper than a new big foil or dw board

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beached57 said..
my foil assist setup lies dormant in my garage. this is because it has been nothing but a disappointment to me. my setup is more like 'airsail's above than DavidJ's. I have the max length cord which can reach only about 8 inches down my mast, as the unit itself is necessarily mounted to the front of my board. i find having the prop that far up the mast doesn't help much since as soon as i get on foil, it's out of the water and i immediately drop down thereafter without the help of the prop. this might work DWing or riding waves, but it's kind of useless in the conditions DavidJ shows. i also find i need 100% power to even get up on foil, and this means the battery lasts less than 10 minutes. hence, the relegation to my garage. i'm 90 kgs and my board is 98L. maybe a much bigger board?...

Beached, you need at least a 120ltr board at 90kgs, and even 130ltr would be better. The current Foildrive plus isn't great for those over 90kgs, just not enough thrust for the bigger boys on small boards. Mount the battery box at the tail of a bigger board, and move the pod down the mast.
And big thick wings don't help much, thick is drag and makes it difficult to get to flying speed. I have a big 1900 wing, it takes more battery power to get up and stay up than my 1240 wing. Thin, low drag and high aspect is the way to go.

DJ like your stand,did you design it????

Whats the orange box???

Looks like your MacGyver friend buried the power cable in the Naish Al mast. Yes, no? How did that go? I'm interested in the project Cedrus Foil Drive+ in the efoil position. Dominic Hoskyns really convinced me with these videos. He's 82kg. I'm 77kg. I could see how being 100 kg would be a bit of a challenge

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Fitzsup said..
DJ like your stand,did you design it????

Whats the orange box???

Thanks.. I saw that Armstrong was using a very cool board stand when I was in NZ recently and once home I decided to make my own.. It helps when setting up the battery on the deck..

The orange box holds the battery and Bluetooth unit..

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Dspace said..
Looks like your MacGyver friend buried the power cable in the Naish Al mast. Yes, no? How did that go? I'm interested in the project Cedrus Foil Drive+ in the efoil position. Dominic Hoskyns really convinced me with these videos. He's 82kg. I'm 77kg. I could see how being 100 kg would be a bit of a challenge

Yes.. the cable runs down the inside of the mast.. Apparently the cable running down the back of the mast causes more drag than the motor pod.. The Cedrus mast would be a better option because the old style Naish mast is fairly soft and flexy.. especially when using a big board and a big foil..

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Dspace said..
...I'm interested in the project Cedrus Foil Drive+ in the efoil position. Dominic Hoskyns really convinced me with these videos. He's 82kg. I'm 77kg. I could see how being 100 kg would be a bit of a challenge

That is very, very tempting...looks to be super versatile as he's even cutting the motor and just pumping (but maybe he's just that good?).

I'm just learning, and we don't have consistent wind here (and long winters) and I'm looking to just maximize my time on foil while I can. Been thinking about getting a big Strike CWC to help with that, but this could really open things up on that front.

How are these in terms of reliability, serviceability, support, parts, etc...especially in the U.S. (Intermountain West here)???

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How are these in terms of reliability, serviceability, support, parts, etc...especially in the U.S. (Intermountain West here)???

There's very little service or maintenance needed now that the prop pulls off and you just need to rinse both bits under a tap after each session.. Take care not to get water in the battery compartment and you shouldn't have any problems..

Second session with a little sitting down on the job..

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DavidJohn said..
Second session with a little sitting down on the job..

Great video!


Where does your FD cable come out of the top of your mast (near the board). Is it coming out of the back of the mast?

If you could take a picture it would be much appreciated :)

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MilesH said..
Great video!
Where does your FD cable come out of the top of your mast (near the board). Is it coming out of the back of the mast?
If you could take a picture it would be much appreciated :)

Thanks.. By having a thick plate or spacer between the mast plate and the board there is no need to cut a hole in the back of the mast or even the base plate.. I could just run the cable out of the end of the mast and along the inside of the plate/spacer then out the back with silicon sealing it all up.. I used aluminum as a spacer but it could be 3D printed..

Thanks David

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DavidJohn said..

MilesH said..
Great video!
Where does your FD cable come out of the top of your mast (near the board). Is it coming out of the back of the mast?
If you could take a picture it would be much appreciated :)

Thanks.. By having a thick plate or spacer between the mast plate and the board there is no need to cut a hole in the back of the mast or even the base plate.. I could just run the cable out of the end of the mast and along the inside of the plate/spacer then out the back with silicon sealing it all up.. I used aluminum as a spacer but it could be 3D printed..

Hey DavidJohn just wondering how you put the FD cable into the Mast etc,. could you please explain & some photos if at all possible:-)