Hi,
Finally the 6' Quatro Wing Drifter Pro board arrived and today I had my first attempt on it. Since I have never tried a hydrofoil, I thought I'll learn separately how to control the wing, and how to handle the board. Then, when I'll feel comfortable, I'll combine them. Wing control is ok after one hour practice on the beach. In the first 10 minutes the wind flipped it over a couple of times. But you realize quickly how to keep the wind in the sail....we'll see if it'll work when I'll be on a board.
As I've seen that the foil can be dangerous for beginners, I tried to stand up on the board without having the hydrofoil set up. Without success. The 130-liter board should be more than enough for my 90kg (200 lbs) but still, I was falling down for 4 hours. Kneeling works fine, but standing lasted only a couple of seconds. I lost my balance as soon as small waves hit the board. 10 years ago, within 4 hours I was up and riding on a twintip. I could not change direction smoothly and did the walk of shame. But I was riding.
At the end of today's session, I could not feel too much progress on the Wing Drifter. Next weekend I'll continue with the foil on...but till then, please tell me that having the hydrofoil on the board will give more stability to the board. Tell me that the foil will also work as a 'keel' and it'll be easier to stand up. Tell me that as soon as I'll have the wing in my hands, it will work similarly to a kite and it will help keep standing, lifting me up a bit. I cannot believe that my skills got rusted that much in a decade.

Do you have access to a conventional SUP or Windsurf board? Those will both be many times easier to learn control of the wing, as are made to be stable without a foil attached.

A short foil board with no foil attached will be exactly as you experienced. 130L spread out over a 10' SUP is a lot more stable than across a 6' wing foil board.

The point you want to get to in those first couple of sessions with the wing, is where using the power of the wing to keep balance becomes instinctive. Overbalancing backwards? Pull on power. Overbalancing forwards? De-power the wing, etc.

What helps is STEADY 12-17 knot breeze.
NO chop, no current.
The foil is great once you're UP and balanced/powered.

Learn the wing on a skateboard, learn the foil behind a boat if possible.

Adding the hydrofoil to the board will make the board a lot more stable. Add a wingding that you have learnt to control, even more stability as something to support you. The hydrofoil also works as a keel, allowing you to hold your ground.

I can neither stand or float on my 95 litre board with the foil. But you add a wing and I get lift, balance and forward motion.

Add the wing.

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bigtone667 said..
I can neither stand or float on my 95 litre board with the foil. But you add a wing and I get lift, balance and forward motion.

Add the wing.

At 105kg +, he is amazing

With the foil the board will be a lot more stable!! With enough wind to at least flag your wing, + foil it will be a lot more easier!!

Thanks everyone. Apparently it was a stupid idea trying to stand up on a foil board without the foil. No more trying without foil and wing.

I think trying the foil without board would have been stupid, i would have done the same!! ;-)

I think trying the foil without board would have been stupid, i would have done the same!! ;-)

No foil on a board with no fins would be much more unstable. But good you tried. It helps you balance muscle memory work for your next sessions. If you kited before then youll get it pretty quick in my view. Enjoy the challenge.

go the foil on the board and just give it a go.
I got up on foil on my 3rd outing.
definitely having good wind is very helpful and easier than light wind

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jb74 said..
Thanks everyone. Apparently it was a stupid idea trying to stand up on a foil board without the foil. No more trying without foil and wing.

It wasn't a stupid idea. It's only stupid if you keep doing it and don't learn anything from it and get no progression.

I did the experiment the other day. I bought a Kings kids inflatable SUP, 6'10x29, fashioned a base plate and fitted a foil. Worked great, did over 10kms foiling on it, amazingly stable and soft on the knees when getting going.
So the next day I decided to try and SUP it, I'm 80kg and surf sup. No chance, all the stability was gone, I could paddle it but not easily and I fell a lot.
Stick with the foil fitted to the foilboard, anything else is just too hard.

I understand the point of learning the wing first on dry land and playing with it. But next step I would do is go full set up on the water. It is all connected. I am sure the next 4 hrs on the water with full set up will give you good progress.

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airsail said..
I did the experiment the other day. I bought a Kings kids inflatable SUP, 6'10x29, fashioned a base plate and fitted a foil. Worked great, did over 10kms foiling on it, amazingly stable and soft on the knees when getting going.
So the next day I decided to try and SUP it, I'm 80kg and surf sup. No chance, all the stability was gone, I could paddle it but not easily and I fell a lot.
Stick with the foil fitted to the foilboard, anything else is just too hard.

Would love to see this. Did you use a stick on FoilMount or something else?

Speed is your friend.
Try standing on waterskis at less than 11 mph.
I'm sure you get the drift.

Just to reiterate , it's not worth trying to understand the board without the foil. Early on in my nascent winging history, I'd sneak off from work for an hour to Wing SUP. It was faster to get back by not having to deal with a foil.
I initially thought understanding the wing and board, would translate to the experience with the addition of a foil. I found this not to be the case.

I started on the Naish Crossover (125 L ish) , and winged with the quad fins installed. When going downwind, I found the board plaining speed would increase.. I usually would clear the first few wakes by quickly back stepping. But at some point when going faster and faster, a wake would land a punch to the nose of the board. This would stop me dead in my tracks, and send me over the board. After two sessions, I realized flying above the chop was the only way forward.