a friend saw kai's and said it just looked like it had a thick foil. I just cut mine down which helped, still more tweaks to do but i got some nice long and low glides today.
I am pretty sure Kai has done more than one run. And for sure the first time (probably few times) would have been hectic, a massive learning curve. Like learning anything new. The beauty we all have is the equipment we get will already be massively refined and a ton easier than the first prototypes Kai went through. All this said, it is going to be a massive challenge and there will be some spectacular dismounts. It will take a paddler's maximum sprint speed to get the board up onto foil, then it's all foil experience from there. If you have no experience, then your doing a lot of sprinting = Hurt! As many have mentioned get behind a boat and master the foiling first.
Select to expand quoteDownwinder said..Windgenuity said..
First order period is now, get to your local Naish Dealer and get your order in or risk missing out on the first shipment.
Ride safe,
JB
Good luck to anybody wanting to give this sport a go.
When Naish was promoting this Foil-board with the best all round waterman on the planet Sir Kai Lenny after just 4 miles 6.44 kilometres on Maliko Kai Lenny was spent hurting like f@#K
I spoke with Martin, Kai Lenny's father he told me Kai was feeling very fatigued when he did that 4 mile Maliko run. I spoke with Kai yesterday about the foil "The Foil is not Easy" but the more you do it the easier it becomes. Kai did a 47 minute Maliko Run with 2 big falls, Kai said by this time next year the foil will be doing 40 minute Maliko Runs thats 14.5 kilometres cruising at 20 m/ph surfing a Glide for 10 minutes easy.
This is Armie Armstrong the Kiwi and his Foil now Armie is a Awesome Downwind Paddler but on the Foil he is punishing oneself Armie had like 50 falls on Maliko the other day "hahaha funny" then broke his paddle.
If Kai did 14.5km Maliko in 47minutes then that would to my knowledge be a world-record for a downwind SUP over a distance of more than 10km.
That is an average speed of 18.5km/h (11.5mph) and should sell the concept pretty quick!
All that foil down wind training must of paid off fitness/endurance wise for Kai.
For a guy that has hardly raced this year in SUP to have the fitness to go the distance and set a course record in M2O you would have to start to think all that suffering getting that foil board up to speed down winding would of had to of helped big time.
So, 3 strokes on the left, 3 strokes on the right, 4 slower strokes on the left and he's up and foiling. 4-5 strokes at a time later on. Nothing superhuman about that. I could do that. Wonder how big the swell was?
You're forgetting about the extra strength and endurance it takes to balance when up on the foil.
Select to expand quoteMastbender said..
You're forgetting about the extra strength and endurance it takes to balance when up on the foil.
And also having guts of winds to put you off balance...
Select to expand quoteMastbender said..
You're forgetting about the extra strength and endurance it takes to balance when up on the foil.
Why do you think it takes more strength and endurance to balance up on a foil? Do you have experience or are you assuming?
Certainly riding on a kite foil is physically effortless, although it can be kind of terrifying and frustrating at times. The crashes hurt. If you're working really physically hard then you're doing it wrong. The physical effort comes from all the crashing and restarting.
From a kiting perspective you're not actually "balancing up on the foil". You're actually riding the wings. The mast is just a connector between you and the board. The leverage and wobbliness you would expect don't really come into play until you're so far gone you crash ... or carve a mega turn ... then crash.
Speaking from experience is does take a lot to get the board moving on your first few strokes and unlike kiting up get no lift from the kite and nothing to lean against. Dropping off runs the board speed dies pretty quick and you have to punch in the strokes to pick up the next bump (much harder than a board without a foil). When you are first up you are very tense in the quads until you set the mast height , once you start foiling cleanly only then you can relax but your legs still burn.
What makes it really hard is maintaining the board momentum , the better you keep the board running the easier it picks up the bumps. As your foiling skills advance your runs will be much longer. Give it time once paddlers really start focusing on the Sup foil they will get faster and faster. 
