Interested in people's experiences and opinions on width vs length for a beginner Foil board.
I'm 90+kg and just starting out with Wing Foiling. For SUP I never ride anything wider than 30" because I find the additional width tends to make the board less stable in side chop.
The board I have for foiling is a Naish Hover Wing/SUP 140l which is 6'6' x 33".
I'm finding it very laterally tippy and wondering whether I would be better of with a few inches more length and a lot of inches less width (thinking something like the Fanatic Sky SUP at 6'11" x 30" or the Wavechaser 6'10" x 29 1/2").
I'm also finding the width makes it harder to ensure your feet are where they need to be once up and going (note I haven't been on the foil for more than a few seconds yet... It's only my 4th attempt...).
I get that I will end up downsizing once I get going properly and I'm fine with that. Just looking to accelerate my progression.
Or am I being too ambitious given I've only spent a couple of hours on water?
Here is a simple tip that applies to anyone starting out or even trying to improve their skills.
Find a place to go that has sufficient clean wind but little surface chop or waves - makes it so easy to get on your board and moving fast enough to get up foil regardless of your size or the size of your board
Just give it time. Once you get comfortable handling the foil it stabilizes you and you can go much smaller overall.
Are you starting standing or on knees? If you can, try the front foot flat, knee up, back knee down crouching start. No need for a hugely stable board and fairly easy. Time on water and patience, like all things, right?
I found it extremely helpful to just go out with a SUP paddle and the board (no wing). Just try to get used to the board for 1-2h by paddling around - ideally when there is chop. You will be able to just ride it out. That will give you a much better feel for the board and the next time you go out with the wing you can focus more on wing and wind as you will be more familiar with the board. I wouldn't recommend swapping boards at this point.
What does "laterally tippy" mean? I don't think going narrower is going to add stability even if a little longer.
When you say that the width makes it hard to know where to put your feet.. Do you know where they should be? Maybe get some black duct tape and run a piece down the center and across where your front toes should be.. This will peal off the deck pad without doing any damage.. I use the footstrap holes as a guide.. Your front foot is the main thing and your back foot just goes where is comfortable.
You 'are' expecting too much considering you've only had a couple of hours trying this.
Send me a PM or call me and I'll catch up with you and give you advice and tips to help get you started.
Thanks all. Appreciate the information.
So far my experience has been exclusively on choppy days. It seems every time we go out the wind is always from the wrong direction and we get significant chop. If I can get some time in relatively chop-free water I should get going somewhere.
DJ, when I talk about laterally tippy I mean side to side if facing the front of the board. I find it similar to when SUP surfing. On a wide board I find it more prone to tipping because the board tends to tilt more when facing parallel to the swell (which is pretty much all the time for foiling...). I've tried 32" wide boards and didn't like them because they tend to tilt further than a 29"-30" board.
With regard to foot position I am using the footstrap holes to guide my forward/backward position but am finding the width plays with my brain a bit so I end up slightly off the center line. A product of generally riding narrower boards (4" narrower or more...). I have improved here so things are getting better...
I'm trying to get to my feet as soon as the wing picks up the wind so I can get some distance between my wingtip and the foil mast (if I stay on my knees it tends to go under the board and then I land on it...). This is usually successful on the first couple of attempts but once I start to get tired it all goes pear-shaped...
I guess I am expecting too much considering my limited time on water. Just frustrated as the wind has been a little too light for me when I've been out or the swell has been difficult due to the wind direction. Just looking for a chance to try it in conditions that will help me progress.
Winging in lite winds can be frustrating, and tends to be the day to day occurrence where I live. I find it gets significantly easier when average wind speed hovers around 15 mph. I also found it helpful to start in flat water locations (bays, etc..). Regarding feet position, offsetting your feet can provide stability, especially during the start. I started riding with my back heel closer to the rail (wind side), front heel on center line, with shoulder wide stance. Getting to your feet in lite winds is difficult because a little bit of speed is needed to steady the board, but too much can cause stuffing of the nose when getting up. You'll want to knee up the split second just before the board accelerates.
Select to expand quoteMahanumah said..
Interested in people's experiences and opinions on width vs length for a beginner Foil board.
I'm 90+kg and just starting out with Wing Foiling. For SUP I never ride anything wider than 30" because I find the additional width tends to make the board less stable in side chop.
The board I have for foiling is a Naish Hover Wing/SUP 140l which is 6'6' x 33".
I'm finding it very laterally tippy and wondering whether I would be better of with a few inches more length and a lot of inches less width (thinking something like the Fanatic Sky SUP at 6'11" x 30" or the Wavechaser 6'10" x 29 1/2").
I'm also finding the width makes it harder to ensure your feet are where they need to be once up and going (note I haven't been on the foil for more than a few seconds yet... It's only my 4th attempt...).
I get that I will end up downsizing once I get going properly and I'm fine with that. Just looking to accelerate my progression.
Or am I being too ambitious given I've only spent a couple of hours on water?
Lateral stability improves with increased width, unless of course it is very choppy, in which case a wide board will react to side-on chop more, which is what you are experiencing. Simple answer is don't try to learn in choppy water, find somewhere as flat as possible.
More length and less width are going to make things harder for you, I learnt on a 6'9" x 32" wide board and it made things a lot easier than the 29" wide board I did my first few (frustrating) sessions on. The board you have is pretty ideal for learning, I'd stick with that until you are foiling consistently.
