Advice - another noob

Hi All,

Brand new here. Not sure if I should piggyback on another thread or start my own.

My goal is to downwind. If I need to wing or paraglide first I will.

I bought a 136 L Armstrong downwind board (~1 or 2 yrs old?) With the Unifoil Hyper 250X on the 74cm mast.
I'm 90 kg and just shy of 6'. I haven't been able to see any foil movement in flat water at all. I've spent a a few couple months trying the flat water paddle up but it seems like I'm nose diving too much. And the foil doesn't engage at all.

My question is if this combo should work or do I need a bigger foil? Should I suck it up and keep practicing? I'm happy to swap it out but don't want to buy another foil with the same result. The 250 is the biggest unifoil makes so I'll have to swap the whole rig.

I'm decently athletic and have tried going in waves but it's a bit sketchy around here. Most waves are steep and pretty full on. The smaller long board places with crumbly waves are more shallow so the mast is really close to the bottom.

I have no foil experience, some long board surfing, lots of white water paddle experience. Was planning on getting used to the foil on flat water then progress to waves, etc.
I'm based on the South Coast (Narooma) without a ton of other foilers. So I'm pretty much figuring it out as I go.

Was considering a wing to get used to the foil instead of swapping foils.

Anyway, looking forward to the suggestions.

If bigger foil - brand and aspect advice also appreciated

Hey mkeown there is half a dozen or so of us in Bermagui who foil (wing,sup,prone,dw). We get out regularly and can help you out with your gear and advice.