I've read Slingshot's guide on setting up the FWind Hover Glide. With the long fuselage they provide positions A, B or C. I'm about 110+ kg on a 160 Levitator just starting out foiling using their Infinity 99 foil and a 60 cm mast. In my area wind speeds are generally low like 10-12 mph usually but sometimes 14-15 mph. Pretty flat water.I've seen recommendations that suggest starting with each position but I'm not really sure WHY you would choose one over another, or, more specifically what factors go into selection of one position over another?
Can anyone help me better understand the factors behind selecting each position? On YouTube I've seen a number of vids suggesting I should start in the B position.
What I'm *guessing* is that: - position A for a beginner allows weight aft and minimizes porpoising
- position B allows slightly more weight forward (also recommended for a beginner)
- position C (also recommended for a beginner) helps initiate earlier foiling, allows standing further forward - good for smaller sails like Ezzy Zeta 6.4
Had an earlier lesson that was not a success for me. Recent suggestion was a smaller sail than the Sailworks 7.5 foiling sail I tried using previously. When I started to foil the board got really squirrely and I was tossed after just a few seconds.
Maybe I just need more TOW and keep switching positions until the magic happens.
It was also recommended to start with no straps, no harness until I'm able to reliably get foiling.
Select to expand quoteShipmate said..
Had an earlier lesson that was not a success for me. Recent suggestion was a smaller sail than the Sailworks 7.5 foiling sail I tried using previously. When I started to foil the board got really squirrely and I was tossed after just a few seconds.
Maybe I just need more TOW and keep switching positions until the magic happens.
It was also recommended to start with no straps, no harness until I'm able to reliably get foiling.
I'm a relative noob at this, so I can't offer any meaningful technical advice, but having recently started to surmount some foiling hurdles that at first seemed insurmountable, I will offer some words of encouragement to stick with it! It will happen with some TOW and lots of patience. I found it very confusing and frustrating that I kept getting thrown, that the foil and board wanted to go all over the place, that the foil seemed to want to be out of the water more than in the water, getting regularly catapulted, etc. I'm a pretty decent windsurfer (on fin), so how hard could it be on a foil, right?!? :o)
There is definitely significant body position and technique adjustment to be made when an experienced fin windsurfer moves to foil. Give yourself some time to adapt - you'll get it, and once you start getting over these initial hurdles (which I think are very common), it is *definitely* worth it! :-)
I've ridden the infinity 76 and the infinity 99.
For the 99 you will in all likelihood have the most success with the fuse in the "C" position.
For the 76, if you ever ride that, you'll likely want it in the "B" position.
The pamphlet that came with the slingshot kit didn't really have it right. They say "A" for beginner. As a beginner, I could not get anything going until I got the foil in the B or C position.
The 99 has a lot of area on the aft side of the wing compared to their others, so you need to push it forward to get the lift more forward and centered between your feet.
The best video I found for balanced, stable flights was actually this short one on going fast. He describes the hip movements. Before that, I was doing something a bit more goofy:
I think as aero said the A position is never used is windfoiling. It might feel more comfortable to some as it need super heavy back foot which is similar to how many of us stand for windsurfing. But foiling seems to go best with weight even or biased towards front foot. So if anything A will encourage bad technique. I think the only reason to use A would be surf or wake foiling
Most people always used B for 76 and C for 99, but big guys seemed to be able to get away with B for 99
I have used the 76 and 99 a lot. For me i put the 99 right to the front of the track. The 76 is about 2 inches behind depending on how windy. I''m 190 lbs and even with this the 99 is still more back footed than the 76 and way more so than my IQ setup. If you windsurf a lot the hardest feeling is getting foreward and staying somewhat upright on the slingshot gear. Keep at it . It's worth the trouble.
A is more for Wake and Prone foiling with shorter masts and shorter fuses
B I used for i99, i84 and i76 (200lbs/90kg)
C some folk just preferred depending on the board you use how far forward you want the foil; I personally never felt any additional benefit with C position for the i99 and that was using the Wizard 125 with Tuttle box, but definitely experiment to see which position yields the best comfort and glide...end of the video I explain more the set up!
I also have experience on Infinity 99 and 76, on 76 B position in perfect but on infinity 99 C position is great otherwise b position is to heavy on the back foot, I am 102 kg
I saw some pointers here that look promising:
- C position
- mast forward
- 48 cm stabilizer rear foil
- and of course, more TOW
thanks for the encouragement.
I've been out 2x since posting but the wind was too light. Today I wanted to go but wind was 25 with gusts to 38 blowing offshore. For this week forecast suggests wind direction will remain bad for the entire week.
I decided to spend some time turning a 2"x 4" block of wood on a lathe. I'll fix that block to a stainless steel hinge attached to a beam outside that will allow me to slip a windsurf mast over it (it will act as a somewhat horizontal mast base) so I can more easily rinse and dry my sails before storing them.
Select to expand quoteShipmate said..
I saw some pointers here that look promising:
- C position
- mast forward
- 48 cm stabilizer rear foil
- and of course, more TOW
thanks for the encouragement.
I've been out 2x since posting but the wind was too light. Today I wanted to go but wind was 25 with gusts to 38 blowing offshore. For this week forecast suggests wind direction will remain bad for the entire week.
I decided to spend some time turning a 2"x 4" block of wood on a lathe. I'll fix that block to a stainless steel hinge attached to a beam outside that will allow me to slip a windsurf mast over it (it will act as a somewhat horizontal mast base) so I can more easily rinse and dry my sails before storing them.
I don't agree with the 48cm stab, but feel free to experiment yourself
The rules are different for us heavyweights. The i99 is a great wing to start out with and for anyone over 90kg it's 100% position C, and so is the i84 for a heavy sailor. B is fine for the 76 and A is for wingfoilers (and I guess for small guys who ride small sails in waves.)
Position C just gives you more lift, and you can't learn to foil if you're not foiling. Also, IIRC the Slingshot guidelines have the mastfoot 43" from the front bolt as a guideline, which for a heavyweight is unnneccesary. You're spend a lot more time in the air if you go to 41-42" from the front of your foilmast. Running the mastfoot further forward reduces excess lift but at 110kg your WANT excess lift.
Likewise, don't sleep on that 7.5 sail (are you sure it's a 7.5? Sailworks makes a 7.0 and 8.2 and 8.5 foil-specific sail, as far as I know, but not a 7.5). At 100kg I ride my 7.0 Flyer until the wind is touching 18 or so, admittedly with a smaller and faster foil than the i99. Yes, you can foil, eventually, on a smaller sail than will allow you to plane, but for now, try to get the board nearly planing before you stomp the back foot and ask it to lift off. All these guys who ride 3.7 sails in 7kt wind are either 60kg, skilled pumpers or... not 100% honest. As soon as the budget or water depth allow it, go right to the longer 91cm foilmast - it's MUCH easier to control because the margin between flying and breaching is so much wider.
In Florida I ride a i76 in the B position (stab is 42, mast is 90) with a Flyer 7.0 most of the time. I weigh 200 lb. The board is an Exocet FF132 with tuttle. If the wind gets above 15-18 mph, I go down to a 5.0.
Light wind (sub F4) I ride the HG 84 in the C position. Relative lightweight (60kg)Horue Tiny 110L with deep Tuttle box. Largest sail used is a 5.5M. Nothing to compare against. For where the footstraps and mast base is set if feels ok. Slight front foot weight bias needed to keep from overlifting once foiling. Upwind hooked in and leveraging out is comfortable. Heading deep downwind. Rear foot needs to be out of the strap placed in front of the strap position and more centered over the board. Could be due my beginner skill level. It's a bit of a kick riding downwind on swells. Until the swell and too much lift kicks you.
Lots of variables. Board, foil mast box position, center of lift of the wing, mast and foot strap position. Personally it was just trial and error until finding what seems to work. HG 76 I ride in the B position to sort of duplicate a similar feel. Would be nice to ride the newer Tiny 110L with the twin track foil mast option to play around with tuning.
