So on previous threads I've opined about my travails learning to foil with my new kit.
Originally I had purchased:
Starboard FoilX 145
Slingshot Hoverglide i76
Severne 7.0 Foil sail
I live on a tidal, saltwater river near the coast in Savannah, GA, and my typical afternoon seabreeze is 6-12 knots. I weigh 75 kg (165#). My goal has been to develop my equipment and technique so as to enjoy light air cruising on the river with the foil. I used to have an AHD Formula board with a 75 cm fin and 10 m sail but I got tired of using such huge sails. For the last several years, I've been intrigued by the idea of foiling and the possibility of being able to sail and have fun with smaller gear. At my age (58), fitness is an issue and I have less strength and endurance than I did when I started windsurfing in the 1970's.
Originally I found that with the i76 foil I was having difficulty getting onto the foil and difficulty with porpoising, mainly, I'm sure, because of my poor technique.
I recently purchased the i99 wing, and just yesterday I had the opportunity to take it out for the first time.
As per recommendations from Slingshot, I placed the new i99 wing on the fuselage in the "C" position. Based upon other recommendations in this forum, I placed the mast base as far to the rear of the board as possible. I removed the rear straps, and placed the front straps inboard as far as possible to the rear. Finally, I raised the boom to nose height.
What a difference! While my technique is slowly evolving, I was able to get onto the foil and have some stable runs without crashing.
I would like to thank everyone on the forum who answered my questions and to share my experience so that those with similar gear might benefit. I think my next purchase will be a smaller (maybe 6 meter) freestyle sail because I suspect the freestyle sail may be easier to pump up onto the foil as compared to the 3 cam Severne foil sail, which, at 7 meters, feels somewhat cumbersome to pump.
Others have commented that the i99 wing rides like a Cadillac while the i76 wing rides like a sportscar. For now, I'm happy learning on the Cadillac, and hope to graduate to the sports car before too long.
Sounds like an excellent setup - i99 for 6.0/7.0 and i76 whenever the wind is stronger.
I am glad you are having more fun now. The right equipment makes a huge difference. Having said that, you might want to get few more sessions with that 99 and then see if you really want/need a smaller or different sail. You can always use the 7m for light wind and a 5m or so for windier days (you get way more range from a sail when foiling). But a 6 and 7 m sails seem really close in size. At least that is my experience where I sail; two days ago it was 15-28mph and today is the same.
Foilweatherjack, great that you are foiling!
Agree with Willywind, use a light 5-5.5m2 sail for medium winds, with the i99, can try the i76 with the 7.0 in same winds.
Somewhere on seabreeze there is a Slingshot Foil size / sail size / wind range plot, maybe by cyber
I appreciate all of the advice. I went out this morning and I'm starting to get some longer runs on the foil. I found an interesting sailing app for my Apple Watch called "Waterspeed" which uses the GPS on your watch to track your runs and your speed on the water, as well as your heart rate. My maximum speed on the i99 seems to be about 14 to 15 knots (in about 10 - 15 knots of wind), which for my learning stage seems to feel just about right: any faster and I still feel like I'm losing control.
Still trying to figure out the optimal combination of mast base/foot strap location/boom height.
When the wind began to rise over 15 knots, I noticed that the 7.0 sail began to seem overpowered.
Interestingly, on some runs I experienced a phenomenon that reminded me of spinning out on a regular windsurfer when the fin would cavitate. These were runs where I had the mast maybe 50% out of the water, but when I reached a certain speed it seemed that the foil itself would cavitate and suddenly lose lift. It was definitely a different feeling as compared to riding to high and popping the foil out of the water. I don't have an explanation for it, other than perhaps the low aspect ration of the large i99 front wing simply isn't made to perform past a certain speed.
Still, I'm enjoying the challenge of learning something new.
Geeze.
73 kg., 15 knots, I'm foiling with a 5.0 and my 600 sq cm kitewing.
Or ripping along at 24 mph on my Isonic 111 and 7.4 sail.
The 7.0 sail is the only one I have now (true story: rats in my storage shed ate all of my old windsurfing sails a few years ago).
I agree that I should be using smaller sails, I just don't know which size/brand/style to get. Any advice would be appreciated. I've been told that I should get a freestyle sail in the 5.5 m range.
As I got to pumping more I've moved the mast base a little more forward. On the i99 it seemed to be much less sensitive to mast track position than the i76 with my setups. At first, I was really afraid to move around and shift my back foot, but I've since been able to move my back foot out of the strap and move it forward for more control in gusts and back to help in lulls. It also helps to get the board flatter. I got a 5.0 blade for both waves and moderate wind foiling. If I were only doing foiling I would get a real foil sail. But I keep switching between foil and fin depending on what's going on with the weather.
Not sure how you're gauging height, it's been difficult for me, especially in chop. But I've had the foil stall out from not going fast enough, which may be what's happening. May need some pumps to keep the speed up or to shift the weight forward to get more speed. Otherwise, if I gradually get too high the board will start to slip sideways a bit, like a fin spin out, before overfoiling and crashing down. I've caught some near overfoils this way by noticing the rear slipping. Other times, it happens to fast and I just hang on and hope I don't go flying when the board comes down fast.
Hey Foulweatherjack, hear you on getting old, the cure for me was taking 5 grams of creatine monohydrate before and after each session, and same for lifting weights at gym, got my strength and endurance back up and rarely get sore after sessions anymore, and if I do get some soreness it goes away after taking creatine Sixstar brand. 100% natural supplement to help build muscle strength and have more strength and endurance on the water. Just make sure you are getting enough protein in your diet to build your muscle strength.
