Personal data:
Age 76
weight 128 lbs, 58 k
Pretty fit from walking, PickleBall
windsurf experience
Kited for 9 years. The last 2 were strapless
lots of SUP paddling plus SUP surf in Maui with a Sunova Speeed.
Where I live in Vancouver, Canada there are no demo days and not many used beginner boards. I have a Go Foil beginner set of foils and an F-One Strike 5m.
The Fanatic Sky wing board interest me the most because they are sold locally and their apparent light wind ability and speed/ease of getting up on the foil. Most of my winging will be in light wind for now.
I would like to buy one board and have it last more than 3 days of a learning period. My thought is that one of these Fanatics might be good for a longer period. But due to my age I want this to work and not get exhausted or dead in the process.
I have read as much as I can find on these new boards and they sound right. I would appreciate feedback from those of you who have had experience with them on which one would maybe work better.
Thank you,
John
I Have a mate your age he is very keen but having trouble getting going . So thinking on this it may be best to start on the 105 L As I think when you get into wing foiling you my be looking at a smaller board. with only 2inches in the difference you will still have a lot of fun on either/. if you have smooth water then the 95l.its no fun to start to small.
I have the 105, 77kgs.
Since its only 5'4 i have no intention on selling it until im gybing and tacking with ease. right now im only gybing confidently one one tack.
until you can corner confidently there is alot of restarting and getting going to be done, and a bigger board for sure helps with that.
At your weight you could start on the 95 no problem and it will be better once your up and going for your size, but that could be a little while away.
if you have the budget i would start with the 105, then jump down to bodyweight + 15 (so for you the 75) once you have sorted out the basics. that way you can fly through the beginner stages as quickly as possible without wasting energy wrangling with a smaller board.
Select to expand quoteHi John
I am 75 yo and a bit, 76kg with weakish knees so can relate.
I have the 105 Fanatic but had the previous version 95l love both.
The reason for going to the 105l was to give me more buoyancy to help getting up from my knees in light wind ie 10kn ish.
The 105 is a similar weight to the old 95l and has a similar feel due to the pulled in nose and tail. The 105 meets all my requirements.
At your weight, the 95l TE could be the pick. These boards are lighter, so have a buoyancy similar to the next size down of the old version.
All TEs have a flatter rocker, almost no rail bevels and release from the water a little easier.
Good luck.
Knee starts are bad at your age. You want to avoid sailing around on your knees. The larger board will make it possible to place hands on deck and just stand up.
The only drawback to bigger boards is weight.
