Hey all ,
After some advice on what is essential for a 115kg, 190cm, 55year old wing foiling beginner . Have previous sailing, windsurfing experience but never foiled .
Really want to make this as easy as possible so I am just looking for what will be the best size wing, board and foil setup to get out and started.
From Googling , youtubing and reading this site I am getting an idea that a 6/7 m wing with a 150/170 liter board may be a good starting point ? Really have no clue yet as to Foil and Mast size .
Any XXL foilers have advice on getting a Fat Boy Foiling ?
Thanks in advance .
I'm 105kg's, 55yrs & 175cm's and been learning foiling for maybe 2 summers off and on.
I started on a 6'10 132L SkySUP with a 2200SqCm foil and 6m wing. Second summer I changed to an Axis 1150PNG with the same board. I've now bought 4 & 5m wings.
This setup was good for me to learn on. Personally I'd be wary of wings bigger than 6m as the wider width makes learning to pump harder as you catch the wingtips until you learn the proper technique.
170L might be a bit too big, but also going too small can be detrimental early on in the learning process.
All that being said, it's a hoot of a sport!
120L so long as it's not too short or narrow would be plenty.
Medium aspect 1500-2000cm2 foil plus 6m wing if you get +15kts regularly.
Select to expand quoteGrantmac said..
120L so long as it's not too short or narrow would be plenty.
Medium aspect 1500-2000cm2 foil plus 6m wing if you get +15kts regularly.
+1
I am 108kg.
If you don't get +15knots regularly get the biggest wing you can get your hands on. 7.5/8m.
When in Kailua recently the big lads had a saying "24/7 is what you need"
And it meant 2400cm^2 and 7 m.
Select to expand quotegoggo said..
When in Kailua recently the big lads had a saying "24/7 is what you need"
And it meant 2400cm^2 and 7 m.
24/7 I think is the way .
Common wisdom is something like 20 to 30 litres over your weight for a beginner. 120L for a 115kg beginner in a winter wetsuit - definition of making your life harder than it needs to be IMO. You need to be able to comfortably stand and haul the wing up to get going.
I'd be looking at at least 140L board volume.
do yourself a favour and get ~160 liters board.
at best scenario you will replace it in several weeks....
I'm in your class Dartboy I use a150 ltr board sail size depends on what conditions you are going to go in I use a 6m and a few in between down to a 3.5
Foil wise something around 2000 I see those naish with the carbon mast are going for a reasonable price lately
good luck on your journey
Sail-wing area depends on wind speed. eg. Go +1 sq-m on a whatever an 80kg intermediate skill guy would use in your target wind speed.
Best learning board volume as a % of body weight also depends on: A) wind speed and while getting up on your feet, if you know how and have the skill to generate a little bit of sail power for forward board speed which adds much board roll stability. B) Board shape. They are not all the same. A flatter bottom and concave deck is more stable. A flatter tail underside will plane more easily on the water surface and lift off much easier. C) Mast length and foil span changes roll stability greatly when low-riding.
Best front foil depends on wind speed (sail power), foil area and also foil span and also foil thickness. For learning, be weary of foils with very wide span and thick "lifty" tips. Since too much roll stiffness makes learning harder and slower. A front foil which is too thick will also be pitch unstable when you go a bit faster, making learning harder and crashing more frequent.
Best rear foil is not too tricky. Get something that matches the front foil, and something with tips that curve up so that foil roll is converted into correct yaw and visa versa. Since intuitive foil turning aids learning a lot. For learning, be weary of flat rear foils, and avoid rear foils with downward curved tips the same way you'd avoid a car with a steering wheel that works in reverse.
Mast length shorter is better for learning. There is something about having the foil too far from your feet that makes learning more difficult, because you have to setup turning differently with a long mast. For flat water, def 75cm. For small chop, 75cm might be still be good. You will learn faster on 85cm if you must learn in larger waves.
Really comes down to average local conditions and locale where you wing. If lite winds, plenty of bigger guys do fine with 7 m2 wings. If winds are consistently above 15 knots, you could find something 6 ish. Bigger wings can be a pain, but sometimes they are a requirement depending on your spot. I have a 6.5 m2 and weigh 90 kgs. That wing gets used a ton, and doesn't stop me from completing jibes. Just requires technique. For the board, +20-30 volume is a good estimate. If you're foiling in lots of chop, maybe aim towards high end. For the foil, I started with the 2400, switch he'd to 1850, and still use this larger foil for lite days.
