Shorter vs Longer Wing board

The smaller you can make the board, the less weight you need to swing around.

The smaller you make the board, the harder they are to get going in light wind.

The smaller you make the board, the harder it will be to balance on if you knee start.

From the 5-6 samples we have here, everyone who started on 6'6-7' foil board (with windsurfing or kitesurfing experience) were very self sufficient after 7-8 sessions. Those who started on shorter board...specially shorter than 6'2 were efficient after 20 sessions roughly, at least! Some quit also. I find some sub 6' board with a lot of weight in front(thinking about windfoil board)...they have more swing weight then their peers...even if they are shorter.... to a certain extend.I also feel, that wider board is less reactive then narrower board...could be a placebo effect but this is what I feel....so to me a narrower board reduce swing weight.Where foil is located also affect a lot!

But yes, in general sub 6' is where you want to go next.

Thanks guys for all the great advice ??

At 90 kg I just dropped down from a 5-10 custom x 28 x 105L ( 7 kg ) to the 2022 Fanatic TE 5-6 x 27 x 105 L (6.4kg ) . Pretty amazed at the stability of the Fanatic I'm still up hauling on it and amazing float and stability chugging around waiting for a gust. Went for a first run ( lawn mow) yesterday in 8 to 10 knots. I used my Axis 930 HPS & 6m wing as a bit of a test and still managed to get and going which really surprised me ( hard starts though) . The stand out feature was when I was up and foiling and hit a lull the board just pumped so well and easy compared to my 5-10. To me best of both worlds bigger board stability and small board feel. I will eventually get a sinker but very happy with this right now , can't wait to hit the waves & DW over the couple of days.

My three board evolution (77 kg, 6')

1. (2019) Blue Planet Carver; 114liter/ 5'8"/27"(?)/18.5#/bamboo/standard side&rear bevel

2. (2020) FoilSurfMachine; 90liter/5'1"/26"/12.8#/Innegra/standard rear bevel&reduced side bevel

3. (2021)FoilSurfMachine; 75liter/4'9"/24.5"/12.4#/Innegra/no rear bevel&no side bevel on rear half of board/tapered low volume pointy nose

Current 75 liter board; lightest swing weight and fastest from standing to on-foil via quick planing and release at higher speed with narrow profile "glide" foil, versus pumping up onto foil at lower speed with thicker "pumping" foil

Select to expand quote

hilly said..
A few litres under your body weight is better than 10 over. 105kg I found the corkiness hard to deal with on a 5 6 @ 112l. Just got a 99l 5 8 with lots of deck concave and it is super stable. Should have got a 5 5

A foil friend at 110kg rides a 40l board but that's not for me, each person has a requirement that works them.
It is good however to read others achievements.

Select to expand quote

Jeroensurf said..
I agree and so do different conditions dictate your gear usage too.At the North Sea with rasther constant wind i,m very happy with my AK5.8x90l (i,m right now 96 kg and wearing a 5/6mm full hooded winter suit etc).
On the other side: when its in the winter dead onshore or offshore we wing on a lake with lots of big luls and wind gaps.I can assure you: you don,t wanna sink till your belly in the water when it is around zero C when the wind suddenly dies. So just to be able to float back almost without wind I bought a 2022 Fanatic 5.8x 125l.
Yes she is 8kg (2kg more heavy as the AK) and not as nimble, but I can live with that when I see guys with small boards sitting and waiting/hoping for a gust till there balls freeze off.

Wow! That's hard core. I feel like such a whimp, putting on 2mm steamer because the wind felt cool and there were a few showers around. 23 deg air and 21 deg water.
In my youth I surfed a bit in Victoria around Easter usually and was always glad to go north after a few weeks.

Select to expand quote

MHSA said..
How much difference does a square tail and boxy rails like the 2022 fanatic make to kneeling stability?

is the 2022 5'6 105L fanatic noticeably more stable than a:
- 105l 5'6 quatro with chines and bevel tail,
-or a 110 L 5'10 naish thats 4 inches longer??

Hi MHSA
Me 76kg getting on a bit in yrs so knees tire often quickly. To help I need some solid buoyancy to help me get up from kneeling unless plenty of solid gusts.
So what has worked for me, inconjunction with easy early foiling, is a bit of volume, boxy rails and tail and flat rocker for atleast the back half of the board for shortish boards or a longer flat rocker dedicated foil board.
Following is a summary of my board choices over recent times.
Naish 110 and 125. Liked both but with the big bevelled tail standing up in light wind often resulted in a sinking tail and a fall.
Demoed a Fanatic 95l with instant success thick tail made getting up way easier and quick to foil.
Legs now a bit weaker so for light wind bought a 2019 dedicated Naish 7ft 6in x 28in wide dedicated sup foil board, dead flat rocker. Stand up is super easy and the generated sub planning speed made light wind failing easy.

Now for the ultimate, 95l Fanatic has gone to another good home due to the arrival of the 105l TE mint green Fanatic. It is way more buoyant helping me get up from kneeling, it feels as small or smaller than the old 95l and is up foiling quicker. I guess no need to say any more.

Select to expand quote

hilly said..
A few litres under your body weight is better than 10 over. 105kg I found the corkiness hard to deal with on a 5 6 @ 112l. Just got a 99l 5 8 with lots of deck concave and it is super stable. Should have got a 5 5

Hey Hilly, I have a + 5 to 10L main board and a -25L* (only used a few times, gentle introduction to sinker boards). I was considering selling my main floater board and replacing it with a -5 to - 10 as I don't like the extra width on the larger board. I'm sure I'll be ok slogging it and getting starting in light wind. The only time I'm not sure is in significant swell /big confused sea. A few months ago I had a nightmare to get going again as I came off on a wave and there wasn't enough of a lull to get my balance, sort the wing out and get going b4 getting smashed.lol.. maybe the board slightly under water would have helped. Do you think on this scenario the -5L/-10L may help?

*The -25L semi sinker board is very easy to get going in half decent wind but alot of my local breaks are really shallow so I can only use it in limited conditions.

Go as small as you are willing to struggle with. I know that sounds flippant but let me delve deeper

The closer your board is to your weight the corkier and more unstable it will feel. I think +-5l wet weight is worse. The board is sitting right at the water line and depending on the outline and volume distribution this can make it a complete PITA.

Bigger boards are easier as you can just stand on them.
Dropping below your weight by about 20l is a pretty good place. You are no longer starting on your knees but can if you want. You tend to partially sink the board and l find this was more controllable than a board on the surface.
The other often overlooked aspect of riding small boards is the power they need. You either need a bigger wing or a bigger foil depending on the conditions. You also need to be willing to burn a few sessions sitting in the water.
Having said that the boards around -20l don't normally have this handicap as the nose gets out of the water and you can start planning easily. Proper sinkers are a bit different.

just adding my 2c

I tend to agree with rich here. Although I'm extrapolating from a true sinker. I just change up from a 4'5 34L to a 4'10 39l (an extra I inch wide) and the difference is remarkable. I'm finally on the same size wings as crew on their normal boards now. Stink bud and she pops up with ease. Significantly more stable as it's under water but not nearly as deep as the 4'5.

Extrapolating that to say a 55L ish board (I'm 75kg ish) . I just cant see how you couldn't get going in most conditions - apart from losing a few to marginal crappy days.

Select to expand quote

RichJam said..Go as small as you are willing to struggle with. I know that sounds flippant but let me delve deeper

Agree with this, but my almost 60-year-old knees do not like lots of struggle.

Depending on weight 410.
I'll go out on a limb and say anything sub 40 is small.
Regarding pumping. You will not be able to tell. My 2 boards are at the moment 48/49l and 49/38l. It will end up as 410/60 when it arrives.

Yeh wicka recon ya bang on there and spot on width. Hate anything wider than 22/23.

Select to expand quote

eppo said..
Yeh wicka recon ya bang on there and spot on width. Hate anything wider than 22/23.

Yeah I couldn't agree more mate!