Select to expand quotebroVan said..Can555 said..broVan said..
Yes, but I try to grab one handle further back. And I don't do that thumb grabbing the nose thing. And I now, mostly go straight to back knee on board and front foot on board and then launch the wing. The more dihedral in the wing, the easier.
I'm trying to picture getting the front foot up on the board before launching the wing. Seems pretty yoga-esque considering the wing is sort of blocking you from making that move until the wing is clear? I do the start similar to the vid without the nose grab and it works really well. Haven't tried it on anything under 76L yet though. I'm 90 kg. Only issue is how this start is wearing holes in the elbows on my wetsuits so fast!
My flexibility is garbage. I think what I do is grab power handle and put that arm's elbow on board near front strap. Next I climb on with rear knee slightly aft of center and am in a stable position. I am pushing the board down with rear hand to get to my knee. Then I grab the rear power handle and in one movement I stand my torso upright, launching the wing and then my front foot goes on board just infront of front strap. I use the wing to take weight off my front leg and drop it in place. I always get to to standing with each foot to the outside of straps which puts me center balanced on the board and helps with planing.. My back foot uses the kick pad to pry up on. Then I put the front foot in strap with back just behind it for liftoff. Once on foil, I then put rear foot into strap. I can taxi in the one knee kneel for a short while but its not really worth the effort. Once I'm in that position, I can easily stand up. This move is much easier with my Dart than any other wings I have tried it with. The dihedral lets me get under the wing in a crouch. I'll try and get some vid to show.
Vid be good. Is this a true sinker or semi?
Select to expand quoteeppo said..broVan said..Can555 said..broVan said..
Yes, but I try to grab one handle further back. And I don't do that thumb grabbing the nose thing. And I now, mostly go straight to back knee on board and front foot on board and then launch the wing. The more dihedral in the wing, the easier.
I'm trying to picture getting the front foot up on the board before launching the wing. Seems pretty yoga-esque considering the wing is sort of blocking you from making that move until the wing is clear? I do the start similar to the vid without the nose grab and it works really well. Haven't tried it on anything under 76L yet though. I'm 90 kg. Only issue is how this start is wearing holes in the elbows on my wetsuits so fast!
My flexibility is garbage. I think what I do is grab power handle and put that arm's elbow on board near front strap. Next I climb on with rear knee slightly aft of center and am in a stable position. I am pushing the board down with rear hand to get to my knee. Then I grab the rear power handle and in one movement I stand my torso upright, launching the wing and then my front foot goes on board just infront of front strap. I use the wing to take weight off my front leg and drop it in place. I always get to to standing with each foot to the outside of straps which puts me center balanced on the board and helps with planing.. My back foot uses the kick pad to pry up on. Then I put the front foot in strap with back just behind it for liftoff. Once on foil, I then put rear foot into strap. I can taxi in the one knee kneel for a short while but its not really worth the effort. Once I'm in that position, I can easily stand up. This move is much easier with my Dart than any other wings I have tried it with. The dihedral lets me get under the wing in a crouch. I'll try and get some vid to show.
Vid be good. Is this a true sinker or semi?
Semi .... but essentially the same process for me (110kg) whether it is a 95L (semi sinker) or 65L (very sinker). I have a 40L board I will give a crack just for the sake of it in the next few days.
Select to expand quotebroVan said..Can555 said..broVan said..
Yes, but I try to grab one handle further back. And I don't do that thumb grabbing the nose thing. And I now, mostly go straight to back knee on board and front foot on board and then launch the wing. The more dihedral in the wing, the easier.
I'm trying to picture getting the front foot up on the board before launching the wing. Seems pretty yoga-esque considering the wing is sort of blocking you from making that move until the wing is clear? I do the start similar to the vid without the nose grab and it works really well. Haven't tried it on anything under 76L yet though. I'm 90 kg. Only issue is how this start is wearing holes in the elbows on my wetsuits so fast!
My flexibility is garbage. I think what I do is grab power handle and put that arm's elbow on board near front strap. Next I climb on with rear knee slightly aft of center and am in a stable position. I am pushing the board down with rear hand to get to my knee. Then I grab the rear power handle and in one movement I stand my torso upright, launching the wing and then my front foot goes on board just infront of front strap. I use the wing to take weight off my front leg and drop it in place. I always get to to standing with each foot to the outside of straps which puts me center balanced on the board and helps with planing.. My back foot uses the kick pad to pry up on. Then I put the front foot in strap with back just behind it for liftoff. Once on foil, I then put rear foot into strap. I can taxi in the one knee kneel for a short while but its not really worth the effort. Once I'm in that position, I can easily stand up. This move is much easier with my Dart than any other wings I have tried it with. The dihedral lets me get under the wing in a crouch. I'll try and get some vid to show.
So Brovan, you have back knee on board (just aft of center) the front is still in the water right ? And you say you are stable like that? are able to use the wing and body (torso upright) to pull that front leg up and get front foot on board just in front of front foot strap?
am I reading this correctly ?
I think I understand Brovan's approach now. Back leg kneels, front foot goes directly to deck from water with no kneeling as wing is powered up. Going to try that.
Select to expand quotebigtone667 said..eppo said..broVan said..Can555 said..broVan said..
Yes, but I try to grab one handle further back. And I don't do that thumb grabbing the nose thing. And I now, mostly go straight to back knee on board and front foot on board and then launch the wing. The more dihedral in the wing, the easier.
I'm trying to picture getting the front foot up on the board before launching the wing. Seems pretty yoga-esque considering the wing is sort of blocking you from making that move until the wing is clear? I do the start similar to the vid without the nose grab and it works really well. Haven't tried it on anything under 76L yet though. I'm 90 kg. Only issue is how this start is wearing holes in the elbows on my wetsuits so fast!
My flexibility is garbage. I think what I do is grab power handle and put that arm's elbow on board near front strap. Next I climb on with rear knee slightly aft of center and am in a stable position. I am pushing the board down with rear hand to get to my knee. Then I grab the rear power handle and in one movement I stand my torso upright, launching the wing and then my front foot goes on board just infront of front strap. I use the wing to take weight off my front leg and drop it in place. I always get to to standing with each foot to the outside of straps which puts me center balanced on the board and helps with planing.. My back foot uses the kick pad to pry up on. Then I put the front foot in strap with back just behind it for liftoff. Once on foil, I then put rear foot into strap. I can taxi in the one knee kneel for a short while but its not really worth the effort. Once I'm in that position, I can easily stand up. This move is much easier with my Dart than any other wings I have tried it with. The dihedral lets me get under the wing in a crouch. I'll try and get some vid to show.
Vid be good. Is this a true sinker or semi?
Semi .... but essentially the same process for me (110kg) whether it is a 95L (semi sinker) or 65L (very sinker). I have a 40L board I will give a crack just for the sake of it in the next few days.
I'd call your 65l a sinker sinker as it's still over half your body weight, and your 40L the true sinker 
be interesting to see how you go man. As I have said the issue I'm having is I can get up alright on my 34L but the wing I need to get up is then we'll in it's upper wind range for the wind, hence always uncomfortable - especially in waves.
Hi Guys!! First post here my name is Jason M. and I live in Rhode Island USA, currently. I first described the "Stinkbug start" sometime ago on Standupzone forum. I'm glad you guys find it as easy as I have. It appears that there are now many different variations. And it may not work for a super sinker board but it allowed me to easily get started on a -30 L board for myself in shallowish water. I proposed it be named the quickstart, underwing start, deadman start or stinkbug start. The latter was a joke but it appears to have stuck. The reason I suggested stinkbug was because when I first started doing this I would be on my knees with my head under the wing and my rear end up like a stinkbug. Not a pretty sight I know. My technique has changed thankfully for onlookers. But basically I pop up onto my knees from the prone position then quickly raise the wing overhead. I push down on the board with my free hand and forearm of the other arm holding front handle (not leading edge handle) to pop up onto my knees.
* I first described it like this on standupzone:
1) I put the wing up on the board holding onto the front handle I will be using while riding (not LE handle).
2) I then climb up onto the board on my stomach in prone surf paddle position still holding the handle on top the board with the wing over the top of me (it helps that I am on the Duo Unit with dihedral so the upper half of the wing isn't resting directly on me. The lower half is flat on the water.
3) I then simultaneously push down on the board with my front forearm (still holding the handle on the nose of the board) and my back hand (which is free and close to the rail about mid board or maybe a little more towards the tail) and quickly pop up onto my knees keeping my head and shoulders low. As soon as I am on my knees I quickly raise the wing and grab the back handle (everything soon stabilizes).
4) Now I am in classic knee start position with wing powered up overhead. It's all normal from there and doable!!!
I can't post a link to the crappy video I took because it's my first post but you can see it if you search standupzone forum for the thread titled " Re: Dropped board size today" and my same user as here- cnski
Thank you!!!
Cheers mr stink bud - 
so your technique just avoids bringing the wing towards you when already on your knees - which can be very unstable on a semi sinker. So I essentially now have three versions to practise. I want to see which one works best on a true sinker - which mine is below half my body weight.
The aim being to be able to use a wing size that's not in its top third to beyond its max wind range - which seems to be the case on such a sinker. The objective is to get that nose out of the water because once I do it's near 100 Percent success rate. It's getting that damn nose out the water that is causing the fuss
Get up easy enough in the squat position but then you are super powered which sucks in waves
Time to eat Sh1te again.
Hi eppo- Yes the stinkbug start enabled me to start a -30 L board which I was unable to climb onto on my knees with the wing to the side in the water then lift overhead. You know- the classic knee start. I would like to try a super sinker someday but I weigh 110 kg and am loving my current flat/wide tail board with the Axis 999. Topic for another thread...
Currently I've tried King Crash method once only without success on the true sinker (although a mate of mine has developed independently the same method and does well - so there must be something in it).
Bro - Vans method (if I understand it) intrigues me.
It makes biomechanics sense to me. Not sure of the reality.
but I'm wondering how stable it will be on a full short sinker on one knee, and also as you power up wing and lift torso to get front foot on - especially in decent swell chop. I anticipate everything needs to be done quickly.
i am thinking the placement of that back knee is pretty crucial depending on the board. On a very short true sinker - if you don't get it right you are gonna squirrel around like nothing else.
Select to expand quoteMidAtlanticFoil said..
That's the best video showing the Stinkbug I've seen yet. Thanks Dwight!
Mine is slightly different but not much.
Agree, this is the one!
Select to expand quoteeppo said..bigtone667 said..eppo said..broVan said..Can555 said..broVan said..
Yes, but I try to grab one handle further back. And I don't do that thumb grabbing the nose thing. And I now, mostly go straight to back knee on board and front foot on board and then launch the wing. The more dihedral in the wing, the easier.
I'm trying to picture getting the front foot up on the board before launching the wing. Seems pretty yoga-esque considering the wing is sort of blocking you from making that move until the wing is clear? I do the start similar to the vid without the nose grab and it works really well. Haven't tried it on anything under 76L yet though. I'm 90 kg. Only issue is how this start is wearing holes in the elbows on my wetsuits so fast!
My flexibility is garbage. I think what I do is grab power handle and put that arm's elbow on board near front strap. Next I climb on with rear knee slightly aft of center and am in a stable position. I am pushing the board down with rear hand to get to my knee. Then I grab the rear power handle and in one movement I stand my torso upright, launching the wing and then my front foot goes on board just infront of front strap. I use the wing to take weight off my front leg and drop it in place. I always get to to standing with each foot to the outside of straps which puts me center balanced on the board and helps with planing.. My back foot uses the kick pad to pry up on. Then I put the front foot in strap with back just behind it for liftoff. Once on foil, I then put rear foot into strap. I can taxi in the one knee kneel for a short while but its not really worth the effort. Once I'm in that position, I can easily stand up. This move is much easier with my Dart than any other wings I have tried it with. The dihedral lets me get under the wing in a crouch. I'll try and get some vid to show.
Vid be good. Is this a true sinker or semi?
Semi .... but essentially the same process for me (110kg) whether it is a 95L (semi sinker) or 65L (very sinker). I have a 40L board I will give a crack just for the sake of it in the next few days.
I'd call your 65l a sinker sinker as it's still over half your body weight, and your 40L the true sinker be interesting to see how you go man. As I have said the issue I'm having is I can get up alright on my 34L but the wing I need to get up is then we'll in it's upper wind range for the wind, hence always uncomfortable - especially in waves.
I tried the 38L naish boogie board and I made it to my knees but I struggled to maintain balance and get the wing above my head.
Went to a 51L skywalker and stinkbugged sround the lake for 30km. I was a bit lit on a 5m in 25knots but as I get better launching, I will drop a size.
Pretty pleased with the stinkbug, game changing.
I am stinkbugging my 80L board and I am 85kg. I recently got a 40L board and the stinkbug doesn't really work on that one. For the 40L I just let go of wing and push board all the way under with both hands and go right to footstraps. Then, reel in the wing and I can grab normal power handles that I will fly with and just hang out indefinitely under half of the wing waiting for gust. My smallish volume ART999 and 380 stab are easier than any other kit I have tried to maintain this underwater standing position. The lack of boyancy makes this easier than on bigger foils. This applies to the stinkbug on =ish body weight boards too. Big volume foils want to breach which makes the balance harder. One thing I forgot to mention on my previous post is that I am crawling onto my board sideways, like I ride it. I start with my body upwind of board and wing on top of board.
Eppo, yes I am stable with back knee and front elbow on board holding front power handle. I don't hang out in this position for any time at all. I then do the main move where I grab back handle, start to erect my body, and when the sail catches wind, I then pull front foot onto board. It feels similar to when I knee start on a bigger board. The part where I am on knees and flying wing over head and I pull on wing to unweight and move from two knee to one foot/one knee.
Its hard to put all of these motions into words as they are just engrained muscle memory that I have developed over the past 3 years. I'm sure I am leaving out a bunch of steps.
Ah so on the 40L just the normal squat stance. Damn. Went out yesterday with very little wind and swam around with board and wing trying the various setups (with no intention of getting up) just to see which was stable before lift off.
the squat was still the most stable, holding the leading edge down on the water before lifting over head and just sitting there waiting. Then two knees. One knee either front (King crash) or back knee (like yours) wasn't as stable - but again no power in the wing to execute the next step which all work together.
what I did notice though is using the squat method the nose/board was least likely to surface using the boards own volume displacement and the little wind I had. Being on the knees the board defintely wanted to surface easier. It's that front foot in position in the strap that is impeding the angle of the board coming up. When lifting wing you can't help push down on the front foot.
I did find it easier to get on both knees though from sitting on surfboard, lying prone then using that stink bud type method the get hold of both handles, get on knees and push the leading edge down in water for stability.
keep working on it but yeh the stink bud is the go for semi sinkers. A variation is needed for the real sinkers and in the end it might just be the squat - which still needs silly wing power. Hence might have to just bite the Bullet and get a mid forty litre board.
luckily found a wave, packed up wing and had a decent prone before sunset. Happy days
Hopefully this is on point.
YouTube: see: Kiteboarding.com
"Water start a 40L wingboardcom"
Cheers man excellent vid....
yep the is exactly the method I ascertained would work the best for me after yesterday on my 34L - even the board mounting technique he uses. Remembering I did it with little to no wind - was just swimming around with a wing seeing what was the easiest way to get on the board and what position was the most stable without any wind assistance.
and most importantly what gave me the best angle in the board to allow it to breach the surface (because here in lies the limitation of the squat method and the need for too big a wing - which sucks in the waves).
This one was the clear winner. See how quickly his nose breached....
So he weighs about the same as me and that 40 litre board looks fairly wind...with some length - anyone recognize the board and its dimensions?????
Would be great if the front foot was in the strap, back leg down - takes one component out, but I did find it more unstable than both knees and I couldn't get a much better angle on the board than when squatting. That being said I want to explore this one further as well.
Select to expand quoteeppo said..
So he weighs about the same as me and that 40 litre board looks fairly wind...with some length - anyone recognize the board and its dimensions?????
No expert but it could be the Naish Hover Wing Foil 40?
wing-surfer.com/product/hover-wing-foil-carbon-ultra/
Anybody know how i can add those two vids to the first post?.
There is no Edit button...
They make the technique easy and obvious,no wordy explanations needed.
Righto last four days or so been playing around with all these ideas at the more extreme end of sinking.
so I'm probably 78kg at moment suited up on a 34L 4'5 FG board and I'm no spring chicken at 48. So well below half of body weight to litres. Plus the length . if you had a longer board with same volume it would be easier as well to find balance point.
in the end the stink bud method on two knees worked the best for me. Aka same as vid posted by Pat WA which the guy only coincidently is on the same board.
after a few days of pain and swearing so loudly I nearly lost my voice, yesterday was a break through point in case.
I was able for the first time be on the same wing size as the best winger around these parts (Jason Aka wingman) on a 3.8 PPC, he on a 75L PPC board. Albeit he could have been on the 2.8 out back (but this guy rides stupidly small wings he's that efficient) but it was sketchy on the inside with waves running around a point into a wind shadow. But he wasn't nuked though and nor were I. Just well powered. (Wind was 18-20 ish).
The squat method just wouldn't get me up - nearly but not quite. Here is the bottom line where the game is won or lost.
Because you are so far under water on your feet in the squat - when you lift the wing to get power, you have to extend your body up to get a decent wing pump. This in turn pushes the body / legs down. Of course you mitigate this by bending the front leg as much as possible to get an acute angle of attack - but it's very easy to fall off the back this way. You are still trying to haul a lot of fat ass on a small board to the surface. Tried many times and not quite (bar one on a freak gust).
Back knee only on - lift front on when start.
Front knee only on - lift back leg when start
both these are too difficult balance wise for me on a sinker like this.
even back knee on, front foot in strap already, then start - while less unstable than above, you end up having very similar problems with the squat start - when lift wing that front foot keeps the nose down. Also it is more unstable than two knees. That being said this is the last option I will explore a bit further next session - because it would be nice to have the front foot already setup when you breach the surface.
on knees, with that acute angle - the nose is much closer to the surface and it surprisingly easy to breach the surface. When you lift body to pump the wing you are not pushing the board so far back into the water. I was able to even do it on the inside in the wind shadow - although planning up from there wasn't easy. But once up on the outside was easy enough to get going as per usual.
But the difficulty is getting that balance point on your knees (especially in the decent swell that was there) without corking either forward or backwards. Good deck grip over the entire board is recommended. But three sessions later it has already got easier. As I said earlier a longer board would help - give you a greater margin of error on the pivot point of falling forward or falling back when on two knees. Or indeed being pivoted around to the side and off board.
That being said i recon the next board size up at 39L would make life significantly easier. That is - a board at half your body weight or slightly above is realistic for using this method - anything less you are pushing Sh1te up hill and hence require a wing size that becomes very uncomfortable - especially in the rolling swell waves I've been experimenting in. Which is the true test. Anyone can piss about on nice flat water make a vid and look like a legend. This was a decent point break with rolling swells coming in from a relatively deeper drop off well out back.
anyhow hope this helps others that are experimenting with these stupidly small boards like this masochist.
Just to repost the clip PatWA put here for reference to what worked best. (Although I don't have the board at such an acute angle, nor do I piss about. Get wing up, board above surface, then I pump on knees for a bit if not enough wind.).
anyhow sorry for the essay . signing off one banged up mofo 
eppo, thanks for the post. I'm 78kg, but 190cm and I find with longer legs than average sized people board length makes a difference when standing up. Anyhow, I'm very much following your journey with high interest; I'm close to buying the 4'10 Armstrong wing surf board, ie. the next size up from your 4'5. My fear is that the 4'10 would miss the critical few litres and length/width. I would use it both for kitefoiling and then wingfoiling in stronger winds where I would want an agile board for waves and pumping between waves.
Any chance you to try out/demo someone else's 4'10 board?
I think I witnessed a record today.
A 6ft 2 or 3in 110kg guy about 60 yo 
do 8k windwing on a 40l board. He was stepping down from a big 65l board.
Jesus that impressive. Apparently Big T (at 110kg) cracked a 40L today as well!!
..
so another successful session on a 3.8 PPC like everyone else. (Two guys on 75L boards. One other whose 95kg on a 4m unit - although he used a 95L board).
The wind was decent 18-20 again, but was shifting SSW TO S, which goes from cross to cross off, dropping the relative wind speed (Hills and houses etc). was surprising how easy it was to break the surface - and plane on the knees for a bit due to the wind dropping all of a sudden. But it also highlighted a potential issue..
when standing up and pumping the board up onto the foil, because of its small volume - it takes a lot to generate enough speed. Enough to get up on the foil but tantalising close to its stall speed and sometimes you just come off the foil. Need to work on that.
tomorrows challenge is to now whack on the 925 on a half cut run and see what it's like getting that up onto the foil and not stalling out on the pump up.
I still aim to try the front leg up / back leg kneel but threw off the straps today as they were pissing me off. Will try without them i suppose.
To the guy above don't know anyone with a 4'10 - all have 4s or 4'5s. I am still considering changing over to one though to give me a tad more wiggle room with volume and stability on more marginal days. But alas I also don't want to lose the great prone pumping the 4'5 gives. Not to mention the awesome pumping you get with the wing flagged out. Recon the 4'10 is the right size for you though.
which brings me to my final point. I believe before too long, given the right wind I could sink an even smaller board. Easily my sons 4 foot 28L. But we can't all have several boards to suite all occasions. My aim is for a One board quiver to prone, wing and kite foil. Go for quality sessions more than quantity. But we all know that realistically that I will probably have to add a bigger semi sinker down the track.
Hence go the 4'10 or just stick with this 4'5 and get another larger semi sinker at about 50L. Not sure. But I'm leaning towards the 4'10.
crap another essay.
www.facebook.com/groups/wingboarding/permalink/1476382902728576/
Goes into great detail with the Stinkbug.
Tip for when a couple km out in 25 knots and rolling swell. Make sure you have decent board grip. Damn though a small board on a 925 linking up the swells - was worth the frustrated punishment. 
Gotta love the stink.
Finally went for my first sinker session. Army 4'5 34L to my 64kgs. HA 725 foil. Wind was 20-30+ knots so I rigged my 2.2M brm. Went to a protected cove so I wasn't SOL if it didn't work. Even with only a km or so of fetch, waves were around knee high and white capping.
Thanks to all the tips in this thread (and others) I was able to get up second attempt using the Stinkbug to knees to standing and flying.
Definitely easy with the tiny span of the 2m. Had to wait on the gusts to get up, but then I was golden once up.
At my weight, I feel like the just about half body weight worked really well. Super easy to keep the nose up. Once I have this board dialed in different conditions, I'll try my 4'0 27L.
Side note, this board felt a lot more manageable in the wind compared to my 60L (entry/exit of water). In the water I felt at home as a prone surfer/foiler. Sat till I saw a gust, get wing overhead, lay down with front handle hand holding windward nose, up to knees then power up.
I still have PTSD from my brief initial attempts water starting a sinker in early days. Even the 75L for 75kg was a little too undependable for our variable winds. I am comfortable with the 90ish L with regular knee start.
But the videos and discussion here are starting to look like this may have cracked the code, making smaller volume boards doable for regular folks. Sure would be fun to wing on my surf foil ... may have to give this a go.
Select to expand quoteMidAtlanticFoil said..
Dialed in the Stinkbug start yesterday on my -5L board. First time using it and it was a 100% success rate compared to 70% the old knee start reel in the wing method. (If I put a hole in my wing failing a start I will be so pissed)here's a clip kinda showing me get to my knees while holding the front strut handle. Thanks for the tips everyone
Hi mate
Love your work,still a beginner at the winging journey.Btw where is your go pro mounted?
Select to expand quoteLeighbreeze said..MidAtlanticFoil said..
Dialed in the Stinkbug start yesterday on my -5L board. First time using it and it was a 100% success rate compared to 70% the old knee start reel in the wing method. (If I put a hole in my wing failing a start I will be so pissed)here's a clip kinda showing me get to my knees while holding the front strut handle. Thanks for the tips everyone
Hi mate
Love your work,still a beginner at the winging journey.Btw where is your go pro mounted?Select to expand quoteLeighbreeze said..MidAtlanticFoil said..
Dialed in the Stinkbug start yesterday on my -5L board. First time using it and it was a 100% success rate compared to 70% the old knee start reel in the wing method. (If I put a hole in my wing failing a start I will be so pissed)here's a clip kinda showing me get to my knees while holding the front strut handle. Thanks for the tips everyone
Hi mate
Love your work,still a beginner at the winging journey.Btw where is your go pro mounted?
Thx! Enjoy the learning curve. This forum should make it a quicker one.
The GoPro max is actually fitted to the end of my strut using a piece from old GoPro helmet mount and some bungee. Then a 7" extension. Credit to FoiltheGreats for that. You can check his story archives on Instagram for a visual on the mount.
Select to expand quoteMidAtlanticFoil said..
Finally went for my first sinker session. Army 4'5 34L to my 64kgs. HA 725 foil. Wind was 20-30+ knots so I rigged my 2.2M brm. Went to a protected cove so I wasn't SOL if it didn't work. Even with only a km or so of fetch, waves were around knee high and white capping.
Thanks to all the tips in this thread (and others) I was able to get up second attempt using the Stinkbug to knees to standing and flying.
Definitely easy with the tiny span of the 2m. Had to wait on the gusts to get up, but then I was golden once up.
At my weight, I feel like the just about half body weight worked really well. Super easy to keep the nose up. Once I have this board dialed in different conditions, I'll try my 4'0 27L.
Side note, this board felt a lot more manageable in the wind compared to my 60L (entry/exit of water). In the water I felt at home as a prone surfer/foiler. Sat till I saw a gust, get wing overhead, lay down with front handle hand holding windward nose, up to knees then power up.
Yeeeha nice work man!! Yeh half body weight. That's why I'm thinking of moving to the 4'10 39L. I can use the 4'5 no issues now but In head high, rolling open ocean swells it was really hard work keeping that balance point - and even when nose was breached a bloody big wave would send the board under again. Plus it was my second down wind run and I was already cooked.
Plus I'm so deep in the water on my knees I'd lift the wing overhead and swell / wave would wash through and take the bottom of my wing back into the water. Grrrrrr - not great 1.5km off shore lol!!!
eventually half way down in the run When totally cooked, went to the traditional squat start as there was enough wind. It's still more stable to start for me - but much harder to break the board.
27L for you is totally doable man - go for it.
Select to expand quoteeppo said..MidAtlanticFoil said..
Finally went for my first sinker session. Army 4'5 34L to my 64kgs. HA 725 foil. Wind was 20-30+ knots so I rigged my 2.2M brm. Went to a protected cove so I wasn't SOL if it didn't work. Even with only a km or so of fetch, waves were around knee high and white capping.
Thanks to all the tips in this thread (and others) I was able to get up second attempt using the Stinkbug to knees to standing and flying.
Definitely easy with the tiny span of the 2m. Had to wait on the gusts to get up, but then I was golden once up.
At my weight, I feel like the just about half body weight worked really well. Super easy to keep the nose up. Once I have this board dialed in different conditions, I'll try my 4'0 27L.
Side note, this board felt a lot more manageable in the wind compared to my 60L (entry/exit of water). In the water I felt at home as a prone surfer/foiler. Sat till I saw a gust, get wing overhead, lay down with front handle hand holding windward nose, up to knees then power up.
Yeeeha nice work man!! Yeh half body weight. That's why I'm thinking of moving to the 4'10 39L. I can use the 4'5 no issues now but In head high, rolling open ocean swells it was really hard work keeping that balance point - and even when nose was breached a bloody big wave would send the board under again. Plus it was my second down wind run and I was already cooked.
Plus I'm so deep in the water on my knees I'd lift the wing overhead and swell / wave would wash through and take the bottom of my wing back into the water. Grrrrrr - not great 1.5km off shore lol!!!
eventually half way down in the run When totally cooked, went to the traditional squat start as there was enough wind. It's still more stable to start for me - but much harder to break the board.
27L for you is totally doable man - go for it.
That's gotta be hectic offshore in that situation!!
one thing I didn't mention in the above was I was loading the rear balance point and using the front of rear foot strap as a 'catch' for my rear foot big toe. So as soon as I left the Stinkbug and raised the wing, nose would go up to the surface and I would be leaning forward to overcome and get the board up on plane. Simultaneously I'd get my front foot up to the front strap and then rear foot if gust was the goods. If not I knew it wasn't good enough gust, I'd release rear hand and grab the nose to prevent cork'n'launch yard sale and reset to prone. This was after a few of above mentioned yard sales. With that small of a wing I didn't have a single successful launch or relaunch if my nose went under. Just not enough grunt I guess.
