Dear fellow Wing foilers,
i am seeking advice for an efficient light wind wingfoil Board for my home spot (10 knots flat water lake spot). My weight is 76 kg and my Level is intemediate (jibes, tacks and small jumps on the foil).
i am considering the duotone Skybrid sls 80liters for early take off in light winds with my current Slingshot g900 foil.
Is the volume enough, should i go for 90 Liters or a diff?rent shape?
thanks
juergen
Your wind is really light, but once you are positive buoyancy (or within 10 liters on either side) I don't really see a benefit for another 10 liters. The board shape is going to have much more of an impact on your efficiency than those extra liters. If you are going positive buoyancy I suggest a mid length with a pin tail. I don't have experience with the Skybird, but from the look of it, I think there are boards that are probably more optimized for positive buoyancy efficiency. That board looks like a bit of a flat planing hull which I find to be more efficient on lower volume boards. Take a look at the higher volume Omen Emmisary or Appletree Skipper Mid boards for a good example of the pin tail and some displacement features, which add to the efficiency on the positive bouyancy boards. Or demo the Skybird and see what you think.
Depends on how you ride. If you want to progress with more tricks and jumping and want to become better at pumping the wing and the board -> go for the 80. If you don't want to work as hard to get on foil in very light conditions -> 90.
I'm 72kg and use a 70L midlength. I'm foiling in similar conditions sometimes (lake,fluctuating and gusty winds, often marginal conditions). With that board and a 4M Wing i can get going at around 6-8 knots by pumping very hard. Basically as soon as the wing flies on it's own i can yank myself up onto foil. It's all a question of technique and how hard you want to challenge yourself. :-)
