I got a deal on a lift 5'10 50l prone board. Anyone successfully winged one of these or similar? I have never tried a sinker but up for the challenge. Or is it not even with trying?
Disclaimer: I've never tried a sinker
I'm 72kg riding a 75L board and have been tempted to try my ~30L prone board. I would think that footstraps would make the things much easier and I've also heard that the "medium" volume (~50L?) boards might be more difficult than say a 30L board because the smaller the volume, the board is easier to sink.
Our local learning spot isn't great to try out a sinker because it is very shallow. One day I will try it though!
I have toyed with idea of getting on the sinker program, but not put in serious effort. As fun as riding my surf foil would be, I am not convinced the extra agility of the ride will justify the pain of learning and the paddle if the wind dies down.
However, I tried it last week just for fun, with my 20L kitefoil board. It has foothooks not straps, but I could get over it and keep it fairly stable about chest deep (fairly being key word, as it's pretty unstable, board wants to shoot out like a watermelon seed, will require some practice). The wind was too light to pull me out of the hole though.
I have read reports that bigger boards are harder, as they float too much, difficult to sink.
At 50L you may be getting towards a board that can be started with "stinkbug / deadman" method. People who like this swear by it. So do some searching on this forum and on standupzone for the how-to....a few sessions practicing probably.
People wing much smaller boards all the time. 5'10" is long for a prone board, probably why you're getting a deal. Might be easier to wing though if there is more surface area to push against the water to get to the surface.
I had board in the shop so I took out my 38l 4'8" KT board with straps. You need plenty of wind to just get the thing to the surface. Sitting around waiting for a gust is rough since you can't really hang out in position to just pop up, it takes a while. So you want plenty of wind. With a 50L, that might be a perfect stink bug starting volume so you might get away with less wind and frustration.
I found standing straight legged underwater waiting for wind was possible but I was in the edge of falling constantly. Knee starting was much easier. No issues balancing on my knees, and once it's fully on the surface you pop to your feet just like any other board and you're off (unless the wind dies and you sink again).
Im interested in a 50-60l board to see if the trade offs are more worth it. You won't find me in a teeny board anytime soon. My DIY 4'8" 75L board is only 9.4lbs and my 38l kt board is 9.0lbs, so not much reason to ride it besides prone foiling.
Thats something to keep in mind, once your up riding the volume is irrelevant, it's the weight and length that you want to avoid. If you have a 10lb 50L and a 13lb 80l but the 80l is a foot shorter, it concentrates the weight closer to your feet and it might even feel much lighter and easier to turn than the longer lighter board.
TMI, apologies.
I have recently replaced my 60L board with a 42L KT drifter. At 70kgs I have no issue and probably could have gone smaller. My preferred start method is the stinkbug as 42L is too much volume for me to do a full sink start. I'm not flexible enough for a straddle start but a lot of younger peeps seem to do this. I find the 42L a lot easier to start than the 60L particularly in choppy conditions as it is mostly underwater. As someone else mentioned 5'10 is quite long and it won't feel anywhere near as agile as something a foot shorter.
Welcome to the sinker fun!
You will have to forget your first 3 sessions on the sinker as you train your muscle memory for balance, it's like learning to wing again.
The best advice I can give is to go with a bigger hand wing you would with a floating board. You NEED the power to get up quickly.
And yes a proper sinker is easier to sink and stabilise in chop. They say the ideal size is half your weight plus 10%. But you can get any sinker to work, just requires commitment and wind!
Using a sinker in flatwater is surprisingly easy if you can knee start reasonably well. I am still glowing about a session I had on my local lake the other night. I love being on a small board. I was using a 34 L board and I'm 68 kg. My 39 L board is even easier to get going and I'm thinking about using it in the waves today. I don't agree you have to throw 3 sessions away but you will have to pay some dues. One caveat is you have to be adequately powered!
I had 4 sessions last spring with my 39L, and I weigh about 86kg. My secret to getting up is "wind, lots of wind." I am not good at sink starting with a wing. I would just do the stink bug. Once at the surface, I bring my front foot up, but not too far forward until I can get my back foot down and balance the board. Then it is usually a really quick pop off the water. I feel like small boards release from the water faster, so as long as you can get to the surface, you're golden. I use the same technique on my 60L, which I can get going now in 14mph with a 6m wing. The responsiveness of a small board can't be beat. However, I am noticing it is less forgiving if I make a mistake on a footswitch-which is common.
Has anyone tried the Ride Engine Escape Pod? With 4'4 and 38 l it could be good for both, winging and prone.
The only difference with my 39L versus my 60 using the stink bud is getting the board to the surface. Plus your knee placement when under water has to be more precise on the 39L. But once on surface it's same same. I could go on either in the same wind speed with the same wind. But what's more of a limitation is the nature of the wind. If it's gusty with small periods then the sinker is more frustrating. You may get it to the surface but there is little leeway if the gust drops off.
