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gregnw44
Joined: 23 Jul 2008 Posts: 783 Location: Seattle, Wa
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Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 6:25 pm Post subject: Re: Lightest wind speeds for foiling? |
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rtz wrote: | So just how light are you able to get out in? |
Some answers you got included the sailor's weight, but many didn't. You need that info for this to be the most helpful.
You also need some idea of their windsurf skill - pumping skill - sailing location - and fitness!
I'm old, tall, and slender (200 lbs) and have windsurfed a long time. I know how to pump hard and efficiently (longboard racing, formula, etc)... but won't do it for more than several seconds, cause I don't have the fitness anymore and my shoulders always hurt.
For windfoiling I've used my old formula board which is very light (and I love it for carrying around)… but due to that, it's very fragile. It has many cracks now and I'm lazy so I haven't fixed it.
Therefore I switched to an equally old Go board (similar enough in specs to the formula, for me). It weighs a bunch more, but is way more durable, and I haven't cracked it (even though I've now foiled it way more than the formula).
For me, windfoiling mostly on a lake, in light wind... I think a good basic windsurf board like I have is good enough for foiling PROVIDED you have a foil with a flange.
I've only used the LP carbon freeride windfoil, it has a great flange which spreads out the lifting load to the bottom of the board. It doesn't have to be a huge flange, mine seems great. No damage to either board's fin-box in 19 months of occasional foiling (with plenty of crashes). Slingshot also has a similar sized, built in flange... and a few others as well. But ask about this, cause many do not.
If using a foil without a flange, I'd want a purpose built foil board, or the skills to reinforce or repair my own basic finbox.
You can use about any sail you want.
But your question is about getting flying in light wind. So I think a lighter sail, that's also very powerful for it's size in light wind conditions... is the best choice. Soft, full-cut sails that are made from light weight material can be good for this goal. Also, older (approx. 1988 - 2001) 1 to 3 cam recreational race sails that are made from lightweight monofilm are also very good. Also new foiling sails are very good. None of these sails will have a ton a heavy reinforcements added... they aren't like high wind, heavy sails of the last several years (with floppy head, etc).
I can get the kit, as described above, flying in solid 10 mph wind, using a light 8-9m sail... no ocean swell to help... but it takes athletic pumping. The board speed needs to get up to about 10mph (which I can do, briefly, with good pumping)… and then I'll speed up and fly along at approx 15-17 mph. If there's a lull, it gets tough, and I'll probably drop back to the water if I slow down to 8-9 mph. Sometimes I can pump the foil, and or, the sail, and keep flying (this depends how energetic I feel).
All this gets way easier in 15 mph wind, then I'll use a 7.5 to 8 and do less (or zero) pumping, cause it's easier to get up to 10 mph board speed. And I'll speed up to 15-20 flying speed, and can go where I want much easier.
Hope this helps
_________________ Greg
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Wind-NC.com
Joined: 30 May 2007 Posts: 980 Location: Formerly Cape Hatteras, now Burlington, VT!
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 11:40 am Post subject: |
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joethewindsufa wrote: | my ten knot goal is get on the water and have some fun
winds under that are too iffy here
at around 12 knots the wide freeride JP SLW92 often does the trick
just read on seabreeze that few or no boards do both foiling and windsurfing really well - ideally need two boards |
Paralysis By Analysis, dude! Don't let the perfectionists keep you from enjoying the sport. You definitely don't need two different boards to go have some fun. Your SLW breaches the gap between light wind windsurf and early flying foil board really well- it will work great for foiling.
If you're already planing in 12 knot winds on the SLW, then simply swapping the fin for an early flying freeride or race foil will get you down to flying in the ten knot wind range pretty easily I would think. This represents more than a 16% difference in wind threshold for being able to get going FAST. Those are real, attainable results, not to be snubbed by perfectionists.
If you're pushing the limits of physics and trying to get flying along at 15+ knot board speeds in just 6 knots of wind, then yes, of course you need very specialized equipment and every little nuanced detail can make a big difference. But if you're just trying to have some fun in somewhat reasonable conditions with somewhat reasonable expectations, then don't sweat it and just go have fun!
I would suggest that foiling is about way more than just the numbers, anyway- the sensation is what gets most people hooked. The fact that the sensation is available with just ten knots of wind is simply the icing on the cake.
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dvCali
Joined: 23 Aug 2007 Posts: 1314
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gregnw44
Joined: 23 Jul 2008 Posts: 783 Location: Seattle, Wa
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 3:37 pm Post subject: |
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This post is not regarding "how light can the wind be to foil"... but more data on "what kinda gear can you foil" with.
I was lucky that a good photographer was out on the cold, breezy beach last Sat... and super lucky to get a ton of good pics!
This is the board I just posted about above - 2003 Starboard Go board.
The wind on Sat was very up / down gusty 12-22 mph (a rare windy day for Seattle) and so I used an approx. 1995 6.0m Ezzy 2 cam slalom sail, very light, easy to rig, little downhaul tension.
And my 2017 carbon LP windfoil that I wrote about above (flange).
I've been using this board / foil combo for over a year.... the finbox is stock with no reinforcements... but lots of windsurfing use since '03. I'm 200 lbs and have had many crashes in the last year, and there's no damage to the finbox, board... or the foil.
Anyway the answer is, "YES you can have great fun with a windfoil in all kinds of different gear, haha!!"
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_________________ Greg
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gregnw44
Joined: 23 Jul 2008 Posts: 783 Location: Seattle, Wa
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm... can you attach more than 1 pic?
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_________________ Greg
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gregnw44
Joined: 23 Jul 2008 Posts: 783 Location: Seattle, Wa
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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Breaking the internet, one pic at a time
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_________________ Greg
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gregnw44
Joined: 23 Jul 2008 Posts: 783 Location: Seattle, Wa
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gregnw44
Joined: 23 Jul 2008 Posts: 783 Location: Seattle, Wa
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 3:21 pm Post subject: |
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All the pics I just posted above, are from last Sat 1-19-19... sailing on Lake Washington in Seattle. There are tons more that I got from a pro photographer who was at the park that day. However, I'll just spam you with a few more "group shots"... that show "some" of the 9 or 10 windsurfers (and 2 kiters).
That's a pretty good turn-out for a cool winter day here - air temp was 48-51 throughout... and water temp is 47 degrees... wind was up and down, from 12-22 mph. Those were quite decent conditions for winter windsurfing in Seattle... and it was NOT raining which that makes it "so much better" and that explains why we got so many people out
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_________________ Greg
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joethewindsufa
Joined: 10 Oct 2010 Posts: 1190 Location: Montréal
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 6:47 pm Post subject: |
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for me, that smile says it all !!
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gregnw44
Joined: 23 Jul 2008 Posts: 783 Location: Seattle, Wa
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Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 9:27 am Post subject: |
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Getting a windsurfer flying a couple feet above the water, and holding it there for a bit is "an awesome feeling"!
At least for me.
Most of my attempts have been in wind that's too light... using 8 and 9m sails... pumping like crazy, trying to do what the pros do, who are in more wind (or weigh less than I do). But it is such a new and cool sensation (for an old time windsurfer) to get this contraption up in the air and cruising along at faster speeds, with a smaller sail... than I'm used to (in light / moderate wind).
And yeah, I find myself smiling all the time out there, trying to get across the lake airborne, sailing by myself most the time... giggling away, having a great time!!
_________________ Greg
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