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Lightest wind speeds for foiling?
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gregnw44



Joined: 23 Jul 2008
Posts: 783
Location: Seattle, Wa

PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 6:25 pm    Post subject: Re: Lightest wind speeds for foiling? Reply with quote

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 Smile

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Wind-NC.com



Joined: 30 May 2007
Posts: 980
Location: Formerly Cape Hatteras, now Burlington, VT!

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 11:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

joethewindsufa wrote:
my ten knot goal is get on the water and have some fun Very Happy
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
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

joethewindsufa wrote:
my ten knot goal is get on the water and have some fun Very Happy
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

Only reason I got a foil specific board is because my biggest slalom had a regular Tuttle box. If your JP has a deep tuttle just get a foil and go!

PS Depending on your boar construction you might want to add a layer of fiberglass to the top of the box. I (heavily!) strengthened the top of an ultra-light JP 78 slalom for a friend of mine and it worked fine for more than a year (now it is sold, he bought a JP 135 foil specific). I also added inserts because the board only had slalom strap set up.



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gregnw44



Joined: 23 Jul 2008
Posts: 783
Location: Seattle, Wa

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 3:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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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gregnw44



Joined: 23 Jul 2008
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 3:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hmm... can you attach more than 1 pic?


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gregnw44



Joined: 23 Jul 2008
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Breaking the internet, one pic at a time Smile


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gregnw44



Joined: 23 Jul 2008
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Location: Seattle, Wa

PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 4:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, as was said - it's an amazing feeling / sensation to be flying almost 3' above the water, cruising along at about 1.5x the wind speed in 15 mph wind, with a heavy, intermediate 15 year old 165 L Go board, and a 23 year old 6m sail, and a one year old carbon LP free-ride easy handling windfoil, haha!
Oh yeah, and 200 lb is me just out of the shower... no idea how much more I weigh with ALL the winter crap on Smile



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gregnw44



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Location: Seattle, Wa

PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 3:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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 Smile



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joethewindsufa



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PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 6:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

for me, that smile says it all !! Very Happy

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gregnw44



Joined: 23 Jul 2008
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 9:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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!!

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