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NOVAAN
Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1555
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2021 11:58 am Post subject: |
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Here we have a lake that is incredibly good with steady winds all summer. In the fall and winter the winds are weaker but even steadier. The big guys use to roll it up when it backed off for the summer. Now most are foiling all year on much smaller sails than what they used in the summer. Yes so I too think that foiling benefits the big guys the most. For me if its windy I rig a 5.5 and a 96 board and blast around. The strange and fun thing about foiling is if its lite winds, I rig a 4.7 or 4.2 and go foiling. Who knew. Anyway, thanks for all the input we can learn so much from each other.. |
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mac
Joined: 07 Mar 1999 Posts: 17780 Location: Berkeley, California
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2021 12:54 pm Post subject: |
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This thread treats foiling as if it were a single thing. In fact, there is a dramatic difference in foil design and platform, and the concept is being used in most windsurfing disciplines--racing, freestyle, and slalom.
I would urge anyone that has an interest in the potential for foiling to take a lesson. I started on a race foil with a mast that wasn't really stiff and a fairly short fuselage. It was very difficult, and I almost gave up. But a good school can put you on a floaty enough board for your weight, and a foil that is lifty enough to get you up without being at speeds that make control too difficult.
Slower speeds and greater stability make everything easier. Lower aspect foils with a thicker chord are inherently slower, and longer fuselages make everything more stable, particularly off the breeze.
For me, the advantage of foiling is that it is easier on your knees and hips, once you have gotten past the frequent falling. Although I have not reached the top speeds that I used to on formula and slalom boards, I can sail up to and back from Treasure Island faster than I could on a formula board. So steeper angles of attack can be sustained. There is also nothing like the feeling of floating, and it is easier on your body than slamming into waves as you drive a slalom or formula board upwind at racing speeds.
It seems to me that the greater surface area of a foil, when compared to either a formula fin or a slalom fin, means more surface drag and a lower top speed--unless more power is applied. With that said, as expertise builds, good sailors are able to achieve high speeds. Wingers are now competing in slalom races at the St. Francis--once unthought of We haven't yet seen the end of design advances. |
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dvCali
Joined: 23 Aug 2007 Posts: 1314
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2021 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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NOVAAN wrote: | Here we have a lake that is incredibly good with steady winds all summer. In the fall and winter the winds are weaker but even steadier. ... |
Envious!!!!!!!! |
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NOVAAN
Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1555
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:39 pm Post subject: |
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Don't be envious because the sailing area of the lake is going dry... |
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