Windfoil Reviews

[Robesy]

Does anyone have experience with windfoils? I think I would like to get one for light winds. Early days on the designs so would appreciate anyone who has used inlight winds to share their experiences

Thanks!

[Joe]

Hey Robsey,
I have the Naish Hover WS foil with a 70cm mast.
I have only used about 3 times so far on lake huron. I use it with a powerplate adapter on a rrd firemove 122.
Very easy to sail and gets going in about 9-10 knots with an 8.0 for me so far.
I am going to upgrade to a 90cm mast to help with chop on lake huron.
I really like it and look forward to more riding next summer.

You can check out the Boards forum; the Seabreeze forums; and the windnc site for some good reviews on all the different types of foils.

PS - There is an awesome deal on the F4 carbon foil at silent sports right now if you a deep tuttle board!

[Robesy]

Interesting. I have a 130 Firemove. Was actually thinking about getting a foil ready board with a reinforced Finbox. Maybe I don’t need to.

How does the adapter work? Is it pretty easy to use?

[joe_windsurfer]

have heard bad remarks about aluminum foil masts
and personally cannot put out $2000 for something this new in this sport ...
so far have heard about one fin box blown out and one catapault destroying a nose

[Joe]

Catapults - they do happen when the foil breaches - I use a deviator to protect the nose
I'm sailing on Lake Huron so I have no concerns about hitting the bottom which obviously not be good for the fin box when foiling.
The powerplate is dead easy to use - just attach the foil (4 bolts o the Naish) and it attaches to the board with the powerbox head and single bolt (check out windance for details).
No issues for me with the powerplate so far (only 3 uses though) but I am going to use on a new board next year - I may make a custom metal washer for the fin bolt to spread the load on the top of the board a bit more. The powerplate has a large surface area on the bottom which should spread the load over a large area. It is not quite as efficient for takeoff and during touchdowns as it does drag a bit more than if you had just a foil attached directly.
Joe

[SuperG]

I have ordered a PowerPlate from Windance to be delivered to Hatteras in April. The PowerPlate seems to be the best adapter system for the universal four bolt mast. If the mast has an integral deep tuttle, thePowerPlate cannot be used.

As for foils no experience yet but I have also ordered a Foil Works system from Windance with the standard and shorter masts. If I remember correctly, these are made in the same factory as the Slingshot foils. This is a Windance exclusive (according to them) and offers the best value to get into foiling, in my opinion. This is also a modular system.

Looking forward to trying out in Hatteras (with the shorter mast!) and this summer in Ontario.

[Robesy]

Just checking in to see if anyone else has tried any foils, has any other feedback or experience. Thanks!

[rafaelmcs]

Just checking in to see if anyone else has tried any foils, has any other feedback or experience. Thanks!

I've upgraded to JP 135 Hydrofoil and Neilpryde Aluminum... I get planning super early with my 7.7 NP Speedster at 10Knots. I've tried only 2 times and I need to practice more. The challenge is not to takeoff, which it's the easiest part...the challenge right now is to keep flying but it's just matter of practicing...