Last weekend we had our first Downwind Foil Gathering at Old Princeton Landing. Awesome turn out, so stoked to see so many familiar faces all in one place!
Below is my YouTube video as well as Denton’s video, and slow motion videos of the experts paddling up onto foil.
In this video series I explain how popular foil brands are designed and built and why it matters. How the hydrofoil wings connect to the fuselage and the mast, whether in components or one single piece, I go over the components and design choices and the pluses and minuses. Several times I was an early adopter of a new foil and learned the expensive way whether the marketing why hype or the real deal. The brands I discuss are F-One, Axis, Armstrong, Slingshot, and Mike's Lab. This knowledge can be applied to any brand of foil. For clarity this isn't a detailed review of a specific foil wing or model (see my Foil Reviews page for detailed reviews). This information helps one know what they are getting so they can determine the true value of a hydrofoil, it's durability and longevity, and what the upgrade options are.
The point of this video series is to give you an overall understanding of why foil designers do what they do. I didn't have a clue when I bought my first foil, it was all a big mystery. Every new brand of foil I purchased had a new learning curve of how the parts fit together, function, and the longevity and durability.
I surf foiled the F-one SK8 850 foil. I was mostly testing to see how it handled wing tip piercing the surface, and how it performed in head high plus long period swell.
In this video I show what happens when the wing tip comes out, and compare the SK8 ride characteristics to the F-one Eagle, Seven Seas, and Phantom foils.
Also there are additional videos of a short wing foil session speed test, and another surf session in small gutless surf.
This video I remove and then install 4 new bladders in a wingfoil inflatable wing.
A mostly straight forward job to replace a bladder, and there are several tricks or tips that can turn failure into success.
In this video series I replace a leading edge, center strut, and two side strut bladders of an 8 meter wing. I also show and explain valves leaking and how to check for leaks.
This page is dedicated to whatever new stuff we happen to be testing and working on.
When I have something to report I will post here and update the posting date, kind of a preview before a tutorial is ready.
I added 4 videos of the F-one Seven Seas 1200, reviewing this wing both surf and wing foiling. Available on the foil reviews page.
Jeff Clark's larger wing foil boards came in and I have 2 sessions on the 118L (5'10"). I am stoked to report that the extra volume is well placed and right away I noticed the improved stability over my 95L. I am only 2 sessions on the Jeff Clark board, and yet schlogging was a pleasure, and touching down a non issue. It's been so long since I have ridden higher volume boards that I forgot how nice it is to be able to touch down or even plane along the surface with no issues or pearling or sinking. He only had 2 boards made and with the good feedback is working on having more boards made. I am not a jumper so I don't know if this construction can stand that type of abuse, for my everyday surf style they are great. Going into the light wind season I am so stoked to have a short stable board in my quiver.
One of the reasons this matters to me is that the 110-140L size board is what a lot of beginners and intermediate riders end up buying, and it's a huge benefit if these boards are stable to stand and schlog on. In my opinion stability is priority one for a higher volume board, for me this was the single biggest factor that made wing foiling easier to learn.
I added 2 videos of no pump acceleration take offs, these are helpful with small high aspect foils, and when one cannot pump. Can find the videos at the bottom of the small board knee start page.
Also added an update to weak side or switch foiling, 1 video on small body weight board and no pump take off.
I also added a video on how to flip over an 8 meter wing while sitting on a body weight board at the bottom of the wing handling page.
I demoed a full 2022 Cabrinha wing foil setup: wing, foil, and board. The camera died before I got on foil so no foiling, I did make a video review of my short test on this gear on the foil reviews page.
Also I added some more videos on foot hooks and a mod a made to more securely attach a foot hook...
In this video series I show and explain tips and drills to learn to jibe on a wing foil board. When I was learning riding toe side felt very foreign, and so I go in to detail how to get the feel needed to complete a jibe. I show and explain how to work on the parts of the jibe so we can put the pieces together and have success. There are 11 videos in this series.
