I really love this post. From time to time I come back and read it again.....
I'm struggling to hit 25 on the foil. I'm on a Aeon with 900 course race fw, 115 fuse, 8.0 or 9.0 Patrik HA Sail, and Starboard foil 100 board. I can get 24 consistently, sometimes 24.5 and 24.7 top speeds
In downwind I'm not the slowest, but there are two guys who are much faster, hitting 26 and 27 frequently. And when sailing together and we go downwind, I can't hold their speed.
They have the same foil as me and sail (9.0)
We do have different human sizes 
They are taller, 1,90 mts (I'm 1,75), and heavier 95-100 kg (I'm 82).
How much do you think weight and height affects?
A lot.
It's one of the basic phenomena that exists across all windsurf disciplines. Weight and height = more control/speed on bigger kit.
As a smaller rider on course race gear I find the best thing I can do is try to out point them upwind/downwind.
Manilo 25kt on a big foil - I only managed about 25/26 on my F4 course racing foils, but it has kind of fallen out of favour around here.
Agree with subsonic, leverage helps. Short of this, railing the board so you can control the lift,... because you need power to point but then it isn't as easy to control off the wind. Let us know how you go!
Select to expand quoteberowne said..
Manilo 25kt on a big foil - I only managed about 25/26 on my F4 course racing foils, but it has kind of fallen out of favour around here.
Agree with subsonic, leverage helps. Short of this, railing the board so you can control the lift,... because you need power to point but then it isn't as easy to control off the wind. Let us know how you go!
Yes I think I have room to improve a bit still on downwinds. Railing more to Windward and trying to keep the apparent wind. A friend (one of the big fast guys) told me to hang more over out of the board, not just hang below the boom. Take my body out, like when going upwind.
I have a 750 FW too, but racing it's critical when the wind fluctuates too much. Below 15 knts, the 900 wins (better VMG). It should blow steady 15-16+
Select to expand quoteManilo said..berowne said..
Manilo 25kt on a big foil - I only managed about 25/26 on my F4 course racing foils, but it has kind of fallen out of favour around here.
Agree with subsonic, leverage helps. Short of this, railing the board so you can control the lift,... because you need power to point but then it isn't as easy to control off the wind. Let us know how you go!
Yes I think I have room to improve a bit still on downwinds. Railing more to Windward and trying to keep the apparent wind. A friend (one of the big fast guys) told me to hang more over out of the board, not just hang below the boom. Take my body out, like when going upwind.
Yep, thats solid advice. Hanging under the boom you loose all your forwards/backwards mobility because you're all crouched up over the board.
Out is good. as your confidence builds you push against the rail with legs to make sure the sail is sheeted in hard! still hanging low of the harness.
For almost three months, my average speeds have varied between 26.5 and 28 knots. Somehow, I've clocked just over 29, but I haven't yet broken the 30-knot barrier.
Despite everything, I still have some problems I can't solve.
I don't use the harness efficiently and effectively.
Having overcome the fear of "binding" myself to the lines while precariously balanced (compared to windsurfing fins), I can fly hooked even in winds of around 20 knots. This seems fairly normal to many, but the problem is that in this mode, the speeds remain well below what I can achieve without being hooked.
Trying to describe what often happens, I remember the fact that when a gust hits, the nose of the board tends to go down (despite i'm well balanced on both feet).
To moderate this reaction, I now place the base mast further back. But this exposes me to the risk of excessive lift if and when I'm not fully committed.
Furthermore, this setup is too extreme if I want to fly unhooked (for many different reasons).
Another problem is finding the right length for the harness lines. Or rather, making them work throughout the entire speed range along the edge. Since I'm not very good at it, acceleration isn't instantaneous. Therefore, in the first part of the run, relatively shorter lines work quicker and better. But as the speed increases, they become too short to send it.
If, on the other hand, I adjust them to be correct when I'm in the range of my target speeds, I find it very difficult to fly hooked at low speeds.
During my best runs, I often have a good setup but unhooked...
Finally, how do you manage to generate momentum to increase speed in low-power conditions? For now, I can only achieve decent numbers if aided by strong winds.
