You call 16-18 knots lightwind? lucky bugger

randomfoiler said..

Gencion said..
I read a lot of forums and watched Youtube videos about wingfoiling in light wind. It seems that pro still use sinker boards and others prefer boards body weight +15 liters or more. Have you ever used for marginal conditions (8-12 knots) board equal to your body weight. If yes, what kind of foil, board and wing board combo you use?
I am able to get up on 16-18 knots with Korvenn Pro Glider 4'10 board, Gong X-over XXL and 6.2 Ullman Osprey wing. My wight is 82 kg, height 183 cm.

that board is 85L and 27 wide, right?
my light wind setup for this scenario (~10kn) is currently a 65L (@75kg) with kujira 1440 and F-one 5m. I'll get a 7m this spring to see if I can push the limit. I wouldn't want back on a bigger board, though. Current is 23 wide, which I think is key.
As for board volume it is my understanding and experience that -10L or -15L is more pleasant than equal. If you look for comfort go +10.
I can still stand on the board and wait for wind (just that the board is about 50cm under the surface)

yes, it the board is 85 L and 27 wide. I think it is too wide for light wind. I was thinking about Reedin Feather 5'2 for ligher wind. It is 82 L, 25 wide. So a little bit longer, narrower and with sharp nose. So less water to push while pumping. Also I think it could be universal light and strong wing board?

Gencion said..

yes, it the board is 85 L and 27 wide. I think it is too wide for light wind. I was thinking about Reedin Feather 5'2 for ligher wind. It is 82 L, 25 wide. So a little bit longer, narrower and with sharp nose. So less water to push while pumping. Also I think it could be universal light and strong wing board?

my board is 5.2 as well and the length clearly helps with the initial speed.
Always depends on where the boxes are and how the board balances. Indeed difficult to assess without trying ...

Lastly, it also depends on how long you have been at it already... You might regret getting something around your weight in a few months as you get more efficient with the wing.

Depending on your location you could also look at the Gong (80L). I really like that overall shape but haven't tried it.
www.gong-galaxy.com/en/product/gong-wing-foil-board-lethal-fsp-pro/?attribute_pa_taille=410-en
Or appletree boards...

I am waiting for takoon to finally move towards this shape:

Appletree looks interesting. But at the moment over my budget.
I will check Gong Lethal.
It is a pity that at my place there is no chance to test gear before buying. So I have to believe what reviews and other people say. And then to try it myself. And hope that I did the right choice.

I think what size suits you as an allrounder very much depends on your local conditions and skills.I,m hoovering between 95 on a good day and 98 in wintertime. ad as full hooded suit, boots and gloves i,m well over 100kg in wintertime.Last spring and summer the AK5.8x27x90 was my single board for everything from lake foiling 8 knots with gusts of 12 to get going with a 6m Duotone Slick wing and Sab1100 (2100cm2) foil all the way up to 2-3m high waves with a 3m fully powered conditions with smaller foils around the 1100cm2 (799+ 940).
But when winter came and the water got colder I had a couple of times the wind died completely and I simply sunk. No problem in the summer, but when water is 4degree its quit unpleasant so got myself an extra way bigger board that floats me: Fanatic 2022 5.8x125l.

The Fanatic floats me and when its really cold I find that an huge advantage in gusty conditions, but the almost 2kg lighter and more nimble AK is quicker to get going because its less weight to pump onto foil despite the so claimed much faster tail of the fanatic, no matter if I use slower foils like the 1100 or the very HA 1110.
Now if was living in a place where you don,t need a 5/6mm suit with hood the AK would be the perfect single do it everything board, but for now i,m happy with a bit of extra safety floatation to get back.

I also live in not favorable conditions. We have wind in spring and autumn, when it is cold and you have to use boots, hooded wetsuit, gloves and sometimes I even put neopren jacket. In July when it is hot, we usually do not have much wind. And not much windy days in total. I usually wingfoil in inland lakes. In our region Baltic sea has very big beat and is hard to enter the sea with foil. Also conditions are very choppy with onshore winds.
I still have Sroka 6'3 carbon board. In the beginning I also wanted to windfoil with it but found no interest in windfoiling. I am thinking to sell it but in early spring or late autumn I use it. This is the same situation as with you. You can get quicker on board and spend less time in water. So you do not get cold as quickly as with smaller board. This is very important as I am still struggling with my jybes. But this is not the board for lighter wind as it is too wide and long and it needs a lot of effort to get on foil in light wind.
So my search is to have as few equipment as possible as during my 15 years of wingsurfing, I acquired too much gear.

just found Wave Chaser VFX board.
WAVE CHASER 165VFX
Length: 165cm (5'5")
Width: 64cm (25")
Thick: 12.7cm (5.1")
Volume: 86.8L

Drop shape forms looks promising. Board is quite narrow and long. It should work good in light wing when pumping?

Gencion said..
So finally I decided to go for Reedin Feather 82 L board. In the places I wingfoil there are underwater rocks and shallow places. It becomes bigger problem during the summer when water level drops. So having board of 65-70 L (my weight is 82 kg) would be tricky to start, as you have to go far enough from the shore. I would prefer more Takuma but too expensive. I got good price offer with free delivery for Reedin and took this opportunity. Only time will tell if 3 concaves work or just creates more bottom surface and does not help for quicker take off.
Now I am planning to sell my Sroka Sky Rider 6'3 and Korvenn, and for light wind and cold (early spring and late autumn) days to choose one of these boards:
Starboard wingboard Lite tech 5'8, 88L 2021 (still possible to find with for good price)
Gong Lethal 95L or 105L
Sroka Sky Rider 5'5 90L (I am using Sroka and Gong foil systems, so this board would be optimized for it)
AK Phazer Surf 5'8

Hi Gencion, can you please share any feedback about your choice? Are you satisfied with the volume?

I have chosen a 65l board for my 72kg and I am still wondering if using 80l would be better for light wind foiling though, I can still get on foil with very little wind.

I still need to test my new big front wing (105 cm span, ~1900 cm2 area) and I hope it will help a bit.

JohnnyTsunami said..
I'm 77kg. I started on a 105L 5'10" x 26" board. Then a 95L 5'4" 26" board - mostly for the foostrap screws. Then I build myself a board that is 4'6" x 23" and sinks to my knees if there is absolutely no wind- I'm guessing 70L. If there is any wind at (+5knots) all I can slog it. It seems a lot of people end up on a -10L board since basically all boards that size and bigger are sloggable in pretty much anything above 5 knots. If it sinks more than that, then you need foiling winds to be able to slog - i.e. not sloggable. Maybe it's more like -20, not sure. Harder to balance, for sure, but you get over that pretty fast and there isn't much of a reason to go bigger again.

I built another board meant to be slightly smaller but the volume appears to be slightly more, 4'8" X 22" and is easier to balance on. It sinks to my calves in zero wind. I will have no issues slogging in anything that would move a flag. No reason I see to have a bigger board and I'm thinking of making a sinker-ish board for when the wind is solid and there is no chance of it dying.

Thanks, I guess the 65l should be fine for me for all conditions - that was the plan and I am glad you confirmed it :)

Gencion said..

kvek said..

Gencion said..
So finally I decided to go for Reedin Feather 82 L board. In the places I wingfoil there are underwater rocks and shallow places. It becomes bigger problem during the summer when water level drops. So having board of 65-70 L (my weight is 82 kg) would be tricky to start, as you have to go far enough from the shore. I would prefer more Takuma but too expensive. I got good price offer with free delivery for Reedin and took this opportunity. Only time will tell if 3 concaves work or just creates more bottom surface and does not help for quicker take off.
Now I am planning to sell my Sroka Sky Rider 6'3 and Korvenn, and for light wind and cold (early spring and late autumn) days to choose one of these boards:
Starboard wingboard Lite tech 5'8, 88L 2021 (still possible to find with for good price)
Gong Lethal 95L or 105L
Sroka Sky Rider 5'5 90L (I am using Sroka and Gong foil systems, so this board would be optimized for it)
AK Phazer Surf 5'8

Hi Gencion, can you please share any feedback about your choice? Are you satisfied with the volume?

I have chosen a 65l board for my 72kg and I am still wondering if using 80l would be better for light wind foiling though, I can still get on foil with very little wind.

I still need to test my new big front wing (105 cm span, ~1900 cm2 area) and I hope it will help a bit.

Hello Kvek,

I am really satisfied with my choice: board is 82 liters. But I am still struggling with my pumping technique using 7 m wing. I still dipping end of the wing into the water when I foil starts to lift and I have to start everything again. But if there are some gusts, I am able to fly easily. But when wind drops, being on the board is a challenge as it is not very stable (width of the board is 64,5 cm).
For light wind I use mid aspect front wing (109 cm span, 2000cm2 area).

My first wing is 4.5 m2 and when it broke a few weeks ago I bought the bigger, 5.5 m2 wing. Now I feel like I can more easily pump my 4.5 wing (which is in the repair shop now) than 5.5. The reason for that is that 4.5 seems much more rigid than 5.5, I am not sure if this is because of the size or if the brand/model makes the difference (smaller Ensis vs bigger RRD). Bigger size and dipping in the water seem like a smaller problem than rigidity to me.
On the other hand, when I don't need to pump, the bigger wing pulls stronger and is working quite nice.

My board is 137x58 cm and is also quite unstable. When the wind dies it gets quite hard but it still can be started without many issues if there is some wind and I like how lively it feels :)

Thanks for all the info :)

Gencion
when you foil with a big hand wing try holding it higher and lightly pumping with the back hand to keep the tips out of the water, watch that the wing doesn't stall so keep micro adjusting your angle, then when the wind drops, let the tip sit in the water and use it to balance on your board, it's way easier than trying to keep the wing up when the wind is too light - I think Johnny Tsunami is also adept at this kind of technique
overall any board with more liters than your bodyweight should be pretty good for light wind winging, I think the power of the hand wing and the type of front foil wing will have a bigger impact on the 'ease' of getting up in light wind, just my 2cents

I live in a lite wind locale that frequently has average speeds in the 10-12 mph range. Last winter I picked up a used( 6.5m) Armstrong A Wing. I think having a big wing is a must for lite wind spots. It allows you to ride a smaller board and foil on many days. For reference I weigh 90 kgs and ride a 75 L Armstrong FG. Today had above average wind and rode a 39 L FFB prone board with a Armie 1250cm2 foil and 4.8 m PPC surge, as there were gusts above 15. On an average day using the 6.5 m wing, I'll switch to a bigger foil (1850) when the wind starts dropping . So the large wings are good because it allows one to try different gear.