DIY kit?

[Hdip]

Look around and find where the prone foilers are near you. Ask them the conditions. Message Scott Bass. I think he's at Del Mar River most of the time. Prone foiling is fun.

Any mushy wave is great. You will need 2 feet of water depth though to clear the mast. That can be the only issue.

 

[ghostshaper]

I was asking why is that MFer so good, then I saw that it was Eric Geiselman. No wonder.

I moved near Trestles bc of the p.m. glass off. Now it's ruining my life.

 

[Hdip]

I was asking why is that MFer so good, then I saw that it was Eric Geiselman. No wonder.

I moved near Trestles bc of the p.m. glass off. Now it's ruining my life.

I hear you. I spent 20 years of my life scheduling my work so that I would have late morning to mid-afternoon surf windows. Seemed like a great schedule for when kids are in school. Now I pick up a wind sport and the wind is just getting started when I have things to do!

 

[PRCD]

The lower parking lot at SanO is still closed. Forget about going there. They haven't even started working on it yet.

 

[saucerboy]

if i were you, i would put all my eggs in the basket of a nice downwind board. you will get a ton of mileage out of it. i let all my buddies borrow mine the last couple of days (i'm grinding through corporate tax returns) and all their minds were pretty blown.

Quoting AJ just as a jumping off spot. I'm just starting to foil and wanted to see if you all could offer some advice. I primarily have a surf background. I've windsurfed a decent amount on flat water. I have an old Go Foil foil and a tuttle box foil board from Stretch based on the no friends surf model. Both were purchased back in the lock down times and, sadly, sat unused for various reasons until just recently. Board is likie 5'8'' and thick for a surfboad but I still sink to the bottom of my rips when sitting on it.

The other day I was inspired after watching some foil dude get three waves in a row without coming off the foil. I took it out to a roll-y soft wave and ate poop the whole session but had fun. I'll keep at it. I started talking to a foil guy in the parking area and he said he started on the same type of set up but the new gear is light years better than what I have. It seems progress has been made.

I have a old wing a friend gave to me and, eventually, I'd like to try the wing as well. He has an older wing board he'll let me borrow as well. Ultimately, my goal is to ride waves with or without the wing.

I remember when I first started windsurfing I got some old used gear. I struggled for a season on that gear. The next season I got modern gear and, I still wasn't good, but the new gear honestly made a big difference in how well I could do the sport and progress.

For foil, Is it worth sticking my current gear, learning on that, and then switching gear later or should I bite the bullet and buy something newer (ideally used) now? I'd rather not spend the money but if the new gear just works way better and speeds up the learning process I'll deal with spending some more money. I don't want to buy gear just to buy it if the answer to to keep practicing on what I have.

Thanks!

 

[PRCD]

If you can paddle the old boar for prone foiling, use it. You can always spend money later. I just ordered a prone foil boar b/c I can't paddle mine.

SanO lower parking lot might be open now.

 

[saucerboy]

If you can paddle the old boar for prone foiling, use it. You can always spend money later. I just ordered a prone foil boar b/c I can't paddle mine.

SanO lower parking lot might be open now.

Yep, paddling is alright. I'm curious if the newer foils offer a significant advantage too.

 

[PRCD]

Yep, paddling is alright. I'm curious if the newer foils offer a significant advantage too.

I heard they’re better but I’m not qualified to say.

 

[Hdip]

old Go Foil foil and a tuttle box foil board

That sounds like first generation gear. Yes, anything modern within the past 2 years, preferably the last year and a half will make learning easier.

My buddy is doing a whole series on learning to wing and has a huge write up on gear here. That's his forum too.

Beginner Gear: Boards, Foils, and Wings - Episode 3 - Wingman Foil Club

 

[saucerboy]

That sounds like first generation gear. Yes, anything modern within the past 2 years, preferably the last year and a half will make learning easier.

My buddy is doing a whole series on learning to wing and has a huge write up on gear here. That's his forum too.

Beginner Gear: Boards, Foils, and Wings - Episode 3 - Wingman Foil Club

Thanks for the link, I'll read through it. Looks like a pretty thorough write up.

FWIW, here's a picture of my foil. I don't remember which go foil model it was but it is definitely several years old.

Am I right in assuming the foil would be the main thing to upgrade before the board or would the board make a big difference for working on catching small prone waves?

 

[Hdip]

Does the board even have track mounts? If it only has a tuttle, you'll have to replace both.

That's a Maliko 200 I'll assume. Replace it if you can. It will work, but it's not ideal.

The absolute cheapest replacement route would be to get more modern GoFoil front and rear foils. GT series would be good and should be cheap used. Use the same board and mast.

 

[saucerboy]

Unfortunately, the board only has a tuttle. I see there are tuttle to track adapters but I suppose there is no reasonable way to adapt a track mast to a tuttle board.

As best I can tell from dimensions it is a Maliko 160 with a 24.5'' mast.

Are the more modern GoFoil foils, like the GT series, a solid starting point or just the cheapest improvement? What about NL or GL? GoFoil has some closeouts on their site pretty cheap.

How significant of an improvement does modern gear make over what I have? Like I said before, I'm not opposed to spending some money but I don't want to burn money for a marginal improvement. Is it the sort of thing where it makes a big difference to have modern gear or the sort of thing where I'll wind up in the same place but it takes a few extra sessions on my current gear?

I really appreciate the information!

Edit: after some reading it seems neither the GL nor NL are meant for beginners so that's probably not the way to go.

 

[Hdip]

You have the VERY FIRST modern foil. So yes, any improvements will be better. Spending $200 on a GL, NL or $300 on a GT if you can find it will be a big improvement. Once you get to the GT level, you're in the current generation and gains will be more marginal.

I learned on gear similar to what you have. You will learn how to fly on the wave you catch. You will not learn how to pump out to connect multiple waves.

 

[saucerboy]

Excellent, I'll give GoFoil a call and ask about the NL/GL and I'll look around for a used GT.

Other than CL and FB marketplace, is progression project a good place to find used gear?

Thank you for the help.

 

[Hdip]

Josh at foil shop in Seal Beach. WhatsApp threads. Those are your other 2 options.

 

[Hdip]

 

[saucerboy]

Just as I'm sticking a GL in my cart on the GoFoil site... giving me something to think about.

 

[PRCD]

What do you guys think about the Lift surf wings? I still have the Maliko 1700 cm^2 that I epoxied to the fuselage like an idiot (trying again to get it off TODAY). I can adapt the mast to a track system.

Lift Foils | eFoil Electric Surfboard | Hydrofoil Wings

Made in different sizes, our wings are made of carbon fiber which means they are high-strength and impact-resistant while still being lightweight.

liftfoils.com

 

[Hdip]

Lift foils are fine. All foil companies now leapfrog each other with whoever has the newest release. Lift is kind of near the back of the line at the moment, so they are due for something to shoot them to the front again soon.

 

[saucerboy]

A little update on my hunt and info that would maybe help someone some day.

I found a guy with a used GoFoil GT foil for sale. I spoke with Karla at GoFoil. She said that that the old tuttle masts, like mine, can often require a lot of work to get a new foil to fit it. She strongly recommended I try to find a newer mast. Good news is that the guy with the GT foil also has several masts. The bad news is that my board only has a tuttle box.

I spoke with my board maker and, while he could add a track system to my board he didn't recommend it. Plus, the cost of adding the tracks exceeds what a used prone foil board would cost. Everything is not coming up Milhouse.

My choices seem to be:

• 1. roll the dice with the GT and my mast
• 2. buy all new (to me) gear including a board
• 3. just use my current first gen gear and keep learning on that. buy new gear after I'm through the beginner phase

@Hdip have you heard any stories of people using the newer GoFoil wings on older masts?

Edit: BTW, Karla at GoFoil was really wonderful. Super helpful answering questions. Completely encouraging of me finding used gear to learn on. No hard selling, just trying to make sure I have stuff that will work. She offered to rummage around in their warehouse and find some cheaper gear for me to learn on too. Excellent customer service.