Hi,
To give myself a new challenge I sold my light wind windsurfing gear and bought my first foil toys:
- Starboard Freeride Foil 150
- Starboard Superflyer (2022 Evolution)
- Evolution 650 front wing, 255 back wing and 105 fuselage (GTR setup, but I will use the shorter Superflyer mast)
- 6.9 Point 7 F1X (no cam dedicated foil sail)
(and I still have my 6.5 and 5.4 P7 ACX sails)
Windsurfing skill level: max 2 sec PR = 66 kmh. Best @ = 42 kmh. But I love just to blast around with freerace gear and don't feel the need for speed (nor have the skills for it). 83 KG and able to sail 2 times a week.
My goal is to learn on the Superflyer and switch to the GTR setup as soon as I'm able to gybe. My end goal is freeracing on the foil from 13-19 knots and windsurf on my freerace gear when it's more than 18 knots. Just want to blast around on the foil as I do on my freerace windsurfing gear.
Foiling has so many variables that it's rather difficult to understand the basics. I have two questions for the experienced foilers on this forum:
- what is the wind range for the GTR setup and the 6.9 sail?
- is it possible to use the Superflyer fuselage with the GTR wings? This would move the front wing a lot (9 cm) closer to the mast (and the tail wing 5cm further back). Would that give more control? Or would that make it completely unbalanced?
Thanks in advance for your input!
Not really familiar with those sails, but the low end shouldn't be a problem with either foil. The biggest limitation on the high end will probably be not having cambers, but those sails are probably more stable than what I was using on uncammed sails before I switched to foil glides/HGO (and much smaller freestyle sails which are more sensitive to range than the cammed sails).
Do you have an adjustable outhaul on your boom? That will really make a difference to help extend the range a bit and give you more upwind/downwind capability, especially on the GTR. It may be the cheapest way to extend the range if you don't have one already, and if your boom is already compatible with that.
Thanks for your input aeroegnr. I have an outhaul set, but I'm not a big fan of using it. I've used the P7 AC1 and the ACX and don't think the AC1 is a lot more stable. (It does have a lot more power out of a gybe). That's why I gambled on the no cam slalom foil sail from P7. What would be the upper limit of the GTR setup with a cammed 7.0?
Not sure about the upper limit. Sometimes foiling makes it a lot easier to depower or just play deeper angles to manage overpower. I don't think I have enough experience with smaller sails with smaller foils as I spent so much time on 9.0s up to about 20kt gusts with the 900/725/650. I'm sure someone else here will be more knowledgeable on smaller setups. My most recent experience was 6.0 3 cam with the 550/105+ setup somewhere over 20 knots and I felt good and was making jibes. Around 20kts and a 3 cam with my bigger freeride foil setup (phantasm 926/1250cm2) I start really wanting to be on a smaller sail but can use it if I have to.
Hoping Berowne or someone fast gives you a better answer.
Your existing sails will probably take you quite far but you will notice later on how much cammed foil sails make a difference. With more outhaul and playing with other settings (downhaul, lowering the boom, rear wing shim, mast base) you can extend a bit on days where the wind comes up some.
Hi there
The Free Ride 150 is a superb all round board and will take you from your starting days all the way to the 30 kt barrier on the 650 front wing. My only comment is the foil mast, I switched to a 95cm carbon version early on and found control so much better, about a year in. I don't really know your sails but agree with aeroegnr, stable sails are the go! With regard to the different set ups it is surprising that many different variations work so well, my thoughts are flight time and balance, speed and gybing etc are a product of hours in the air. Enjoy learning this magical sport and embrace the crashes as they are all part of it!!!!!!
Select to expand quotepoehaaa said..
Thanks for your input aeroegnr. I have an outhaul set, but I'm not a big fan of using it. I've used the P7 AC1 and the ACX and don't think the AC1 is a lot more stable. (It does have a lot more power out of a gybe). That's why I gambled on the no cam slalom foil sail from P7. What would be the upper limit of the GTR setup with a cammed 7.0?
Your Point-7 will have a much higher wind range at the top end than most foil-oriented 7.0 sails, even cambered sails, although it will pay out at the bottom end in less initial grunt. With a 650 wing I don't think your wind range will be limited by either the sail or the foil but will be limited by the flexibility of the Starboard standard aluminum mast if that's what you've got. At 100kg I'm a lot heavier than you but I'd freesail your setup very happily in 18kt, up to around 24 - a lot of wind in other words, but wouldn't expect to be able to lean into it all that hard to get steep upwind, just because the mast bends so much.
The Point-7 "free race" sails are kinda outliers because even the camberless sails like to be set with a loose leech all the way down to the boom. So, they're slippery and very stable in gusts but not a grunty as some. I have the 2-cam F1e 7.4 and struggle to get it planing on a fin in what ought to be enough wind, but haven't found the top of the wind range on either fin or foil yet but it's over 20kt on either.
I agree about the 150 FreeRide board btw - really well designed and versatile.
As two others have said, look into a carbon mast. I have both alu and carbon versions of the SB 85 cm mast, and the carbon version works a lot better for windfoiling. I think that comes much more from having a better profile than from any extra stiffness (I have a cheap version of the carbon mast, and don't think it's any stiffer than the alu mast). Whatever it is, carbon does work a lot better.
Thank you all for the input! Will try to find a second hand carbon mast. Looking forward to this new challenge with so many variables to play with. It looks very spectacular. Let the crashes begin!
