I have a couple buddies in Maui at the moment that say an Aguera can be had for $1600.00, this sounds to inexpensive to me. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanx for input Andy. My buddies are in Maui at this time and are asking questions and trying out stuff. Being that they are based in southern Ontario they are liking the light wind perspective.
Yes, Silent Sports had a MHL when I was back there recently. Supposed to be good all around as far as price, performance and ease of riding. They played with them in Hatteras and had nothing bad to say.
bluevelvet wrote:Thanx AW, that makes more sense. Don C I have an e-mail from AA that says you have experience with his training foil that he rents. Any feed back?
Hey Peter,
Here's a photo of the Alex's trainer board along side CG's AA board with Spotz foil.
AA Trainer and CG;s Foil (Custom).jpg (89.25 KiB) Viewed 21126 times
The yellow board is the trainer. It's more of a slalom directional shape. Longer than his normal foil, like CG's white one in the photo.
Alex made up some lower AR foils for the trainer as you can see. The board gets up on the foil at a bit slower speed than the Spotz. I found that is was also less sensitive/twitchy than the Spotz. The mast is about 6 inches shorter so you are not so far out of the water. Less leverage. I think this also makes it an easier ride. If you look at the distance from the front of the mast to the nose on each board you will see that the distance on the trainer is way longer. This is really helpful when doing the beginner dolphin move that beginners always do. With the nose further out in front, and more of a pointed shape, the touch downs are not as severe and I found I could ride out of them easier instead of crashing. Please note that I am an absolute beginner at foiling so my comments are all about ease of control at this stage. The yellow trainer is also not as wide as the regular board. This helps a beginner in maneuvering the board to get your feet into the straps. And, the front foot straps are very close to the center line which is easier to control.
I rode the yellow trainer for a session on 3 days and could then go a couple of hundred meters without crashing. Big improvement for me.
I then rode GG's AA with Spotz (the white one) and found it more difficult. It was as if there was very little board out in front of me, and the touch downs, while doing the dolphin move, were out of control.
So, then Alex finished making my board.
Don's Foil Custom.jpg (72.7 KiB) Viewed 21126 times
The red wing wonder has High AR wings and Low AR wings. The mast is longer that the trainer. About the same length as the Spotz, The tuttle box is 4 inches further back than GC's board. And the front foot straps are as close to center line as they can be.
I've only ridden it once in Maui with the Low AR wings, the day after riding CG's AA with Spotz. I was pleasantly surprised that the new board didn't seem to be any more difficult than the trainer. With the tuttle so much further aft it just feels like a lot more board out in front, which makes the touch downs easier. The whole rig didn't seem twitchy and it was a fun session.
That's my impression of foiling to date. I've only been on foils about 8 times total. And the first few were very short sessions on CG's old Carafino. So, remember the source when thinking of my comments.
And, although I found the AA Spotz combo more difficult, CG has no problem riding it at all. He can do basic tacks and gybes. He can go downwind (which is a challenge on a foil). He can even do a back roll!
Thanx for the insight Don. Lately I've been wondering if one foil could be used for two boards. AHD afs 1 looks interesting . The windsurfing option appeals to me.
I have ridden the MIHL Lift. It is a nice beginner board. If you want a foil with performance you want Spotz, Taaroa, Aguera, Alpine, Zeeko etc. Expect to pay way over $3000 ..and wait.
CG, these dudes are looking at the foils as a way to ride in light wind and not for racing. Are the beginer boards more suited for the recreational rider in light wind? Are these any better than a conventional race board for this purpose?
Foils are usually better than raceboards in light wind. But they require deep water, a lot more learning effort and they don't mix well with weeds or logs.
In any sport you can buy easy stable beginner equipment that works fine. In kiting for example you can get big fat twin tip board that beginners use. Nothing wrong with that. ..until you notice some hot shot doing fancy moves on better equipment.
A month ago I was foiling with ChrisB in Cayman Isalnds and he was happy on his MIHL Lift.. until I sped past him. I think he is looking into better foils now.
Yesterday five of us were out foiling and I certainly am glad that I ride a high performance foil (Spotz). (it's all about keeping up with your buddies).
Thanx for the input CG. Much appreciated. The whole speed thing is relative. A guy lying on the beach at the equator is moving about a 1000 mph, if you were to sail west you would slow down, east you'd speed up( relative to earths axis). Perceptions can be deceptive?
So I am still fairly new to kiting but since starting last September I feel like I progressed well enough. I keep reading about racing and foil boards and from what I can see and read I think I am leaning toward foil. It seems that the learning curve will be steep to start but I really prefer a smooth ride or flat water over getting bounded up in the chop that I have been doing all winter. From a progression stand point is it worth it to go to a reg race board first then to foil or could someone with only twin tip experience make the jump to a foil?
You certainly want experience on a directional board before you go to a foil. You need to learn to gybe or you will be falling in every time you want to change directions. Most of us also have race board experience and it helps but it is not essential. I got my first foil before raceboards were invented.
And you are right that it is a very smooth ride once you get the hang of it.
Thanks for the feed back I currently use a Mako King and have been trying to ride it as a directional with moderate success so far. Perhaps I will use this summer to get that skill set a little better first and then think about going to a foil later. As my skill set improves maybe I will rent one and get an idea of the learning curve.