Would be what I assume too. Though for me this holds in super light wind.

I would hats to fall at highspeeds as I tend to get slammed when I do.

thx for the insight. i have smoked race kiteboards in downwind legs on a surfboard, not enough data to know really what is fastest though.

some footy of laird foiling raglan waves a few weeks ago 50ft re-entries lol

Thanks for all the info Europ2.
I'm glad the French have continued to develop foils in a big way, as there are a lot of directions kiting could still go and its interesting to see what works or doesn't.

I'm wondering about what might happen with the Olympics and if there is a possibility that a 50cm hydrofoil fin might be able to be used within the rules.
I know the plan is for foil boards to have their own class with the IKA, and the Olympics are likely to have similar rules to begin with.
With the Olympics possibly taking place inside Guanabara Bay, so probably flat water and about 7 knots average wind (from measurements at the airport in the bay), it might open up the possibility of a new race board design that worked better in those conditions?

The hydrofoil is currently banked over, so how much of the T-bar is in the water doesn't affect control too much. Has anyone been able to use a foil with the T-bar vertical in the water? You would have the fairly constant lift from the foil and the sideways lift from the T-bar which would be changing all the time, but maybe in very flat water it could be controlled?

This is Karla from Puerto Rico.

Again thank you for such a great event!!

The blog post wasn't finished...but now it is!

Here is the link: http://www.kitegoodwinds.com/blogs/news/6072888-goodwinds-lift-team-at-the-2012-foil-kite-racing-world-cup-in-france

Its focused on our team from PR, but I hope all of you enjoy it!

Karla

This is Nick. Just a little info. MHL Custom is a board factory down in Puerto Rico. We have been working on the hydrofoil for a few years now and we have just launched our new brand, "Lift." You can contact us through www.mhlcustom.com.

Europ2 for posting these informations about Foil Boarding.

I think all the Kiteboarding community should promote Foil Boarding Class also
for the next 2016 Olympic

DrLW

You're all welcome. I am just a foil fan gathering and quoting information when need be.


Lets give credit to a guy who has been providing numerous manufacturing tips and plans in a countless manner on the Kitefoil Forum: Franck Adam.
He has not only designed the 2 first foilboards of the podium but also 5 or 6 in the top ten. Prototype after prototype (roughly 10 per year), he has managed to divide by 2 the mast thickness within 2 years He has also considerably improved stiffness in flexion and torsion.
His motto is "Don't thank me but my wife for her patience coz so many hours spent in the workshop... "


Was wondering the same thing since the box rule was set up. I am not an expert but any board with any fin that fit into the 50cm deep box should be allowed to race. Should they have an horizondal appendix or not. A foilboarder should dare, one day .. I am not sure but is it written somewhere that hydrofoils with short masts (<50cm long) are forbidden to race with race boards ?


I know that Ketos by Orana have released their 50cm short mast in july 2011.
The advantages: faster for the expert and much more stable during the learning curve for the beginner. because any water touch is forgiven which is not the case when using a long mast (touch = fall)
Disavantages: must be used on a flat spot / closed sea in sub 15 knots conditions. You are so low on the water that when going upwind (45 degree tilting position) you are even lower and you touch the chop. all the time.


I assume that you think about riding flat to allow a 50cm hydrofoil to ride in choppy water conditions.
Moths or chris Miller foil windsurf ride fairly horizontally because their T-bar moves perpendicularly to the displacement direction. In my opinion, you would need 2 T bars + a surface sensing mechanism to ride the foilboard flat.

The organizers (of whom I am not) can be thanked for their efforts and enthusiasm. Something has changed in the kitesurf world !
According to what I have read here and there, you guys and girls from Puerto Rico have been very appreciated by the riders and the organizing team too.

... and I really like the way you have related your story

Hi All,

Congratulations for the Puerto rico riders, It was a nice moment with you.
This first Kitefoil World cup was a success.
The first riders are definitely awesome in speed and tactics.

For the next contests, this is for sure a real mess that the Fins longer than 50cm are forbidden during international contest, specially when you know that race boards use 3 X40cm fins (total of 1m20).
I participated to the Kitefoil contest and finished 5th with the same points than Marc Blanc with the ZEEKO Makaira production foil, not too bad!
In France, kitefoils are not forbidden during race contests, this makes a nice ' fighting ' between race boards and Kitefoils boards as the result is very close but with different properties (race boards and faster on down wind and foils are first during upwind).
The best should be to push to insert kitefoil boards in international race contest. More, this will help the raceboards to improve the performance too competing with others kind of boards.
But the international organization break this.
Wait and see!!

FInally, kitefoiling offers new sensation and a new way of riding: no noises, no chops, upwind like hell!!

Thanks for all the answers Europ2
The windsurfer hydrofoils do operate with the mast near vertical and one hydrofoil, so I was thinking it might be possible to ride a kiteboard flat on one hydrofoil.
The Wing In Ground-effect was how I thought that might be done. If they made a 70 cm wide wing section designed to skim at 20cm above the water, that might help keep the board flat and skimming above the water on a hydrofoil.
Its just an idea, but it would be interesting if someone built one to see if it would work.

EDIT: Also, with effectively one fin, it might be possible to get a bit more stability into the board by having the powerline connected to the board near the fin mounting (a bit like the way a windsurfer can be stabilised using the mast). My guess is that if it worked, the attachment at the board would be to a pair of pulleys that ran around a track in the shape of part of an oval, so the board tow point of the powerline was always between the kite and the fin.