Noone riding hydrofoils ?

[airsurfer]

Thanks Peter definitely appreciate your videos and posts as well as others such as bracru and hawaii. I've been dying to try my mhl had it 2 weeks and watched every video and post but it's been too windy to learn (not that I'm complaining we're supposed to have some 10 to 14kn sideshore winds this week so I'm hoping to join the foil club. What size kite would you recommend for 190lb rider in these conditions ? I r ide ozone edge 19,17,11, 9m and c4 12m or reo10m or 8m. I'm thinking edge 9m since it seems I can make it work in almost any wind. I hope to post my experiences very soon. I'm excited and intimidated at the same time. This board is very tall. I cant speak to the quality yet but the mhl board looks amazing in person.

[Hawaiis]

Nice car

[ChristoffM]

I see MHL Customs have a new foil. All the pictures on their website is still of the old one. The new one looks nice.

[lezo]

Airsurfer: To learn, you should take the same size kite that you would use for a TT. Later you can use smaller sizes, but it's recommended to be well-powered to start.

Start easy, do not try to foil at the first session, just learn how to ride the board slowly, flat on the water, it will be funny with this huge new fin underside. Take off the back strap, and advance your back foot to block the rise of the board. Keep the kite high.

Next session, accelerate gradually until the board starts to foil. Once airborne, think to reduce immediately the pull of the kite, I used to let my first hand off the bar, to depower and rise the kite a bit at the same time. Charge your front foot and smile, you are foiling!

[airsurfer]

Lezo thanks for all the helpful advice so you are saying remove the rear strap to learn and bring my rear foot forward to keep the board low? Also what do you mean by charge the front foot?

[Peter_Frank]

Lezo thanks for all the helpful advice so you are saying remove the rear strap to learn and bring my rear foot forward to keep the board low? Also what do you mean by charge the front foot?

Correct - "weight" on the front foot, just like on a surfboard where the front foot is the "driving" foot everything centers around.

Although, I would just put the straps well forward instead - as on you very first "foiling" experiences, you will end up going head first into the "foil-bomb" as I think I've described (at least experienced over and over...)
And for me, having a rear strap to balance in, makes it better when you fall off - because it is easier to slip out of the straps, when you have two. Difficult to explain why.
Having only the front strap, almost gives me nightmares regarding having the foot get caught in the strap
Especially when you go really high speed
But with two, you get more reaction time to slip out it seems

Start with almost the same size kite as you are used to, when learning to "handle" the foil.

But you can (and will) very quickly use smaller kites - as soon as you can foil "easy".

If you have one, I would use a VERY depowerable kite, that dont generate too much apparent wind - so any good wavekite will be the best IMO, when learning and getting up foiling the first longer tacks.

When racing, different things matters it seems, but that is another chapter.

Peter

[Bille]

...

It only fit the front, so I fabricated a home made rear rotating foot strap from home depot parts.
...

Could you please post pictures of how you did that please ; i bin told
that a devise like that would help me a Bunch because of my leg(s) arrangement !

Perhaps make a New thread on it ? Thanks :

Bille

[Hawaiis]

...

It only fit the front, so I fabricated a home made rear rotating foot strap from home depot parts.
...

Could you please post pictures of how you did that please ; i bin told
that a devise like that would help me a Bunch because of my leg(s) arrangement !

Perhaps make a New thread on it ? Thanks :

Bille

Here is the page:
viewtopic.php?t=2379834&p=787534

[lezo]

Yeah, weight the front foot.

As for the straps, here in France there seems to be a consensus that it's better to start with only the front footstrap, since you will modify the position of the rear foot - quite forward placed in the very beginning to keep the board on the water, then gradually placing it more and more backwards to let the board rise on the foils. After that stage I mounted rapidly the back strap since I also feel more secure with two feets in straps. The straps should be of course quite loose - you will prefer to get ejected rapidly forward out of the straps when falling.

As Frank says, good depower is very important since as the board starts to foil, the boardspeed and the apparent wind will quickly pick up, and you will be rapidly overpowered. Thats why its important to think to push the bar away and let the kite rise as soon as you are airborne. If you have a race bar for your Ozone Edges, use it.

I don't know the Lift, but on the photos it looks like a quite easy-going beginner-friendly foil, which will rise on the foil at relatively low speed, good thing for learning.

[TPink]

how much more difficult is it to start foiling strapless.

I'm building a new board and really want to keep the deck clean of straps.
Is that crazy?