I recently picked up a Naish 914 which is quite a bit different to the 1040/1400 that I usually prone. I immediately noticed how much more sensitive my foot placement is, and the increase pitch sensitivity.
What I can’t dial is the pump. I am 80KG, and when I try to pump this wing I am stalling it so easily. I see others on small HA wings with a super high cadence when pumping, but what else do I need to consider when moving to smaller foil? I feel like I need to pump ‘lighter’.
Would love some tips to try out on my next session?
For the small HA foils I’ve noticed angle of attack is a huge factor. If you let the foil point up to the sky on the pump, you’ll stall out. You need to do your best to pump it with a flatter, evenly weighted, 2 foot approach. Not a big up and down porpoise pump like you can do on the old surf wings.
Basically, just go extra fast to learn the new rhythm and technique. Then you’ll get used to it and you can slow down a bit more and relax into it.
The Naish rep up in Ventura makes that foil look really good.
Noticed same going from older axis 1150 to newer 1099. The 1099 needs to be flat, any angle at slower speed and it stalls out immediately. Requires more finesse and a flatter pump for sure (I haven’t mastered this)
The 1150 would pretty much never stall, unless you’re stopped dead or huge breach
Thats how I feel on the 1400 - it’s a huge wing and I can pump it back up from board slaps. The 1040 felt impossible to pump at first, but I can now get around semi-ok on it, but the 914 feels like it needs a completely different technique.
I will try and focus on the flatter pump next time I get it out.