For baseplate board shim naming convention, would you agree with the following? (don’t need to specify “thick end front” each time you mention it)
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Yeah thats how I’ve always assumed it, same for tails. But the “more lift” “less lift” isn’t in my opinion good wording to use. Shimming (or moving mast forward/backwards in box) doesn’t magically increase how much lift a wing has which is set in stone. Changes pressure distribution between front/back leg.
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Yeah true, I think this version of the diagram is better with some more nuance around the feelings, and the +/- is just to describe the mechanical change
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I had a foilparts base shim kit (two 0.25 and one 0.5 degree) liked the finer angle options, but the shims didn’t last long, durability-wise. Ended up getting a PPC 1.0 degree, which seems fine, and is definitely more durable.
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@misterbennetts are you doing a positive shim angle in this clip or is it the perspective? I’d imagine in those big waves you’d want negative.
Zane discusses shimming here
Tbh I also thought the opposite to Zane (as does Eric apparently)
In essence, Zane reckons that a Negative baseplate shim makes for a tighter turning radius by giving it more front foot feel and more surfy…
Somewhat interesting to hear.
Pretty easy to swap out/change shims on the Cedrus… 2 screws 20 seconds to change. Also having it attached makes adjustments of the mast forward/backward in the tracks easy. I’ve found with a loose base shim, can bind, be a real pain in the butt. Also, you can get a .25… Cedrus has custom tab when you buy the shim where you specify what degree you want.
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I’ve always been a bit sceptical about how well it works, especially when still in the water, we see that most people only use 0.25 degree-1 degree shims, which is the equivalent of tilting the board at the same angle in the water, this is actually quite easy to achieve the same effect by adjusting the centre of gravity a bit backwards and forwards.Especially considering we’re not guaranteed to be in the same position on the board every time, I think these adjustments are all a little more psychological.
It’s actually perfectly possible to adjust physically, especially before foiling.
The way to understand how well they work (or not) is to get good enough at foiling to ride high performance race foils in very marginal conditions, and then ride with and without. You can quickly tell if it was helping. For most foils in most conditions, the adjustment isn’t necessary
Or ride high-performance foils in high speed surf. I find baseplate shimming help dramatically when Foil start to get pitchy at higher speeds..
If foils starts to get pitchy at higher speeds are you shimming nose up or down?
I am shimming thick end forward.
It’s hard to convince most people that shimming does anything magical. Myself included.
But I was willing to spend a few bucks on a shim kit to find out. It was shocking the difference shimming made in board takeoff AND on foil performance. I went from .25 to 1.5 degrees to find the limits and how it affects every aspect of foiling. Well worth the experiment. I loan out my original shim kit to friends to let them feel it.
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Can you elaborate what you did to improve takeoff for weak vs powerful waves? I def want to experiment to increase lift when the waves are meager. Amd then of course also when theyre pumping for later drops.
I mean specifcs about how you dialed it in. Iget the concept of thicker in front va thicker in back…
You have to test yourself with a multi pack of shims in .25 increments. With so many boards having different rocker lines, and some masts with built in rake, you just have to test. It’s fun, and educational.
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This.
Plus, some boards have their boxes set at a different angle so foil Angle of Attack will differ when the board is on the water.
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yeah ok Im gonna print out .25, .5 and 1 degree base shims and mess around
don’t be afraid to try thick part forward and backwards. I had one buddy refuse to try it thick part forward because he just decided he knew it all. Bummer for him.
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Yeah will do, but generally thick forward to limit lift, thick back to encourage more lift (primarily for takeoff and static paddling). Def only one way to find out based on my boards shape etc. Sounds exciting to try something new!
Think of it more as altering the way the board rides in the air. Nose down or nose up. They are useful for different scenarios.
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