Board: Patagonia Fletcher Chounard Locust 4’8" x 20 3/8 x 3"
Started foiling in the surf with a slingshot infinity 76 ( massive lift challenging learning curve )
Was almost ready to retire until I got my current setup. Now I can’t get enough!
For my first carbon foil setup I got the Lift 200ha with the 28 Mast
-With the 25 glide tail 13.5 wide 10 5/8 inch from connection to trailing edge.
Lots of glide but lots of drop outs when pumping and often felt like I slid out on bottom turns
Next the old 34 surf ( after hearing Eric talk about enjoying it with the 120ha )
13 wide 9 1/8 inch from connection to trailing edge. Definitely felt way better.
Snappier pumps and much better turning radius (now I love this combo for winging)
-Currently the KD “the blunt” 11.5 with the foil parts short g10 tail adaptor. 9 1/8 from connection to trailing edge. Immediate improvement! Powerful accelerating pumps and much improved turning!
Never would have thought the little tail wing could change the foils feel so drastically!
Amazing what a difference the tail makes. I picked up a used 200ha for proning when it’s tiny, initially pairing it with a 32 Glide tail. I felt the exact same thing that you described with the 25 Glide tail. I ended up throwing a 40 Surf tail on it and that also made a TON of difference. It’s become my go-to setup when conditions are in the sub- waist high zone (which is most of the time in my area this time of year).
Hi SethStaff -
Have you tried the lift 34 surf tail? Used to ride allot of Lift and that was my favorite on every Lift foil at the time. It’s a bit larger, but didn’t wash out pumping out of the hole and was really turn-ie.
I’m 6’1" 215lbs w/snowboarding legs and tend to push right through allot of those smaller tails the smaller guys love.
If you’re dropping out on pumps I’d recommend giving a plate shim a try! I have found I prefer 1-2 degrees nose up (shim the front) on the lift 120 and larger.
You can stack basically anything under the front bolts. As long as it spreads the load over your boxes you’re set. The 4 bolt plate system is way over engineered so you can get away with some pretty sketchy stuff. The board is another story…
I’ve tested 1° on the 120, 1-2° on the 170 with a preference for 2°. This is my personal preference but has been verified as preferable by a few other people.
It’s amazing how much the foil feel changes with only body position.
Does this help by reducing the likely angle of attack on the front wing? I’ve been struggling with this on the axis 1099, and only solution so far has been more speed, but haven’t tried a shim.
Thanks for the info. This week I’ve been using one wizard hat shim on the nose side of the mast and then shimming the blunt tail with 1 degree more lift. it has definitely helped use my back leg less and front leg more. Next I will try 2 degrees on the mast . thanks
The foil’s angle of attack is always and only set by speed and loading (maybe there are some edge cases with large tails). The exception is when your board is also creating lift like on takeoff and touchdown. Most of what a plate shim does is change the ergonomics of your board, similar to changing the shape of your board’s deck.
I find the axis ART pretty well tuned but it’s always worth a shot. At the very least get a 1° shim and flip it both ways to see what it does!
Cheers thanks, I had assumed that was true so was curious to understand how it might help, but the ergonomics concept makes sense.
I took the 1099 out again and had no issues (didn’t shim), so I think I was just out of tune with the short chord and needed a few sessions to dial it in