Hi All!
This is my first new thread post.
So I have a lift 170HA with a brand new 32-glide rear wing. I have a 28" tall mast. I am riding a varial foam 5’0" board (40L) Varial Surf Technology Foil Surfboard
I have progressed quite a bit this summer. I am able to get up, ride a wave in, hop off the back, and pump back out. For some reason, when I start pumping back out the board likes to touch down or I nose-dive the board. I need some pointers for pumping back out. My brother has a KT board and it seems to have a lot more rocker. Do you think I am having issues with the propper form? or could it be equipment related?
Thanks for the help! If anyone has any input I would appreciate it. Maybe I will get a video to post up here.
Try moving your foil all the way to the front of the box. that will give you less nose to poke.
Lift foils are pretty back footed so you are almost holding the nose up with your back leg. Adding a shim under the mast thick side facing the nose adds a little more front foot pressure.
So I installed a 1-degree shim and definitely noticed a huge difference. I have another one so I am going to stack them up.
I am still pumping and losing speed as well as nose-diving the board. I am guessing it is my technique. Is this setup too advanced for a beginner trying to connect waves?
I should also add, if I find myself on a perfect wave with a perfect shoulder, I can generate a lot more speed and I can make it back out to the lineup. So maybe I need more practice on cleaner waves.
Two common issues when learning to kick out and pump:
Trying to turn out to sea too quickly. It’s best to learn to kick out by going down the beach, as opposed immediately turning out to sea. Make a gradual arc. Then much less goes wrong with the foil. You don’t lose speed and the foil doesn’t do weird crashes.
Trying to “porpoise” up and down on your pumps on a high aspect foil at slow speeds. It’s best to try to keep the foil as flat as you can. A high aspect foil stalls if you point the nose too high. Then it quickly nose dives.
Check out Oskar’s YouTube clip on the Armstrong 1125 to see him doing both of these things “correctly”.
You can see that he kicks out sideways, not going straight out to sea immediately. And you can see that me keeps the nose from pointing too high at all times.
Thank you! #1 I have found out the hard way and I typically will pump parallel to shore until I find an opening and then turn to get back out. A good tip for beginners. #2 makes a lot of sense. I think I am trying to pump too much like I do on my surfboard. And I lose lift which equates to a nose dive.
Thanks for the tips!
Sounds like you have a great setup and it sounds like you are making it work based on how you described your other skills. You didn’t mention your weight, but if you are normal sized you should be good.
Sounds like you just need more time on the water with it. Glassy is far easier than onshore chop to learn to connect waves.
You mentioned you pump like a surfboard. One tip is to think about forward drive. Not up and down. You need to pull that foil forward with each pump. Imagine you are on a skateboard deck on a carpet. Think about pulling that skateboard deck a foot forward on the carpet, as opposed to Ollie-ing on the carpet.
An even larger stabilizer might be your cheapest way to fast track your pumping control goals. (Some people may disagree with me on that one, as it is slower and covers less distance. But sounds like you could use some stability. A bigger tail is more forgiving on mistakes and keeps you in the air.) You may not use the larger stabilizer for a long time once you accomplish your goals. But you can resell it for not much loss, or save it for choppy days.
