I’ll preface this by saying I thought my prone foil game was at least getting to the intermediate stage. Multiple waves per takeoff. Shore runs of a decent distance…etc…
Two sessions ago I moved from a Naish 4’8 x 21 @ 36L hover to an Amundson 4’6 x 17 @ 31L super model. The amundson feels way lighter.
On the hover I’d have my lift foil shoved all the way forward ( on the 170 ). It’s been frustrating figuring out where to set it on the new board. The new board feels like the nose wants to come up before I ever get paddled down the wave. I’m not talking about it coming up out of the water like I’m over foiled. More like when you’re missing a wave on your normal surfboard. I’d have thought it would be easier to get down nose down on the skinner boards.
Also I’m guessing the wider board allowed me to be sloppy on basically all of my foot placement ( and staying balanced over the center ). It was easy to get up and going on pretty much anything. Now if I’m slightly off on my pop up its easy to veer off like the viciously angry kook that I obviously am.
I’m not sure what the question is. Maybe this is just commiseration. Granted, its only been two sessions… but switching to more of a performance board has been enlightening in all the worst ways.
That is a big step, you need to work on it, finding the best positionning in the box is crucial, then getting used to the width (way more sensitive). It takes time !
But after a while I doubt you will want to get back.
I went from a 4’4" KT 35L board to the 4’4" Amundson Super Model at 31L.
With the LIft 120, I have the mast set at the 5.0 mark. I weigh 140 lb.
The first session on the Amundson felt very twitchy. I was blowing a number of takeoffs by not getting my feet in the proper position. I also had a problem with pearling on the take off because I didn’t have the mast far enough forward on the first session at the 3.0 mark.
By the second session, I had moved the mast forward and I was getting my longest pumps out the back. The lighter swing weight made pumping easier.
Compared to my wider foilboards, I seem to be able to get into waves much easier with the narrower Amundson.
A friend once told me every liter matters. Ummm maybe, I thought. But then I bought a prone board that was 5 liters less volume and 5” shorter. The difference is so significant! The smaller board paddles like a rock, comparatively. My pop-ups are so much better on the larger board that I don’t want to bring the small one on my upcoming trip south. I love riding the small board but I have resigned myself to saving it for wake foiling or tow-in situations. TBH it blows me away that big guys can paddle into mushy prone waves on 4’-4”, 28L boards.