Is paddling into a wave easier with a foil than a normal surfboard?
I’ve seen video of guys catching really crap waves so I take it the foil really helps?
Is it harder to paddle with the foil underneath?
Do you have to paddle for long or can you duck the tail & push off?
Do you miss as many gutless waves with a foil as with a surfboard?
Do you need to have it crumbling/ pitching to catch or can it just be a smooth bump that would normally roll under you in the lineup.
Can you use a 6’6" 85-95L winging midi instead of a purpose built 35L prone board to try/ learn.
Apart from obviously maneuverability why not use a midi?
I’m a reasonably experienced but average surfer & would like to give it a try. The local surf spot breaks on a rock ledge & then its a short ride before you wipeout onto more rocks. I’m wondering, depending on the answers above, whether i could catch an unbroken bump further out & surf that & stay away from the impact zone. we don’t have any sand bars opening up into deep water around here.
I realise anything with a foil takes many sessions to learn but wondering if it’s worth trying or would be a complete waste of time.
If you already wing then why wouldn’t you just keep winging? With the wing you can for sure catch unbroken waves outside.
What’s the width of the wing board? You say mid, so one of the modern mid length boards? Or is it just a rectangle door shaped wing board of old?
Yes the foil really helps, yes the foil creates a lot of drag when you’re just paddling, yes it’s much harder to catch a wave on a foilboard than a surfboard. I would say a foilboard catches a wave similar to the way a longboard catches a wave. You still need proper positioning though and the better you are at positioning yourself the better you will be at catching waves on a prone board.
The faster you are paddling, the easier the take off is. So the quick “duck tail and push off” is one of the harder ways to take off. The foil goes from 0-100 and bucks you off most of the time.
For a prone board you basically NEED it to cap and break in some way. The way you describe the break makes it sound like a waste of your time to learn there, sorry. Always fun to try though. Get a FD.
I would definitely try your 6’6 90L board. I usually ride 42L, but rode a 6’3 90L for a couple months and loved it. It’s a great way to learn imo. I don’t think u can paddle into something not breaking, but if the wave gets really steep and almost breaks you may be able to paddle in on your 6,6 with a larger foil.
You can take that wing board out into the surf and catch tiny white wash and ride the reform (if you have a spot like that). That’s probably the best way to learn
Sounds like a crap surf spot and a worse foil spot. Even with an 8’ downwind board, a beginner foiler will struggle to the extreme to take off on an unbroken wave. Not sure if all the above comments assumed you were a winger since you asked about a wing board or if you are? A mid length wing board would still require a breaking or at least crumbling wave to paddle into. You can have fun foiling on short wave rides especially beach breaks with wind swell that you can link up and do a down coast run, but a thumping shelf with no runout sounds like hell.
I would say a foilboard catches a wave similar to the way a longboard catches a wave. You still need proper positioning though and the better you are at positioning yourself the better you will be at catching waves on a prone board.