Hilarious / tragic to see the Foil Drive ambassadors dunking on the waydoo.
I wonder what is going on with that box. Mounts on top of the baseplate? If it fits in a trench then I think could be viable, if not then no chance.
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On the popup thing - I get it the FD and boogie and assist are helping people have fun and get time on foil - which is rad - I had time, and physicality, youth. I don’t mind people taking a shortcut. I have 0 hate as long as there’s not 6 of em buzzing around at my local…
BUTTTTT. It doesn’t seem like it’ll ever be a stepping stone to prone. It seems like it gets you time on foil but not an inch closer to catching waves prone and popping up. Maybe Flite is different? I’m curious, who has gone from assist to successful prone?
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A buddy of mine started on FD and recently switched to prone. It took him a few sessions to get the popup dialed and after that he was quickly making 3 for 1’s. I think it’s way more helpful in the long run than learning behind a boat. For starters, you don’t need a boat and a patient driver, but there’s also the difficulty of getting up behind a boat and the need for a tow board. FD checks off everything except the rush of energy during the prone popup.
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I’ll chime in here. I’ve had my Tow Boogie for a few weeks now and I am very happy with my purchase. Having not come from a surf background (more sailing and wakeboarding), I am one of those people who sucks at the pop up, wave positioning/choice, etc. I am intermediate foiler/winger with about 4 years of foiling under my belt, and I know once I’m on foil I’m good to ride waves, but getting started with a chip in has always been my struggle. I learned to foil behind a boat and still wake foil some when I’m not winging on windy days. I chose the boogie over a FoilDrive for a few reasons: 1) Its comparable in price to a FD system, but I don’t need to buy any new gear, I can ride what I have and not have to worry about buying a trench board. 2) The TB battery lasts way longer, 2-3 hours, compared to FD or 1-2. 3) Its a timesaver for me, as a business owner and dad, I don’t have a ton of spare time to sit around trying to catch waves and prone and not get a lot of out it. With the Tow Boogie, it adds maybe 10-15 mins of setup time on either end of the sesh, but my time on foil and wave count is through the roof. I can go tow boogie for an hour, catch 20 waves +, and get back to work without having to spend a ton of time struggling to paddle in. 4) I’m 45 years old, and while foiling has me in the best shape of my life, I don’t foresee myself being able to paddle and pop up more consistently as I get older. I’m certainly not giving up on prone, it is a goal of mine to be able to regularly paddle into waves, right now I get like 1 out of 20 prone, but the “tow bougie” as @TooMuchEpoxy calls it, is a guaranteed good time, and I can get out even when the surf isn’t proneable. I agree that having a bunch of electric devices buzzing around isn’t what the purists want to see, but having the boogie makes me just want to get away from people, and exploring with it is half the fun. I think the FD really has a limited range as to how far your want to go from your launch spot, but that is also not what it is designed to do as just an assist. I see boogie assisted downwinders in my future too, which will open up even more days of foiling. I tried the FD once and did not like the added weight on my board. The lack of maintenances on the boogie is also a big plus, just spray it off when done and keep the zipper in good shape and it should last a long time. A few weeks into the boogie, and I am getting 2-3 minute rides here in our inlet and carving endless turns vs going prone, getting tired, not catching many waves and then getting flushed and having to paddle in. Don’t get me wrong, I am still jealous of my prone friends who show up with just their board and are out there shredding while I’m towing in, but the efficiency (making the most of my time), wave count and lack of maintenance are all winners in my book. Anywho, just my 2 cents as a boogie owner. FD seem plenty popular, but I’m surprised there are not more people in the US who have gone the boogie route.
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Any type of prone or assist is condition dependent. If you have proper waves to ride then prone is the pinnacle but you need to be fit and enjoy the lineup.
Tow Boggie looks to be great for empty locations without too many others around but doesn’t work in choppy bay conditions.
Foildrive type assists work great in most conditions and locations but there is a definite weight penalty having to carry the battery on your board or person.
Any assist system opens up new locations away from crowds, some of our best assist locations have zero surfers.
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WTF?!
Everything is mounted backwards in this picture 
I actually saw first hand a Waydoo Assist at the Boot Dusseldorf last year, it looked like shit, but more normal (pic below)
My guess: it’s CGI done by an intern who has no idea what is the product, so he screw it up.
They have a video of someone riding it with the prop in front and its not CGI. It actually seems that they allow for it to be driven as push (prop in back) or pull (prop in front) depending on how is mounted. That “pull” configuration seems intentional, although I have no idea what the intention is.
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Share the link when you see it again.
The only thing I saw is a picture on Waydoo insta, and I still think it was CGI by an intern having no idea what the product is.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DPGmMPcEV4Y/?img_index=1
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Don’t think it’s a mistake. This German website speaks about a pull AND a push propeller:
From the website:
“Motor with 2x folding propellers (one push and one pull propeller)”
The video I referenced was an Instagram story (no longer available). Can never be sure these days, but did NOT look like AI and the rider (same guy in the photo) was riding a wave with the prop mounted in front of the mast. Im nearly 100% certain this is NOT an error.
I study prone foil but progress is very slow, so come back to dock start until I can stay 1 minutes that used axis 1300.
When I come back to beach, after several training sessions, catching waves remained quite challenging, then I borrowed one foil assist to test it but it has many problems (yes, it’s immature product). than I DIY one with backpack battery). Wow! It open a new world!
It cost less than three hundred dollars, and I’ve been kicking myself ever since for not using it two years earlier!
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While I understand your enthusiasm, let me call BS on that! You can DIY a great foil drive contraption for MUCH less than the price of the proper product, but no need to exaggerate.
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Even Waketheif has gone electric!
I come from China, where we can purchase very inexpensive ESCs (10-30 USD), batteries (40 USD per set) and motors (50 USD), I’m using a wired remote control that cost 20 USD, also some 3D-printed components.
I do not sell kits, nor do I intend to supply anything due to the complex problem including safety.
Let’s just play！
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sorry 50 USD for battery.
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