I’m looking for any and all information that anyone has about the mechanics to getting a foil to turn.
Weight distribution, speed, body position, foil choice, fuse length, wave choice and any other factors that anyone could share thoughts on would be greatly appreciated.
What works for you? What doesn’t? Any drills or specific things to practice?
I have a foil setup I’m happy will work for me to start carving. I was previously way over foiled and getting ejected by a big foil from the speed boost you get from a turn.
I understand that all foils are different but I feel like the mechanics of a turn seem to translate across many board sports.
(Watching Erik rip on a foil, it was no surprise to me to see him do equally controlled and butter smooth turns on a snowboard in his recent insta posts)
Couple of things that works for me (I have no idea how it looks, but it feels right)
Front wing under 90cm span. HA wings can turn by going slow and using yaw, but I much prefer MA wing for carving.
Flying the wing up and to the opposite side before the turn, then dropping shoulder and pointing the leading hand down and into direction of the turn. I guess this gives direction and front foot pressure. Also puts more mast in the water midway through the turn, reducing chance of tip breach or getting chucked.
I prefer medium fuse with smaller tails for carving and pumping.
Steer with your shoulders really works for me (look where you want to go, you may go there🤙🏻)
Really exaggerated on the backhand cutbacks helps, also doing the pre turn check turn in the opposite direction is really useful, see Toeside / backhand cutback?
