Day one of learning to prone. 2 and a half hours of paddling trying to find a wave with enough power and watching other proners paddle in with no problem and meanwhile I can’t even catch a big foamie, it would go straight over me. Felt like I was anchored to the bottom compared to my regular short board. Conditions were maybe difficult, small reef breaking and backing off again in fairly unpredictable ways.
Gear: fone sk8 750, 30L AK phazer board. I am only 60kg for reference.
I’ve had conflicting advice. About half the people I asked said the foil is the problem - way too small to start I should try the sk8 1050. These people also said the board is fine for your weight. The other half said the foil is no problem it’s the board, you need a bigger board to get paddle speed to get into waves.
. Can someone help me break down the differences I would see by changing one or the other but not both?
I would have thought that foil size doesn’t affect anything much until you are actually engaging the foil which is presumably AFTER having caught the wave (which I can’t seem to do). That suggests the board is a bigger culprit here.
However, one additional consideration for me is that in terms of board volume, I surf very small boards and cannot actually comfortable paddle a board that floats me because I have neck issues and it’s too much extension when lying flat on the surface of the water. So if I could compensate for the small board by upsizing the foil that would be better.
You already have the board, it seems fine for your weight. I’m assuming you probably have or have access to a larger foil - 750 DOES sound a little small for a beginner.
Also don’t underestimate the effect of conditions when proning - it makes a huge difference when learning - more than any other foiling discipline.
Lastly, I’d say that I find it easier to catch unbroken waves or when they’re just starting to peel/crumble. I think that it’s much harder to catch the foam - I still have trouble with it just running past me.
Ps. I learned on a 34L board and 1300cm2 wing @ ~85kg.
Pps. It’s only day 1. If you’ve never tried to catch a wave with a prone foil board before I think it’s expected you’re going to have trouble until you get used to how the distribution is different to a regular shortboard.
Ppps (last one I promise). If you’re coming from surfing like I was, I found it helpful to just forget about regular surfing for a while until you’re comfortable with prone foiling. When the frustration sets in with proning, you’ll be tempted to sneak in a shortboard session - don’t let it distract you! Your mission is to just get through as many prone sessions as possible until you see the light at the end of the tunnel
Ooofff. Long period is HARD. More waterline length so you can match that swell speed a bit would help. It seems like short wide tail boards really help with my short period trash giving that wave something to impact but when I travel to deeper energy breaks that doesn’t work. Take whatever I say with a grain of salt and talk to your locals
Another thing it could be is mast length. If the mast is too long it’s putting that wing deeper than the energy on takeoff but I feel like for that energy that would only be a thing on 80+ cm
try for the second or third reform foamball if you can, you need less energy than normal surfing, ideally you’d catch an unbroken wave but that is hard to time
it will take about 5-10 sessions to figure out the basics of timing, and way more to get in sync with how to position yourself
(wait till you start catching waves and each wave launches you like a catapult then the tacos lots of frustration at the start and it’s mostly just getting to grips with the new things, gear is probably fine)
The foil is fine. The board is also fine, but not making your life easier.
You aren’t paddling fast enough, or in the right spot. You’re riding the HP shortboard version of a foil. A longer board OR a larger foil will make your setup feel more like a mid length or a longboard, depending how big you go.
Foil: The foil is fine for your weight and smaller foils are actually safer to learn on in a way. They won’t launch you out of the water uncontrollably. Where is the mast placed on the board? Riding a wave with your foilboard on the water is still riding the foil. It’s the training wheels version of learning to foil. Catch the wave, keep the board on the water, lift ONLY your front foot and immediately push it back down. The board should release from the water and then with control, go back down onto the water while you keep riding. That’s your goal at this stage. Then start flying off the water for longer and longer periods of time.
Board: If you have access to a slightly longer board that will help you paddle faster, which will help you catch waves easier. I wouldn’t go spend more money on a different board though. What you have will work. You just have to learn how to do it.
10 sessions of falling. You did 1 session so far. After the 10th session you can start to have a little bit of fun.
Talk to other foilers at your spot. Ask them why you didn’t get that wave. Ask them in the parking lot if the mast seems to be in the correct position for learning.
Kaa not the easiest place to catch waves prone, gotta be in the right spot for sure especilly when theres a fair bit of water moving, and there really isnt a “2nd or 3rd” reform foam ball to catch. I’d say that was probably the biggest issue you had, at least from my observation on the water yesterday.
then the tacos