As foilers progress they generally want boards that are shorter, narrower, thinner, and lighter. A smaller board responds better when you are up on the foil. But if you carry that too far you may struggle to get flying.
The first question in determining the specifications of your new board is how you will use it. We’ll break this down to SUP foiling/SUP downwind, wing foiling, and prone.
SUP Surf and Downwind
If you are SUP surfing and/or downwinding you need a board you can stand on while you prepare to catch a wave or swell. If your balance is good, and your skill level is high that can be somewhat minimal–some SUP foil surfers are comfortable with their board completely submerged. But most prefer a board that supports them in choppy water without having to focus full attention to balance.
We all know the stability and usability of a board isn’t just a function of volume. A round log has a lot of volume, but you probably don’t want to try to surf on one. But volume is a good start to thinking about the custom board you want.
Guild Factor is useful for understanding how much volume your board needs. This is simply the ratio of your weight converted to kilograms, to the volume of the board in liters. It’s convenient to use kilograms because one liter of water weighs approximately one kilogram. So take your weight in pounds, multiply by .45 and you know how much volume you’d need to float with a wet deck. That won’t be very stable, and the Guild factor recommended for absolute beginning foil board riders is somewhere around 1.7 to 2.0, meaning if you weigh 90 kilos (200 pounds) you want a 150-180L board. That’s a board you should borrow or rent, or buy on Craig’s list. Once you are up and foiling, can turn and pump to stay in the wave energy, then you’ll no longer want such a big board.
Your target volume relates to your weight, height and skill. For every inch you are taller than 5’9″ add one kilogram to your weight. So if you’re 6’2 and weigh 200 pounds your weight for calculating Guild Factor is 90 kilos plus 5 kilos = 95 kilos. If you’re an intermediate foil surfer you’ll want a guild factor of 1.4 to 1.7. Advanced foil surfers have a good idea of what volume they want, but 1.0 to 1.4 is the likely range. It’s hard to get much done on a SUP if you are sunk past your knees. So hopefully now you have a good idea of the volume you want.
Now let’s talk length. You’re probably considering a board somewhat shorter than the one you’ve been using. If you’ve been doing well on a 6’6″ board and now you’re thinking “I have to get under 6 feet” then we’d suggest 5’11 1/2″. Here’s why: It makes great sense to make your next board a bit of a challenge, but if the challenge is too great you won’t have any fun with your new board. If your board is very short the sweet spot where you can balance the board and feel comfortable will be very small. For very short boards, an inch too far forward and the nose sinks. It’s hard to catch a wave with the nose of your board sinking out of sight.
In short, you want the board to be as short as you can manage after you’ve used it and perhaps struggled a bit for a few sessions. At that length you’ll soon wonder what all the drama was at first. Being at or close to your current limit for length will give you the agility and lively performance you’re looking for.
Width doesn’t have a large effect on performance, but if your board is too wide it will be hard to paddle and sit on. It’s mostly a matter of proportion. A 6′ X30″ has a pleasing proportion and will paddle well. A 5′ X 30″ board will look like a manhole cover and will spin like one. But if you’re going shorter than seems prudent, go a bit wider. Width has a larger effect on stability than length does.
Leave the thickness to us. If you tell us you want a 120L board thats 5′ long and 28 wide it’s going to be thick. Unless you have some reason to specify a particular thickness and are willing to live with the volume that dictates we’ll use thickness to give you the volume you want. Understand that a pulled in nose and deep chines will also decrease volume. We have to make it up somewhere.
Tail shape, chines, tail bevel, nose–that’s all up to you. we strongly recommend a channel in the bottom for SUP foil surfing–it helps keep you heading the way you want to ge when you’re scratching for a wave, but it’s all up to you.
Wing Foil Boards
Wing boards are all about volume. If you’re not doing a sinker start, the main question is “can you kneel on it and lift the wing”. If you can do that, you’re going to be OK. Once again, if you go super short you’re going to have a small sweet spot for kneeling and getting to your feet. If you can manage that and get the wing up to do your water start, then you’re golden. Width helps a little, but it’s not as useful as it is on a SUP board. When you’re trying to get up on your knees on a short board it will be constantly trying to sink the nose or tail. Having sufficient volume in the nose and tail will help tame that a great deal.
We recommend little or no tail bevel for shorter boards, and it’s good to have a blunter nose when you go short. this is all about keeping the board from pitching forward or back when you’re on your knees. Once the wing is flying you’ll be moving, and the dynamics of the board start to take over. A little nose rocker to keep the nose up, and a slightly chunky tail will help the board plane out. Chines along the rail help the board release and give you a bit more room for extreme turning angles.
Lighter, shorter, narrower wingboards are a revelation, and it’s worthwhile to push your limits a little. Just don’t make a jump so big that the board becomes impossible. If you’re considering something radical, send us an email or a text. We’ll help you get a board that’s perfect for you.
Prone
If you’re prone foiling, you know what you want. Drop me a line and we’ll talk about it. Any time one of our team riders wants a new prone board I look at their specs and say “are you sure?” And of course the boards I thought would be too radical work perfectly for them.
