Hood River Foiling

tekko · Since 20 Feb 2006 376 Posts White Salmon Liquid Force

Well, I'm not telling you anything new, noting that kite foiling is growing this year and many people, including myself, are foil-curious.

During a casual discussion couple weeks back with Jim Stringfellow- AKA Stringy, he walked over to his car and pulled out a front wing he had just machined and disclosed that he was foil curious as well, and so he'd started to workout how to build one.

We decided it would likely work well bolted to a LF Kitefish, due to it's low wind benefits, stiff construction and wide stable platform. Big thanks to Pepi and 2nd Wind Sports for donating their demo kitefish to this experiment!

Yesterday afternoon was perfect foiling weather... about 8-15 at the event site, with little to no texture on the water. Jason Slezak headed out on a 12m to see how it would work.. coming in shortly after and going down to a 9m! (Jason does have some limited foil experience on another production foil, so this was not his first try)

Pictures speak for themselves.. we all know what it looks like at the event site when it's not that windy... could the foil be the future of lightiwnd kiting??? on a 12m or 9m??

WINDUDE · Since 10 Jun 2010 558 Posts GORGE! Addicted

Sella · Wed Mar 19, 14 8:41 am

Really cool Tekko and so glad to see the local foil-curious experimentation. Very Happy

Is there a standard guideline for where to attach the foil to the board and do you think any board work with good width and strength?

I've seen crazy versions all over the web but due to basic simplicity it's fairly easy to foresee foils being sold as a stand alone unit and then adapted to almost any board??? (Yes, Stringy....I'm thinking this job is all you and I want one fyi. Smile

JeffT · Since 07 Jul 2012 238 Posts Deep Southern Portland Stoked

what? a foil that doesn't cost $2500+ and isn't made in France?? no way! Very Happy

Well done everyone

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped

I bet that will be sick in river swell

tekko · Since 20 Feb 2006 376 Posts White Salmon Liquid Force

I don't know the science for sure... Stringy is the one who figured where/how to mount it.

As for board, the most important thing about the board is the stiffness and strength, as the foils are so sensitive the platform must really be firm and stable or it creates movement in the foil from the flex.

Brandon Scheid, another HR based LF rider has an MHL lift foil. He had it on a wooden wake skate for a bit, but the flex in the wood would make the foil dive and lead to some big crashes.

A lot of the foils out there have tuttle box mounting, which is why a lot of boards look super thick like race boards, as they have to have the thickness for the tuttle box in the board.

I will note.. I have personally only tried for few min and was on the stock lift foil and board. I didn't really get it, but only had few min before was too overpowered and just rode a surfboard. That same session, in maui, I barely made it back to the beach on a 12m and surfboard, and had to body drag in, as I couldn't even schlog on the board anymore. Jason was on the lift foil board and a 6.5m kite and was literally doing circles around me as I body dragged in to the beach.

Stringy's foil worked, for sure, but as a v1.0 homemade version wasn't nearly as efficient as some of the others. I would have gone out for a try but Jason described it as significantly more difficult than the lift foil we'd ridden... and I didn't have success on that one... so didn't want to try a harder version in 40 deg river.

But, super fun to see and even though I haven't gotten over the hump and figured it out, I definitely am interested and want to try and see more.

As somebody who promotes kiteboarding for a living, I spend many a day at many a beach that isn't quite enough to ride... I see the foil as being a great answer to those conditions and much more appealing than riding a race board and 19m kite, just to get out there!

stringy · Since 23 Jun 2006 1735 Posts vancouver XTreme Poster

I made this thing a couple of weeks ago when I didn't know much about the setups.
spoke to some friends and then went to Baja. wind was light all week and the only kiters out there were foilers. that confirmed the need to complete the first prototype and test it out. I've struggled testing this setup because of the currents and cold water, actually making trips up to seattle for their warmer climates Laughing

anyhow I've already redesigned things and will be working on the next generation once I find time to get it machined.
pepi's board works great so far. I think it's bomber construction and generous nose rocker make it a great solution for a board. I did not attempt any modifications to the fish.
as for placement on the board, I went with what I thought would work. some people who saw my board thought it was mounted too far forward however it works so no need to change the position yet. If you are gonna use footstraps it will be more of an issue so I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Sella · Wed Mar 19, 14 10:56 am

Really appreciate the recap and insight Gregg and Jim.

This quote is the one that blows me away.

dangler · Since 26 Feb 2006 1780 Posts WINDY SPOTS XTreme Poster

Saw the Godfather of kites testing his designs last fall at Stevie. Cool that some locals guys are designing foilboards.

Wonder how the Moth foil would work.

Joshiebaby · Since 14 Oct 2007 569 Posts Vancouver, WA Addicted

As someone who moved away from the NW for work, I have really been disheartened to find that the winds outta So Cal just (don't) blow. If this comes together and these boards could could be made more affordable/accessible it'd be amazing.

God Bless the pioneers and thanks for sharing your progress with the community.