Lightwind Twin Tip Recommendations

Slappysan · Since 13 Jun 2012 308 Posts Obsessed

If you want the most fun to ride LW TT get a Shinn King Gee, if you want the lightest wind board try an A-Boards Glider 164x50.

The Slingshot Glide is too narrow for LW for my tastes.

bwd · Since 04 Aug 2007 385 Posts Obsessed

I have a friend that made the "great white" for light wind.
It's a 2x4 piece of starboard plastic with the corners trimmed off - kind of an octagon.
Not high performance but works when little else will....

pdxmonkeyboy · Thu Apr 28, 16 6:30 pm

Matt V · Fri Apr 29, 16 6:02 am

Fins! Fins! Fins! I did the skimboard thing for a while after I got some real time on a directional. The reason for trying skimboards was that my directionals were not impressing me with upwind performance on short runs in gusty Midwest winds.

I should have known better! A foil shaped fin IS the most efficient way to get up wind in a sailing situation. I would love to hear a logical or even experience argument against it. Yes, individual results may vary, but the physics of it cannot be changed. If they ever are, there will be a huge employment opportunity in the aircraft industry changing out wings to the new invention. Foils (fin, not hydrofoil) deliver the most efficient counter force to a sails pull, without drastically increasing drag. Low drag + high force = high speed = fast upwind.

A skimboard is a great light wind tool. But it will never be the best tool for light wind. Now I only use my 2 skims to actually skimboard not skimboard with a kite. Risky on the ankles, but it feel like it takes more skill and physical effort to skim (flat or waves) than it does to kite.

My skims are:
LF "Twin-Skim) - for sale this summer
Slotstik "XXL Provac S-glass" - keeping it unless I get 75% of a new one's price

bwd · Since 04 Aug 2007 385 Posts Obsessed

octagonal skim = best skim
But I'll stick with my surfboard...
Lock up silver if monkey in kitchen!

Sasquatch · Since 09 Mar 2005 2057 Posts PNW Bigfoot

Nak · Fri Apr 29, 16 8:46 pm

Matt V · Sat Apr 30, 16 6:21 am

As sassy has warned, a 1.75l of Muscato can induce "Explosive Diarrhea". But I do not know how he found out about that. I actually built up an immunity to that a few years before I met him. Thus I find it odd that particular story made it out to Oregon from Nebraska already. Must be that new "face book" thing.

Surfboards can suck in light wind. My 2012 5'-8" North "Whip" proved that to me. Slingshot "Coupe was a bit better. LF Kitefish Quad Mod was slightly better there too. The best board for upwind I have ever owned was a Cabrinha "Plasma" twin-tip.

On the "Plasma", you would scream upwind on even short tacks so long as you had 45mm fins on it. Put 35mm fins on it, and it was not much better than most smaller twins. No fins (when you break them off in shallow water) and you did not go upwind as well as a bad directional.

Technique is important too. Coming from a background of slalom and bigger windsurf gear (6.5-10.6m sails), I already knew how to "load" a fin. And not just load, but "side load" it for the most push upwind. This applies to any finned kiteboard too, once you reach a speed that the foil of the fin dominates the upwind push over the edge of the board. To me, this seems to be where apparent wind just starts to become a factor.

Again, I loved twins back in the day. I hate the lie that directionals go upwind better than twins. I know for sure that fins on a twin, directional, skim, or anything, will add to their upwind capabilities.

The minnow · Since 26 Jan 2009 395 Posts argentina Obsessed

http://www.litewavedesigns.com/products/kiteboards/wing-light-wind.html great choice!

The minnow · Since 26 Jan 2009 395 Posts argentina Obsessed

Just rent a surfboard when you get to where you are going;

Nak · Sat Apr 30, 16 11:49 am

Matt V · Sat Apr 30, 16 2:40 pm

Hard for me to wrap my mind around the concept of "fin drag" at less than 30knots of board speed. These thick Slingshot "Canted Side Surf Fins" that I use on my Kitefishes are about 1/2" thick at the base. At 28 knots is where I perceive the drag to kick in. Seems like I can't break through the 33knot speed barrier (my gps record) with them.

But a twin-tip fin? I trust Nak in his assessment more so than my hypothesis with near zero test data. But it's still hard for me to grasp. I definitely will be looking at my riding feel/perception with a new focus on fin drag.

Assuming I am right - that fin drag at sub 15knot speeds is negligible and possibly imperceptible, maybe the problem is actually with the fin AOA in relation to "engaged board edge" AOA.

Given that a fin has an ideal AOA, and that an "engaged board edge" has (may have?) an ideal AOA, could those two factors be fighting each other? Is this fight the very thing that is being perceived as "fin drag"? Presumably, these two components could be set at an angle that would induce some significant drag as the two fight each other for dominance over the direction the board is trying to travlel. (A bit of my current research into quad vs tri is creeping into this line of thought, so forgive me.)

Does a TT board edge have an ideal AOA? I have lost my TT skills (and equipment) so I have no way to test that idea. Anyone?