Ok so I see alot of people are wanting to learn DW foiling and maybe getting some mixed messages from people or shops who really might not really know themselves so here is a bunch of info with no bull**** and the easiest way to learn.
Foil: Big as you can, I still say the only real foil on the market that is proven is the Gofoil 280, lots of other brands claiming their wings can DW and I am sure they can for the person who has already used the bigger 280 wings or if they live on Maui and have 30 knots every day.
But in the real world we have 15 to 20 knots if we are lucky and if you try learning on a 200 or similar size wings then good luck as you will extend you learning curve massively!!
Board: Anything really can work but smaller and lighter is better if you are comfortable on it, if you go to small and twitch around this will make it hard as you do need a few good power strokes to get going in most cases.
DW perpose built boards are better if you can afford them as they stick less if you touch down and if made right they will skim and even lift back off when you make small mistakes and they do happen!
Learn to go slow this is VERY important and a real key to DW foiling well, if you try and just go fast all the time then you will do 100m and be stuffed, you have to read the water and understand what can be pumped over and what can not.
It will get easier, when I learned I loved the 280 and tried the 200 a few times and it just seemed hard work, now I never use the 280 unless super light and mostly use the 200 and IWA and these now feel super easy as well.
Conditions: The best conditions are no swell and just wind chop say like the first day the winds blow like today on the gold coast. We had no swell and 20 to 25 knots and it was as easy as it gets( my stats from today below)
Bigger swell will make it harder to learn but super fun when you get better.
Please any questions feel free to ask away and I will do my best to answer.
below is on the 200 wing
How do you stop just being a weather vane? I was out last night in about 25knots - the wind was blowing about 45 degrees to the swell I was attempting to DW across the bay . I could not keep my feet without having them fore and aft - and when I did that I could not do anything other than go downwind - but never catch a wave. In the end I gave up and resorted to prone paddling closer to the shore but it was so frustrating. I think if I had been goofy it would have been fine - but my natural stance just sent me across the wave and never down it. Does everyone get into a fore and aft stance asap ? Is that what I should be practicing ? I was on a7'6 sup with an allvator foil
any tip greatly received.
As Jacko said previously you want the biggest front wing you can get your hands on to learn , the Allvator is going to be very hard to learn on , once you master it then you can drop down in foil size. I'm only very new to DW foil and its the hardest most frustrating form of foiling to learn. You really need to be capable of pumping back out in surf and linking waves , it's that skill that gets you up on the foil. Don't think for a second you will just stand there and paddle onto swell with your feet in a square stance , you need to paddle and pump at the same time as dropping into a trough , sounds hard is hard but Seasoned DWer's like Jacko just do it so easy , it just takes time and practice and the right sized foil to learn on. Once you are up on the foil you can cut across the wind and swell angle and set a rum line , again another skill set to be learnt , you don't simply stand there and go straight.
Select to expand quotePiros said..
the Allvator is going to be very hard to learn on
Yup. It can work if you are experimented, featherlight and use the 80cm wing, but with the Allvator you should wait for the 90 and 100cm wings that are coming later this year (with a reinforced fuz) to learn DW I guess. Or just another DW-specialized foil, or just hone your foiling technique in waves first, just as Piros describes.
This pumping thing requires a lot of finesse, and fitness, and tons of practice.
