It would be cool to have one as a booster just to get on the foil and once up it would switch off.
Or you could just pump the sail to get on the foil... Why bother with a sail when you have an e-Foil. May as well ride with a small board so you can carve properly.
It would be cool to have one as a booster just to get on the foil and once up it would switch off.
Or you could just pump the sail to get on the foil... Why bother with a sail when you have an e-Foil. May as well ride with a small board so you can carve properly.
There is a margin at the bottom where many of us don't have either the stamina or skills to pump on. I'm a decent pumper and more willing than many of my local peers but, still, there's a range where if I fall off the foil, it's going to wait for a puff to get back up and going. If you live in an area blessed with nice sea breezes or steady winds, this isn't as much a problem. My nearest sea breeze is 4+ hours away.
I'm not about to drop $5000 US on an efoil but the thought does cross my mind that not having to yank the sail like a monkey would be nice.
FWIW, the wind in the video is probably conditions where I live 60-70% of the time especially in the warm months.
I tried it using a DIY efoil extender to my RRD H-Fire windfoil board using a Slingshot hoverglide Infinity 76. I bought an extra mast and attached a motor to it. Batteries and motor controller go in a pelicase style box on top of the board. My idea was to use it as a boost motor to avoid pumping, but for various reasons it did not work out so well:
1. The motor + prop creates extra drag - (maybe could be avoided by mounting the motor higher up the mast)
2. You need a failsafe like a deadmans switch. - In my current setup is is a chord with a magnet switch. Gets in the way everytime.
3. The whole extra setup (battery+motor) weighs around 9 -10 kilos extra which is killing any extra advantage of getting in the air earlier.
I may revisit it some day, but for now am just enjoying using the windfoil board as an efoil without mast and sail. Works like a charm and can by DIYed for less then $2000.
I have posted the build story on foil.zone. Search for 'e-windfoil' (cannot post link because of being a fresh member to the forum)
I tried it using a DIY efoil extender to my RRD H-Fire windfoil board using a Slingshot hoverglide Infinity 76. I bought an extra mast and attached a motor to it. Batteries and motor controller go in a pelicase style box on top of the board. My idea was to use it as a boost motor to avoid pumping, but for various reasons it did not work out so well:
1. The motor + prop creates extra drag - (maybe could be avoided by mounting the motor higher up the mast)
2. You need a failsafe like a deadmans switch. - In my current setup is is a chord with a magnet switch. Gets in the way everytime.
3. The whole extra setup (battery+motor) weighs around 9 -10 kilos extra which is killing any extra advantage of getting in the air earlier.
I may revisit it some day, but for now am just enjoying using the windfoil board as an efoil without mast and sail. Works like a charm and can by DIYed for less then $2000.
I have posted the build story on foil.zone. Search for 'e-windfoil' (cannot post link because of being a fresh member to the forum)
Is this it?
foil.zone/t/e-windfoil-netherlands/7578
That guy might as well ditch the sail it serves no purpose
Yes, he did that once as a joke
It would be cool to have one as a booster just to get on the foil and once up it would switch off.
Or you could just pump the sail to get on the foil... Why bother with a sail when you have an e-Foil. May as well ride with a small board so you can carve properly.
I do pump, but sometimes it's not enough and it can be exhausting (nothing more frustrating than to barely get on the foil after vigorous pumping only for the next bit of chop to knock you back down). I like using the smallest sail and board possible especially when foiling because they are so efficient once up. Electric boost may minimise both the sail and board requirements. And because you'd use it only for boost, maybe the motor and battery could be much smaller. It'd be no different to self-launch gliders - the engine is used to launch and then retracted. We could go even further and maybe recharge the battery once up on the foil (probably too much drag though).
I (86 kg) get up in 8-9 knots with an Aerotech Freespeed 8.0, AFS Wind 95 foil with F800(1080) wing, on a Goya Bolt 135 board, With no pumping! Sure we get lighter wind, but being able to foil anytime would take a lot of the challenge and planning out of it. Like riding a jetski, would get boring imo.
I should mention the guy in the clip doesn't have an foil, He is just a light wind freak. :)))
It also helps if your only 4ft tall aswell
I tried it using a DIY efoil extender to my RRD H-Fire windfoil board using a Slingshot hoverglide Infinity 76. I bought an extra mast and attached a motor to it. Batteries and motor controller go in a pelicase style box on top of the board. My idea was to use it as a boost motor to avoid pumping, but for various reasons it did not work out so well:
1. The motor + prop creates extra drag - (maybe could be avoided by mounting the motor higher up the mast)
2. You need a failsafe like a deadmans switch. - In my current setup is is a chord with a magnet switch. Gets in the way everytime.
3. The whole extra setup (battery+motor) weighs around 9 -10 kilos extra which is killing any extra advantage of getting in the air earlier.
I may revisit it some day, but for now am just enjoying using the windfoil board as an efoil without mast and sail. Works like a charm and can by DIYed for less then $2000.
I have posted the build story on foil.zone. Search for 'e-windfoil' (cannot post link because of being a fresh member to the forum)
Is this it?
foil.zone/t/e-windfoil-netherlands/7578
Yes that's me
That looks a bit like my experience. Most of the time the sail gets backwinded when throttle is too much. Very hard to get the sail to 'switch' on and getting just the right amount of flow through the sail (Severne Turbo GT 7.5)
boostsurfing.com/
^These showed up in my FB feed constantly last year. At $250 it seems like a no brainer for someone to try it (if they ever actually ship them out). Maybe mount it a bit in front of the foil?
I have also been following the foilzone site for a while as the efoil is an interesting concept.
It definitely pays to not buy the cheapest efoil judging by some of the posts! when you are messing around with lithium batteries, water ingress and charging devices....(much like the issues with those hover boards and over heating).
Its possible that some ones house caught on fire from battery overheating
I should mention the guy in the clip doesn't have an foil, He is just a light wind freak. :)))
That video is like a strong wind warning day for Brisbane....
I've been thinking of putting a second foil mounting track further forward on my Nash hover board to use it for winging and as a stand-up board to catch waves with. I'm not sure if the hover board at 142 L is big enough to use as a stand-up paddleboard, but putting a home-made propeller onto the foil mast is another option altogether. Are the home-made efoils Low enough drag that you could catch a gentle wave with them and then stop the propeller?
I've been thinking of putting a second foil mounting track further forward on my Nash hover board to use it for winging and as a stand-up board to catch waves with. I'm not sure if the hover board at 142 L is big enough to use as a stand-up paddleboard, but putting a home-made propeller onto the foil mast is another option altogether. Are the home-made efoils Low enough drag that you could catch a gentle wave with them and then stop the propeller?