How about a levitator?

freeride; "I'm built for comfort, not for speed"

excav8ter said..

Johnnydoc said..
freeride; "I'm built for comfort, not for speed"

Levitator 160.

Yeah you'll want a floaty free ride. The x-15 is going to need a $3k or more slalom foil to make it worth while and they are not low stress machines.

Keep the chatter coming on the gear for real world windsurf foilers!

Johnny,
My the most fundamental question to you is about wind conditions where you go out and your expectation:
"What is your actual statistical ratio between slogging and foiling when you are on the water?"

If place you go out has 50/50 or less, then you need a board that will be more efficient at slogging and some adaptations are needed for "pure foiling modern boards" or using "legacy / windsurfing boards" may give you more "pleasure return on investment".
Over last couple of years I have been between 90-100kg in speedos but when fully geared (winter wetsuit, backpack with paddles and 2L camel pack etc. ) I am over 110kg.
I experimented with variety of foils (Starboard & Slingshot) and boards: Exocet RF91 (155L), RF81 (186L), Slingshot Flyer280 (280L), Starboard Go180L, Go 200L, Formula 100.5cm 167L and now Race 100 (208L)

Foil Boards vs Legacy Boards:
When I am slogging on my Starboard 167L board, I am standing in a pool of water (with 11m sail) and only nose and back is sticking out of the water. It is like a saucer. BUT there is still enough volume in the nose so I can stand just behind the mast base (mast base moved max aft with double bolt chinook plate).
I recently bought Starboard Race 100 and despite of this board larger volume, the majority of volume is in the back. Same 11m sail and mast base moved max aft. BUT that board at slogging speeds behaves worse than SB FW 167L ?! I am talking about 3-5mph moving speed
The nose gets underwater when I am standing behind the mast base.
In both scenarios I used Slingshot i99 foil in my custom position C+ (I drilled extra hole in the fuse and back C hole becomes my front hole).
That is for max lift.
Both boards are fine when I start foiling when board speeds exceed 5mph.

So what is my solution that I still need to test on the water ?
"Custom adapter" to move the mast base much more back,
Here is the picture.










BTW: On the days when there is enough wind to be on the foil more than 50% then Starboard Race Foils have been much better solutions (in particular in gusty conditions). They accelerate instantly and do not have "the elevator effect" like Slingshot Shovels do (i84, i99) with increasing speed.
Also my Max speed goes from ~13mph (i99) to ~20mph (M1000) in my particular case with my setup and weight.

So then I am using SB wing M1000 (or FR110) fuse 115+ (or 115++) and stab 255(-2).

I hope this will give you some ideas what direction to take.

mareks360 said..
Reporting back on "custom/mod chinook double bolt plate" & Starboard Race 100 208L Board:

Almost 6h on the water and just over 35 miles and it works perfectly !
No more nose going underwater.

So really for "Heavy Dudes" or "Heavier Dudes" in Recreational Windfoiling and maxing out in relatively light winds the mods are required:

1) Rig mast base need to go much more to the back (aft) than boards & stock mast bases are designed. As on the picture I provided earlier.

2) If you use (as you mentioned "Johnnydoc") Slingshot Infinity larger foils (also now manufactured as Ride Engine Manta) then you may consider drilling the hole as I did and making C+ position like on the picture.



BTW: I rode couple of 100s of miles with C+ and even more pressure on mast to fuselage attachment when using "reverse B" (next set of 2 holes) but maybe only about 100 miles with SB Go 180L (needed to put the front wing much more forward to match the position of SB M1000 with 115++ fuse).
Here is a reference with pictures as to what I am talking about from year 2020:
Just scroll down to section:
"How do my Starboard Race foil compare with my "Reverse B" Slingshot Infinity 84 foil ?"
groups.io/g/nw-windtalk/message/68158

Several folks were questioning if there would be too much stress on mast to fuse 2 bolt connection.
My answer was: "If Wyatt Miller (getting closer in weight to 200LB/ 90kg) at Slingshot can do jumps and loops with fuse in C position then person only occasionally gently pumping in C+ puts much less stress than him".
Please note Slingshot masts threading is actually only to the lengths of the bolts BUT the holes are drilled much deeper.
Check it for yourself with e.g. chopstick.
If you are concerned, you can thread the holes much deeper and use longer bolts (can be found online).

3) I recommend using custom "top deck plate" attaching Slingshot Mast (the one with the flange) to any board. Even if it is reinforced and has "modern chimneys" with reinforced Foil Box.


I personally cracked both Deep Tuttle Boxes in SB Go 180L & SB FW 167L (year 2012) despite having custom spacer that was supporting foil mast against the ceiling.
Do you want to see what happens ?
What do you need to know before considering Formula Board for windfoiling - in particular when you are heavyweight
groups.io/g/nw-windtalk/message/75285

If you are curious what "Heavy Dude" can do with such setup in main wind range between 5-10mph with some gust up to 18mph,
here is my yesterday session report on our NW Windtalk (USA & Canada Pacific North West):
groups.io/g/nw-windtalk/topic/lk_wa_3_6_23_monday_report/97443979

Sail Sand Point Sensor and my time on the water in marked in red rectangle:



That is all for now for "Heavy Dudes", "Heavier Dudes" & Super Heavyweights.

So nice when you get your foil set up dialed