I personally have found the footstrap positions do not correspond to what actually works for my flying position.

On the naish 125, I could launch and fly without moving my feet. My front foot is on top of the rear front foot screws and my rear foot on top of the rear front screw (my stance is reasonably close). But I do not sink the rear.

On the skywing 5'8", my feet have to move rearwards from the launch position to flying position by 4 to 6 inches. Basically I sink the rear if I stand on the board on the water in my flying position. So I shuffle forward 4 to 6 inches, pump the wing to get some speed up, and push/pump the board up onto the foil and shuffle back 6 inches for flying position. My technique is now good, but it was weird learning to do it after the ease of the naish.

Just time on the water....

I also find it hard to move my feet once up foiling..

If it's windy enough and I can get both feet in the straps before getting going and up on the foil and it feel good and very balanced but most of the time I just have my rear foot on the front edge of the rear strap..

I mostly have my mast base 3/4 forward or in the center of the boxes.

You can see my foot position in this vid.

Glad to see I'm not the only one...

I ride a 125L hover board.

Back foot just in front of the rear strap screws, front foot just in front of the front foot screws.

I find too that if I put my feet in the straps position prior to take off, the tail the board sinks & nose rears up.

I find standing in the sweet spot for me is closer to the middle of the board.

My mast is at the aft 1/3 position...
I was thinking moving it further back is going to reduce the initial lift capability of the foil...especially in lighter winds

All things said I'm happy riding like this - just won't ever be able to use the straps!

What am.i missing here?!

I agree with LouD, move the mast fully back.

I have the 125 UC Hover, weigh 76kg and Moses Foils with Cloud Windwings.
I use a few different Moses foil wings from W1000 (1000 sq cm) to W1100 (2100 sq cm).
The W1000 I have the mast almost fully back as I need to develop a lot of board speed to get it up and foiling. If I have the mast too forward I quickly rise and stall - ie porpoise.

With the W1100 I have the mast almost in the middle from the back. I get up easily with no stalling.
Now for the feet, for both wings I start with my front foot a couple of inches back from the front edge of the deck grip and back foot in front of the mast.
Once up and foiling both feet move well back.
I also have the 110 UC Hover and find I do not need to move my as much. It seems to me the smaller the board the less feet need to move.

A person's weight is also an important factor, Bigtone667 and David John are much heavier than you , over 100 kg I believe. Their feet positions will be different to yours.

So start with mast fully back then each session move it cm by cm forward and you will find your sweet spot.
J B gave me this advice and it worked for me.

Sounds to me like you may be driving too hard from your rear leg. It is something we do naturally when learning especially if you have not foiled before. Pumping up onto foil while winging is kind of like reaching forward with the wing, grabbing some air, then pulling yourself forwards thrusting your hips forward and bringing your front knee to your chest. The act of pumping as much as it looks like pushing down with your back foot is actually more like launching forward with your back foot like you do on skate board to ollie or bursting out of the blocks in a sprint race. The best concept to get up early is it increase water flow over your foil. I rode the 125 yesterday with the 5.3m Wing-surfer, no straps. Here's a quick video. I don't think you can see my feet very well. But I remember looking down and seeing that I like standing over the front strap position with my front foot, and my back foot would likely be around mid position on my back foot. I mounted my foil (1800HA) all the way forward.



But as mentioned above, try without straps. Start with the foil further back then you think (or all the way back if you really want to try everything), Then slowly move it forwards, work on getting the boards balance point and feel right first before locking in your stance. Once you feel the board is nicely neutral, then start working on your stance, then go back and forth in small 0.5-1cm increments and fine tune. When you dial it in, you wont regret the time spent getting it right. 1cm can make a world of difference.

Enjoy & Ride safe,

JB

Nov8 said..
Once I'm up on the foil I can't move my feet.

Try moving the weight to either the toe, or the heel, of your foot then swivel the foot to move it.

northy1 said..
interesting thread! i have the 2021 naish 110 and 2000cm wing (75m mast) and found the balance for me to be about 1cm from the rear...im 90kg + winter suit (and 5'9) and my front footstraps are at the very front. When i have tried it further fwd it felt like it wanted to breach all the time and needed a lot more front foot pressure. i will check it again though / put it in the middle and see

It can be confusing at to what is actually going on, but you may just be a back foot orientated rider. There is not right and wrong, but it is worth trying a few different set ups (which it sounds like you did). If you are back foot bias, you mount further back. I am 6'2" and 90kg and front foot bias - I generally mount everything all the way forward (I am a lift pig). But just remember every cm or even half cm makes a huge difference.

northy1 said..
thanks JB - daft question maybe but could my rear placement (up until now) explain why i feel i lose fwd momentum in the gybes during the flip to switch and often fall off the foil..or a contributing factor?

There is a few things that could be at play here.

- With your foil mounted al the way back, you require a reasonable amount of back foot pressure to maintain altitude/flight.

- When you ride with more back foot pressure, your foil will seem less stable and your likely get a rolly feel (I call this serpenting when you seem to mimic a snakes head with your board moments) and even cause kickback form the foil with the slightest of toe or heel pressures, this might make you tentative and ride slower.

- Sounds like you're maybe riding in too slow to your jibes. IMO, come in hot, as fast as you're comfortable riding. Then literally let the wing out and just surf around the corner. Always do the turn in your surf stance (goofy or natural) and switch after or before the turn IMO.

So maybe yes to the mounting position. But everyone is different. I suggest slowly moving your foil forward sand experience the different feel. Ride a bit faster, don't use the WING so much and just foil surf round your corners.

Have fun,

Ride safe,

JB

thats a great video and thanks for the insights JB!

How do you connect the paddle? With a couple of velcro straps?

warwickl said..
I agree with LouD, move the mast fully back.

I have the 125 UC Hover, weigh 76kg and Moses Foils with Cloud Windwings.
I use a few different Moses foil wings from W1000 (1000 sq cm) to W1100 (2100 sq cm).
The W1000 I have the mast almost fully back as I need to develop a lot of board speed to get it up and foiling. If I have the mast too forward I quickly rise and stall - ie porpoise.

With the W1100 I have the mast almost in the middle from the back. I get up easily with no stalling.
Now for the feet, for both wings I start with my front foot a couple of inches back from the front edge of the deck grip and back foot in front of the mast.
Once up and foiling both feet move well back.
I also have the 110 UC Hover and find I do not need to move my as much. It seems to me the smaller the board the less feet need to move.

A person's weight is also an important factor, Bigtone667 and David John are much heavier than you , over 100 kg I believe. Their feet positions will be different to yours.

So start with mast fully back then each session move it cm by cm forward and you will find your sweet spot.
J B gave me this advice and it worked for me.

Have a follow up question regarding W1000 wing. I just tried it once today on a 5ft 90L board, mounted the mast all the way forward as per Gunnar review video
Couldn't get up on it, lots of pumping - lift a bit and stall. it was marginal 15 knots, so I thought maybe not enough wind. For reference I can get up super easy on 1400 HA mounted in the middle.
You're saying that you mount W1000 all the way back? I guess I'll mount it in the middle next time and see how it goes.

ArtemN said..

warwickl said..
I agree with LouD, move the mast fully back.

I have the 125 UC Hover, weigh 76kg and Moses Foils with Cloud Windwings.
I use a few different Moses foil wings from W1000 (1000 sq cm) to W1100 (2100 sq cm).
The W1000 I have the mast almost fully back as I need to develop a lot of board speed to get it up and foiling. If I have the mast too forward I quickly rise and stall - ie porpoise.

With the W1100 I have the mast almost in the middle from the back. I get up easily with no stalling.
Now for the feet, for both wings I start with my front foot a couple of inches back from the front edge of the deck grip and back foot in front of the mast.
Once up and foiling both feet move well back.
I also have the 110 UC Hover and find I do not need to move my as much. It seems to me the smaller the board the less feet need to move.

A person's weight is also an important factor, Bigtone667 and David John are much heavier than you , over 100 kg I believe. Their feet positions will be different to yours.

So start with mast fully back then each session move it cm by cm forward and you will find your sweet spot.
J B gave me this advice and it worked for me.

Have a follow up question regarding W1000 wing. I just tried it once today on a 5ft 90L board, mounted the mast all the way forward as per Gunnar review video

Couldn't get up on it, lots of pumping - lift a bit and stall. it was marginal 15 knots, so I thought maybe not enough wind. For reference I can get up super easy on 1400 HA mounted in the middle.
You're saying that you mount W1000 all the way back? I guess I'll mount it in the middle next time and see how it goes.

I don't believe mounting the W1000 at the back would work...

I found having the foil all the way forward, +1.5 shim on stab and point the board downwind to build board speed before trying to pump up to the foil worked best for me. (5ft board / 89L / 6m Wing)