StinkBug Wingfoil Start,maybe the only start you need...

Somebody help me with the vid above. So the guy is on both knees. Gets a gust etc. what is that last bit about front knee being lower than back and what does he actually do to unweight the front leg. clear as mud

this is more what im looking for as most vids are good for slight sinkers not the true half body weight or less sinkers.

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cct305 said..
What would be potential low-end wind range this waterstart can be done in when out in waves and swell? Obviously depends on skill but assuming someone gets to point where ok skill.

It does not rely on wind at all to get you on your knees under the wing with both hands on handles.

Wether you can slog on knees ,to feet or get up on foil afterwards is another matter,but i do not consider that as part of the start.

I think it depends on how low a volume board you use. Lower the volume, greater the sink, harder it is to get that nose and board to breach the water surface. Because once you do its actually easier to pump it up on the foil because you have less board contact with the water. Its getting that damn nose / board up and out. And in lower winds thats what i have found frustrating. Once ive breached the wAter, near 100 percent success rate of getting on the foil.


ps can anyome answer my question in an above post ?

Cheers man. Must admit im not sure why this technique is any easier than just a squat start. If anything a whole lot harder - especially if youve got footstraps.??

Stinkbug start is also what I do after viewing John Vu's video a while ago.
I can do it now on a -40l board (I mean 75l for my 110-115kg)

A wing like the strike helps also a lot with strong dihedral and large soft handles.
Wider/longer board also

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eppo said..
Thats impressive man. Still cant see it working for a sub 40L prone board. Just not wide enough.

if it is regarding my post, I used 75L (-40 is the weight / volume)
I couldn't do it on my 53L yet...

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IanInca said..
I tried my new semi sinker (55L) board today. I'm old, 79kg, strapless and my normal board is 85L.

It was fairly choppy but managed to get to my feet OK using this Stinkbug method. 12 knots was hard work to get it air born though. I reckon 15 knots or more would be fine. I used a slight variation of this stinkbug technique. I held the front strut handle and the nose of the board in one hand. This stopped the board catapulting and made it all very stable. Tbh I thought it would be alot harder but this technique really does work. Weirdly it sucks when I tried it with my bigger board a few weeks ago. Keen to try it in some better wind.

Cool,i would call that a success!.

Interested in this variation,not sure i understand it though.Maybe you can help.

-"I held the front strut handle and the nose of the board in one hand"
So your front hand is grabbing front sailing handle and upwind board rail?,or just leaning on top of board?.

-"This stopped the board catapulting and made it all very stable."
And when board sinks,you keep holding on to it while you climb on?

Thx!

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mcrt said..

IanInca said..
I tried my new semi sinker (55L) board today. I'm old, 79kg, strapless and my normal board is 85L.

It was fairly choppy but managed to get to my feet OK using this Stinkbug method. 12 knots was hard work to get it air born though. I reckon 15 knots or more would be fine. I used a slight variation of this stinkbug technique. I held the front strut handle and the nose of the board in one hand. This stopped the board catapulting and made it all very stable. Tbh I thought it would be alot harder but this technique really does work. Weirdly it sucks when I tried it with my bigger board a few weeks ago. Keen to try it in some better wind.

Cool,i would call that a success!.

Interested in this variation,not sure i understand it though.Maybe you can help.

-"I held the front strut handle and the nose of the board in one hand"
So your front hand is grabbing front sailing handle and upwind board rail?,or just leaning on top of board?.

-"This stopped the board catapulting and made it all very stable."
And when board sinks,you keep holding on to it while you climb on?

Thx!

I do this same thing & almost the same weight on my Takuma TK55 & 85.... With the 85 I just rest the front hand in the handle on the front deck of the board, but with the TK55 I actually wrap my hand over the nose to keep it in place as I climb on/under as it tends to squirt out from under me otherwise - especially as I like it to balance a bit nose up under the wing... it helps get it to the surface quick.

I've found this works for me, took me a while to perfect but it's really easy once you get the hang of it.

I'm 95-100kg, use a 56L KT Drifter Surf 5'4

1) I make sure wing is right side up and hold leash about 20-30cm from leading edge, allows for both hands to grip board and not to be too tight once the board is sinking as I get to my knees
2) Holding the leash in one hand and the windward side of the board, I grab the other side of the board towards the nose, while my body is fully in the water off to one side, usually the board is side-on to the wind or pointing down wind if lots of chop, keeps it more stable, so I am basically between the board and wing.
3) I lift my weight on the board, or push the board down transferring my weight and end up kneeling on the board with both knees facing the front of the board

At this stage once I am balanced I can let go of my hands and place them on the leading edge of the wing for balance, and can make micro adjustments for knee position ready for take off. I can stay like this indefinitely as balanced on the wing.

4) When ready to start I reach under for the first handle, once I've got it I lower my head and lift wing over my head and reach for the back handle. Keeping body low is key, helps with stability even in really choppy conditions.
5) The rest is business as usual and just a knee start, if there is enough wind can usually just hold wing above head and it'll put you up and usually can stand at the same time, then you just give a couple of pumps with the back hand and then on foil

yeah I guess so but on a big board you can't sink it, I don't see the benefits of the stinkbug start, unless I've missed something...

I guess the way I described I have control of the wing from the leash, keep it close and use the stability of the wing to help balance the submerged board

I watched the guy on land demonstrating it, didn't really see the benefit TBH, but midalanticfoil's video pretty much sums it up.

I've never tried standing on board underwater, think I need more of a sinker to do that

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MidAtlanticFoil said..

north_kiter said..
yeah I guess so but on a big board you can't sink it, I don't see the benefits of the stinkbug start, unless I've missed something...

I guess the way I described I have control of the wing from the leash, keep it close and use the stability of the wing to help balance the submerged board

I watched the guy on land demonstrating it, didn't really see the benefit TBH, but midalanticfoil's video pretty much sums it up.

I've never tried standing on board underwater, think I need more of a sinker to do that

The easiest way I would describe my Stinkbug is to just start normally pretending you don't have a LE handle. Use the front strut handle instead. The whole goal is to skip that awkward handle pass phase where the highest likelihood of yard sale occurs. Use the strut handle and make it work. All falls into place quickly.

Oh ok, changing hands has not been a problem for me now as I just slide any hand under to grab front handle as balancing on wing, but 9 times out of ten I usually reach for front handle with back hand, other hand is either on top of the wing or holding the LE handle for balance.

It doesn't matter which hand as once you've grabbed it easier to swap hands IMO. I am usually starting in 0.5-1m close period harbour chop which makes life interesting as the board and foiling has a mind of it's own at this stage, but if I lean on wing at all times it's a non issue :)

When I start to raise the wing overhead and before grabbing the back handle (forgot to mention this) I pull or put pressure against the front handle, it will stabilize you, and most importantly don't reach out for back handle as you'll loose center of gravity and fall off, just let it come to you by raising front hand more.

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north_kiter said..

MidAtlanticFoil said..

north_kiter said..
yeah I guess so but on a big board you can't sink it, I don't see the benefits of the stinkbug start, unless I've missed something...

I guess the way I described I have control of the wing from the leash, keep it close and use the stability of the wing to help balance the submerged board

I watched the guy on land demonstrating it, didn't really see the benefit TBH, but midalanticfoil's video pretty much sums it up.

I've never tried standing on board underwater, think I need more of a sinker to do that

The easiest way I would describe my Stinkbug is to just start normally pretending you don't have a LE handle. Use the front strut handle instead. The whole goal is to skip that awkward handle pass phase where the highest likelihood of yard sale occurs. Use the strut handle and make it work. All falls into place quickly.

Oh ok, changing hands has not been a problem for me now as I just slide any hand under to grab front handle as balancing on wing, but 9 times out of ten I usually reach for front handle with back hand, other hand is either on top of the wing or holding the LE handle for balance.

It doesn't matter which hand as once you've grabbed it easier to swap hands IMO. I am usually starting in 0.5-1m close period harbour chop which makes life interesting as the board and foiling has a mind of it's own at this stage, but if I lean on wing at all times it's a non issue :)

When I start to raise the wing overhead and before grabbing the back handle (forgot to mention this) I pull or put pressure against the front handle, it will stabilize you, and most importantly don't reach out for back handle as you'll loose center of gravity and fall off, just let it come to you by raising front hand more.

Yes,of course the standard knee start works.That was how i started before i learned the Stinkbug.

But even in a board with +10l i find the Stinkbug is quicker,less tiring and more foolproof.
Sea state,wind conditions or fatigue are way less of a factor.

With the sinker it is a gamechanger for me.
9 fails out of ten with standard knee start, 1 fail out of ten with the Stinkbug.No contest.

I would give the Stinkbug some practice when you feel like messing around,in very little time you should be able to see the advantages i think.

Still don't get the whole thing. Anyone has video from 3rd person view for sharing?

A third person video would help me understand this as it just sounds like a modified knee start but you hold the strut handle instead of the leading edge handle.