How to maintain your wing foil wings ?

We explain how to maintain your wing foil wings to ensure a maximum life span. These tips are also applicable to kite surfing wings. Here are some tips on how to maintain your wingfoil or kite surf wings.

How to maintain your wing foil wings during the session ?

1. Check your equipment before going in the water

It is highly recommended, if not essential, to check your gear on the way to the water or at the end of the session. However, if you sail regularly, you may only want to do this once a week. What is important to check on your wing :

Check the wing for tears and holes : stand under your wing and look through it towards the sun. This way you can easily see if the wing has any holes.
Pay attention to the seams on the leading edge to prevent the leading edge from bursting if a seam is damaged.

2. Putting your wing foil wing on the beach

When you go for a session, put your kite or wing foil on the beach whenever possible. It is best to avoid sharp rocks and asphalt in strong winds. If your kite slips in the wind, it will rub against the ground and this will cause wear to the seams or spinnaker.

3. Tie up your wing properly

To maintain your wingfoil, be careful not to let it fly and hit the ground. Try to hang it as close as possible to your board. Caution : never put your wing upwind of the foil. You risk tearing your wing if it flies over your foil.

4. Be careful when sailing

While it is important to take care of your equipment out of the water, it is equally important during the session. Try not to jump on the wing if you fall, as this can tear your spinnaker. Also beware of light foils, these are usually the carbon foam foils. These foils tend to fly off in a fall and not go back down into the water straight away. When the foil flies away it can easily tear the spinnaker off your wing.

5. Do not drag your wingfoil wing

Some sessions are tiring, we know, but that’s no reason to drag your kite along the beach when you get out of the water (or when you go out, for that matter). Repeated rubbing could damage the seams and cause the wing to explode. In addition, the spinnaker is coated with a waterproofing material that is not very resistant to abrasion. So avoid rubbing your wing with your hand to remove sand for example.

Maintaining your wing foil wings : how to rinse them ?

For optimal maintenance of your wing foil or kite surf wing, you should rinse it with fresh water after each session. This is because the salt in the sea water attacks the seams of the bladders. It is even more important to rinse them if you don’t plan to go back in the water for a while. However, if you foil often we understand that you may not want to rinse your kite every time. We therefore recommend that you rinse it once in a while with fresh water under low pressure.

How to dry your wing foil wings ?

To maximise the life of your wing we advise you to dry your wing before storing it. Moisture and salt from the sea can damage your wing foil in the long run. In general, this can lead to deterioration of the colours, detachment of the valves or even mould.

Good practice ? When you know that you are about to stop your session, try to make about ten edges without falling in the water. This will allow your wing to dry out. Then you should get out of the water without getting it wet. By holding it over your head with your arm outstretched, it should not get too wet. If your wing is wet when you get out of the water, you can dry it on the beach by attaching it to your board. Be careful not to put it on anything that could damage it, such as asphalt or sharp rocks. Also, always dry your wing in the direction of the wind. This means that the leading edge of the wing, which is facing the wind, takes the wind.

Maintaining your kite surf and wing foil wings : watch out for the sun !

Just like your skin, the spinnaker of a wingfoil or kitesurf wing is sensitive to UV light. This is why it is strongly advised against leaving your kite on the beach in the sun when you are not in the water. Therefore, if you are not using your equipment, it is best to store it to ensure maximum life.

As with the sun, prolonged exposure to strong winds and sand can accelerate the wear of your wing. This is why, in strong winds, the trailing edge of your wing flaps in the wind, which damages it prematurely. In addition, when sand flies (tramontane conditions in the south of France for example) the sand hits the wing. The sand then acts like sandpaper on your wing foil or kite surf wing.

How to store your wing foils correctly ?

When you are not wing foiling or kite surfing for a long period of time, we advise you to rinse and dry your wings. Then store them in the Sroka wing bag provided for this purpose. Store your kites preferably high up in case rodents come by.