How to maintain your carbon foil?
Our carbon foil is a technological marvel. Many people say that a carbon foil requires no maintenance . However, to optimize its longevity and long-term performance, a minimum of maintenance is essential. Checking and maintaining your carbon foil will allow you to optimize its performance over time. In this article, we will list all the tasks to perform to properly maintain your carbon foil.
A carbon foil requires minimal maintenance!
Check that your foil is properly aimed before going sailing.
Before each session, check that your screws are properly tightened. If there is sand in the threads, clean them before tightening to avoid damaging the threads.
A foil is an underwater airplane.
A foil is like an underwater airplane. Any encounter with an obstacle underwater will cause some degree of damage to your foil . Think of it like an airplane. If an airplane hits a cliff, there will inevitably be damage. A foil isn't designed to hit obstacles. Keep this in mind to maintain the proper functioning of your foil, especially if the tip of the front wing touches an obstacle. The leverage on the mast will be significant, even more so with a large wingspan and high speeds.
Tips: Stop far enough from the board to avoid touching it . This is especially important if you have a very lightweight carbon foil (1.5-1.7 kg for the mast). This means it's foam-filled, and therefore the amount of carbon is less, making it more fragile. Stay away from buoys, as their chains can get tangled in your foil and damage it.
Rinse and dry
Whether you're sailing in freshwater or at sea, rinse your foil from time to time. There are likely hydrocarbon or other residues. Rinsing your foil properly will prevent these deposits from affecting its glide. The same applies to sunscreen. If you've applied sunscreen to your face, avoid touching your foil. It's an oily substance that will impair the efficiency of water flow over the mast profile or the fins.
Tip: After rinsing with clean water, wipe your foil with a soft cloth . This will allow you to check all the seams and ensure everything is in good condition. It will also prevent the cover from getting moldy.
The stripes
Any scratch on a front or rear fin will slow down your foil. The water flow is disrupted, affecting your speed and/or stability to varying degrees. Of course, if you're sailing at 15 knots, you won't feel a difference. The higher your speed, the more noticeable these scratches will be.
Tip: Avoid placing your board on the rail with the front fin resting on it. Stop a little further from the beach to avoid scratching your fins.
The scratches on the front or rear wings
There are two ways to get impacts on the foil fins.
- The first case is during the handling of your equipment on land. You drop your foil on the ground or you have not positioned the foil with the board in line with the wind direction and in strong winds, the foil pushes the board and makes it fall on the end of the wing.
- The second scenario is that you're sailing and you didn't pay attention to the depth. You hit an obstacle, a rock or something else.
Tips: Snags on the fins happen all the time due to carelessness, so when you return to shore, stop further away and swim a little to get out or back to shore .
- Always place your foil on the beach in line with the wind to prevent a gust from pushing the mast to the side and tipping the foil over.
- Replace the protective covers when your foil is left in place. This will prevent damage to your wings in case of contact with the ground. Similarly, when you remove your mast from the board, put the mast cover on to prevent damage.
- 20% of the drag comes from the extremities. So pay attention to the extremities of your front and rear wings.
How to avoid heat damage?
The sun can be an enemy of your foil. The carbon mast is usually black, which means it absorbs a lot of heat very quickly, whether in direct sunlight or in your car. Epoxy resin cures at temperatures around 70°C (158°F). If your mast is left in direct sunlight, it's very easy to reach these temperatures, and the resin is likely to soften, losing its effectiveness. The same is true if you leave your foil in the car; it will overheat, and the epoxy resin will no longer work properly.
If so, we advise you to let your foil cool down before going out on the water so that the resin can cool and the mast can regain its properties. If you don't, you risk damaging your mast, especially with lightweight masts that are foam-filled and therefore have lower mechanical resistance. If the resin loses its effectiveness, the mast will become even more flexible and gradually more fragile.
In conclusion
You have invested, or are about to invest, in an expensive carbon foil. This investment is only worthwhile in the long run if you take good care of it. In that case, it can serve you for many years. If you have purchased a rigid, durable, and well-built mast, then proper maintenance will save you money and allow you to keep it longer. A Ferrari needs maintenance, and so does a high-modulus carbon mast .