Foils de Dockstart & Pumping

To be effective in dock starts, the choice of foil is predominant. You imagine that one foil equals another foil. This is not the case. The surface, the elongation of the foil, the profile used, the twist of the fin, the flex of the fin, the general shape generate different performances. Even more so in Dockstart because the only motor is going to be your pumping efficiency.

How to choose the right dockstart / pumping foil

Several criteria must be taken into account:

1. Depending on your technical level, the choice of foil is not the same. A beginner will rather choose a foil with a moderate ratio aspect because he will tend to press on the foil to try to fly. Action, reaction. I push down so that the foil goes higher on the water. This very energy-consuming technique will be the first step in making the pontoon start. However, with a little level, this technique will quickly evolve. The Classic range will be adapted for this level.
2. As you progress, your technique will evolve and consequently your sensations and your foil will also have to evolve. As you can see, you should not push downwards but rather make your foil oscillate to allow it to generate its own speed by oscillating. In this case, the foil will be able to immediately use longer wings to gain in flight finesse and thus glide longer and easily. The HA range will be adapted to this level. The larger the kite, the longer the kite will glide with less effort.
3. The third criterion to take into account is your size. A light weight (<60 kg) will not use the same fin area as an 85 kg rider. So don’t look at your neighbor’s foil, adapt it to your needs.
4. A foil for pumping should be stiff and strong. The larger the front wings, the greater the load on the mast. So the mast has to be stiff as well as the whole foil. A non-rigid foil will bring little nervousness, reactivity, so you will lose a lot of energy in the flex of the mast.
5. The stabilizer can be a good way to save money. Depending on what you want to do, opt for a small stabilizer (to go faster and be more maneuverable) or for a larger, more stable stabilizer that will allow you to fly longer with less effort.
6. The stiffness of your board. In the same way, a board that flexes will also tend to be less efficient because there will be a loss of action-reaction when pushing on the foil.

As you can see, the foil is of great importance. For the same size, you can have foils that will go two knots faster but that will make you expend much more energy. On the other hand, other front wings will give you less speed and more flight time because they will make you expend less energy.

Choose the right foil if you want to progress quickly.