Learning to Hydrofoil Dockstart with zero foil experience! 

I was about to comment, "Look up and forward, not down", and saw that was the most recent comment! Yup, look down, you go down.

Good advice, thanks!

Great advice for me also with the straight back. What do you meen by inflatable disc. Like one for excersise. Like a UFO shaped inflatable? I live in germany. Think they call them different here. Thanks

Good advice, thanks! Finding those little bits of efficiency will make a big difference...

Thank you!

Thanks! Don't give up!

I found a sale on a Duotone Slick wing over the winter... There's a couple lakes that get pretty good afternoon winds, so there's definitely more adventures coming!

Ha! yeah, it's work but oddly fun... I've got an E assist foil project on the go (like foildrive) I'm hoping to document...

Check out the Wake Thief's "freefoiling" videos... and also the world record flatwater pumping guys... it's crazy... they're getting it in the 150 to 180 watt range and going forever. I think the freefoiling wing is under 150W... Of course they're 20 years younger than I am, lean, and fit...

I'm late 40's, but 165 lbs... the power to weight ratio seems pretty important. I'm hoping to learn how to wing this summer, I feel like that's a sweet spot in this sport. A big wing, big foil, windy lake, sun shining... Oh, and forget bears and sharks, Canada Geese are the real threat!

No need to fret, even though I began at 55 years of age and weighed 211 pounds, it was simply a question of obtaining the appropriate gear and finding the drive. My initial attempt (one sesh) with a Sabfoil W1100 was unsuccessful , but once I switched to the AXIS PNG1310, I was able to catch on from the first session. Unfortunately, I had to take a few months off due to a spinal injury, but I'm back in the game now, with roughly 5 or 6 sessions under my belt. As spring arrives, I intend to concentrate more on dockstart and progress even further. Selecting the right equipment and dock is essential for a successful start during your initial sessions. If the dock is low, opt for a shorter mast, such as a 65 cm mast, to keep your board approximately 15 cm above the dock.

Good info. It took me a long time to generate the power for a standing start... twisting your body into the motion as you suggest would generate more speed. Unfortunately I'm not flexible enough to let my feet come anywhere close to my hands! It always feels like I'm going to hook my toes under the rail if I leave my hands on the board! More stretching needed!

He sure did! I'm close to 60s on the 1150 in a straight line, but my figure 8's are still at about 45 seconds... standing up straight helps a lot. I've been messing with my E-assist EFoil I built... just put a new vid up... that's been distracting me from pump foil record breaking... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vHVuRl1syok.html

The cardio effort feels about the same as being on a bike trainer at 200 Watts... it's not usually my lungs that give up, but my rear leg starts to get tired which leads to some bad pumps, which spirals into a lactic acid burn and a crash. It's a bit different than a bicycle where you can pound in 300+ Watts in a sprint and stay upright... once the pump technique gets sloppy, you're in the water... There's lots of suggestions in these comments about how to stand up straighter to save your legs etc...

Thanks! The music is just a jam on my looper I recorded... I'm still learning where all the good notes are on the keys... there's a different live version here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4fRFExCRFHs.html

If you just dock start with no other foiling I think it should take a summer of 2-3 days at the lake a week... If you can get on an e-foil for a day or two and practice the pump motion at low throttle, you will progress much faster. (E-foil is so much easier to learn than dock, wing or boat foiling) For a good drill at the dock, start your session with a few belly-flops on the board from a standing start. This is nice and safe and lets you get a feeling for the glide and center of gravity. Many people like to dock start by keeping their hands (at least 1 hand) on the board so they have a 3D sense of where it is. I don't bend like that so I have a moment where the board is flying without me as I jump on. I think my way is harder. Practice either a one-step launch, or a two or 3 step launch, keeping the run up the same each time. You need speed and accuracy which takes time. Make sure you clear the end of the dock each launch with momentum so you don't hit the dock if things go wrong. Starting with the foil deeper in the water lets you build speed and accuracy, even though it is unlikely you will magically be able to recover from the low mast height... as you get more accurate and get mini-rides bring the mast higher.

@@luxmonday thank you very much

I started with the @AndrewWorkshop channel. He has a couple foil board builds and his videos felt relatable. Also the Greenlight Surf Supply website has really good instructions buried in there, including accurate estimates for epoxy use. I think making a board is a pretty accessible way to save some money... making a carbon foil would be super hard, but you can for sure make an OK board, particularly if you're looking for an under 30 liter volume. My first 22 liter board used fin boxes epoxied into the foam. The fin boxes should be flat on top, some have a curve that should be sanded flat. This board works with any foil brand... My second 12 liter board used stainless steel hammer-in metric threaded furniture inserts with a wood block as a foil mount. This seemed easier since I was only going to mount one brand of foil. I used twin stringers, one on each side of the foil mount, then it was just adventures in foam, fiberglass and epoxy. As for design, I started with Fusion 360 on one monitor, and various board manufacturers websites on the other. Draw until you think it looks good!

@@luxmonday Alright thanks a ton, and have a great day/evening

I have a comment below in response to @mihazidar4856 where I outline Naish vs Axis. My main feeling is that Naish are faster foils and don't have great low speed lift (but have good high speed drag)... Axis has made pump specific foils that have great low speed lift that allow easier dock starting. The top speed of the Axis PNG stuff is lower than Naish. When you get the speed right dock starting it will feel like you are jumping onto a stool, you immediately feel the foil flying and providing lift. So I think it's just a speed thing... Here's some other pointers: -The foil should be descending in the water when you get on, that way your weight drives the foil down creating speed and lift. -You might need a running start for a faster foil. A 3 step launch vs my usual standing start will give a higher speed. -You should get on the board in a partial crouch so you can push down and gain speed. The first pump is critical to gaining speed, but of course you need to immediately unweight and gain mast height. Fast cadence can help. -Modify your dock to get as much height as you can handle... the foil should just be underwater, and you shouldn't have to jump too high to climb on the board... This can be really hard depending on what you have available at your local dock... I have one dock that forces the foil really deep, and I'm 50% at best... but the docks that let me keep the foil higher I have better success on. @paygr01 has some good videos on all kinds of different starts.

@@luxmonday I really appreciate you getting back to me so soon. I will change the dock to have space to run and will let you know if something happens.

I was working on this today, it helps ease the leg burn...

The Epoxy on the screw holes didn't hold up and the plywood delaminated in the water. Glassing a foam core reduces overall weight and also reduces the swing weight at the front foot. My third board uses a solid 2x6 piece of Fir to mount the foil and stringers to, and is otherwise foam. You can see it at 6:24. I waterproofed the bolt holes with Styrene tube and used Stainless Steel hardware in the wood. The wood should never get wet, but if it does at least it's not plywood! I chose a direct bolt on mount instead of the fin box partly as an experiment, but it seems to work really well. I'm happy with Axis, and on small boards there's not much point in having a wide range of positions.

Funny you should ask that... I just posted this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4j0ltST2FvY.html My current experience is that E-foiling is the way to learn... Being behind a boat is much harder than e-foiling because of the rope and throttle management... My wing experience has just been on a SUP with a center fin... it was the most fun I've had on a SUP, but I haven't managed the foil and wing yet.

@@luxmonday yeh I want to get into wing fooling but I have no foil experience so was gonna do some efoiling first then wing sup before trying wingfoiling! Thanks for the content!

No prop... I think if you started on E-foil or on a big board behind a boat you could get up on day 1 and probably learn to pump in 4 or 5 sessions. But there's a lot of detail in the pumping to get efficient. It's fun going back to a SUP and having it feel like a dance floor!

I've asked myself the same question a few times.

Yup, from one of his many live streams... he digs the stank.

@@luxmonday I've watched his show here in Warsaw. He threw himself onto the crowd of people and broke his finger. Then came the song "it hurts sooo bad that it's good" 😊 Guy is crazy.