Kite Board Foiler Design

Well, that would be just an instantaneous transformation into a classical kiteboard/windsurf. No big deal.

 

Another interesting thing would be to observe the dynamic behaviour of the foiling kiteboard (and of the sailor raiding it, too) when it bumps into a swarm of jellyfish.

 

Windsurfing already went through a 'revolution' in which top speeds rose by 25 knots or more, and the number of participants dropped by about 90%. During the same period, cheap plastic kayaks and SUPs exploded in popularity.

There seems to be little evidence that higher speeds attract truly significant numbers to a sport.

 

That might be true, but it is to be seen how many potential windsurfers have been "stolen" by kitesurfing. Because there has been a huge increase in the number of kitesurfers in the last decade or so.

However, I am also thinking about my case. I used to windsurf (and snowboard) many years ago, but can't do it anymore due to an annoying spinal disc hernia. Slamming against sea waves (or snow bumps) at high speeds is a no-no for me right now. Since foils help eliminate these loads, as the video in the OP shows, that might be a way for me to get back (or at least try to) to my once-so-beloved sport.

 

Here is a more radical approach:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXpPyWx7JoQ

http://www.seaglider.fr/Seaglider/Welcome.html

I wonder, why it didn't become as popular as it deserves.

regards

krzys

 

Kite Foiler

Here is a fantastic video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=48&v=2VElcu_AKnI

 

Kiteboard Foiler

Amazing pictures from Scuttlebutt showing two people foiling on one board:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2...fbdb0103f97830554&utm_source=Email Newsletter

 

Sit-down Kite Foiling

From The Foiling Week: http://www.foilingweek.com/2015/12/handi-foil-a-fuerteventura-avec-thierry-schmitter/
Very cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfJJnNNN-KE

 

Kiteboard tricks

From The Foiling Week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmFD6xgtKMQ

 

Foiling kiteboard did the coastal classic race in NZ a couple of years ago as an unofficial entry of course. 120 odd miles and was second to finish behind a Orma 60 tri. Pretty impressive.

Steve

 

I've seen one in use, there is some kind of problem with the aluminum tubes bending or breaking. Also the foil is a primitively shaped block of plywood, nothing like the sleek carbon appendages on modern foilboards. The part that stabalizes the foil seems to cause a lot of drag.

 

Yet another kite foiler video

There's nothing particularly novel about a kite foiler doing tricks, it's just a logical extension of what ski show stunt men have been doing since the 1980's. Here's a video from 1991:

https://youtu.be/TbhDmNK-WGA

Also Geno Yauchler from 2007:

https://youtu.be/4mf0nwvYmBE

More interesting are advances in design, like the "box wing":

https://youtu.be/Vsw6kHklhAA

Having just done a day of fun tube riding and wake boarding with a large group of fit, healthy outdoor types from 10 to 50+, it's pretty clear why foiling devices are only for serious water sports enthusiasts. Many struggle to stay on a tube the first time. For most, 5 minutes is more than enough for a bit of fun. Same for a wake board, only harder.

 

Bottoming out on a shark would be more interesting . . .

 

I wonder how wakeboarding handled foils, compared to the way sailing is handling foils? I assume the specialist media didn't go stupid about it like the sailing media has.

The recent editor of Australian Sailing was coming up with garbage such as claims that all the kids were getting into kiting. In fact, a minute 17 turned up to the 2014 worlds and I don't know if they held a 2015 worlds. Meanwhile the big Opti regattas get several hundred sailors. Amazing as the foil kites are (and I do want one!) the fleets are also verging on microscopic.

Foiling is great, but to present it as the future of the sport (as some do) is getting close to delusional or dishonesty, now that we have had them around for long enough to see how tiny the numbers are even after a decade or so. If we could just treat them like we used to treat speed sailing (as something very interesting and fun, but not better than normal sailing and not for most people) then the sport could start recovering.

 

I couldn't agree more. The benefits of hydrofoils are few—speed, smooth ride, efficiency for powered craft—whereas the negatives are many: cost, greater draft, increased complexity and lowered robustness, bigger learning curve, higher skill level required) and for most sailors, not worth the hassle.

Wake boarding is a lot like skiing or tubing, a lot of fun but it gets a bit boring after awhile. The best part is getting together with friends on a beach or river bank and having some fun.

My kiting friends lament the lack of good kite weather. Without 2 or 3 kites of different sizes, they're limited to a fairly narrow wind range. Most only go out 10 or 12 times a year and generally have a backup water sport for the other times (maybe a kayak, SUP or sail board). I went to a skiff regatta last week where they sailed in 5 to 30kn, sometimes getting 10 to 30kn in one race—tough on rig selection!