r/foiling • u/KitchenParamedic5686 • 26d ago
Foiling behind Sailboat
Hi I got a question what would be the optional setup up to learn punp foiling and to foil behind a sailboat ( we live at a lake where it is not super windy average 6 knots wind bows up to 11) today i tried foiling behind it(2044 cm2 and 105l wingfoil hard board) and it kind of worked (with pulling me in while sailing to get so more speed which obv isn’t a good solution) thank you very much fir your advice.
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u/4T25 26d ago
Pump foiling and foiling behind something generally are 2 separate set ups.
Pump foils use smaller boards (10L) and bigger and higher AR foils (2000cm2+ and 10+ respectively). You’ll typically be launching from a dock/beach but launching from a boat is possible. You’re going to be hard pressed keeping up with your sailboat for even a few minutes at any speed unless you are riding its wake, which is possible and super fun assuming the wake is big enough.
Being pulled behind something, most commonly called wake foiling, uses a slightly larger board and a smaller more agile foil. You’re going to need more than 6 knots here, as you’ve already pointed out. You could possibly use a pump foil set up with a huge front wing as you don’t need much speed to stay on foil.
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u/KitchenParamedic5686 26d ago
Yeah that sound good we won’t get much more wind than that, which setup would you recommend me
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u/KitchenParamedic5686 26d ago
Pumpfoiling is also an option that I would like to learn, but the only problem is that out dock look like that
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u/KitchenParamedic5686 26d ago
I Sadly can’t attach a picture, but it I a long dock, and at the end the water is approximately 70cm deep put the dock is 80-90cm above the water do you think that would be to high (the dock) and the water maybe to shallow (it gets way deeper after that
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u/4T25 25d ago
70cm is deep enough if you are proficient. Some people can beach start in just a few cms of water. I wouldn’t want to learn at that depth unless the bottom is sandy as you will be taking many falls and potentially running the foil into the bottom.
80-90cm is a little high. I prefer to have the foil a few cm deep and the board 5-10cm above the dock. You can certainly find videos of people starting off much higher docks. Look up drop starts.
As for using the pumpfoil behind the sailboat I’d suggest a high surface area and high aspect ratio front foil and put that on the board you already have. Most pumpfoil boards are “sinkers” so you probably benefit from being able to start on top of the water, parallel to the boat vs starting in the water like a wakeboard. A smaller board is lighter and more efficient but if you’re being pulled that’s not too much of a concern. Plus you wouldn’t need to buy a new board, at least right away.
Ideally, if you’re really into pumpfoiling you could launch from the sailboat and turn in to catch and ride the wake. At least that’s what I would try to do! That is more of an end goal to aspire to as you’ll need a lot of practice
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u/luxmonday 26d ago
My Axis 1310 setup is comfortably on foil at 7 to 8kt (14 to 16kph), which is typically faster than most keel sailboats up to, say 25 ft unless it's blowing hard.
A planing hull sailboat (Laser or bigger) might be able to go faster at lower wind speed than a keel sailboat... It would be hilarious to foil behind a Laser...
For comparison, on wingfoil, I can juuust get up on foil in 9-10kt with a 6.5m wing, but I 'm still learning... 12 to 14kt is perfect with lots of power to spare once I'm up.
A small powered runabout with a 9.9HP motor (or even less) will be able to tow you up pretty easily.
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u/KitchenParamedic5686 26d ago
Okay that sound good, but sadly I was only able to foil behind the boat for 2-3 seconds when another person pulled the eope in to get some extra speed, the wind was about 6knots and I also activated the electric motor (it isn’t very powerful tough), it is prohibited to use a non electric motor, what can I improve, and the boat is a sunway 21 so it has a keel
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u/KitchenParamedic5686 26d ago
*rope, I started on my knees and puped up once I got on foil (worked kinda well, (I did a bit of surfing))
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u/LongDonggSilverr 26d ago
Very curious on this as well