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EZ1800 For Advanced WWF Riders

10/23/2023

This weekend I got to spend 3 days in a row riding the GoFoil EZ1800 on flat water and contrasting it with other foil wings. This wing is has much more sensitive roll than the Maliko200 which is of similar surface area, therefore I only recommend it to advanced WWF riders. The EZ1800 offers improved glide compared to the M200. But the greatest distinction I want to make in this brief post is that the EZ1800 has a much greater wind range than the M200, especially on the high-wind end. On Saturday, I started with the EZ1800 in about 17mph of wind with a 3.8m sail. As the wind increased and as I became over-powered with the large sail size I noticed that I did not feel over-winged with the EZ1800. I came in and re-rigged to a 2.8m sail as the wind further increased to 25-28mph. It was blowing hard. I went back out, still with the EZ1800, and I still did NOT feel over-winged. The EZ1800 performed wonderfully, even being over-powered. I came in again and switched to the EZ1600. It felt significantly more maneuverable, but the lift and control was about the same as the EZ1800. When I put the M200 in the same situations it does not perform well when it gets over-powered. It is very difficult to hold down the M200 in over-powered high-wind, and it is difficult to control.

Keep this report in mind as you rig for your next session. Have fun out there!

The Impact of Sail Tipping on Foil Roll

10/11/2023

Today I did a flatwater session with my WWF gear. I used the GoFoil RS1300 with a 2.8m sail. As you may know from experience or from my previous posts and articles, the RS1300 has extremely sensitive roll. I mainly use it for its amazing glide on waves, but it also serves as a terrific training tool to improve your roll sensitivity and control.

About halfway through the 90 minute session I had a fantastic discovery. I noticed that tipping the sail in a specific direction had significant impact over how much the foil rolled in that same direction. As I paid close attention I realized that if I tipped the sail to the inside of a turn just an inch or two it would induce roll on the foil to the inside. If I tipped the sail to the outside of a turn just an inch or two it would induce roll on the foil to the outside. An inch or two made a huge difference. Up until today I've always been actively controlling roll mostly with my feet. But today I was controlling about 50% of the roll with tipping of the sail. It made a huge difference in control especially during the second half of the jibe. I was able to more precisely turn the board without as much wobble.

In my article Wind Foil Jibe - Flagging Technique I explained that tipping the sail to the outside of the turn during the second half of the jibe is a great way for beginners and intermediates to maintain balance and control. But now that I'm using very sensitive high aspect foil wings I'm learning that the improved control results more from the forces that the sail imparts on the foil rather than simple balance improvement. I think the greatest significance of this discovery is that it will help people avoid falling off the board during turns when they embrace the importance of tipping the sail, just an inch or two, in whatever direction prevents them from falling in. Pay close attention to how you are tipping your sail. Have fun out there!

WWF Foil Wing and Sail Size Progression and Outcomes

10/10/2023

Since I began WWF the size of both the front foil wing and sail that I ride has decreased significantly as skill has improved. I went to my log to find out exactly what percentage of my sessions have been on smaller foil and sail sizes compared to larger sizes since I began WWF in 2020. I wanted to know which decrease in size was more significant, smaller foils or smaller sails. I used cut-offs of 1600cm or smaller for foil size and 3.8m or smaller for sail size as these are generally considered to be smaller sizes for this discipline. The results are very interesting:

You will notice that all four seasons had very similar wind strengths for the sessions that I experienced. This makes the comparisons easy as there are few confounding variables to adjust for. As expected with improving skills, both sail size and foil size decreased as skills improved. However, if we consider 2020 as the baseline year, then the percentage of sessions with sail size less than 3.8m increased from 52.4% to 66.7%, or a 14.3% absolute increase in the number of sessions with the smaller sail size, while the percentage of sessions with foil size less than 1600cm increased from 3.2% to 69.1%, or a 65.9% absolute increase in the number of sessions with the smaller foil size. In relative percentages that's a 27.3% increase in sessions with sail size less than 3.8m, and a 2,059.4% increase in sessions with foil size less than 1600cm.

After analyzing these numbers the results are astounding! As a percentage, the number of sessions on smaller foils increased by a HUGE amount over the four years, with the greatest increase between years two and three. The number of sessions on smaller sails increased by a small amount, with the greatest increase again between years two and three. The slight difference in wind speeds is not enough to be a significant factor in these results.

In conclusion, we can see that, for me, the skills required to learn to ride smaller foils takes longer to learn than the skills required to ride smaller sails, but the progress can come VERY, VERY quickly. So, if you are striving to improve your skills then start with smaller foils now. Don't wait! In just a couple short years you will be riding them well.

EZ1800 For Advanced WWF Riders

The Impact of Sail Tipping on Foil Roll

WWF Foil Wing and Sail Size Progression and Outcomes

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