I just bought a go-foil and want to make a short board for it. It’s the type of hydrofoil with a 3’ mast that lifts the board all the way out of the water. I have no experience foiling so I’m not sure my theory is correct, but it seems that since the board will be up in the air it doesn’t need a lot of the attributes that make a normal board surf well but it does need to paddle real well. I can’t figure out how to do a proper search so I have only read a few of the hydrofoil posts which addressed the foils themselves not the board shape.
I want it short, like 6’6"-6’10" so I can pump hard with out hitting the nose. I’ve seen a guy doing it on a 6’2" so I know its possible. My thought is real wide like 22", ridiculously wide squash tail, very full nose like a fish, very straight outline like a retro fish. A good 3" thick. Ugly boxy rails. Almost no tail rocker and nearly flat through the middle too with no concaves just a flat bottom. A decent amount of nose rocker and a little bellied for the initial drop in and when you accidentally come off the foil and land hard.
How would you shape a short board for catching and dropping in on waves with no real care for its wave riding qualities beyond that?
zero tail rocker.
sounds like you have a good plan.
Not being cheeky just like where you are going with it. Make it a squarish nose like a vader or an evo kinda thing, max volume for the length. Although my uneducated suggestion would be a bit of concave for lift, and maybe a concave deck to give you purchase when you’re up and foiling?
Can’t wait to see what you come up with.
I’d make it 4 inches thick.
A 4" thick Alai with nose rocker. That’s just hideous to imagine.
What size tuttle insert is on the mast? Have never heard of a 3’ go foil mast for retail sale. For surfing you need a 2 foot mast. If you have never foiled before the learning curve with a 3 foot mast might possibly be next to impossible. Your board thickness at tuttle box totally depends on the size of your tuttle insert. Pics please. Was this a new or used purchase?
The thing looks massive, now that I have actually measured it the mast is actually 24". The insert is 2.25", so minimum board thickness of 2,5". I bought it used for $1200, ouch, it’s the typical red hydrofoil they make.
I just found a suitable board on craigslist 6’6", 21.5, 2.76", wide tail. The tail will not be thick enough for the box though., I’ll need to put a patch of d-cell on the deck to thicken it up. That will give me a chance to get a little experience before attempting to shape the perfect board. From the reading I’ve done, doing some towing behind a boat allows a lot quicker progress in learning to control the foil than trying to learn by paddling into waves.
sk8ment- I like the idea of a concave deck. My understanding is your foot placement needs to be pretty exact, dead center, so a concave might be pretty helpful.