Yes I know about Roy, but we are never going to change him, are we Norm ?
Other bodyboards may have gone faster, but I’m in the throes of experimenting here, the quest for speed would come after stability, control and safety, wouldnt it?
Regards, Brett.
Is this a human hydrofoil?
It depends on whose dictionary you use. In the case of the dictionary used by the USPTO (at least as quoted to me) it would constitute a hydrofoil. However, since no lift is being generated by the upper surface and it doesn’t penetrate the sea surface, I suspect most naval architects would be inclined to consider it a planing hull.
“I dont think you can record stoke.”
Ok so a couple galvanic skin response electrodes, maybe a couple for EEG and one or two EKG leads (in a little water proof box) and you’ve got yourself a “Stokemeter”. Guess maybe you’d need some software algorithm to interpret the data…
Why not first build for maximum speed? I thought the main idea was to reduce drag enough to achieve a corresponding increase in speed? Prove significantly higher surfing velocities are possible. Deal with stability, control and safety later.
But Roy has been a real twit when it comes to boasting about his alleged surfing velocities.
I disagree.
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.What I have done is spark an interest in the subject.
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.As I recall, I was attacked on Swaylock’s in big way for suggesting that my velocity on a particular fairly sloppy head high wave was around 27 mph. Some respected Swaylock’s members said that this wasn’t possible on any head high wave. . … while I maintained that it is perfectly possible and was not in fact, very fast at all. Since then, surfers with gps units have shown that 27 mph can be achieved in average sized waves, so I have to say that I wasn’t as crazy as they thought I was.
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. Regarding my own speed recording efforts, I have made 4 gps speed recording attempts:
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.no. 1) Felt reasonably fast, overhead waves but I lost the gps unit in the sea.
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no. 2) Achieved a speed of 21.5 mph in some very weak chest high waves.
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.no. 3) More weak waves, water got into the battery compartment of the gps, no reading.
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.no.4 ) Achieved 24.2 mph in sloppy waist high waves which were barely breaking.
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Can’t wait until we get some better waves, my latest board feels like it will go fast.
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PS: No personal attacks, remember? . . . so no name calling please. 
In order to reach a top speed you need to have control over the board, We aren’t talking about great turns or anything, just being sure that at high speeds it won’t spin out or roll as a result of poor design.
Hi Spuuut,
I agree, and it’s early days yet for hydrofoil surfboard design, so lots to look forward to in terms of speed and fun.
The bottom line for me is that an underwater wing is able to provide a superior lift/drag ratio to that of a planing hull, so there’s always going to be the potential for speed gains using lifting foils. . . whether lifting all or part of the hull out of the water.
I have experienced that smooth foiling feeling too, it strikes me that the 100% foil based lift designs out there now (judging by the speeds achieved and the feeling of riding them) are optimised for lower speeds i.e. they are more efficient at lower speeds than conventional boards (they ‘glide’ well) but not at higher speeds. . . . . changing this focus to make them optimised at higher speeds should be possible, and it is still useful to have foil based craft which have low drag at lower speeds, because they glide so well. … . useful for unbroken swell riding.
That's cool. I can respect that. But Roy has been a real twit when it comes to boasting about his alleged surfing velocities.
twit: a bothersome person; a foolishly annoying person.
alleged: an event said to have taken place but has not been verified.
I for one am glad the “new Roy” is part of Swaylocks
It’s not about me mate, it’s about hydrofoil surfing.
There’s no ‘new’ Roy, i’m just following the forum rules more carefully.
Here is what inspired our early ‘crucifix’ fins. . . . shark denticles.
Imagine a board covered in those little hydrofoil fins, it would definitely be low drag !
It seems that the denticles direct the water away from the body at quite a significant angle, previous picture we saw showed them running more parallel to the body. … in either case, they obviously work (by maintaining a thin and distinct boundary layer which is not affected by turbulence)
Sort of a hydrofoiling concept, or related anyway, more so than talking about Tom Bloke anyway
"its early days for hydrofoil design".
It seems a little perspective is in order. The first evidence of the use of hydrofoils on a vessel was in an 1869 British patent. All manner of experimentation has taken place since then. Hydrofoils for surfing have been in use for over 45 years. No one knows how many different designs have been tried.
The following inspirational story bears repeating- some innovators with successful surfing hydrofoils have been quietly enjoying themselves well outside the raucous mainstream:
"this July (1998) after a fun session at Diamond Head, I talked story with the very same guy. His name is Gilbert Lum, and he’s a local paipo boarder who’s been experimenting with hydrofoils for many years.
"Gilbert has been using parts of broken surfboards and been putting together fiberglassed “paipo/body boards” with various foil configurations. His latest board has a beautiful green finish with a concave foil set six inches below the board. Total cost: about $40 in materials.
"He frequents Populars and other Waikiki spots, but loves Diamond Head the best, favoring waves in the 2-3 foot (Haw’n) range. Gilbert claims that at that size, he can easily outrun longboarders. He said the board takes a bit of getting used to, but the hydrofoil works well, lifting the board out of the water during full trim speed.
“So the next time you see a paipoboarder coming at you with his board levitated out of the water, get out of the way. It’s probably Gilbert, a true innovator in surfing. By the way, Gilbert is 73 years young.”
Neal Miyake - http://www.hisurfadvisory.com/
Its early days for inventors who are currently and actively and publicly working on progressing hydrofoil surfcraft design.
Not to diminish the importance of the Englishmans work of 137 years ago, or anyone elses.
Thank you to all on this thread. Brett.
This was state of the art in Sydney 1965
The Manly Hydrofoil…
It’s not difficult to imagine a SUP hydrofoil…
And not to be outdone by the Aussies, here’s the auckland ferry Manu-wai from 1964:
Look closely Roy, they are the same make of boat!!!
Interesting to see the bow deflectors used to assist in the lift from off-foil…
I thought they might be, the Manu-wai was a motor torpedo boat, 70 feet long, built in aluminium in Italy, definitely looks like the same bow deflectors and foils too.
