For my never ending quest for the earliest light wind planing, are they better than a large freeride ?

Imax1 said..
For my never ending quest for the earliest light wind planing, are they better than a large freeride ?

Short answer: NO
Long answer: what exactly do you mean by large freeride?

What you want is a Formula and before you say they are horrible and stick to the water like glue then let go like a cannonball you should put the one you already have back into its original set up, get a big sail, like 12.0mtr big and then learn to sail it. It will plane in 7 or 8 knots.

No different to learning to foil I suspect, just need to take a few stacks and pay your dues before you can really judge what they are like.

cammd said..
What you want is a Formula and before you say they are horrible and stick to the water like glue then let go like a cannonball you should put the one you already have back into its original set up, get a big sail, like 12.0mtr big and then learn to sail it. It will plane in 7 or 8 knots.

No different to learning to foil I suspect, just need to take a few stacks and pay your dues before you can really judge what they are like.

I hear you , and I'll give it another go .

question for the Formula folks
what is your wind minimum for Formula + large sail n fin
and if less than 12 knots, are you obliged to pump (before planing)

Formula is actually full-on racing in 7 knots of wind. You are definitely pumping with a 12m sail though. (hard work)
With a 10m sail you can still be planning in 8 or 9 knots, but you would not be going up and down wind (course racing), you would be reaching backwards and forwards...

Put a powerful foil on a Formula Board and you should achieve the same results with a 8.5m sail....
You will still have to pump to get on the foil, but it should be a lot easier than pumping a 12m.

Cheers

I'm gonna guess that they will just use smaller sails and foils but not go back to water slapping fins if the majority go to foils. I believe foils will become easier to handle than say a 10m sail. But then again, I've never raced a FM.

If you were after new punters now would be the perfect time to establish a one design class. However, at last count there was about 1000 manufacturers offering foils. Ironically, though I'm yet to see an RSX convertible in person. Even though NP were early to push foils.

I like to put my back foot in the strap, hook into the harness, look for a little gust and bit of chop then bear away with a couple of pumps and the board lifts gently onto the plane. From there all I need to do is slip my front foot into the strap and I'm all hooked in and safe from catapults or uncontrollable bear aways or other bad stuff. That's just my technique others will prefer different

I also like to head up wind as soon as I am on the plane so that I can sheet in the sail and rake it back onto the deck, that way the draft is well behind the mast foot and catapults are unlikely. It all just happens with a bit of practice and you don't need to think about it.

Practice in 12-15 when there is enough power to plane easily but the sea state is still pretty mild.

Edit: I should mention if once planing it feels uncomfortable or your getting back hand pressure or excessive spinouts or a sore back or stuff like that its most likely tuning, an untuned formula feels like a pig, a tuned one is a joy, there's little inbetween.

One design class LOL