How to Drive a Boat for Foil Surfing

[@FoilFroth6284]

Thanks for the tips Lads. Best wishes from Margaret River, West Australia...

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

Oh Man! That is so cool to hear from the land down under. Thanks for the shout out. Please shoot us some pictures to post on our Instagram @halflifet.5 You can email them to us at [e-mail] Cheers! Tim

[@FoilFroth6284]

Sweet...will do. Thanks again for your great clips.

[@Nickdevro]

Thanks boys! Great info. Will be very useful! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

Hi Nick -- Glad it helped out. Shoot us some pics to post on Instagram when you get a chance. Our Instagram is @halflifet.5 Have a great summer.

[@Nickdevro]

@@HALFLIFEVIDEO will certainly do!

[@IRWE905]

For our Foil Crew if the Foiler is down on the wrong side of the wake the Driver gently pulls the Foiler across to the correct side while the Foiler is Bodydragging (Arm closet to boat hanging on to handle, Back arm/hand laid flat on board pushing down on it to steer and control lift, legs out straight). We like to Start the Foiler as far out to the side of the boat as possible. When starting the Driver slightly turns the boat to the side the Foiler is getting up on. This helps to keep the Foiler on the outside of the wake. I find if beginner Foilers end up near the Prop Wash it's all over ;( Maybe you can deomonstrate the Body Drag Technique in a future video. Great videos I have forwarded them to all the Crew!

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

Great point -- it's a standard move for all the kiters out there....but I never even thought about it. Great tip. The prop wash is definitely to be avoided! Thank you. Keep up the foiling! Tim

[@JW-pq4pl]

Always enjoy your videos. The hot start is a real issue - esp in us half-life riders. Had a hot start the other day from a driver who just wouldn’t listen, and pulled my bicep tendon off the bone. Surgery tomorrow…

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

Craig -- I'm so sorry to hear that. It's totally true -- it's very difficult to fully understand our gently you can hit it until the drive becomes a foiler. Good luck in surgery - thank you for watching our videos. Please email me your address to [e-mail] and we'll get you a hat and some stickers to help keep your spirits up during your recovery. Hang in there brother! Best, Tim

[@vthops]

Awesome video. And you laughing was hysterical. What size foil was he using?

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

Thanks Brent! I'm pretty sure we had John "the human missile" on the 1550V1 that day.

[@ULR_the_Wingfoiler]

Hey guys loving the clear concise tips and instruction! What is your recommended tow rope length? Cheers from across the pond, Robin in Victoria BC

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

Hello R M (our neighbor to the north!). Thank you so much for the kind words. Hopefully you follow us on Instagram @halflifet.5 AND buy all of your Armstrong and Slingshot gear from us! www.halflife.live It depends a bit however: 1) First wave -- standard wake surf rope length.

[@lazylaserlars]

Thanks for these helpful tips! How does the WF1 perform without the foil as a wakesurfboard?

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

I Lars - you bet! Glad it helped. The WF1 as a wakesurf board is pretty ho hum. While it will work for a beginner/intermediate wakesurfer there are just a lot of wake surf boards out there that perform much better. So I'd say if you only have the available $$ to get one board and want to foil and wakesurf, it will do.....It's not a performance wakesurf board.

[@davesmith8130]

Enjoy watching you all having a great time Foil Surfing. Just got one and can get up and stay. Having issue dropping the rope, what's a good boat speed(non-wake boat)?

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

Hi Dave - for a non-wake boat the speed can vary. Wake boats are optimized around 10.5-12mph. For non-wake boats you want to try speeds from 8mph-12mph and try to maximize the 'hump' that is directly behind the boat. We do Zoom wakefoil lessons which we could use for ideas to optimize your boat wave and get you going with dropping the rope. Just email me at [e-mail] if you'd like to do it. We've found it to be very successful. Please look at our 'how to wake foil' playlist and you'll see a video on dropping the rope. Take a look and then reach out if you want to talk specific to your situation.

[@davesmith8130]

thx for the help. Just tried to save a crash, unfortunately, did the splits so done for this season. Just saw a video about moving the mast forward will try this--I'm heavier at #210. FYI, I see you all changing the bolts on the boat, I lost one into the lake --had to buy the whole set at $90--may want to warn viewers. enjoy your videos, thx again

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

@@davesmith8130 Hi Dave -- so sorry to hear about the injury. Hopefully not a ruptured hamstring. What foil set up are you on? On bolts -- Yes - always need to make sure you're over the boat enough to not lose them in the water :-) We're hoping for a speedy recovery and you getting back on to the water.

[@davesmith8130]

@@HALFLIFEVIDEO Currently using a Slingshot Hover Glide FSurf Foil (76CM) on a Slingshot WF2 with mast all the way back. When I see myself on videos, I can see I'm leaning back Think if I move the mast fwd and cut back on the Oreos, I'll be able to drop the rope. Will definitely reach out to you for a zoom video lesson in the spring. .Enjoy watching you and Johnny having a good time in sunny Seattle.

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

@@davesmith8130 haha - them Oreos are Good! It depends a lot on the boat wake that you're riding on so don't beat yourself up. Yes - moving that mast track up is going to balance the board better and should help you stay in the wake. We'll be here in the spring and we've had great success with the Zoom lessons. If you haven't already - be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter. We'll likely have some holiday deals that might be of interest to you in terms of foil gear etc. Thank you so much for checking out our videos. Just email us at [e-mail] to get added to the newsletter. Best, tim

[@stevegwilliam3925]

Thanks for the tips!!! What foil and board setup are you using??? I just got an Armstrong foil with the cf 1600 and cf 1200 wing

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

Hey Steve -- AWESOME - that's a great setup. In this video we were on the Armstrong HS 1550. It's John's prone surf foil. It is super fun behind the boat. It's mount on a 72cm mast and carbon (i think mid length) fuselage. Tomorrow we're going to take out the short fuse! Please follow us on Instagram @halflifet.5 and subscribe to the KZbin channel if you haven't already. Where are you from?

[@stevegwilliam3925]

@@HALFLIFEVIDEO Hey, thanks for the reply!! I'm from Calgary Alberta. I spend most of my time down in Mexico south of Cancun. I'm stoked to get behind my brother's boat and give it a rip!!!

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

Nice! Love Cancun -- I went to Playa Del Carmen in search of Kite boarding -- failed at finding too much wind but did find kiting on the white sand island just north of cancun. Beautiful and amazing. I worked up in Calgary many years ago on a project for Alberta Southern and Gas. I learned to ice skate on the olympic oval and rode the Olympic luge (from the JR start). Great city. Oh yea -- I also did the 70.3 Ironman up there so I've had a bit of time in Calgary and enjoyed every bit of it. Let us know how the foiling goes. You can keep up to date with us on Instagram as well: @halflifet.5

[@MrEMann-io1ut]

Excellent video. My best friend, James, is a foiler. He made me his driver even though I've no experience. All I know how to do is pick up and recover a wake foiler, but I can tell by your video, I do my job very well. Why do people laugh when they see a wipe out? To me it means that I've failed to keep my rider out of harm's way. I don't get it and James hates it.

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

Well done Mr. E. Mann. Now you've been a drive....we need to get you back there foiling! Best, The Half-Life team

[@MrEMann-io1ut]

@@HALFLIFEVIDEO That's not happening, I'm happy driving. James is a big guy (think Johnny Bravo). Every "expert" has told him he's too big to foil & show little interest in him, BUT HE LOVES IT. He started watching your videos, I saw improvement after his 1rst viewing. You've really helped him more than you'll ever realize.

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

So great to hear. I wonder who these said experts are...we've gotten folks of all shapes and sizes up and foiling. So glad he didn't listen to them and persisted. That's awesome -- send us his shipping address ([e-mail]) and we'll send him a Half-Life hat. Sounds like he embodies the Half-Life spirit!

[@MrEMann-io1ut]

@@HALFLIFEVIDEO He's really excited about the hat!

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

@@MrEMann-io1ut right on! I haven't seen the address in email yet [e-mail] (domestic US only). Have you sent it? Best, Tim

[@medyaker2]

Is the wf1 board big enough to paddle into an ocean wave?

[@HALFLIFEVIDEO]

Hey Ben! Well.....I guess anything is possible. That said it's not the design intent. It's really meant for wake foiling and doubles as a wakesurf board. The ocean boards have a different geometry and volume. A lot of the volume depends upon the skill of the rider etc. But for me -- right now I'm on a Jimmy Lewis Superfly which has more volume (in the right places) to help with prone surfing. That said -- give it a try and let us know how it goes!

[@medyaker2]

@@HALFLIFEVIDEO thx for the reply :)