SUP DW Foiling Leviathan 1350 - New Board with more Volume - tuning the Setup (shims)

I've had a few sessions now on the Leviathan 1350 and come to love it for what it offers. Still, I'm not sure if this Foil is well suited for what I'm currently using it for. That being said, It's super easy to paddle it up making Sessions (in light wind) fun and comfortable as there is simply a guarantee that I'll be up on Foil for most of the run. But, once up on Foil the Speed Range is fairly limited. I'm really amazed by how fast this Foil can be pushed, but there are certain boundaries difficult to overcome. One of which is the Speed of moving windswell. The Leviathan 1350 is fast enough to keep up with most of the Swell I've encountered so far, however its not fast enough to go sideways, pass or overtake waves. That being sad it's pretty hard for me sometimes to really connect the energy as on a faster Foil one is able to generate way more speed and therefore way more glide out of a single wave. So in summary I'm not sure if getting up extremely easy is really worth the limited speed and higher drag at a certain speed. Will need more comparison and skill to really answer the question.
Equipment used:
Vampire Downwind Board 7,2 by 19, 110 Liters
Leviathan 1350, 663 Fuse, 325 Flat Stab, Pure SX Adapter, Axis 19 mm 75 cm Mast
Starboard Enduro Paddle

[@mistersuperstoked]

Super interesting video…and veeeerry nice looking new board. 😮

[@magnus9756]

Ich bin schon so gespannt gleich gehts loosss!!!

[@leo-stief]

😇

[@waterbaby299]

Loving your channel Leo! I wish I could join you in DW but my age and hip pain are making it unlikely. It's really inspiring I'm wondering if it is possible. I have good level in sup surf and intermediate wing

[@leo-stief]

Thanks man! I think there are always ways to make it work, especially if you already have a good level in SUP Surf and Wing Foiling. I think there will soon be suitable options like the Foil drive available making downwinders more accessible, without having to paddle extremely hard in weird potentially harmful movement patterns : )

[@jugadeus]

Hey Leo- thanks for these videos. I have an L1350 and an L1150 that i use for dockstarts and flat water pump foil. Do you think the 1350 is a good beginner DW foil from your experiences? I haven't had a go yet- I need to get a board but it was my plan to give the bigger one a go to start with

[@leo-stief]

Hey man thanks : ) I think its amazing for the flatwater popup, and good to get on foil easily in the waves. However, it's pretty slow, therefore not well suited once the conditions really pic up. Still, I think it's a great Frontwing to simply get on Foil more frequently. For the Board, go big for sure! More volume is key to making it stable, I'm now on 110 @85 kg and would maybe even go higher for my current skill level. And a longer board will make it easier for sure!

[@Jan-DerekKuster]

Awesome to see you riding these little waves!!! 👍👍 May I ask where you went out? How much wind was it? 🙏

[@leo-stief]

Thanks :) In Graal and about 3 bft i would say : )

[@harrypotter-zo9xv]

Very nice ! How come the unifoil adapter enables you to use sabfoil fuse? Does sabfoil and unifoil share the same fuse mast connexion? Do you know if axis and F one are compatible? I have an axis mast and would like to try a f one eagle or SK8 without buying a new mast

[@leo-stief]

Thanks! It's not the Unifoil Adapter, Its an Axis to SAB Doodad by pureSX. You can checck out Foilparts.com I'm pretty shure that the offer an Axis to Fone Doodad Adapter, enabling you to use your Axis Alloy Mast with the F-One Frontwings ;)

[@Matt-Dorgan]

I found 3 degree worked super well for winging and I’ve had a lot more success with one degree trying to dw sup foil in good steep bumps. This makes me wanna try more tho, what is the biggest benefit. Have you tried shims with smaller front wings? Thanks looks like a loose setup for such a big wing

[@leo-stief]

I've tested shimming smaller Frontwings too, however I feel like most smaller front wings are riding pretty perfectly balanced, not needing to e adjusted. For downwinders my go to shim is nothing to 1 degree Baseplate to board now on my smaller foils, as I feel like I still pump a lot, which feels weird on a 3 degree shim. Plus paddling up is way easier without a board nose up, foil pointing downwards shim giving it less lift on takeoff. Still, I think in very steep bumps downwinding I would take more than 1 degreee shim to have the Board more leveled whilst being in the wave :)

[@bohacek1234]

I am about 7 months in the DW journey here in Florida with my 7' 120L 21" board and would like to progress to higher aspect foils. I am currently riding the Axis 1300 but jusy got the new ArtPro1201. I noticed from your commentary and also from the recent M2O race that many riders are jumping to 8'6 or even 9' 17-19" wide boards to make it easier to paddle up smaller higher aspect foils. I would like to jump on the 8'6 Vampire board amd would like your opinion to confirm my direction. Westcoast of Florida is very similar to the conditions you have (not as flat as Wannsee :) so I am guessing the longer narrower board should be good progression towards lighter summer conditions and also HA foils when it gets nuking in the fall. I am 87-90 kg.

[@leo-stief]

First of all, I would like to point out that I don't really see myself in a position of giving accurate downwind advice as I'm still learning and haven't tested enough Gear to make clear decisions or to tell others what to spend thousands of dollars on :D The 1201 is amazing, I can now rather easily flatwater start it and if I could choose one foil right now I would probably get the 1201 (Or the Lift 150X) as the glide (when pumping it) is just insane and it seems to get up without too much effort. That being said, paddling it up on my friends 8,0 by 18,5 Vampire was definitely easier than on my current 7,2 by 19 Vampire Board. From my experience so far the longer & skinnier Boards do make it way easier to paddle up, however in the conditions we mostly have I don't know if I even need that as I'm using pretty slow Foils anyways, which I can mostly also paddle up on my shorter Board. I think if your plan is to paddle up the smallest Foil possible for your size and skill level a longer board is the way to go, but I think a smaller Board is more fun once it's flying and therefore quite a trade-off. I think one interesting quote out of the whole M2O debacle was that (I think Oscar said it in the generic Foiling Podcast) after the races, most of the guys immediately went back to smaller boards, in favor of more turns and less going speedy in a straight line. I've tested 6.1 to 8.6 lenght at this point with various liters and thicknesses and for me something in the range from 7.0 to 8.0 with about 110 liters and mostly 19 wide feels the best. You will be surprised how much faster a 19 wide glides compared to a 21. Therefore it's less stable... My next few Boards will be all in the Area of 7 to 7,6 long, 19 Wide, about 110/115 liters. I feel like I can almost paddle up everything on an around 7.3 that I could otherwise paddle up on a 8 or longer (Not using Foils under 1000 sqcm) So I dont see the point for my current skill level of going even longer, what would sacrifice a bit of turnability. The Vampire Boards are sick (I'm a Teamrider for them, but I can really only speak positive about them, stiff af light and awesome shapes!) and the'll be releasing a less Kayak looking pure Downwind fokus Board soon. I've tested the production shape and it goes very good, in the waves I would say better than the skinny long tail versions ; ) So might be worth it waiting for one of those. Hope this helps : )

[@bohacek1234]

@@leo-stief Thank you so much for your reply. Oscar rocks and Army too. I met Army in Florida before they headed to HI. Guess what he made himself and the Armstrong team... Non-stock 17" wide 8ft boards for everyone :) you are spot on. I just hope the Vampire guys can ship to states.

[@mankindw1]

Sehr nice Leo! Schönes Video. Bei wem hast du die shims bestellt? Bis später, wilm

[@leo-stief]

Danke : ) Willst du einen haben? Schenke ich dir kann ich mitbringen wenn du wieder in Deutschland bist, habe ja mittlerweile auch einen Drucker... Viel Spaß noch am Atlantik ;)

[@ricopo3522]

Different brands use + or - shim differently. When you say positive shim do you mean leading edge of stabilizer pointing lower for more lift, or leading edge higher / less lift on stab.

[@leo-stief]

True, the terminology is very loose. For me, negative Shim on the stabilizer means the leading edge pointing further downwards creating more lift. Positive meaning the leading edge pointing further upwards, reducing lift :)

[@ironphil62]

👍🍺

[@stanleyg.4063]

The Axis seems to be much quieter...the Sab is howling really bad . Maybe Sanding it ?

[@leo-stief]

I tried sanding it but so far without the effect of getting it quiet. However one of my friends has the same setup and his Foil is quite :D

[@rmoisio]

what kind of adapter are you using for sab/axis connection?

[@MrGuzowski]

Would you recommend leviatan1350 or gongsirius xl for downwinding?

[@wingdingandi3839]

Wow geil wo ist das ?

[@leo-stief]

Graal heißt der Spot :)

[@stkl23]

Would you mind to add a link to the 3D printable base plate shim to the description? I would like to try it for flat water starts. Does your partner in crime use it with his Axis setup too?

[@leo-stief]

I can Add a file to the description in one week when I'm back home, but I think there are already some files on thingyverse & grabCAD ready to print :)

[@leo-stief]

I feel like on the Axis Setup (1300 standard Fuse, progressive 450) there was no Shim needed as the big stab already made the setup kind of point nose up. We tried it in flatwater too and there was no true application for it. The sab on the other hand needs the base plate shim to not ride nose downwards in the flatwater. I think for downwinding my go to baseplate shim for most foils besides the 1350 is going to be 0 to 1 degree nose up :)

[@stkl23]

@@leo-stief I already printed it ;-)

[@stkl23]

@@leo-stief How much harder is it to paddle the 1300 up in flat water as compared to the 1310? I‘m slowly making progress on 1310 but would also like to try the 1300..

[@dksurfer]

Do you know how much your new board weights?

[@leo-stief]

Below 6 kg, the Vampire Boards are ridiculously light :D

[@holgerschwarze3925]

Very interesting because I have the same weight and I am just waiting for the next day on Sylt that screams for the first downwinder! Start with cruzader XL 6,6 vxxl v1 c85 fh42 with double paddle from the knees and take off! Same as in the waves since 2008 on sups! Hope it will work!)