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foil'ing in shallow water


chadwick02

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I've been toying with the idea of getting a sky ski or air chair for the past few years, it looks cool! I have never tried it before. We live on a small shallow lake, typically only 4-10' deep at the most. Never had a problem with the boat hitting bottom (unless you are over one of the known sand bars), and no one hits bottom when taking a bad ski or board crash. But in looking at the length of the foil on some of these devices i'm wondering if this could be a problem? Or even dangerous??

There has never been a foil on the lake before, but its a small lake thats not very busy, I'm sure no one up there has heard of or seen a foil before!

Any ideas??

Thanks,

Chad

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I wouldn't foil in water less than 10 feet deep to be safe. That being said, I have foiled in water as shallow as 4-5 feet deep, and I can tell you hitting ground hurts, and scares the tar outta ya afterward which makes it tough to keep riding in water that shallow.

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what is the bottom like, any chance of the foil getting stuck in the mud/clay. That would suck.

Or worse, hitting a rock. Those things are expensive and probably not cheap to repair, I would have to be sure of my route. Hey Chad, are you even old enough to ride a sky ski? I think the age limit is around 45-50, not sure :biggrin:

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I think the age limit is around 45-50, not sure :biggrin:

Why, I oughtta...... :sw3:

HEhe, truthfully, you don't want to ride in 4' of water. Jake hit a sand bar one time years ago & broke the front wing & fuselage off the t-bar. We used to bend or brake the old cast foils just hitting the water. When your sitting in the foil, just sitting still, the rear wing is like 6' deep. So add 3' or 4' when you crash & 9' or 10' is about the minimum. An experienced rider could ride thru less if he knew it was there. But I wouldn't recommend it.

Sent you an email with some answers to your questions, Chad. I know it's not what you want to hear, but I hope it's enlightening. Feel free to email me directly or to the group for any other questions you might have.

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Well Nate,

Your name just got onto my "needs a tune-up" list. :whistle:

ROADTRIP!!!

Well that will be one helluva road trip!! Ssshh, bring your sky skis with yuh, I've always kinda wanted to try it too!!

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Well that will be one helluva road trip!! Ssshh, bring your sky skis with yuh, I've always kinda wanted to try it too!!

Nate,

You haven't read that story about Pete going to New York & then to Florida to get his money back, huh?? Wouldn't be the first time!

And I've been to the Florida Fly-In 4 times. Which, by the way, is coming up in May. Click here for more info.

Don't be waitin for either of us. Billy Rossini is at the Charlotte Waterski Center & can show you everything I can & a lot more. :thumbup:

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Nate,

You haven't read that story about Pete going to New York & then to Florida to get his money back, huh?? Wouldn't be the first time!

And I've been to the Florida Fly-In 4 times. Which, by the way, is coming up in May. Click here for more info.

Don't be waitin for either of us. Billy Rossini is at the Charlotte Waterski Center & can show you everything I can & a lot more. :thumbup:

Yes, I've heard those stories about Pete, can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing in his position. So if I have to owe you guys money to get you stop by then go ahead and send me an invoice, you've got my email :biggrin:

So did you ride with this Billy dude? I see he's on Lake Norman, I don't even know where that Waterski center is located.

Sorry for the hi-jack, but I think we answered the op's question.

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So did you ride with this Billy dude? I see he's on Lake Norman, I don't even know where that Waterski center is located.

Sorry for the hi-jack, but I think we answered the op's question.

Yep, Billy is a good guy. Ex-champ kneeboarder who got hurt & decided he wanted to ride foils years ago. He got a hold of a bunch of us on the old Hydrofoil list & started asking questions. Come to find out there were several old kneedboarder champs on foils, Tony Klarich (remember the Joker?), Mike Murphy (invented the thing), Lonnie Marchand (president of the USKA at the time), etc. So Billy had this really methodical approach to riding a foil. He asked a ton of questions. And landed his first inverts within a few weeks of learning how to ride. I bunked with he & his wife (at the time) on the houseboats at the TN Flyin one year. They schooled me in the ways of drunken Jenga (I lost, then re-decorated the side of the houseboat later) & showed us all how to ride. He had a cool trick he called the "froll" (front roll/front flip or a front roll with a really loaded line). Was a fun trip. I haven't seen him in years, but he's on my Facebook list & I wouldn't hesitate sending someone else his way.

As for a hijack... it's foil related. I assume Chad will be back soon & find answers & then some.

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Yep, Billy is a good guy. Ex-champ kneeboarder who got hurt & decided he wanted to ride foils years ago. He got a hold of a bunch of us on the old Hydrofoil list & started asking questions. Come to find out there were several old kneedboarder champs on foils, Tony Klarich (remember the Joker?), Mike Murphy (invented the thing), Lonnie Marchand (president of the USKA at the time), etc. So Billy had this really methodical approach to riding a foil. He asked a ton of questions. And landed his first inverts within a few weeks of learning how to ride. I bunked with he & his wife (at the time) on the houseboats at the TN Flyin one year. They schooled me in the ways of drunken Jenga (I lost, then re-decorated the side of the houseboat later) & showed us all how to ride. He had a cool trick he called the "froll" (front roll/front flip or a front roll with a really loaded line). Was a fun trip. I haven't seen him in years, but he's on my Facebook list & I wouldn't hesitate sending someone else his way.

As for a hijack... it's foil related. I assume Chad will be back soon & find answers & then some.

Love drunken Jenga, good times! I might have to stop in and meet Billy some time and maybe he can give me some more dirt on you that I could save for a rainy day :whistle:

When you say Mike Murphy invented the thing, do you mean the foil? If so how long has this sport been around? I know of a guy on the Maumee river around Napoleon Ohio who has been riding a foil (I think them Yankees call them airchairs :biggrin: ) for at least 20 if not 30 years.

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Nate,

Once you try a foil, you'll fall in love. I barely wakeboard anymore.

As far as drunken Jenga, my version is called "Drinking Jenga"

If you successfully pull out a piece and place it on top w/o toppling, everybody drinks. (First half of the game it's pretty easy to pull and place a block=lots of people drinking a lot)

Then, finally, when someone topples the tower, they have to finish their drink.

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When you say Mike Murphy invented the thing, do you mean the foil? If so how long has this sport been around? I know of a guy on the Maumee river around Napoleon Ohio who has been riding a foil (I think them Yankees call them airchairs :biggrin: ) for at least 20 if not 30 years.

Murphy was involved in both the sit down hydrofoil (AirChair & SkySki) and the kneeboard (Tunnelboard & then later HydroSlide). Heres a good read for you.

Too funny. I didn't realize playing Jenga & drinking was so popular. Pete, I hope you have a stable place to play at Oroville. I think it's going to be tough to play on the floating campsite Jake & I are on!

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Nate,

Once you try a foil, you'll fall in love. I barely wakeboard anymore.

As far as drunken Jenga, my version is called "Drinking Jenga"

If you successfully pull out a piece and place it on top w/o toppling, everybody drinks. (First half of the game it's pretty easy to pull and place a block=lots of people drinking a lot)

Then, finally, when someone topples the tower, they have to finish their drink.

You're probably right, actually the guy I gave my hard tanks to was a foiler and he was a few years younger than me!! The problem is I've got all this ballast and I can't even afford a surfboard, let alone a grand + for a foil :biggrin: O6vlx called me out on my wave a while back (when I didn't have one but was offering advice to a newbie) so now I can get some video of it, but no one will be riding it!!! :cry::biggrin:

Drinking Jenga, Drunken Jenga, I'd be game for either, this is making me thirsty!!!

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Too funny. I didn't realize playing Jenga & drinking was so popular. Pete, I hope you have a stable place to play at Oroville. I think it's going to be tough to play on the floating campsite Jake & I are on!

Well,

Obviously we're both on floating campsites. I do own a Jenga game, I don't think we'll need it to achieve the same results based on past years WOW late nights.

P.S. my G.F. is the designated driver.

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You're probably right, actually the guy I gave my hard tanks to was a foiler and he was a few years younger than me!! The problem is I've got all this ballast and I can't even afford a surfboard, let alone a grand + for a foil :biggrin: O6vlx called me out on my wave a while back (when I didn't have one but was offering advice to a newbie) so now I can get some video of it, but no one will be riding it!!! :cry::biggrin:

Drinking Jenga, Drunken Jenga, I'd be game for either, this is making me thirsty!!!

The funny thing is, I bought my Air Chair before I ever tried to ride one. I guess it was just on a whim. I got it used from an acquaintance of mine in a ski club. I think I bought it for about $350. After a few years of mastering it (after Dan P spent all weekend teaching me how to get up on it) and wanting to upgrade to a Sky Ski, I sold the A.C. on ebay for something around $800. CHA-CHING!!

Edited by Pistol Pete
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The funny thing is, I bought my Air Chair before I ever tried to ride one. I guess it was just on a whim. I got it used from an acquaintance of mine in a ski club. I think I bought it for about $350. After a few years of mastering it (after Dan P spent all weekend teaching me how to get up on it) and wanting to upgrade to a Sky Ski, I sold the A.C. on ebay for something around $800. CHA-CHING!!

Dan with the tattoos who rides on Naci? We spent New Years riding with him & the Naci crowd one year. And have hooked up with the family on the Strip in Parker a couple times since then. Small world.

Good thing you have a DD. Patti will be good for us too (I hope). Lookin forward to meeting all you at the WOW.

Nate, your coming too, right??!

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Dan with the tattoos who rides on Naci? We spent New Years riding with him & the Naci crowd one year. And have hooked up with the family on the Strip in Parker a couple times since then. Small world.

Good thing you have a DD. Patti will be good for us too (I hope). Lookin forward to meeting all you at the WOW.

Nate, your coming too, right??!

I read the history behind all this on Bill's link, that was pretty cool. Is that Jake Kinnison the same Jake that you hang out with, if so that's pretty cool!!

Trust me, if I didn't have a 21 month old, an 8 month pregnant wife, and a crappy job, I would fly out there in a heartbeat!! Actually, when is it? I have 3 week window in June and into July when my wife is taking both kids up to Ohio :yahoo:

Edit- Oh boy, 18-20th of June, that happens to be in my window...Let me take a look at some plane tix.....roundtrip $400, let me talk to the cfo....

Edited by Ndawg12
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I read the history behind all this on Bill's link, that was pretty cool. Is that Jake Kinnison the same Jake that you hang out with, if so that's pretty cool!!

Trust me, if I didn't have a 21 month old, an 8 month pregnant wife, and a crappy job, I would fly out there in a heartbeat!! Actually, when is it? I have 3 week window in June and into July when my wife is taking both kids up to Ohio :yahoo:

Edit- Oh boy, 18-20th of June, that happens to be in my window...Let me take a look at some plane tix.....roundtrip $400, let me talk to the cfo....

Ha! Giddyup Daddyeo! We'd love to see ya there.

BTW, Jake & I are brothers. Over the years we've shoehorned our way into the sport in any way we could, ie; competing, Jake worked at HO pressing boards & now is at SkySki, making seat pads, tuning foils, teaching, riding exhibitions, organizing the World Hydrofoil Org (now called US Hydrofoil), building custom skis, whatever. And the AirJunky.com site was where most of the pics & stories landed. I wrote that piece over a Christmas holiday like 8 or 9 yrs ago. Hung out with Murphy for a few evenings, getting all his stories, listening to his goofy jokes, and piecing together how it went down.

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Ha! Giddyup Daddyeo! We'd love to see ya there.

BTW, Jake & I are brothers. Over the years we've shoehorned our way into the sport in any way we could, ie; competing, Jake worked at HO pressing boards & now is at SkySki, making seat pads, tuning foils, teaching, riding exhibitions, organizing the World Hydrofoil Org (now called US Hydrofoil), building custom skis, whatever. And the AirJunky.com site was where most of the pics & stories landed. I wrote that piece over a Christmas holiday like 8 or 9 yrs ago. Hung out with Murphy for a few evenings, getting all his stories, listening to his goofy jokes, and piecing together how it went down.

Ah, I forgot what your last name is :Doh: makes sense. That's a cool story. Although plane tix are cheap, I haven't priced out a hotel and rental car from the Sac airport...and boat gas money and the liquid courage!!

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:blowup: my wife said there aint a snowballs chance in he11 I'm going to Cali without her!! We have friends out there we could visit in LA and Hermosa Beach, I've never really wanted to go but she always has, now we both have a motive. So hopefully in the next couple years or so the whole fam will make the trip!! Edited by Ndawg12
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