Hydrofoil setups are made up of five component parts: foil head (the bit that attaches to your board – either deep Tuttle or US Box track mount); foil mast (the upright strut); fuselage (the long strut which the foil mast attaches to and has front and rear wings attached); front wing and stabiliser (the foil’s rear wing).
A lot of companies manufacture their foils in modular fashion. Differing fuse lengths, mast lengths, front and stab wing sizes are all interchangeable meaning riders can mix ‘n’ match and find a set up that best suits their style or styles of riding.
For wing foiling mast lengths usually between 70cm and 90cm long is best. The longer foil mast gives more leeway in terms of overfoiling (or cavitation) when flying along. SUP foilers, meanwhile, will tend to opt for 60cm-70cm masts as they’ll be riding in shallower water. Shorter masts can also be a bit zippier for tighter turns.
You can also choose between alloy masts (pictured below) or carbon. A hydrofoil mast’s rigidity is important as this directly impacts foiling performance. Top brands who produce alloy masts are usually fine for most recreational riders. But some may fancy carbon. High modulus carbon is the stiffest whereas standard carbon is usually more flexible. It’s worth noting the higher modulus carbon masts are significantly more expensive due to how they’re manufactured. But they can offer the absolute best hydrofoil performance.
Longer fuselages will help with earlier take offs and give better stability with shorter being better for manoeuvrability. A longer fuse will also give better pitch (nose to tail lean) control. In contrast, shorter fuselages offer a livelier and more nimble feel.
Front wings are where you find the majority of lift from hydrofoils although rear stabiliser wings also provide this to some degree as well. With some rear stabs, you can alter the angle of attack to induce earlier lift or more control. Tail wings can also affect the front foil wing’s overall performance. A smaller stabiliser can reduce drag and help with a higher top end speed.
Alternatively tuning your tail wing can affect manoeuvrability as well, loosening up what was once a stiff-feeling hydrofoil front wing.
Depending on where you place the mast along the fuselage will also affect the lift as well as overall feel of the foil. Being able to move the hydrofoil forward or back will allow riders to find the perfect balance. The centre of lift should ideally be between your front and back legs but as you get better you may want a slight front foot or back foot bias depending on your style.
Modular products allow all of this tuning – you as the end user just need to tweak until you discover best fit.
Front foils have different numbers that mean different things. Surface area, projected surface area, chord and span all add up to indicate what the foil’s performance may be like. But it’s tricky if you don’t know what these numbers equate to. Most riders use the foil wing’s surface area measurement to assess its performance.
This isn’t foil-proof and some within the industry will tell you this isn’t the best with chord being a more important dimension. (There are some good points in the video below. Just be aware it’s a video from 2020 and technology, design and understanding have moved on).
In general you get three types of hydrofoil wing: low aspect and high aspect (you can also get medium aspect wings but these tend to lean towards either high or low aspect designs depending on the brand). Low aspect wings (generally) give earlier lift but are slightly slower (slow speed being relative in the grand scheme of foiling). They used to be the go-to manoeuvre-orientated hydrofoil wings but technology has advanced and higher aspects can be just as good for turning and offer less drag. Low aspect wings have a wider chord (nose to tail) and resemble shovels.
Higher aspect wings, in contrast, are thinner and narrower. They can still have considerable span – especially the types designed for super light wind or uber small wave performance – but are generally faster. In recent times we’ve seen some truly monstrously wide high aspect hydrofoil wings be brought to market. These are often for pump foiling, dock starting and super low power foiling.
A couple of seasons back the foiling industry turned its attention back to mid-aspect foil wings. The gap between the extreme ratios of high and low aspect foils was growing. So it made sense that the middle ground became known as mid.
Generally, mid-aspect foils aim to bridge the gap between low and high-aspect hydrofoils, offering the best of both worlds. Speed, glide, pumping and manoeuvrability is usually what a mid-aspect foil offers. Although, again, as with everything each brand has different sizing and shapes with each product delivering different performance. What used to be labelled as a high-aspect foil – in terms of everyday recreational performance – is now more likely a mid-aspect shape.
Most hydrofoil wings are manufactured in pre-preg carbon although some brands do offer alternative construction materials such as G-10. Carbon is generally seen as the highest performance material – but not always. See our point about high modulus carbon above. A full carbon setup will offer the least amount of torsional flex so is arguably more efficient.
It’s not uncommon to find foils with a mix of aluminium and carbon. The mast and fuse are made from alloy whilst the wings remain carbon. Some companies also use steel. Full carbon foils are the most expensive whilst alloy/carbon are cheaper. For the everyday rider carbon/alloy, from a reputable brand, will be more than adequate – in fact, you may never need to change to a full carbon setup. If you get into the high-performance end of foiling, such as tricks and moves (where air time is a thing), then you do run the risk of breaking/bending parts. That said, plenty of riders do this kind of thing on non-carbon foils without issue.
If you’re looking at wingfoiling, and wondering what foil to stump up for, then consider that winging is a low-power discipline and you need all the help you can get at the start.. Therefore a foil set up with a larger front wing surface area is generally a better call for average weight riders (80-90kg) looking to wing in moderate breeze (15-20 knots) and achieve the earliest amount of lift. Smaller stature wingers will get away with smaller wings. A hydrofoil with low take-off speed will also help you massively. If you go too technical you’ll end up frustrated.
As you progress, and your skills improve, it’ll be possible to drop the front foil wing size and increase elements like speed and/or manoeuvrability. But, keeping hold of your bigger foil wing will always be worthwhile if you plan on tackling super light breezes around 10-12 knots.
There are now lots of brands that produce hydrofoils for all kinds of flying. It’s a bit of a quagmire when you’re first starting out as you can’t demo kit if you can’t actually foil. There is, however, lots of advice available online, and here at McConks we have access to reputable knowledge so could point you in the right direction. We’d also suggest getting a lesson a good idea.
Wing foiling, SUP foiling and foiling in general are super fun. Gear has got a lot more user friendly so there’s no better time to learn.
Subscribe for our carefully curated two weekly newsletter with tips, tricks, giveaways and competitions.
We promise not to spam you.
