How to Knee Start a Small Volume Wing Board

With wingers getting more advanced, smaller boards are becoming more popular this year. Getting up on a small board can be tricky even if you are a skilled foiler. In this video we'll break down what a small board is, the technique involved and the conditions to learn.

What is a Small Wingfoil Board?

This comes down to the rider's weight. At 195 pounds, a 75 liter wingsurfing board is small for me; granted, once you get used to it, these become easier. Now I can get down to as low as 45 liters. A good way to think about this is your weight in kilos minus 5 liters.

Tips to knee start wingsurfing

The trick is to stay low. Keep your feet flat with your toes pointed back. This way you can sit back on your knees. If you point your toes, you'll be sitting up at least 3 or 4 inches higher than you need to be. I even like to turn my ankles in! Next up, get your chest and head low. You would be amazed at the difference in your center of gravity by doing this, especially riding in the chop.

Once you get some power into your wing, you can progressively start to sit up. The more wind, the easier the start. The less wind, the more work it's going to take getting up to speed. You may need to spend more time low, working the wing.

Consider your conditions

If you are in moderate wind and flat water, this is going to be much easier. The less wind, or the more chop and waves, the more difficult this is going to be.

I recommend keeping your larger board for a while while you transition to a smaller board. Use the large board when conditions are rough and practice the small board until you master it.

Tucker Vantol

MACkite's resident surf and "Hydrofoil Junkie." You can either catch him on the phones or on the water at dawn testing new gear. He is proficient at a myriad of sports, a shaper and passionate about getting his water time. When he discovered kiteboarding it took over as his predominate sport. The same could be said about hydrofoiling.