The swell that hit yesterday was still pushing through this morning.
There was supposed to be a short window where the wind was down - that meant it was going to be a Foil Drive morning...
But it was not the typical Foil Drive morning - it was the initial run with the Foil Drive Max!
The unit bolts on and the mast goes on top of it - the position was pretty much where the mast was for the Assist Plus (although the weight is shifted back without the top mounted battery on the deck).
Prep time wise - the second generation unit sets up way faster. I set it up in the garage this morning and all I did when I got to the parking lot was drop in the battery and installed the nose cone.
The new remote (new firmware) has a trigger lock to improve safety.
I really didn't have any complaints on the out of water actions.
I had a slight concern about the connectivity - the internet chatter has been whether your board will work as an antenna or not. If the track boxes are carbon, or if you wrap the reinforcement block with carbon, there have been reports of the board not serving properly as an antenna to get the signal to the submerged unit. No.33 did not have the connectivity problem.
In fact, holding the remote to the nose of the board allowed the whole setup to work underwater.
The most notable difference is the raw power the Max has - way more than the Assist Plus. Also I did not paddle back out once I kicked off a ride - I just motored. There was no real drain to the battery if I only pulled the throttle slightly. The battery consumption was different than the Assist Plus - so 90% on the Max was not the same as 90% on the Plus. And I rode the battery down to 20% and never felt a voltage sag (which would happen on the Plus around 30%).
The waves were big this morning. On a few of the waves I caught, I was going too fast on the Spitfire 960. I was using that foil and the HPS 980 because of the limited power of the Assist Plus. I may have to downsize the foil...
The other consideration is how the extra thrust works with the board when using the throttle. Motoring out the board wanted to lift (with a smaller foil this may change). Catching waves was weird today. The water was bumpy so that was a factor, and the waves would shoal and run into each other - so a wave that looked like you could catch would flatten out or run away (which was the more curious situation - especially with the Max).
The rear retaining strap holder was pretty much where my front foot wanted to stay. I may not remove it though - No.33 works really well with the Assist Plus. I may end up making a hybrid (short and flatter DW board like No.34) for use with the Max. I'm thinking a 5'6"x19.5" - the extra length will counteract the tendency to "nose up" if you gun it, but also bring the interface (board) back to more familiar surfboard lengths for a more forgiving riding (bigger sweet spots).
I see this replacing straight prone foiling - and I don't think that is a bad thing, particularly considering this will reduce my need to paddle. That alone reduces risk of shoulder and back injury. Also the wave count will always be higher. And I can get away from crowded line ups (where with a prone foil you'd still have to be in the zone where surfers are in order to pick up waves).
If I sell my prone foils (Uni and Takuma), I can turn the funds around and pick up some more smaller foils (F One Escape 630 and the Spitfire 720)
I don't regret selling the motorcycle to get the Foil Drive Max - it is worth every penny!!!
W:23/FD:14/F:4/S:8
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