I found these pictures of Laird hamilton's hydrofoil surf board:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=1522961

there is also some video floating around the net of him on it. In the video there is a shot of him being towed behind a rope. Couldn't you add a kite to that? I'm relativly new at this and havn't been out on the water with a kite so bear with me if I'm being silly.

Has anyone seen this done? Hydrofoil and kite I mean.

Alexander Graham Bell created the hydrofoil.
Near the end of the 19th Century.

Foil-boards have been in the marketplace for nearly 10 years now, I believe.
They take considerable skills to become comfortable with.

They have been used with kite-power.
I think Lou Wainman was the first of the kiteboarders to use the hydro-board. Probably where Laird saw it too.

Right now, most of the interest is from folks wanting to "buy-a-ride" and when they find out it takes practice and skills, much of the initial interest wanes.


Safen Up! Buggy On!

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Rush Randal and Laird were working on that combination a few years ago. Both agreed that it was the most difficult thing they'd ever tried. Problem is you've got two opposing forces (kite & foil) and both are pretty touchy when it comes to control. Guess its like trying to balance two opposing pole magnets.

So yeah, it can be done, but the foil board is better behind a boat or towed into a swell - yes, you can surf open ocean swells w/ a foil board.

thanks, that's what I thought. Seems like the perfect combination though. bet you could hit some really high speeds that way. Is there any footage of these kite-foil attempts floating around?

I've seen the footage of Laird surfing those big waves with the foil. The stance of the riders with their arms held out wide reminds me of what a tight rope walker looks like. The board in plane must have a real high center of gravity.

Quote:

Originally posted by FreeFlyFrog thanks, that's what I thought. Seems like the perfect combination though. bet you could hit some really high speeds that way. Is there any footage of these kite-foil attempts floating around? I've seen the footage of Laird surfing those big waves with the foil. The stance of the riders with their arms held out wide reminds me of what a tight rope walker looks like. The board in plane must have a real high center of gravity.

Check this link for some photos
http://www.carafino.com/photo_gallery.htm

this is great! Thanks a lot for that. Looks like a lot of fun. Seems like a real smooth ride.

Um...one of my videos has a small section with the hydrofoil. I think it was Powerzone 2, but I'll have to double check that.