TL;dr: Need a SIMPLE build for a short burst (10-20 seconds) to get my foil SUP to 8mph.
Background: I’m an avid foiler, I’ve foiled for over seven years. I can kite foil, windsurf foil, wing foil and wake foil. I can foil pump with a pull from a jetski for ~60-80 yards before I tire out. My favorite foil to ride at the moment is the GoFoil GL210 and GL240. I also has the full prior gen wing set starting with the Nalu and going to the M280. I prefer to ride BIG wings due to the conditions here in the Gulf.
There are no real waves here, not unless it’s blowing and then it’s just chop with very little push. With my ultra light land kites I can ride the smallest of waves and lightest of winds. I want to SUP-foil but I don’t have the waves and power to start flat. My biggest issue is starting up on the foil. Once I’m foiling I can connect small bumps and ride/pump to the next bump but the kite/wing/sail hinders my riding as it always requires attention.
I’m interested in making a simple motor/prop setup that could give me a short burst to get me to 8-9mph so I can get up on the foil. I can standup paddle the board up to 3-4mph. I’m too old and too out of shape to do a full flat water foil SUP start.
I was thinking a motor that I could attach to a paddle, though that may be too heavy. I just need a build that could give me a burst, 20-30 seconds to get the board to 8/9mph, so I can get on the foil and do the rest the way I know how. I don’t need the battery to last for hours, minutes would be enough. I was thinking of mounting it right on the board, so once I’m up on the foil I don’t have the drag.
I have a 3D printer and fairly profficient in printing with polycarbonate and nylon. Though printing large parts are a MASSIVE headache with these materials.
Would love to hear any ideas/advice on parts to use.
Thanks!
edit:
So I’m thinking Flipsky Inrunner Brushless DC 66112 , mounted directly on the mast with an adapter. I need to research whether I want 150/215KV and a simplest controller/battery.
Hm, the 66112 is over 7" long. That seems a bit large after the mount/prop are added on.
Modified outrunner 6380 mounted halfway up on the mast should work. Batteries and ESC in a Box on top of the SUP in the back (basically the FoilDrive). Wireless remote attached to the paddle with a thumb throttle. ESC passively cooled with an aluminum plate on top of the battery box.
By modified do you mean laminated in epoxy or some other corrosion prevention? I’ve noticed that some of the motors say “waterproof” but have obvious holes on them.
Thanks!
yes, coat it with epoxy, change the bearings to stainless and cut the shaft. 6380 does not exist, it should be 6384/130KV or 63100/140KV for more power. Advantage of the outrunners is their weight (only around 1kg) and the short lenght. Disadvantage is running it wet, it won’t last forever, especially in salt water, you need to change the bearings from time to time. Rince it in fresh water after use is also good idea.
Ah, the bearings! Thank you for the info. Other than the propeller, I think I should be able to figure the rest out. I tried to find the folding prop stl but it looks to have been removed everywhere. Not sure if it didn’t work well or the creator decided to not give it away anymore.
So I posted that 2 days ago but the system just approved it. Obviously you figured out it was foildrive.
I’ve been researching this and found the 66112 also as a good candidate. The shaft isn’t threaded though. With 48V and 50A it has a lot more thrust than the foildrive.
The 66112 looks pretty big. I’m not sure I need more power, I’d prefer just enough to move me with less weight. I need it to be light.
If you watch one of the FoilDrive videos the whole enclosure spins with the propeller. So it’s an outrunner. I’ve found a few small motors but the wires are all on the wrong side and without seeing the inside I’m not sure I could do a shaft reversal. Though I could just easily modify the prop STL to attach directly with 4 bolts to the outrunner casing and cut the shaft off.
Right now I’m just playing around with printing the 3d folding prop with polycarbonate. Seems like I should be able to do it. There’s slight warping on the bottom of the base and the blades are pretty thin at the edges. I can easily modify the STL to fit any motor and do minor adjustments though. It’s just taking the time. I still need to modify a mount for the GoFoil mast.
Have you thought about an ESC to use for this yet?
There’s a thread that recently came up with a wired controller instead of wireless. I was thinking a pressure switch for my foot. Though may be slightly dangerous, wouldn’t want to activate it while climbing on the board.
I’ve also been thinking about this. Pressure sensitive pad for front foot to provide boost when pumping. Would feel like having amazing pumping ability. Boost would engage with forward weighting which would also balance weight for lift from thrust. It could be an amazing feeling if you could get that balance of pressure to boost worked out. I would still want a hand controller to set speed and to activate.
I’ve been looking at a couple different ones on hobbyking, Nothing ordered yet.
A foot switch or just a simple button sounds cool! It would be fun to use it on a prone foil and have hands free!!
But like WHS said setting the speed and how much boost would be nice.
Any thoughts on the Hobbysky 6374 170KV Sensorless 8mm shaft motor on amazon? There are 8x22x7mm ceramic bearings (assuming that’s the correct size for this motor) and 8mm stainless rods that are readily available.
I was looking at that motor as well. Cheap way to play around with epoxying and testing before spending money on something better.