A first attempt at a beginner guide. I’m still mostly a beginner. I’ve copied pieces of insight from across the forum that seemed to be “general wisdom”.
Every comment here is designed to give simple general pointers, to avoid overthinking. Keep your first build simple. If you get stuck and nothing comes up on this forum, ask ChatGPT and search RC forums.
This applies to efoil, foil assist, tow-boogie and backpack foil setups.
Proceed with caution.
Build
Starting from the propeller and working the way along the power:
Propeller
There are numerous companies you can buy from, make sure to match prop to the motor
Cheap = Flipsky, Maytech, Fliteboard
Good quality = Kparts, Foil Drive, PropellerKing, Flying Rodeo, Fliteboard
Motor
Outrunners: (assist, efoil, boogies) (better power to weight ratio)
Saite 6384 140Kv or Flipsky 6384 140KV (both waterproof) are good.
Inrunners: (efoil mostly, boogies) (more power, but heavier)
Flipsky 65161, Maytech 65161
Outrunner Considerations:
Motor bearings:
Is it better run ceramic or stainless?
Buy a waterproof motor. Flush with fresh water after use. Soaking in CorrosionX is a good hack for longevity.
Mast clamps
Foil Drive or Kparts to match your foil mast
Some designs can be found on the forum to print yourself
Electronics:
Best power and phase connectors?
Flipsky and Maytech have most of the necessary electronics. Keep the cabling neat and carefully soldered. Buy a good soldering iron and use AWG12 thickness for a start for most cabling.
ESC:
Which brand is the most reliable? How to buy one that has working firmware? How do you program it, and what other hardware do you need for this? What amperage do you need?
Flipsky, Sequre, Maytech (order of popularity) require a bit time working through the config via USB. Some VESC type esc’s have bluetooth and can work with the VESC phone app.
Flycolor a good option if you don’t want to plug into a computer.
Battery:
What cells are the best? Where do you buy them? To BMS or not to BMS? What spot welder will work good enough? Where do you get the battery building supplies like nickel strips and fish paper? What wire to use for the balance wires? Where to buy a fully built one that isn’t counterfeit and in the right configuration?
Find someone nearby to build one, or buy an existing efoil battery, or learn to build (order of popularity). Be careful of batteries.
Housing:
Start simple with a waterproof case or Camdenboss box, and make some holes and waterproof them with high quality cable glands. Be careful of rapidly changing temperature causing the box to suck air.
First improvement is a simple heatsink embedded into the box.
Mistakes here are the most costly, so do it carefully.
Other Electronics:
What charger to buy and where? Do we need a shut off? External BMS? Anything else I’m missing?
Buy a 12S capable RC lipo / lion battery charger or similar, and charge and store in a safe place (search fire safety).
Remote:
Which brand is the best? Even if it says waterproof do you still need to pot the internals? How do you program it for use with Faux drive?
Good: Bremote (diy kit), Manta (expensive)
Cheap: Flipsky, Maytech (leak if treated poorly, sometimes even when treated well)
What Foil?
Big, slow, cheap. Upgrade once you understand it better.
Other advice?
Kparts do a load of stuff: https://kparts-watersports.com/en/shop/E-FOIL-ACCESSORIES-POD-c159415759
Hunt Facebook for a broken Foil Drive housing and then do a teardown and put new electronics in it. This is a great cheap starter, and you can improve on a working unit.
Start with a box+motor, and try a foil assist / tow-boogie combo, as this is the easiest to build, and see what you discover through that process. Everything can be reused.
Lots of 3D printable parts are out there. If you don’t want to print yourself printing services are a great option.
Questions in the quote boxes have not yet been answered in this guide.