Finished UK Efoil build

M5 and this is the seal used

1 Like

Hey Gareth,

Firstly congratulations on a superb and elegant build. Im UK based (NW) and looking to start my first build as well. My electronics and engineering knowledge are ok but theres a-lot to get ones head around with all the alternate options people use. Your build is very simple and up-to-date. Im thinking of a similar budget so would be keen to see more on your build process, wiring etc; its very inspiring! Did you consider a MayTech remote?

Nice dolly! Do you have any issues with sand getting into the telescoping mechanism of the ladder assembly?

:grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: yes sand does tend to get in the mechanism but I can always make it slide with a bit of force.

I am planning a similar dolly wondering whether to go with beach wheels to help it float? Does your dolly float?

A floating dolly may be beneficial for deep water dock launch and recovery back to dock—and for rocky beach launches but for a typical sandy beach launch maybe dolly should roll underwater? hmmm. cheers!

I just take my foil near the water edge then carry it in. It’s just for long walks to the water.

IMG-20220126-WA0003

very nice build! Good job.
I have been playing with the DIY foil drive e-assist … for this use you can have the wires external, as the mechanism is out of the water when on foil.
But I am thinking of a full e-foil next, I think the wires will be too bulky externally, cause too much drag for efficiency…which I think means I’ll have to find a foil system with hollow mast (I am on gofoil now). Maybe a dumb question, but can you describe how you routed the wires in the mast? Drill a hole and run them through…but was it tricky with nose cone, bending stiff wires, etc?

Question 2: how well is your passive cooling working? any overheat problems?

Hi, the motor wires on my Flipsky 65161 are very bendy and can form around very tight corners. You just have to work out the position of your motor pod and drill into a suitable cavity in the mast, then finish it off with a Dremel to smooth all the edges to prevent it cutting into the wire insulation.

The passive cooling for the ESC works great, the ESC temperature never goes above 30c and that’s spending long periods of time up on the foil.

Thanks for reply Gazman. So is your nose cone hollow, to allow the wires to route through into mast? (again, sorry if that’s obvious…just trying to envision the set up)

Passive cooling…that’s good to know! That’s the way FoilDrive has gone for their Plus model, which is kind of half full efoil, designed for continuous riding. Yours is first full size efoil I have seen without water cooling – though may just not have noticed others yet. One less thing to design and plan for, or to worry about failures.

The motor mount pod is designed with hollow sections to allow the wires to route to the side of the mast.

I’m far from the first to implement passive cooling, many have used heat sinks protruding and even metal boxes that the mast bolts to, so the mast ends up being the heat sink.

1 Like

Thanks Gazman for both notes. While you didn’t invent either design, since yours is the first I have noticed, I will credit you with their invention. :slight_smile:

I finally got some video clips together for a little movie :slight_smile:

10 Likes

Nice build! May I ask how you mounted the foil to the board and what materials you used?

Hi

I made a 6mm plywood box with stainless steel plates and stainless rivnuts, the plywood is doubled up in some areas.


1 Like

Thank you. What are the dimensions of that plywood box that houses the esc is the mounting point of the foil. And how did you make the attach the pieces of plywood to make the box. Thanks

Hi ! Thank you for the clear and nice dokumentation. Very good !
Could you please mention what size of the foil Gong kite foil Allvator Rise ALU you used? M, L , XL?
That you in advance and stay save!

best,
Martin

Ah yes, I forgot to put the foil size on my first post it’s Gong Rise M. Can I edit posts to add this info in?

How far forward from the back of the board did you position the foil? Is there and industry standard or did you just place it based on preference

The back of the mast plate is positioned 240mm from the back of the board.

There is a ratio rule: mid-mast point positioned at 1/5th of the total board length from the rear.
Or mid-mast wr to rear / board length = 0.2