Sharing my efoil build. Thanks for all the great info one here!
Flying Rodeo motor and folding prop
Kontronic 160 esc
Flipsky Vx3
2 Homemade 6s4p batteries Molicel 42a
Bought a lift efoil mast from @Flightjunkie
Using my wingfoil 75L board for now
Tried it with one 6s4p battery and surprised I could get up foiling even with my lift 120 ha foil. I can ride 5-6 miles before the battery gets low. Fully charged I got close to 17mph. Surprised it worked with the small battery. Have to connect the two batteries in series, and I have to hook up voltage monitor! It’s a fun project!
No CNC, I really like your folding sheet aluminium structure. How is the drag during touch downs with such an open structure ? Less than a plain 90° surface one but do you feel a decelaration when the water can flow almost freely ?
Don’t you feel it a bit flexy in the roll direction ?
In the following post, I propose a water deflector (drag decrease) which could be used as a radial RIB to add lateral stiffness, length = once or twice the thickness offering a 45° (atan 1/1)or 27° deflection (atan 1/2).
'Foil Drive Assist, DIY - #653 by SoEFoil
That’s my wing board, so I use it without motor/bracket too. I do notice a little increased drag, but it is certainly not much.
I’m not cranking turns as much as I would with the wing, but I don’t notice any difference in flex, it seems very stiff.
I actually just used some aluminum c-channel I had laying around. I was planning to use it temporarily until I found a better solution, but I’ll probably keep it as is for now, it worked so well.
Had a video of getting up on foil, drag seems small. Motor has no problem getting me foiling even on lift 120ha. This is with the 6s battery too. I have another pack to make it 12s, I have yet to try.
@Sarcomere I have a Lift 32 mast I’d like to use. How did you do the wire routing inside? Did the motor pod also come with your motor or did you custom make that? Thanks.
The mast was an efoil mast so the center was already hollow, and there was a window in the side to route the wires. I would bet all the lift masts are foam filled or hollow.
The motor pod came with the flying rodeo motor setup for a lift mast. Also the propeller. Honestly I think the flying rodeo setup is pretty nice and worth the extra money. @Flying_Rodeo set me up with the folding prop too!
Thanks for the info. I called and emailed Lift but everything is Top Secret so I’ll start hacking in at some point and find out. I think you’re right about foam filled. I really do like your FR setup but I just pulled the trigger on all the parts for a more “budget friendly” one modeled after some of the folks here. Carve a turn or two for me!
Hasta,
mako
Hi @Sarcomere would you mind sharing the thickness of the aluminum for the C-section bracket for the mast? Also, would you think it would be stiff enough to go with a slightly wider channel width?
Sorry for the delayed response. C-channel is not very thick, but with the mast mounted near the vertical section, it’s pretty solid when assembled. I have sheet of 0.125” aluminum which is almost twice as thick visually but I’m not sure exactly. I’m sure wider or taller on the board would work too, but I would probably get thicker metal then. Hope it works out for you! @Foil-life
