Just curious if anyone has put thoughts towards the physics of a “motor on a stick” approach as a foil assist? After seeing the REM stick (motor stick for skateboards) show up again on my socials, it made me wonder if this could work as a sort of “foil assist” but on a “paddle”. And yes, too many awake late nights leads to weird thoughts of what to build next…
1 Like
No deep thoughts about physics or body posture or balance challenges when using a motorized paddle but I also toyed with concept like that for SUP foiling.
I’ve thought about it. The biggest issue is getting the right angles and also dealing with the consequences it you let go of the stick under power. Blades shooting towards your hands won’t be fun.
These thoughts are related to ways of eliminating the motor from the water in order to minimize drag…
I had a look around aswell, this was the only one I could find. Seems to slow though
A prop in the same plane as a sup paddle blade
is probably the best place to start.
Could be guarded pretty easily with a standard duct.
A gyro/ erpm sensor could sense fly away blades.
I can’t see it being practical though.
Fun to hear others have thought about this along the way and even an existing similar product. I sort of have two fantasy use cases for a small temporary motor: one is as a tool to get out to kite/wing foil locations (islands, remote launches, etc) with minimal extra gear, and secondly as a sort of “rescue assist” for offshore adventures.
Though for the latter it would have to be pretty light weight and small to be with you at all times. So probably not realistic on that one…compared to a pair of flippers 
A super lightweight and slim foil assist build might be the best compromise in the end. Something with barely enough power to get on foil and pump for a short range.