Ran out of daylight, so slapped on the diving flashlights mounted on a Harbor Freight suction cup.....and became the Foil DareDevil.

Some call me a Foil Terrorist.

Whichever, this nighttime practice forces me to stare at the horizon, where the house lights are at. Like it would force you to.

You cannot stare down or you will get tossed out of this little bubble of red light. The red flashlight is angled down perfectly to capture front foot placement verified by a very quick glance

The nearby ripples are invisible. You are forced to balance perfectly. Proprioreceptors melding muscle, tendon and sinew with the waves of energy flowing through the water.

Once melded, then the catch practice begins.

Paddle entering the water silently while your knees bend, your vertically straight paddle ready for you to pull your hips and the board to the paddle, while your heels pop up at the last second lightening the board as you seek to escape the soft warm embrace of the water.

1 stroke....2 strokes....3 strokes..and you fall into the soft darkness below. You float up, softly surfacing like Seal Team 6. Pulling the board to you, and you begin again.

As you climb onto the board, you can see the nearest house's huge TV playing the " Without Remorse" starring Michael B Jordan through the enormous picture windows. You turn the board away to give them their privacy, but smile because you could be watching that - or doing this.

Two hours later. Michael B Jordan must have avenged his wife's death, by now, but you don't care.

You are now rocking 10 strokes, and you think you are almost hearing the slap of the board on the water, teasing the hiss of the magic carpet ride. Or maybe that's your imagination.

Either way, exhaustion forces you to stand a little taller, and paddle across the moonlit water to the boat ramp. A quiet victory as your body handles every wave and ripple with ease.

A magical night.

The Jeremy Riggs Scoot and Boogy Style. Jeremy is notable for getting up very, very quickly.

https://youtu.be/AwE5KNyu\_4g?t=17&is=lccqyWxT8dffDPJU

Also

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sVcxJ5X5Ps0&pp=iggUQAFKEEFfQ2NlZ3d5TVI0NVpYb3Y%3D

There are slight differences in what he says and does on the first video, so watch what he does more than listening to what he says.

Amazingly fast get up.

The above combination of slippery blanket, Harbor Freight carpet sliders, and heavy board lets me practice that.

The other style is what I call the trampoline method. Paddling while bouncing the board off of the water. Gael demonstrates it here.

https://youtu.be/qEh2PhU4UJQ?t=536&is=V6GmISEQruEfq95z

Here's another example of the trampoline style.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QGNHaBdjv48&t=91s&pp=2AFbkAIBiggUQAFKEEJlcDNFUVBxS0dyVU1iRHA%3D

I use my foil bag to practice that as the ends are off of the ground.

This is best seen here.

https://youtu.be/qEh2PhU4UJQ?t=598&is=P-7tnn00dQXKFHzd

Down here in the South it IS ROASTING. There happen to be no gators in my local lake, and I am tired of getting broiled.

So, I now start practicing using Sup paddle to get onto foil - once the sun goes down. I get about 2 hours of dusk light until I turn my red light on. Then I practice until I can practice no more. Solid 3 hours tonight, the last hour just me and a glassy lake under the moon and stars.

At the front of my board, I stick on a Harbor freight aluminum suction cup. https://www.harborfreight.com/4-58-in-45-lb-aluminum-suction-cup-lifter-70100.html

To it, I have two diving flashlights (it's a 2 for 1 deal).

HECLOUD Dive Light IPX8 Waterproof Diving https://a.co/d/01ZKVqzX

Over them, I have red tail light tape, overlapped with a little electrical tape.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/17018151?sid=ab0f6ab9-c93b-45ca-a8fb-f9893e6fc033

One light facing forward for the drunk boaters, one facing back towards my board so I can see where to place my feet.

Wrapped around the board leash on my waist, on my back, I have this little red light.

ORCATORCH SD01PRO Scuba Tank... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CX5FLY43?ref=ppx\_pop\_mob\_ap\_share

Finally, I use the red twizzle stick looking thing from Harbor freight to lock the suction cup.closed.....its long enough that I also can use the left over part to wrap the handle of my Sup paddle so it doesn't keep slipping off of the front of my board.

I am getting out every day, but my legs are still building up strength. So, I like to finish off the session with a long whisper silent paddle under the Milky Way, gliding in surfer position.

(I am going to find some little float to attach to the suction cup - just in case it ever comes off.)

The bonus to this is that the lake is choppy as hell...that will be useful later, but for now, I just want to practice getting up on foil.

And you can buy it now - although they are not shipping it, yet.

Length: 174.6 inches

Width: 70.6 inches (body only, without mirrors).

The high-roof cargo kit replaces the cab roof with a taller spoiler cap for a continuous van-style roofline. Exact height is not officially published yet.

The most likely overall height lands in the low-to-mid 80-inch range.

Range: 205 miles on a full charge on LFP battery.

.

Cost - such a good deal, in comparison to the other electric vans.

Base Blank Slate truck: $24,950

High-roof cargo kit: starts around $3,000

Combined: roughly $27,950–$28,000 before destination, taxes, and fees.

https://electrek.co/2026/08/30/report-slate-will-offer-a-high-roof-cargo-version-of-its-compact-pickup/

I forgot about slapping foils to body boards.

Be careful though, surfers don't really like body boards, and coming in this close?

Stay away from the surfers....

Foiling Magazine is in Libby - some great wingfoil pics, and it ends with some cool looking winter destinations.

https://share.libbyapp.com/title/13523965

So, I am reading the latest issue of Foiling Magazine in Libby.

And I see the above guy ripping with the battery for the Foil Assist Drive, ON HIS BACK.

"Seth: This was a first-time session in waves using a powered assist unit. I come from a surfing background, but after an aggravated neck injury I wasn't able to paddle prone anymore.

Seven years later, I found renewed joy in self-towing into waves via wingfoiling. Other than a few tow foil sessions, I had almost no glassy, morning wave sessions in over a decade. This session truly blew my mind. I had put off getting into foil assist riding for many reasons; one was the added weight to the board.

The Manta Foils TakeOff Evo backpack set-up gave me the ultimate power foiling experience while maintaining a light and lively board under my feet, while the Manta integrated mast with the Omen adapter allowed me to use my new Agent foils with this kit. So frikkin' cool."

The battery is drive agnostic - just need to get the right cable. The idea is to get the battery weight off of the board, to restore the swing weight.

I think it's a cool idea, but when I wipe out wingfoiling, I wipe out spectacularly. I am not sure I trust the connection from battery to motor.

Still, pretty cool!

1. The Core Engineering Challenge

Electric hydrofoils operate at the highly volatile boundary layer between ocean water and air. Legacy e-foils rely on static, fixed-wing geometries, forcing the rider to constantly absorb pitch instability, rough chop, and throttle-induced pitching manually.

To automate pitch, roll, and yaw stability at speeds exceeding 25–30+ mph, hardcoded static PID loops fail because fluid dynamics in turbulent ocean conditions are non-linear.

2. The Solution: XFOIL Adaptive Dynamic Wings (AWS) & Active Thrust Stabilization

Across the XFOIL Apex (100L all-arounder with dual Surface/Fly modes) and Escape (80L agile composite platform)—validated and backed through our Kickstarter and Indiegogo communities—we replaced passive wings with our Adaptive Active Dynamic Wing System (AWS) and Active Thrust Driven Stabilization.

Instead of static control loops, the XFOIL platform uses a continuous closed-loop control system trained via Reinforcement Learning (RL):

• High-Frequency Sensor Fusion: An array of 6-DOF IMUs, hall-effect magnetic throttle sensors from the 191g Nano Remote, and pressure transducers feed telemetry into the onboard processor at 200Hz+.
• Real-Time Subsurface Adjustments: The controller makes intelligent, predictive adjustments beneath the waterline to continuously neutralize pitch variations caused by rapid acceleration/deceleration, wave crest passage, and ocean chop.
• Rider-Adaptive Optimization (E-Foil For Everyone): The algorithm differentiates human rider movements (center-of-mass shifts, banking into turns) from environmental turbulence. It dynamically adjusts the wing's angle-of-attack (AoA), delivering up to a 25% increase in hydrodynamic efficiency—yielding up to 30 minutes longer session times and over 7 miles of additional range on our 1,894Wh long-range battery.

3. Edge Hardware & Thermal Architecture Constraints

Executing low-latency control loops in a marine-sealed environment introduced strict hardware constraints:

• Miniaturized Underwater ESC: We miniaturized the motor controller by 75% and integrated the 75V, 100A continuous (150A peak) ESC directly inside the underwater motor housing. This creates a direct water-immersed solid-state cooling system—eliminating internal cooling hoses, heat sinks, and water pumps entirely.
• Low-Latency Inference (<15ms): Actuation latency is capped under 15ms to prevent phase lag and high-speed porpoising.
• 16S / 67.2V Voltage Headroom: Operating on a 67.2V peak architecture (14% higher than industry standard) keeps system current low, drastically reducing thermal throttling during heavy dynamic wing actuations.

4. Results & Field Validation

During Hawaii field trials with early production units shipped to our Kickstarter and Indiegogo backers, field testing demonstrated:

• Complete neutralization of throttle-induced pitching during sudden speed changes.
• Significant reduction in the learning curve for beginner riders on the Apex platform.
• Extended flight times and lower total energy draw from the direct-drive brushless motor due to dynamic AoA drag reduction.

Discussion Points for the AI / Robotics Community:

1. Model Drift vs. Hydrodynamic Noise: How do you best handle real-time edge adaptation when localized cavitation or air-venting introduces unpredictable sensor noise during high-speed carving?
2. Deterministic Safety Boundaries: In safety-critical embedded systems, what hybrid architectures (e.g., neural networks wrapped inside deterministic safety boundaries like board-angle auto shutdown or instant kill-switches) do you favor to prevent control flap lockups?

But not for me. Thankful for the Prius letting me get a good night’s sleep

&#x200B;

Cataracts from sun bouncing off of waves. Solution - polarized sunglasses.

Skin cancer - sun screen lotion. But it is never enough.

Body : wetsuit. Or do a rash guard or sun hoodie. Lower body:

Ubestyle Men's Swim Pants UPF 50+ Quick Dry Sun Protection Stretchy Swim Leggings

Back of hands really get hammered,

Solution: so wool half gloves/ fishing gloves.

Neck/face -

Solution: balaclava with mesh over mouth and nose to cover face and neck.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GKF5X448?lv=shuf&language=en-US&social\_share=cm\_sw\_r\_ud\_dp\_KA16VA65RCSQK8RCXD41&channelId=704&ref\_=cm\_sw\_r\_ud\_dp\_KA16VA65RCSQK8RCXD41&plpRedirect=mhFallback

If the mesh is still too constricting, then buy an internal mask brace: “Large 3d Silicone Face Mask Bracket” should pull it up.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TMYYPTP?lv=shuf&language=en-US&social\_share=cm\_sw\_r\_ud\_dp\_YTWE1JFMK9G81SYFTTGG&channelId=704&ref\_=cm\_sw\_r\_ud\_dp\_YTWE1JFMK9G81SYFTTGG&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Crashing into foil and board? (Sample video up above) https://youtu.be/ZoNO6jFEiSs?is=W3OXzwzMgopNth5s

Helmet and impact vest.

Besides that (from the video over on YouTube).

1-Fall with the board, not against it

Avoid instinctively leaning the opposite way when the board drops to one side (which can put you on top of the foil). Instead, drop with the board to stay clear of the foil.

2-Use a larger front wing / beginner foil and foil at lower speeds

3-Be aware of upwind vs. downwind crashes (see video)

4-speed. Touchdown, don’t breach. Keep speed down. Spill wind out of the back of the wing. Also done by using a bigger beginner foil.

Repetitive pulling leading to stress injuries. This video discusses both upper and lower body injuries.

https://youtu.be/js198gp2sp4?si=VdPxpn\_g2-wUDx\_q

Upper body

Solution: harness so your body is holding the foil on long fetches.

Lower body - you may be strong at one side of the other, so put too much side on one or the other.

Solution: Make sure to get equally good at the both sides.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dbdpy-4Kj1q/?igsh=dXYxOHJoNXN4Ym9t

Giggidy. That is NOT me. I can gybe and tack.

Wingfoil and BBQ is not on my skill list. Yet.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbXihbeIs34/?igsh=MXZtZDlzY2J4Y2M5OA==