Jet-skis does a lot of noise, electric boats are slow and electric surfboards have riding time about 15-20 minutes. Electric hydrofoil combines the best of all. While being easily transportable and giving you very special feeling.
Levitation is amazing, light, efficient, free flying over water without noise or pollution.
How difficult is to ride EasyGoat?
The closest comparison is learning to ride a bike. Yes it is that easy with EasyGoat. Just remember you have also been learning that and not downhill shredding first days.
You need few hours to feel confident, but you will enjoy even the very first ride.
Will other sports help me with the stability?
There are 2 axis of stability to be considered.
Longitudinal, the same you know from riding a bike. Preventing you from falling sideways. Experiences from bike, surf or paddle-board will help you with this.
Diagonal, decisive for going up or down. The mast length and hydrofoil construction are crucial here. Foiling too up usually results in revealing the wing and lift lost. Not with EasyGoat. Going too up will gradually reveal the propeller. This leads to thrust decrease and levels the board.
What makes EasyGoat different?
EasyGoat is not rebuild surf/windsurf/kitefoil board like others. It was designed from the first scratch to work as electric hydrofoil. The key to have the board that is easy and smooth to ride is combining all different riding modes (initial submerged speed, breaking hull speed, planing, foil) while having only one rider position. Thus you don’t have to walk on the board when entering or leaving levitation.
Efficiency due to aerodynamical design and minimal motor diameter, the main drag source. This allows EasyGoat to have smaller batteries, total weight bellow 20kg and ride time one hour.
Almost 20kg is relatively light. This is important for keeping the board nimble and easy to transport.
Maintenance free. Fresh water cleanup regularly and seals lubrication after the season.
Why propeller and not jet (impeller)?
The early jet-skis ware dealing with one mistake, having the jet outflow bellow the water surface. Unfortunately this is the inevitable case of hydrofoil. Impeller is too inefficient when working against incompressible environment, water.
Why don’t you have ducted propeller?
Many projects use some Kort nozzle (non-rotating ring) around the propeller claiming it as a safety and efficiency feature. When falling from EasyGoat, you will not fall on its bottom! The same way when falling on bike you will never fall on your wheels .When using hydrofoil with kite, this rarely happens, but it is always kite that is towing you over the foil after you felt.
In accord with manual you are supposed to switch ON the board by remote control not until you get to deep water. You should also turn it off always you feel you are falling. Having it ON is well signalized. Disobeying this common sense rule, you may obviously harm yourself or others when manipulating with the board. At this point open propeller is more likely to cause injury, but less serious than most ducted propellers. Getting anything between the duct and propeller is fatal. To be ducted propeller called more safe, needs to be pretty long,100% preventing anything to reach the propeller. We have not seen any like that so far.
Efficiency increase works at this propeller size to 4-5 km/h, anything over that just increases drag.
How battery duration is counted?
We measured 50 minutes on fully charged standard battery, 80 kg rider. Going not fast, but always foiling.
For different rider weight you can roughly count for every 10% weight 10% time lost or gain. Weight mostly influence the minimal planning and foil speed and though power consumption needed to start levitating. Once there, at certain speed power consumption varies very little.
To maximize the battery lifetime it’s recommended not discharge it completely. Leaving 10-20% reserve for safety comeback is good idea.
Weight limit for riders?
EasyGoat recommended weight limit is 100kg. But we managed to go as 130kg.
If you are over 100kg, ask for XL board.
Is it legal to ride on lakes?
It is a new sport and the law of most countries does not explicitly seis anything about hydrofoil surfboard. It is fully in our hands how it will be accept it.
There are so many advantages like low to none noise, no wave damaging banks, no oil nor petrol leakage. However fishes will hear you from pretty far and fisherman may think is not their bad luck but you. Be nice, talk, show, explain and find the peace. Their opinion will form the future regulations.
In general you may follow rules for small electric boats. If they are permitted, you will be fine.
