KT Ginxu Step-Bottom and Foil Drive Systems | A Perfect Match?

The step-bottom feature of the KT Ginxu foilboards is a big help in releasing the surface tension of the water with the board when you're trying to get on foil. You can read Tucker's review of the board if you want to know more about that. (Spoiler alert: it works, and it works well.) A lot of people are using the Foil Drive system as an assist to get up on foil as well. These two things seem like the perfect match until you think about mounting the Foil Drive onto the track. Is there enough room for it to fit, or will it bump up against the step? Well... it depends.

As an example, this is the Ginxu 2 Pro Carbon 62L 5'3" with the largest Foil Drive system, the Max. In addition to the easy release from the water, the step reduces some of the height that the Foil Drive unit normally adds to your mast, so it would be great to be able to use it with this board.

The Max and the Slim Foil Drive units both have two battery options, each with their own nose cone. If you're using one of the short batteries, then you shouldn't have any issues since most foils sit squarely in the middle of the track and won't need to be so far forward as to cause the Foil Drive unit to bump up against the step bottom of the board. If you do want your stance to be a bit further forward, you can install your battery and then slide the Foil Drive unit another inch or so forward.

If you want to use one of the extended batteries, then that is going to be a bit more problematic. If you can ride with your foil further back, then you can use them like you normally would, but most foils like to be further forward than that. There is a workaround to get your foil further forward, though: mount the Foil Drive unit backwards.

Of course, now your motor cable is at the front of your mast, so you will need to reroute that along the side of the mast to bring it to the back of the mast. You'll either need to be comfortable riding with your prop up higher on the mast, or buy one with a longer cable.

There are some advantages to riding with the Foil Drive unit backwards, though. This will put more of its weight under your back foot and give you a little better performance since you won't have to swing that weight when you turn. Smaller or higher-aspect foils especially like to be ridden with your back foot over the mast, and that puts most of the weight right at that pivot point. It has the effect of making your board feel lighter.

You'll have more room to adjust exactly where you want your mast with the Foil Drive mounted backwards as well. Having the battery access open to the back instead of being blocked by the step bottom also makes it easier to swap out batteries for those extended sessions. So if you're able to reroute that cable, there is something to be said for riding with your Foil Drive backwards.

The nice thing about the track area on the Ginxu boards is how flat it is. Once you've got your Foil Drive bolted down, you won't have any need for shims. It will sit nice and flush in either direction.

Not all step bottom boards will be so tight on space for your Foil Drive. The Dragonfly Surf model's track area is a bit more roomy than the Ginxu 2 Pro Carbon, so you might be good to go if you've got one of those and are looking to add a Foil Drive. However, the smaller boards do tend to be higher performance and better suited to riding with a Foil Drive.

Be sure to reach out to us if you've got any questions on how a Foil Drive will work with a particular board, and we'll be happy to let you know what your options might be. We'll see you on the water!

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