KT FOILING TAIL SHIM GUIDE

Tail Shims allow you to fine-tune the behaviour of your foil by changing the angle of the rear stabilizer. Changing the shim can affect lift, speed, stability, foot pressure and pumping efficiency, allowing you to adapt the foil to your riding style and conditions.

1. What does a Tail Shim do?

The Tail Shim is installed between the fuselage and back wing. By changing its angle, you can precisely adjust the behaviour of the foil without changing your front wing or stabilizer.

Even small changes can make a noticeable difference, so gradual adjustments are recommended.

2. Positive shim

Increasing the positive shim value generally provides more lift and greater back-foot pressure.

The foil tends to take off more easily at lower speeds and provides additional support while pumping.

This setup is particularly useful when you want easier takeoffs, better low-speed performance and more support to keep the foil flying.

3. Negative shim

Reducing the shim angle or moving towards negative values decreases lift and back-foot pressure.

The foil feels freer and faster, with reduced drag and a behaviour better suited to higher speeds.

This adjustment can be useful when the foil produces too much lift or when you are looking for more speed and a looser feel.

4. More lift or more speed?

Choosing a shim is always a balance.

A setup focused on increased lift improves takeoff, low-speed performance and pumping. Reducing lift can decrease drag and allow the foil to perform better at higher speeds.

The ideal setting therefore depends on your discipline, conditions, rider weight and personal preference.

5. Start with the recommended setup

The best place to start is with the shim recommended by KT for your specific front wing and back wing combination.

Use this as your reference point before making further adjustments.

6. Make small adjustments

Once you have tested the standard setup, change the shim angle gradually.

If you want more lift and low-speed support, try slightly increasing the shim value. If you want less lift, reduced back-foot pressure and more speed, move in the opposite direction.

Changing one variable at a time makes it much easier to understand how each adjustment affects the foil.

7. Find your setup

There is no single Tail Shim setting that works perfectly for every rider. The same foil can be tuned differently depending on rider, discipline and conditions.

Use KT’s recommended value as your starting point and experiment with small adjustments until you find your preferred balance of lift, speed, pumping efficiency, stability and foot pressure.

The KT Foiling Hardware Set includes a complete range of Tail Shims for precise setup tuning.