Wing Foiling Session - 5/3/2024

Strong winds today!

Strong enough to use the Ezzy Flight 4.0!!!  I setup the SK8950/C200 on the 85cm PC mast bolted to No.32 to accompany the wing.  I figured if the wind lightened up, I would stand a better chance of getting back up on foil with the 950 (instead of the 750).

And the stats should speak for themselves - great session!!!

Waves were breaking on the outside and with the east winds it lined up nicely.

Lots of people out winging today - Kalani, me, the Slingshot guy, Prayot, Roland and Eli.  And Robby was out on his Foil Drive.

I got in a bunch of heelside tacks onto incoming waves, one of which I whipped around pretty hard and actually hurt my neck (just a little).

And with the stronger wind, I got in three toeside tacks.  They are starting to get a little easier.

Looks like I hit this peak a few times over the session.  The Ezzy definitely proved to be faster, higher pointing and more luffable than the other wings I've been using - its a really good wing.

There was some fluttering - a little further down the wing than the 5.0 (after the 2nd batten) - but it was actually really minor.  

Super fun session today!!!

I think I may hit Hickam tomorrow and get in some speed runs with the Eagle 690.

W:56/FD:28/F:4/S:9

Garage Works - 5/2/2024

With some help from Marlon, I got the slots for the footstrap insert reinforcement blocks routed out this evening.

And after dinner I got the boxes set in place with epoxy/milled fibers.

The slots were a little too perfect - no room for squeeze out.  And they are about a millimeter too shallow (the blocks were proud by about 1mm).  I'll use a surform tomorrow and get those all shaved down flush.  I'll also get the footstrap insert slots routed out and get those inserts epoxied in tomorrow.

Hypothetically, I could still have this board laminated by the end of this weekend.

Wing Foiling Session - 5/2/2024

I didn't end up going to Hickam - I went to WPB.  I couldn't break out of work when I wanted to, so I figured it was better to go for a swim (the low tide paddle out at WPB), then have to sit in traffic (leaving Hickam during the evening rush hour).

I even got to take a short nap before heading out - bonus!

From the beach the wind looked decent, but the waves looked pretty small.  Which turned out to be wrong - the waves were waist to chest and pretty consistent.  The wind was from the east again and really dependable.

I went with the SW2 5.2 and the SK8 950 today.  Was perfect for today's conditions!

Roland made it out about 45 minutes after I was in the line up already.  He got some serious air today - and he is landing them nicely.

I was concentrating on carving today - and the SK8 feels so good on waves.

The 5.2 was perfectly powered today.  No issues with sore forearm tendons.

My heelside tacks were not entirely smooth today.  Either my timing was off, or there wasn't a ton of power in the waves.  I ended up stalling a bunch at the crest and would have to pump to keep going and make the drop.

I did get a toe side tack in on the inside (I need to force myself to do this more to get it to the point where this is muscle memory).

Again the SW2 5.2 was perfect today!

Really fun session today!

W:55/FD:28/F:4/S:9

Wing Foiling Session - 5/1/2024

The trades came back earlier than expected.  And they were really consistent and steady from the East!!!

The waves were good, but infrequent (and I think as the trades build, the surf will subside).

The tide was pretty low (so I had to paddle a ways out to takeoff).

There were whitecaps across the outside wind line - so I pumped up the Reedin SW2 4.7

I had expected the wind to be a little lighter so I only brought the Eagle 1090/DW210 - but with the SW2 4.7 it was a good pairing.

Eli was out with his 6.0 and Roland used a 4.0 (I think).

This was a pretty fun session.  At first I had the fence on the Project Cedrus mast - but I was having some issues so I just took it off.  That actually was the best thing I did for the session.

Pretty good stats.

I got some fun tacks in on the outside - and the wind penetrated pretty deep into the usual "no wind" zones.

I felt perfectly powered on the 4.7

I managed to nab a few head high waves (when they came through).

The black slots early on were me dealing with the fence and trying to adjust the harness line.  The latter ones were me trying to push the 1090 as if it was the SK8 750.

I did have a couple of close calls with the foil and the wing - it's actually been a minute since I flew the SW2... lucky today nothing got damaged.

With the tide low again in the afternoon, I may try to catch the wind at the peak tomorrow and get a lunch session in at Hickam... that way I can get some time in the garage to work on the board.

W:54/FD:28/F:4/S:9

Surf Check and Garage Works - 4/29/2024

I had the intentions to surf the Hammah Fish this afternoon, but when I got there the wind was howling onshore.  That was not forecasted and I figured it wouldn't be worth the paddle out.  Chris and Felipe had just paddled back in from being skunked for a while.  Felipe was swapping out wings and was going to go back out.

I left to pick Marlon up from the rail station and saw Roland headed down Ku'alaka'i

With Marlon on board, we headed back to the beach to see if anyone else was going to surf, wing or foil.

Felipe was out and ripping on the 5.0/Eagle 890.

Eli was on the beach contemplating going out - but didn't; you could feel the pressure subsiding.  And Felipe felt the same thing and headed in.

And Roland was waiting to get his hands on the F One Strike V4.  This one was a 5.0 - Roland was wanting to test a smaller wing.  It felt balanced and well powered in the light wind.

Glad to see no one had to paddle in.

We got home and in between cooking and clearing some other things, I shaved down the polyurethane top block and dialed in the shape of the rear part of the top deck.

I added a subtle concave to the rear of the top deck that goes 1/2 up.

I used sanding screen again and got it all faired in, including the slight side cuts for the where my legs would go when I'm sitting waiting for a gust.

I cleaned up the little bleed through of the gorilla glue that came through a slot where the mast track block had a void (bonus).

And I remarked the center line and made adjustments to the rear footstrap placement.

There is a bias to my strong side - but that's ok since that's where I'll be jumping (the only time I'll be in the rear strap - if I even jump at all). 

I'll cut the footstrap insert reinforcement block slots tomorrow and get those epoxied into place.

I also think that I won't be using a SUP handle on this one, as I can hold the board under my arm (it isn't too wide).

Once that work is done, I'll start laminating.  I think I'll have both the decks laminated by the end of this weekend (although there is some really strong wind coming our way starting Thursday... not too much work happens when the wind is nuking).

Dawn Patrol - 4/28/2024

I went to Hickam this morning for the dawn patrol.  Firsts was breaking nicely and there was almost zero wind.

I try to not make too many changes at once, so I can understand the nature of the change.  But for this morning I changed three things.

First I did not use the velcro straps - I used electrical tape to keep the motor cable in one place.  Electrical tape worked so much better - not once did I feel like I was stuck to the surface while trying to takeoff.

Second, I tried out the Skinny 365 rear stabilizer.  The stabilizer I normally use is the Progressive 375.  The Skinny is about 30 sqcm smaller than the 375P - but I did not feel like I was missing any lift (like I could push off of it or that it would just slip out).  I did feel like I was going a hair faster than I normally do on the Spitfire 960.

And third, I used the Project Cedrus Carbon 85cm mast instead of the 80cm aluminum one I normally use.  Here there were some multifaceted issues.  The extra length made it more difficult to pump (yet I did get three double dips), and the first few takeoffs were awkward.  But once I got used to it, the extra length did suppress breaching, it made carving hard and taking a steeper drop less worrisome (I could just focus on executing and not trying to make sure I wasn't going to breach).  I did not really notice any weight difference.

For as challenging as yesterday's session was, today's was simply perfect.

I really enjoy using the Foil Drive at the breaks I normally wing.  I already know the wave and I can anticipate the sections and setup for some awesome carving turns.  Firsts was firing for the first half of this session - shoulder to just overhead.  I would position myself to be able to pick up the wave well before it got critical.  And with the equipment, I could maneuver to stay in the powered section of the wave - even just right in front of where the wave was breaking (I normally try to steer clear of this section).  This is where I'm not sure of the effect of switching out the rear stabilizer - was I able to do this because of the faster tail, or was I doing it all this time but just didn't notice it?

This chart basically looks just like a winging session out here!

My count is 25 waves in 90 minutes.  Three of these were double dips.  

And I did not have to share this break with anyone!

Pretty darn fun this morning!!!

W:53/FD:28/F:4/S:9

Garage Works - 4/27/2024

After soaking the Foil Drive in its post session freshwater bath, I went ahead and set it up for tomorrow's session.  I am taping it up again (that was horrible this morning - 70% of my takeoffs had to be aborted because of the velcro drag), and I am switching to the carbon Project Cedrus mast.

And I got the mast track installed on No.36

Both bottom and top decks.

Maybe tonight (but most likely sometime tomorrow), I'll trim the excess off the top deck polyurethane block, dial in the top deck rear shape, and route out the slots for the foot strap reinforcement blocks.

I'm still debating if I want to put a carrying handle on the bottom deck...

Dawn Patrol - 4/27/2024

Rainy morning dawn patrol.

The surface had a lot of texture on it and the waves had some size.  Pretty much the opposite of the forecast.

And I brought the HPS980 thinking there wouldn't be a whole lot of energy in the waves... wrong!

And I'm not absolutely sure but as I was having a hard time getting the foil to lift the board clear of the water, I suspect the velcro straps were working to make the board "sticky".

Despite all that, I still had fun!  And if on my next session I can pop up and clear the board, I'll have learned something (fabric causes drag).  Which would be a darn shame because I'd rather not have to waste tape all the time. 

7 miles on the session - 2.5 hours out and came in with 25% battery.

Rides were kind of all over the place.  When I did clear the board, I did have some long rides.

I count 16 longer rides - which seems about right.  I did throttle up a lot more than that, but for the reasons listed above, I did not catch and ride those waves.

Definitely using the Spitfire and electrical tape tomorrow...

W:53/FD:27/F:4/S:9

Garage Works - 4/26/2024

And between borrowing an extension ladder and working on the gutters, and shampooing the carpet in the house - I did squeeze in some garage time.

I noticed a small difference in the top deck rails at the midpoint (one side had a side cut) - so I made a similar side cut on the other side.  And then I felt compelled to route out the slot for the mast track block.

I used the Hitachi router and got the bottom slot cut out.  Then I used the Japanese pull saw and opened up the top deck.

This will set in nicely!

I'll likely place the epoxy sometime tomorrow - if in the morning after the dawn patrol, then I'll also be able to glue in the top block (polyurethane foil block).

After those two pieces get installed, I'll shape the top deck where the block is (removing the excess and integrating it into the top deck shape).

Sunday will likely see the footstrap insert blocks going in place and possibly the carrying handle.

Another thing that got done was La was able to trim these velcro straps for me.  Hypothetically I should be able to stop using electrical tape to hold the motor cable steady.  We shall see - I'll test these tomorrow morning.  I've used narrower velcro straps in the past - but I didn't feel that they were really working.  These are 2" wide each - I'm pretty sure  these will fill the bill!!!

On It's Way -

I sold No.18 to Nick as part of the Foil Drive Assist Plus package.

Tricia was in town and she brought one of his travel board bags for me to pack the board in.

Here is No.18 all armored up.

And tucked into Nick's board bag.

The tail is nicely secured.

But the board is only 4'10" in a 6'1" board bag - so there is a gap in the nose.

I think Tricia will end up putting in a duffle bag to take up this space.

This board has pulled triple duty - it started life as a prone foil board, carrying me into some gnarly sized surf with the GoFoil GL140, and through COVID closed beaches.  Then it served as a high wind wing board - my first sinker attempts (looked what that lead to - now every board I wing with pretty much is a sinker).  And in it's last incarnation it was the board that opened up the possibilities of the Foil Drive to me.

I really don't like seeing boards leave the hangar - but if they go to good homes, that is a good thing.  And I beet it can pull triple duty for Nick!!!

And that makes room for more boards to be made and ridden!!!