Garage Works - 8/14/2025

Got some cool stuff in the mail yesterday.

This 61 liter Patagonia bag - holds all my single skin parawings.

Pretty efficient!

And I got around to gluing up the blank for No.42

And speaking of No.42, I've been doing a bunch of internet scanning to get the shape refined in my head - and the Frank DW board keeps plowing its way to the front.

I haven't done a pin tail board - I think ever.  And this one will be thicker - like around 5.5" at the thickest spot (where the foil tracks are).  The nose rocker will be shallow but extends further back than what I normally produce.  And I think I'm going to flip the board some the precut nose rocker is now the tail, including the higher spot becoming part of the tail (higher than the rest of the deck).

Experimenting is what keeps this fun and interesting!

Evening Surf Session - 8/14/2025

Noe left today to go back to school... and La left to take her.  I took them to the airport and traffic back towards home was not terrible (because it could have been).

I got home with just enough daylight left to get some paddling around in.

I brought the Sweet Potato out again, but this time placed the Tappy Quads onboard.

Truthfully the surf was too small to really get a feel for these (or any other) fins.  I did catch a handful, and even got a few turns in - but realistically the surf was too small for this board.

I miss Noe and La already (and wind and good surf too - but these not as much as them)

W:55/FD:103/PW:19/S:6

Evening Surf Session - 8/12/2025

The wind was blowing around while I was driving home - and I was kinda hoping to get in a PW session.

But after getting home, doing some stuff that needed to be done, and further contemplating the weather conditions, I decided to simplify a bit and go surfing!

The Firewire Sweet Potato is probably my favorite shortboard for surfing White Plains.

And I recently got these fins (when Marlon got his Dominator Pro - he got a 15% discount on all accessories), and figured I should give them a spin.

I caught a couple of handfuls of waves - and some of them I was able to squeeze out some really fun turns.

But these fins did not have 100% of the grip that I was expecting them to have.  Maybe if I use a slightly bigger trailer I can get there???  I got this tiny 2.5" trailer and a Tappy trailer at the same time as the ENs.

I'm also curious that the BMTs, being larger and with more rake felt better - what if I go in a totally different direction - the Tappy Quads...

So many fins and boards - it sucks that surfing foiling always have to compete for my time and attention.  I love both

W:55/FD:103/PW:19/S:5

Ground Handling - 8/11/2025

I didn't feel like hitting the beach yesterday - so I loaded up the single skin parawings and went looking for a spot to do some ground handling.

I ended up at a spot near the Wai Kai lagoon.

I spent a lot of time with all three of the PWs - getting to know more what is different about each one.

Then I finally got around to adjusting the Maliko 5.1 bar to match the line positions on the Maliko 4.0 bar.

This lightened up the bar pressure somewhat, while still having a more direct feel (which I actually prefer to the "looser" feeling of the Ka'a on its shorter, 2 point connection bar).

You can also see how keeping the A and B lines closer helps improve the "stability" of the parawing (and depowering is collapsing the back of the PW - reducing the effective lift generating surface area) - none of this is new.  But I am definitely gaining a better understanding of the controlling principles. 

And thus the importance in my mind of ground handling. Make it second nature and when you are out on the water, everything will be easier (or at least you'll know what is going on and why).

Garage Works - 8/11/2025

I've been contemplating what to build next - 

I've been thinking about a board in between No.34 and the KT Dragonfly.

The offcuts from Norm's FD board (and Prayot's blank) are 6" thick.

Gluing these two together will yield a blank that I can get this template onto -

This one will lean more towards displacement (vice planing)

I'll get it glued up this week, and I'll be mowing foam this weekend.

Garage Works - 8/9/2025

These projects were completed yesterday.

This first one is Prayot's PPC M1 wing repair.  The strut bladder gave way.  These higher pressure, exotic material wings need to have thicker bladders - any high stitch or small piece of debris can be a seed for a bladder blow out.

I patch three spots and also armored them with extra layers of Tear Aid.

This is Marlon's Dominator Pro all patched up.  He took it out to Hau Bush this morning and got some good rides.

And this is Mark's wing board now converted to support Foil Drive.  I put windows on the top deck -

And the bottom deck.

And fixed a few dings that looked like they were water infiltration points.

All done!

Next up are Duke's paddle and Marlon's prone foil board.

Foil Drive Dawn Patrol - 8/10/2025

Uhhh - it was bigger today

Same gear

Uhhh - it was BIGGER today.

I was already way outside - but twice a set came through that was pitching lip 300 yards further outside.  I tried in vain to motor further inside - but got picked up and thrown anyways.  Probably the biggest I've ever seen WPB.

These were leash breaker sets - probably 6-8' on the back sides.  I think to catch those and ride them (instead of just being along for the ride), you'd need to tow in with a super small foil (Silk 650) and a jetski.

This was one of the medium sized waves I caught.  The big ones were double this. 

Duke and Prayot were out also -

I had a couple of really big rides and several what would normally be huge rides.  I was pretty much just trying not to get smashed.

After catching one and sharing the ride with Prayot (it was a bigger wave), I looked and my battery was getting low enough that I needed to start heading in.

I took that wave all the way in and just beyond where the shortboard line up was, I was in regular overhead.  The waves were so carveable at this point.  I caught a few and foiled in front of Roland (who was surfing).

10 rides this morning.  Today was definitely not about quantity - if you picked wrong you'd have paid the price.

A couple of the spikes around the 55 minute mark was me trying to motor at full throttle further inside to not get eaten by the white water.

Another EPIC day!!!

W:55/FD:103/PW:19/S:4

Epic Foil Drive Session - 8/9/2025

Well the anticipated big south swell hit and did not disappoint!!!

Prayot, Grant, Duke and I were out here.  From shore all you could see were huge pitching waves.

Medium tide so paddling out was not too bad (and I followed Andrew and Dean pretty closely through their secret channel).

The wind was super light through the dawn patrol.

Back on No.40

And to work with the bigger waves and not get into a critical takeoff situation, the AFS Silk 850/HA40 is on deck.

It took a couple of waves to get used to the different feel of the Silk 850 (compared to the Enduro 900/HA40), but after that it was full throttle!

Prayot was on the SUP he recently acquired (low ball special for a unicorn).  He caught a monster and almost got barreled.

Duke caught a couple of big ones, then got cleaned up by the second biggest set of the day.  Grant and I got his board back to him.

Then the biggest set of the day came through more towards Fenceline - Grant picked off one and was screaming for joy the whole ride!  The wave was closing in on triple overhead -

I got some good sized waves and as the session went on and I got refamiliarized with the Silk 850, I started getting some carves in.  But there were a few that were too big and I was going too fast to do anything but make sure I wasn't getting overtaken by a giant section.

11 waves and a few missed waves by both data sets.

Freaking EPIC!!!

W:55/FD:102/PW:19/S:4

Garage Works - 8/8/2025

And this evening I sanded the fill on the ding on Marlon's new board.  Then I colored in the rails.  And finally I placed the 2 ounce cap sheet.

He can use this tomorrow during the big swell - then after I'll sand it and fair every thing in.  But come morning - everything should be water tight and rideable.

And I also sanded the fill on the ding on Mark's board.  And while I had epoxy mixed and available, I placed a small patch over the sanded ding.

I'll do a light sanding on the windows and the ding repair tomorrow, spray some clear coat and this should be good to go.

Evening Foil Drive Session - 8/8/2025

Today was the first showing of this big south swell.  It was big -

I setup No.41 with the same setup as I have been using but swapped out the Enduro 900/HA40 for the Silk 650/HA38

I wanted to get the mast position dialed in using this foil on No.41 - and initially I felt I needed a bigger day to do this.

Turns out that needing to be on the throttle longer to lift a smaller foil starts to position you in a more critical takeoff position.  Something I've gotten away from since I started Foil Drive-ing.

But I kept trying to take waves - and after three waves and three adjustments, I think I have found the sweet spot.

It was nearly double overhead on the big sets breaking outside.  The problem was there was too much water moving all over the place.  There was plenty of wind - enough to have gone winging comfortably - and that put a lot of chop on the surface.

That in turn made catching waves harder.

Picking the right wave was everything today.

An issue made even more challenging by using a different foil for the first time on a shorter board - factors that individually make for longer takeoffs.

Despite the challenges, I did manage to catch a few notable waves.  And the Silk 650 is tremendously nimble.  It just needs a lot of energy to move it through the water.

.

I think the perfect conditions for the Silk 650 would be a glassy head to head and a half high day, with a lower tide to get the waves running 

By the data sets, I count 12 waves ridden - with multiple attempts that ended up with the waves leaving me behind, or me pulling out of a bottom dropper. 

I need to spend more time on the Silk 650 to get it past the twitchy stage (me, not the foil).

But tomorrow morning, as this swell peaks, I am going to use the Silk 850/HA40 and No.40 to be able to get up onto a rising wave faster so I have the ability to get onto the section where I want to be (and not where I find myself due to the late takeoff).

W:55/FD:101/PW:19/S:4

Evening Foil Drive Session - 8/7/2025

Roland has been talking up Foil Drive-in Pops (when he works in Waikiki or nearby, and doesn't want to plow through traffic, he foils here and he really wanted someone to go out there with him).  I needed to pick La up in Waikiki so BAM!  I hitched a ride to the heart of Waikiki with Roland and we parked in his reserved stall.

 

Same gear that I've been running.  I may switch it up tomorrow (inbound large swell)

The waves were really good.  And after a little weaving through the longboard crowd, you could ride the waves forever -

After about an hour, I saw Roland flip his board over and he started laughing.  He felt some bad vibrations and saw that he lost a prop blade.  I asked if he tightened them before going out - he said he never tightened them ever.

Lots of carving turns - and you can see them in the graph.

12 rides by both data sets.

Fun run today!

W:55/FD:100/PW:19/S:4

Garage Works - 8/6/2025

There are a couple of boards in the garage for repairs.

This is Marlon's brand new Firewire Dominator Pro.  First time out and he duck dives right into a shallow spot at Kewalo's

Easy fix - but it'll take a couple of days.  Here I've already sanded the break down and filled it with milled fibers.

I'll sand, color the rail, and place a fiberglass patch over this area (there are some light superficial scratches at the nose).

And this is Mark's board that Maile is using for a Foil Drive board.

I got asked to put signal windows in place.

And there was a rail ding (that I feel compelled to fix). 

Here is the bottom deck window.

And the top deck window.

I should be done with both of these by Friday.