Getting Really Close

I've been working on the boards over this past week.  I got the fill coats on the top and bottom on Monday and Tuesday.  I sanded the fill with 40 grit yesterday evening.  And this afternoon I cleaned up the track openings and drilled the holes for the vents and leash plugs.

 

I'll get the plugs epoxied in tomorrow, and sand the boards with 80, 120 and 220 - just a quick hit with each to clean up the scratches.  I am contemplating spraying a top coat of urethane over the boards just to fill in any small voids and even out the top.  So the boards may be ready to get wet this weekend, but our schedule is full so I probably won't get them in the water yet.  I will also look around at a rear foot pad for these (maybe, still thinking about it.  Wax is just fine, but the right pad would make the boards cooler).

Here's One of the Other Things

Here's the Pirate Sign I fixed -

Aaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhh

Lamination Done

This afternoon Marlon and I got the track boxes set, carbon patch applied and last bottom cap sheet all laminated up on both of the prone foilboards. 

This is the 5'6"

And this is the 5'2"

Here are the close ups of the labels:

I got the bottom fill coat on since the evening was still young (and that's one less thing to do tomorrow).

Now just a fill coat on top (if I wake up super early, I could possibly knock this out before going to work - or maybe not - sleep is a wonderful thing), drill out a couple of holes for the vent and leash plugs, and some light sanding and these boards just need some cure time.  Should be wet this weekend!!!

First Outing with the New Starboard

I was feeling a little better this afternoon (I have been fighting a cold/flu) so I took Marlon out surfing.  I brought the new Starboard to get a sense of how it works.  Marlon caught a bunch of waves.

I took the board out to the western part of the beach. I could paddle it but it is way less stable than I thought it would be - but by the end of the session I felt a little better on it.  There is freeboard (at 106L it is more than capable of floating my 88L butt) but I started out trying to paddle standing up - big mistake - this is the smallest SUP board I've ever paddled by a long shot.  The sweet spot is super small - any deviation from it and you go over.  I decided to catch a few waves prone and then standing up (but managing a paddle in between) - the board surfs really well.  Then I tried catching a wave from my knees - and tried again.  Correlating the SUP Foilers I've seen on tiny boards with what I experienced today, I am convinced the foil hanging off the board provides the stability of a giant keel.  I originally planned to get proficient at SUPing this board first before trying out the other aspects, but now I'm thinking I need to jump straight to SUP foiling it to confirm the added stability.  If I'm wrong there, I'm going to need to diet and start running again to lose 20 pounds.... Time to get the foil on the board.... It is good to be a newbie again

Other Things

Today is Sunday - and I didn't touch the boards.  Instead I did a bunch of other things - put the new Starboard Hypernut together, stripped off the old grips on two of my SUP paddles and replaced them with a modern version, setup a new windsurfing boom, made two foam protectors for the windsurfing masts, and cleaned up a lot of the storage boxes in the garage (getting rid of old stuff primarily). 

I also swapped out the center fin on the TJ Everyday, charged up the Scrambler battery, fixed my pirate "welcome" sign, packed up a hydrofoil kit for Charlie Bisgard, and even went surfing (next post) - all to avoid more glassing.  Despite my aversion, I really do like glassing with the rollers - more on that later.

Saturday Progress on the Foil Boards

Here's a couple of pictures of the top deck laminate. 

I ended up grinding down the laps, taping up the track boxes, and cutting out the carbon fiber patches.  I'm still stalling on setting the boxes and finishing the laminates.  I'll try again Monday afternoon.

Back at it - Top Laminate on

I had to work today - long hours and after that Marlon and I went to pick up the new board and foil.  After all that, we did get home in time to get more work done on the foil boards (even more important now that there is another foil in the house).  First off - I actually placed another coat of spackle to fill in a few dings I placed in the blanks while getting the reinforcement blocks installed - I had done that a few nights ago, and only now got around to sanding the new bumps down.

Then the real progress - I got the top laminates on both boards.  I used a 4/5ths coverage of 4 ounce glass and a full length of 6 ounce glass.  Used more epoxy than I thought I would need (but didn't weight the cloth either - too lazy to reset it after I laid it down and cut it to size - probably 13 ounces on each board).

I'll post a picture of the finished product tomorrow - I still have to pull a shift at work, but I plan on grinding down the laps, correcting any air bubbles (I just went out to check on the boards and I saw a few offgas pockets) and then getting the boxes mounted, box patch and final bottom laminate all placed on.  Should be a few hours of work in the garage.  After tomorrow, I'll only have to drill a couple of holes - one for the leash plug and the other for a vent plug (OFFGASSING BLANKS... sometimes I wonder why I even bother with EPS blanks), install said plugs and brush on a fill coat on the top deck (let cure) and a fill coat on the bottom deck.  These boards will be wet for sure next weekend (I'll be good and let them cure a bit in my autoclave of a garage before taking them out).

The Dawn of a New Era

Behold!!!  The start of something total new and radical beyond all that was radical before -

In case you can't tell, that is a 2019 Starboard Hypernut 7'4" 4in1 board and a GoFoil Tri foil set (Nalu-Kai-Iwa front foils, Kai-Iwa rear wings and 29.5" mast) - I decided I need to reset my foiling attempts.  The best I can tell from the research I've done - this is the foil to ride right now.  The technology has started to settle and performance-price-durability wise this series is coming out on top.  As I get used to riding this foil, I can then compare it to the one I made and see what improvements can be done.  

Regarding the board - this is the smallest SUP I've owned - and after a few quick sessions SUP surfing it, I will stick the foil on and SUP foil it and then add a windsurf rig to it and begin learning to Windsurf Wave Foil - this could actually be the end of kiting for me if this new equipment pans out the way I'm expecting it to... stay tuned. 

Solo Sailing

Marlon sailed a Rhodes single handed this evening.

Noe sailed a Laser single handed this evening.

These kids are awesome!

Routing the 5'6" and Repeating on the 5'2"

I got home and routed the mast track slots into the 5'6".  I had to make some adjustments to the router and I managed to muck up the starboard slot (AGAIN - did the same thing to the lightwind kite board - why can't I get this right???  Wait a minute - I'm covering the whole thing with carbon fiber so - IT DOESN'T MATTER).

I also noticed the manhandling of the board to get the reinforcement blocks in place kinda trashed the top deck (the pipe ends got smashed into the top deck).  I went ahead and added some spackle - which I'll sand tomorrow afternoon before I set the boxes in and finish glassing the bottom deck.

After that work, I felt compelled to get the 5'2" caught up (and apply lessons learned to make myself feel better).  This board went smoothly (since I knew what pitfalls to look out for).

The rollers I picked up from Fiberglass Hawaii are awesome!  There has been no drips, runs or other general application issues.  I am probably jinxing myself, but I see the remainder of this glassing going smoothly (I just need to pick up some more rollers so I don't run out).

5'6" Setup for First Bottom Laminate and the Reinforcement Blocks

I got the first board setup for glassing.  Block gets set in first, immediately followed by the first bottom deck layer of glass (4oz).  I'm not doing the epoxy tonight - ran out of daylight.

This part is oddly satisfying and extremely frustrating at the same time - it is awesome when the glass lies flat.  It will drive you crazy if the glass lifts for absolutely no reason...

I trimmed up the labels also.  These are going to be fun on the board - hopefully keeping them under just the outer layer of glass will keep the clarity of the print.

Next steps after this is glassed, is to rout out the box slots, set those in place, slap on the labels and get a top layer of glass on (6oz).  Then flip and get a double layer of glass on.  Even after all that, there is still drilling a hole for the leash plug and a vent.  Did I mention I hate glassing...

More Hydrofoil Parts

And since I was at it - I made the last couple of parts needed to get the next couple of foils done - a fuselage for the second surf foil and a rear wing for the kiting foil. 

Not bad if I do say so myself -

Router in Use

Despite my lack of motivation, I did move the foilboards forward - I routed out the voids for the divynicell reinforcement blocks.  Lots of foam snowing around -

As you can see, I got the voids cut into both of the blanks.  I fitted the divynicell blocks into the holes - I'll likely sand them down just a bit to make room for the carbon fiber and fiberglass that will go around the blocks.  I actually had other errands to run today, so I couldn't get the glass on.  I'll try for tomorrow evening after I get back from work - at least the bottoms and the blocks glassed.

Glassing Rack

Here's a picture of the PVC glassing racks. 

Still haven't used them... glassing sucks.

Getting a Slow Start

My predictions of having the foil boards glassed by this weekend were flat out wrong.  I didn't even touch this project over the past week.  Instead I did carve out two wider front wings and three masts for a foil kit I'm mailing out (this one is yours Charlie), and a second surfing foil that will have bolt on wings.

I finished sanding these parts this afternoon.

In my defense, I did switch jobs recently and have been moving offices and getting acclimated to my new work environment.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.  I did manage to switch out the router bit on the big router - so tomorrow morning I can route out the reinforcement block voids.  I also cut out some carbon fiber to drop in the voids of one of the boards (need to dig out the other carbon sheets I have), and added the glassing rack uprights to my shaping racks - I'll post pictures of these tomorrow as I'm glassing (YES I AM GOING TO FINALLY START GLASSING THESE BOARDS).  Should be a full day tomorrow...

Fifth Time Out on the Foil

Dawn patrol this morning - the waves were on the small side, but at least there were waves (it's mid November and the North swells are definitely in play now).  I took the foil out again.  I am getting up easier now and riding straight for a little longer - but I still usually get bucked off the board if my weight shifts.  Knowing the foil lifts is reassuring, but I'm still planning on building another with a wider front wing (which is removable to facilitate experimentation).  This first one can support Marlon surf foiling and my future windsurf wave foiling ambitions. 

I ended up riding about five waves on the foil - but the longest ride was only a couple of seconds (longest one to date).  Marlon brought the longboard and he caught his fill.   Fun morning!

Final Sanding Finished

I got the final sanding finished on the two blanks this afternoon.  I knocked off the spackle high points using 180 screen and did a second pass with 400 screen.  

After the sanding, I measured out the center point of where the mast will mount, and lined up the reinforcement blocks.  I'll route these holes out in the next day or so and get these glassed in (fiberglass underlayment, epoxy slurry fill, mounted flush to the bottom deck).

I want to get these done, but my massive aversion to glassing is forcing me to find all kinds of reasons not to glass - repotting plants in preparation for an upcoming plant sale, cleaning the garage, picking weeds from the landscaping, running errands - and many more.  That said, I believe a purpose built foil board will help shorten the learning curve so that is what is making me take the necessary steps towards getting these boards finished.