4'6" Foil Board All Finished

Here is the end product.  I'll get it in the water tomorrow and work to figure out placement for the foil - I'm going to start with the Go Foil Iwa on the 29.5" Mast (which is +3" with the mast track adaptor).

I put the leash plug in the back of the tail (like everyone else is doing).  

The bottom rail is chamfered - just enough to release, but not so much as to drop volume.

I have high hopes for this board, but really the last two days were probably better for this board (more energy in the waves - supposed to drop off a notch as the new decade starts up).

More of the Late Season Tasman Sea Swell - 30 December

La wanted to take some pictures to get more familiar with her DSLR - who am I to debate?!!!  I took out the 4'10" and the Armstrong CF1600.  The swell was big enough that I think I could have tried the CF1200.  There was some wind, but while Marlon and I were out, it wasn't too unruly.  The tide was high at 1.8' - plenty of depth.

I caught five, but there was a weird chop and something going on underneath the surface and it made riding a little challenging this morning.  The last few I did ride for much longer, but yesterday was better riding conditions.


Marlon was catching some of the larger waves on the outside.

Hopefully this swell sticks around for at least a couple more days.  I'll volunteer to help La learn more about her camera settings anytime!

Dawn Patrol - 29 December

I took the kids up to the North Shore way before dawn so they could see the Southern Cross constellation.  We did see it low on the south horizon and we did also see a couple of meteors shoot across the clear sky.  We came back home then I checked the surf report - it said the Tasman Sea swell is here - so off Marlon and I went.

The swell was definitely bigger than yesterday - but everyone got the same report and it was crowded.

I brought the 4'10" and the Armstrong CF1600 in anticipation of the available energy.  I did go over the bolts and tightened everything up a bit.  I was surprised at how much more I could tighten them up.  The waves were chest high on the sets and there was zero wind.  The waves were clean and I managed to pick off five or so.  The first couple I had to get my feet back under me with this foil - I ended up breaching.  Then I got dialed in and had some really long rides.

My last wave I got set up nicely on a long wall that was flirting with breaking - and I ended the ride with a couple of linked, really hard, banked turns - SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Dawn Patrol - Microwaves - 28 December

Hit the dawn patrol solo this morning (good thing - Marlon would have been frustrated at how small it was and the fullness of the tide).

Knee high waves when it did break.  Tide was high at 2.2'.  Wind was negligible.

I used the same setup I had out yesterday and managed to catch six.  The Maliko 200 makes tiny waves ridable and fun.  If I had to use a longboard this morning, I would have been able to catch the same waves I caught, but the ride beyond the pickup would have been drastically different - going straight and just trying to keep up speed instead of gliding and even speeding up by turning.  Definitely had to work for the waves this morning but it was worth it to see what the lower end of possible was.

Friday Afternoon Session - 27 December

We all headed out to the beach again this afternoon.  Waves were almost no existent.  Tide was high at 0.7' (low high - the high high is before dawn - while I'm at work...).  And the wind was light - easterly trades.

The small waves tend to focus everyone to the same takeoff point, so days like this can be a little frustrating - unless you are on a foil (then you can just ride the energy from an unbroken wave).

La and Noe came again - but this time they didn't jump in the water.  That meant Marlon and I had a personal photographer on the beach (thanks La!).

Marlon is light enough still that he can pick off the small ones without bogging down.

I brought out the 5'6" because I figured the waves would be tiny.  And to that effect, I also setup the Maliko 200.  I got lucky with the placement - balanced on the first try.  Paddling this setup, I could feel the drag - but for these conditions, this really was spot on.

This was actually a kick out - I didn't want to run aground.  I got bolder as the session went on - I "nudged" the bottom twice while paddling out, but did ride the waves almost all the way in.

This is an awesome feeling - riding high and flowing with a bump.

Look at the suction the Maliko is drawing down - this foil saved the day!

I ended up catching six waves.  I breached on one - I was trying to stay high up on a glide and pushed it too far.  On my last wave, I was actually able to pump back out - way out.  If there was an incoming wave, I would have had a solid 2 for 1.  I was stoked just to keep the momentum going.  Pumping on the Maliko is much slower than any of the other wings - there is good resistance and once I found a good slow pace, it all just flowed.

This has definitely been a great year learning to foil and gaining a deeper understanding of making the most of the energy moving through waves.

Afternoon Session With Two Special Guests - 26 December

I got home from work and sanded down the epoxy I added on to the 4'6" yesterday.  I still have a few small voids to fill, but after that I should be able to knock out the remaining sanding.  I should be able to get the board wet after this weekend.

After the sanding work, I told Marlon I'd take him surfing.  He actually went this morning - so with the evening session, he had a double-dip.

While we were loading up, La and Noe said they wanted to go as well. What a rare event!!!  Noe caught a few.

And La got a couple of good ones!

I brought the longboard as the tide was low (I hate it when I hit bottom).  So I was goofy foot training again.

With the offshore breeze (another rarity) - the smaller waves were easier to catch taking off goofy - so much fun (not quite as much as foiling - but it has certainly made surfing fresh again)!

Stormy Christmas Sanding

Christmas Day here was really wet and windy.  So much so that I didn't even think of paddling out.  Instead, between cooking, eating and hanging out, I got the 4'6" sanded down with 40 grit.

After the sanding, I used the hole saw and cut out the hole for the deep leash cup and got that epoxied in place.  And I even squeezed filling in the remaining voids.

There are points where "good enough" should suffice - unfortunately my OCD won't let me get off the train at that stop.

Squeezing it in - Fill Coats

I had to work today, but before I left I got the laps on the bottom ground down and the fill coat brushed on.  Here is the board before I ground the laps down.

So nice - it really reminds me of the interstellar object 'Oumuamua that flew through the solar system a couple of years ago -

And here is the board with the laps across the bottom deck all ground down.

The fill coat got to harden while I was at work.

And I got home, ate dinner, then applied the fill coat to the bottom deck.  It was mostly dark so we didn't take pictures, but I'll take a few pictures of the board tomorrow before I start to sand down the fill coat.

Laminated the 4'6"

Got both the top and bottom done today.  Marlon as usual was a great help keeping the epoxy resin flowing.  Getting a nice lamination is all in the preparation.

And for some reason, I do a lot better using rollers.  I've nearly eliminated drips on to the floor and minimized waste (since we mix the epoxy in small batches as needed).

Bottom laminated on first.  4.7oz carbon underneath 6.0oz fiberglass (E).  Bottom lam also takes longer because of the fin boxes.  Ran some errands and went to work for a bit - and came home to the bottom lam all set up.  You can afford to be a little sloppy with the bottom lam since you can cover it with the top lam.  I went ahead and grinded down the laps, and got the top lamination ready to go.

And here is the top lam almost all wetted out and in place.  DAMN THIS LOOKS NICE!!!

It doesn't hurt that this board is super short also.  I'll grind down the laps tomorrow and get the fill coat on.  At this rate, I might be able to get the board wet by Christmas Day.

Track Slots Cut

I cut the slots for the Futures 10.75" boxes today.

Perfect alignment!  Measure three times, cut once.  If I start tomorrow afternoon, I should have the bottom and top laminated and the fill coat on by the end of the weekend.