Dawn Patrol - 10/31/2020

Marlon and I hit the dawn patrol.  The swell dropped from yesterday - every thing was waist or under.  The light wind was from the North - made it feel like winter in Hawaii.  The tide was dropping from a high of 2.0' - probably around 1.3' while we were out.

I bolted on the HS1250 and set the mast forward of the last setting where I had the HS1850.  My first wave seemed underpowered and I had to pump to keep up.  I took the next one in and pushed it up another cm - totally balanced it out.  From that point, I was gliding down the line, able to crank sharp turns and even pump back out to catch 2 for 1s.

With the smaller surf, the crowd was pretty dense - I got my fill and headed back home.  I'll keep the HS1250 on for prone - if it can make surf this small this fun, I think it is going be fantastic on bigger stuff.

Evening Session - 10/30/2020

I pulled a solo evening session yesterday.  It was a long week at work and I wanted to rinse it off.  The wind was light from the west, but it glassed off as time went on.  There were waves - mostly belly high, but clean and really fun.  

I brought the same setup from the last few sessions - skinny 4'10", GL180 and the No.9 rear stabilizer.  The only issue was the crowd.  When the swell is this small, the takeoff spots shrink and everybody piles up on each other.  I still caught some really good ones!

Evening Session - 10/28/2020

I checked the forecast while I was at work and it said the waves were chest high.  I bolted home, picked up Marlon and headed out to WPB.

It was NOT chest high.  More like chest LIE!   Belly high on the rare sets - mostly waist.  It was relatively calm wind wise, and the tide was high.  Lucky I brought the skinny 4'10" with the GL180 and No.9 - same setup as last time.

I looked over several times and got to see Marlon riding plenty of waves.  I caught some really good ones - one I got I was just doing turns back and forth.  On another I rode the wave backside for a long while, pumped off the back, did a huge circle, picked up another wave and almost repeated (but my right quadricep started to burn so I pulled off).  No.9 seems to be a winner!!!

Since the waves were smaller and less consistent, the takeoff lanes were crowded.  And there were a bunch of wave hogs - so unfortunately I left feeling less stoked and more upset.  I hate it when I get like that.  There were also a bunch of teens who were riding without leashes... pretty selfish and it'll be unfortunate if someone gets hurt.  Ughhhhh - going to the beach is supposed to make me feel better.

Dawn Patrol - 10/25/2020

Marlon and I hit the dawn patrol this morning.  I stopped and talked making tail wings with the crew and waited for the sunrise (which was awesome).  Waist high swell, zero wind and a rising tide - perfect foiling conditions.

Same setup as yesterday - skinny 4'10", GL180 and No.9 Rear Stab.  Super fun even though the crowd kept getting thicker and as the tide rose the waves got smaller. 

I got some long rides, but relatively speaking since the waves broke further in.  Marlon got a couple of cheater fives and plenty of other rides.  

Good dawn patrol!

Dawn Patrol - 10/24/2020

Went on a solo dawn patrol this morning.  Waves were a hair bigger than yesterday - call it waist high.  Wind was mostly down bit still a southerly flow.  Tide was a flood - probably 1.0' while I was out from 7 to 8:30.

I brought out the same setup as yesterday, but put No.9 back on.  With the extra surface area, I was gliding more and only strategically pumping.  Turns were good, but I wasn't pulling them all the way through (cutback style).  Not sure if it was the rear stabilizer shoulders, width, the rider, or the conditions - need to conduct more testing.  I caught several and most were all the way to the beach.  A lot of wall area on the wave faces so I was adequately powered up this morning.  I'll use this again tomorrow morning.

Evening Session - 10/23/2020

Marlon and I hit WPB after I got back from work.  I didn't trust the forecast regarding the wave height - so I put the GL180 back on the skinny 4'10".  This is the GL140 still on the board.  I kept the No.5 rear stabilizer on to limit the variables (this of course is still R&D).

It was the right call as the waves were on the small side.  There was also a land breeze so there was some chop.  And the tide was pretty low at 0.6' (I was constantly paddling the foil upside down to make sure I didn't hit bottom).  Marlon was catching several - with a few really long ones.

My runs were on the shorter side - 300'+ and I was just over 10mph.  I felt that the 15" rear stab wasn't working in my favor for the conditions (duh).  Still - a great way to start the weekend!

Evening Session - 10/22/2020

The surf report said a new south pulse was supposed to arrive.  I switched out the GL180 for the GL140 and kept the No.5 rear stabilizer bolted on.  Marlon also placed the side bites onto his longboard.

Well - the swell seemed like it was smaller than yesterday.  I was able to catch a few and Marlon had a bunch - but it was challenging.

With the 15" sloped shoulder rear stabilizer on, I could feel the slight additional lift from the tail - but with the conditions, it was harder to really get an idea of top end performance.  Hopefully this swell shows up soon....

Evening Session - 10/21/2020

La, Noe, Marlon and I all hit the beach yesterday evening.  The tide was really low so I brought out a surfboard.  Not just any surfboard - but the Viking!

The swell was small - much smaller than it has been - but strategic positioning and patience paid off (especially for Marlon).

What I've been reading online is if you foil too much, your surfing begins to suck.  Well - my goofy foot surfing sucks as much as it always has - and my regular surfing also sucks as much as it normally does (it doesn't suck).

Thanks to La and Noe for taking pictures!  

Evening Session - 10/19/2020

Marlon and I hit WPB in the early evening yesterday. It was raining and the wind was down - but it was still choppy from all the south winds from earlier in the day.  The rain clouds also took away all the light contrast between standing wave faces and the flats - super hard conditions to surf in.  We went anyways - I really wanted to try out another rear stabilizer.  

No. 5 was the test subject for the day.  I had the skinny 4'10" and the GL180 to round out the rest of the setup.  Without conducting a back to back, this 15" swept shoulder form made for smoother turning compared to No.9 - that said, I should switch to the 15" fuller shouldered "crepe spatula" tail next.  I did breach a few times - but I'm attributing that to the chop more than the surface area of this stabilizer.

I didn't even see Marlon - he was surfing in the pack, while I was further over in front of the cedar cabins (less people).  

Batch No. 2 All Pau

 I finished the fine sanding, tuning, labeling and sealing yesterday on all six variants in Batch No. 2

I also made a second trip out to WPB to test out #9 (widest of the Crepe Spatula models).  I bolted it on to the skinny 4'10" with the GL180.  The onshore wind was worse than during the dawn patrol session.

I was only out for 45 minutes.  My first three waves were recalibration waves, but after those I got my footing back for riding the different setup.  I could feel the give that the G10 has compared to all the carbon fiber tails I've been using.  #9 did seem a little stiffer than #2, but that was also between the GL180 and the GL140.  Both were more maneuverable than any of the stock pedestal tails I've used before.  More testing is needed before I can say this with certainty - but I can feel the difference now (surfing for 30 years on multiple fins made of different materials, you can tell).

Dawn Patrol - 10/18/2020

Marlon and went on the dawn patrol on Sunday morning.  The swell was a hair bigger than Saturday, but there was an on shore wind and that made for some choppy conditions.  The tide was super high so I didn't worry much about touching bottom.

The crowd wasn't too bad.  I had several really fun rides and Marlon and I were home before La woke up.

I felt that I should have bolted on the HS1550.... maybe next time.  I'll label the existing position so I can replicate it when I use the HS1850/232 combo again.

Fine Sanding Batch No.2 Done

After foiling this morning, I spent a few hours dialing in the final shapes on the Batch No.2 rear stabilizers.  Lots of work on the lower grits (60-120-180) - but it definitely paid off.  The sanding went quick on the 220-320 passes, and the end products were super nice.

I got the centerlines marked and the pilot hole locations marked (no picture though).  Tomorrow morning after surfing, I'll drill the pilot holes, drill the screw holes, cut out the countersink, fine tune the fitment, label and coat with clear enamel.  Part of the reason I am working on these is to try to sell some - but I want to see the difference between the shapes from Batch No. 1 and the "Crepe Spatula" in Batch No. 2.  I also want to try a 15" paired with the GL180 - the experience I had with the KD tail and the HS1850 made it clear to me that the rear stab is as critical to the overall performance of a foil setup as the main wing is.  The flex offered by the G10 is worth the little extra weight over the standard Go Foil carbon fiber rear stabs.  I'm going to have to figure out how to make a mount so I can use these on the Armstrong (although their rear stabs are pretty good to begin with - I don't think I'll see the huge difference in performance I got with No. 2 and the GL140).

Dawn Patrol - 10/17/2020

I did a solo dawn patrol this morning.  I primarily went so I could return Kalani's FFB to him.  He gave me a case of beer and some cash and I gave him a board with a substantially stronger foil box setup.  He's a strong dude, so hopefully the repair lasts...  

Anyways - I brought out the same setup from the past few sessions - the wide 4'10" + HS1850 +232 rear stab.  Did not disappoint (but it did take 3 waves to get my footing... weird since I haven't changed boards/foils).  I caught a bunch and watched Kalani catch even more (and really put the board through its paces - including busting a big air).  I ended up staying out over three hours - mostly because I wanted to catch a long wave, but the waves weren't breaking on the outside because of the higher tide (and the ones I did catch I botched the takeoffs....).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eczhvRdtJ34

Cut and paste the above URL and in the middle of the video, you'll see my last wave of the day (courtesy of Foil Fever) - lots of gliding and a sweet cutback!

Rear Stabs Rough Sanding All Pau

I came home from work pretty tired, so I asked Marlon if it was ok if we passed on surfing this afternoon - he said it was ok (the weather was rainy with on-shore winds, and he needed to work on some math anyways - and I told him we'd go on the dawn patrol tomorrow).  

After a little rest, I broke out the bench sander again.  

I got the last three stabs rough shaped, then I did a second pass on all six to get them close.

I'll start the fine sanding tomorrow.

Evening Session - 10/15/2020

Marlon and I got in an evening session after his classes were over.  The chest-belly high sets came through in 20 minute intervals - and the crowd over by the two cabins was not bad.  I caught seven long waves before the sun went down - 300' being the average.  I was using the wide 4'10" and the HS1850/232.

This setup felt well balanced - time to mark the positioning.

It is getting darker earlier... 

Grinding Rear Stabs Batch 2

Started foiling the Batch No.2 rear stabilizers.  Got three of the six through rough sanding.

Sometime in the next couple of days, I'll grind out the remaining three, then jump over to fine sanding.  Over the weekend I should be able to get the mounting holes drilled and countersunk, everything labeled and finish it all off with a scant clear coat.  Looking forward to using one of the 15"+ stabs to balance out the GL180.

Evening Session - 10/13/2020

The swell from Monday was still pumping through this afternoon - chest high on the sets.  The tide was dropping by the time we got out.  The biggest difference from yesterday was the wind - light breeze was enough to put texture on the surface but it wasn't so choppy that I would breach a lot.

I moved the foil forward again.  I caught three waves- felt like I was wrestling with the foil, so I went in mid session to grab a screwdriver - I ended up pulling the foil back.  From this point forward, this setting is perfect!  My watch said I got a 720' ride and got up to 12.1 mph.  

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Again - pretty amazing what a quarter inch can do for foiling - so this the magic setting for the HS1850 and 232 tail.

More Garage Works

I cut out the second batch of tail wings - rough cut with the jigsaw.  I'll use the belt sander to dial them in, the grind the foil fore-aft the wing tip to wing tip.

I also finished up the mast track repair job.  Looks pretty good if I do say so myself.

Fun in the garage!

Solo Morning Session - 10/12/2020

I had the day off so I went foiling.  I didn't hit the dawn patrol because it was rainy and windy.  I got some sanding done on the board I was repairing, but the rain and wind died back around 8:30 - at which point I headed out.  Marlon was doing some volunteer work so I pulled a solo session. 

It was glassy and about shoulder high. The tide was rising so I wasn't too worried about hitting the bottom.  I brought the wide 4'10", with the HS1850/232.  I did move the foil up again - it felt better, but it wasn't quite automatic yet.  It is incredible how much the rear stabilizer influences the whole setup.

I caught some epic rides - my watch said my longest was 674' and I got a max speed of 15.3mph.  I stayed out for over two hours because it was so good - one of my better sessions.

Noe and La Breaking in the Laser

We towed the Laser we got so Noe could race out the Hickam.  The truck was full - SUP for La, windsurfing gear for Marlon, the Laser for Noe and the winging setup for me.

The wind had too much North in it for Marlon and I to go out, plus PYC was running a class and there were several boats out.  Decided to sit this one out.

These two had a blast!