Dawn Patrol - 10/31/2021

And this morning's dawn patrol saw bunches of surfers coming out in their Halloween costumes.   Molokai was visible on the horizon again.  Marlon came this morning as well!

Waves were smaller.  Still ridable, but half the size of yesterday.  The air temperature was warmer than yseterday - but still really nice.

And to keep the variables isolated, the only change I made was in the rear stabilizer - I used one of the stabilizers I recently reshaped (super thin thickness/camber).

The rides were even better than yesterday - 3 for 1s, with carving turns and 360s in between.  This setup is really incredible!!!  Nearly effortless compared to most other foil systems (sorry Armstrong - Takuma is light years ahead - thank you for turning down my warranty claim!  That singular action set a chain reaction off and all I see now ahead of me is progression where before I was beholden to the unknown release dates of piecemeal foils - I'm free from brand loyalty and am only chasing down the best that all brands have to offer.  Only one way to go from here!!!!

More Tweaking Stuff

I got the Takuma Fuselage Adapter for the 2021 fuselage yesterday in the mail. When everything settled down, I grabbed the Project Cedrus Mast and the fuselage from the 85cm Takuma mast, and set out to get the fitment worked out.

I removed the tape shims - this adapter was a perfect tight fit.  And while I was at it, I went ahead and added Tefgel to the other screws on this mast.

Here it is all set up.  I did not plan on taking it out on the dawn patrol for Sunday because the tide was going to be rather low at 0.6'.  This mast measures out to be 81cm - just under 32 inches.  A little tall for prone, but also a little short for winging.

I'm supposed to be getting the Axis screw set in the mail in the next couple of days.  I plan on setting up the Axis ART999 on the Crazy Short Fuselage with the 400 Progressive rear stabilizer.  

And since I was working on different things, I went ahead and sanded out the tips on this Takuma Kujira 200 rear stabilizer where it had touched reef earlier.  Smoothed out without an issues.

Dawn Patrol - 10/30/2021

No real wind in the forecast, so I opted for a prone foiling dawn patrol.

Molokai was pretty visible this morning.

No wind for sure.  Rising tide and a fading swell.  Fading so much that the waves seemed to be getting smaller with each passing minute.

I did bring the Takuma Kujira 1210 out on the 75cm Takuma aluminum mast.  I caught my first wave and just cruised - there is so much glide in this foil.  I pulled back on the ride just to make sure the mast was positioned correctly - I think I nailed it because every wave I rode after that first one I kept pushing the foil harder and harder.  This thing carves with the best of them.  It glides like the HA wings but has none of the high stall speed issues.  And by the end of the session, I had pulled 3 for 1s without getting winded, carved 360s, and made my way to the beach making infinity turns.

In a nutshell, this is the best foil I have ever prone foil surfed on.  Oddly enough it is also the least expensive one I've bought.  I should be getting the Project Cedrus adapter in the mail today.  The forecast is also calling for pretty minimal energy coming up from the south - just my luck ;)

Tweaking New Gear

I spent yesterday afternoon working on stuff that has piled up on me and also tweaking some new stuff.  I helped Marlon fix a ding in one of his boards.  Then I sealed up the trailing edge of the HS1532CS (that I sold - the customer wanted it sealed up a bit more).  Then I got to the good stuff.

Having sold the Ensis 6.0 and 5.2, I had been looking for a replacement wing.  It needed to be powerful, not have any windows, be lighter, have handles and have the range of both of the Ensis.  That is a lot to ask of one wing - but here it is - the Ocean Rodeo Glide 5.0 in A (full Aluula) Series.

This is actually the second one - the first came in earlier this week, but when I ran it through the pressure test, the boom would not hold air.  For as much as this thing cost, I went ahead and asked for an exchange - I got that yesterday.  This one held pressure (and it is still inflated in the living room).

I am really excited to put this wing to the test.  I know it will not have the get up and go grunt that the Ensis does, but what is a few more pumps to gain a wider range, almost no weight, and an ultra stiff frame that translates much more power (instead of losing it to flex and deformation).

With this wing, I have the goal of only having three wings - 5.0, 4.2 and a 3.6.  Those ranges (hopefully) will go from 12-25, 18-30, 25-??? respectively.

Now we just need the trades to come back (still a week away).

I also shimmed up the Takuma Kujira 75cm aluminum mast.  I got this mast from Jeff along with the Kujira 1210 so I can prone foil the Kujiras (as I'm still waiting for the Project Cedrus 2021 Takuma adapter). 

Shimming the Takuma is pretty important.  If you don't the load is only on the bolts and any vibrations the rig endures will start to loosen the bolts.  For all the complaints I see on the web, I would say nearly all of them are a direct result of not shimming the parts that get joined together (fuselage where the front foil meets; fuselage where the mast slips in).

I can't wait to try this foil out!!!

Evening Session - 10/27/2021

I pulled an evening session yesterday.  GL180 on the 4'8" - pretty much what I've been using while prone foiling for a while now.

I caught several fun ones - long pumping and gliding on the waves.  The tide was low, but there was a bump in the swell height, so I was able to stay on the outside (to avoid grounding the foil).

Roland was out - the whole time we were just talking about how we wished there was wind so we could go winging.

Wing Foiling Session - 10/25/2021

Today the wind seemed a little bit more consistent compared to yesterday.  It was forecasted to be this way, so I had packed my gear in the truck and was prepared for the after work session at Hickam.  The tide was rather low this afternoon, so I opted to wing at Hickam to avoid the inevitable grounding that would have happened at WPB.  I wanted to continue exploring what the PNL185 was about on the wing, so back on it went.

There were whitecaps on the water as I pulled up around 3:30pm.  I went ahead and pumped up the largest wing I currently own - the Ensis 4.5 (which not too long ago was my smallest wing).  With the PNL185, I was cruising in no time.  I really love the glide this front foil provides.  The lift also comes on very gradually - I never feel like I'm going to get bucked off (at least while winging - of which this is only the second time I've had it out for winging).  I was able to get out to Firsts without even touching down.  I picked up a few waves and made several transitions.  The glide through tacks really makes staying up on foil very easy, and I've breached the leeward tip of the foil on several jibes - with zero issues.  This foil is so user friendly!  If you are a Go Foil basher - you absolutely do not know what you are missing.

The wind felt fairly strong, so I made a beeline in and pumped up the demo Reedin 4.2 the Jeff has loaned me.  I really wanted to see the difference in usability and power - the best way being a back-to-back comparison in as close conditions as possible.

By the time I was back in the water, the wind had already dropped a notch.  I was already committed so I just kept going.  This was totally surprising to me that I not only was I on a 4.2 in as light winds as was present, but that I was actually moving pretty quick and efficiently.  I would not credit it all to the 4.2 - the PNL185 really is a great front foil - just pumping it through the lulls was enough to save me from a long and grueling schlogg back to the launch.

I did ride several more waves with the Reedin.  I wanted to see if the twisting at the front handle while luffing was still a factor.  It wasn't - and I'm thinking now that it was the shear magnitude of the winds and the steep offshore angle that I was having to contend with that produced the twisting.

In the above picture you can see the leading edge continuous curve on the Reedin.  You can also see the span is pretty comparable.

The most notable difference from this angle is the wingtips - flared out more on the Ensis and pulled back on the Reedin.

I had also brought my 3.6 so I could compare it to the 4.2

You can see the depth of the chord is shorter on the 3.6 (as one would expect).

And here they are deflated one on top of the other.

It is amazing that this much material would make that much of a difference in controllability and power that a wing has.

I'd say the Ensis 4.5 and the Reedin 4.2 are good for wind speeds from 20 to 30(+)mph.  In my earlier days, I would have said this is the range of the 5.2.  With time on the water and knowledge/experience on getting the foils to lift, you can totally size down on your wings.

And so ends this really long run of great wind that we've been blessed with.  For at least the next week, the winds will be super light... time to start prone foiling again!

Wing Foiling Session - 10/23/2021

Tim wanted to pick up his board (bought from Phil) today, and I also sold him my Ensis 6.0 and 5.2 (gotta have wings to wing foil right?).  As an incentive to buy my wings, I offered to give lessons - so today I gave a lesson.  Knowing that I would not be going out to firsts, and also knowing that I would be moving ownership of these two beloved wings, I opted to setup the Go Foil PNL185 for the first time for winging in hopes that its glide would let me use the Ensis 4.5 wing.

There was actually a lot of wind and I was able to use the 4.5 without any trouble at all.  There was a lot of north in the wind today - draw a perpendicular to the tracks below, and you'll see the wind was largely coming from 045.

The PNL 185 was a ton of fun!  I did not get overpowered when pushed hard, and it carried a ton of momentum pushing through the lulls and alleys.

And in between running back and forth, checking on Tim and trying to keep upwind, I did try out Ken's new Chinese designed 6.0 wing.  It was bleeding out power through a really loose leech.  Also the handles were really hard to use (especially when compared to the Ensis handles.  After I gave Ken's wing back to him, I tried out Tim's board to see if it was the board causing him to not be able to get to his knees and try to get up on foil.  I grabbed the 5.2 (for the final time) and took off on Tim's board (equipped with the HS1850/full 300/72cm mast/60cm fuselage).  I was up and going without any issue (sorry Tim - it is you and not the board).

So a lot of testing out different configs today - that is what caused all the black space in the speed graph below.

Today's runs confirmed that given the right conditions, you can ride a smaller wing and a smaller foil as long as you are efficient at using the front foil and the wing.  I feel that where I'm at now, I would not need to use the 6.0 anymore, and I could get a more efficient wing to also replace the 5.2

I'm going to miss the Ensis 5.2 and 6.0 - Tim got a great deal and a couple of wings that will serve him well through the learning curve and into his first wave rides.  But what I'm getting to replace them is next level... stay tuned!!!

Wing Foiling Session - 10/22/2021

 I hit WPB this afternoon and wing foiled with Roland.  I got there late so the white caps that were blowing through earlier had already started to fade - I should have pumped up the Ensis 6.0, but I used the 5.2.  The tide was on the low side - so I opted to use the Go Foil NL160.  Marlon came out, but only spent the time flying his drone and did not surf.

The wind was a little funny.  I'd be going along and then attempt a jibe to get onto a wave - the wing would backwind and I'd wipeout.  On the chart below you can see the swing more north in the late afternoon, as well as the drop in strength.  I could have used the extra power in the 6.0 for more than half of the session - but I like the handling of the smaller wing(s).  I just ordered an Ocean Rodeo Glide in full Aluula - the 5.0 is supposed to be as powerful as a 6.0, but handles as well as a 4.0!!!

I was out from 4:30 to almost 6pm.  Had somethings I needed to take care of at work.  I definitely missed the stronger winds - Roland was out on his Ensis Score 4.0.  He is getting really good with his foil and wing efficiency (he can ride a much smaller wing in a given wind strength).

Roland was on fire today!  Marlon took video of him blasting jumps almost back to back.

The board I'm currently using does not have foot strap inserts, so no jumping for me.  I should fix the NWFB soon, or glass the new board...

 

Even though the wind was on the light side, this was a really fun session.  Thanks to the drone cinematographer - Marlon!

Marlon's Version of Winging

I did take the repaired wing to the beach to get it back to Roland.  Marlon came along to fly his drone.  The truck has become a drone flight deck!

And these are some of the pictures Marlon took through the drone.

And this is my launch/landing point.

Fixing Roland's Wing

La was in a sewing mood yesterday - so I passed on a prone foiling session to help fix Roland's 4.5 wing.  Here is the rip all taped up.

Knocking it out!

And here it is all done!

Evening Session - 10/19/2021

The swell was supposed ot be a little bigger and the tide more favorable for foiling - so I hit the beach after work.  Same setup as yesterday.  Roland was out winging on his 4.5m2  I don't think I could have used the 6.0 and did what he was doing.

I ended up adjusting the mast to better accommodate the new rear stabilizer - I noticed with the bigger waves, I needed to get this mast further forward to balance it out.

I caught some nice really long rides - super fun conditions!  Today was the first day I could tell the seasons are changing - a little cooler and the water had a different hue to it.  Plus the sun is starting to set much earlier.

I will try wearing a knee brace next time.  That way I can pump harder.

Evening Session - 10/18/2021

After my nap and time spent at the grinding bench, I put together the 4'8" and headed to the beach.  I opted for the GL180 and the newly completed "Crepe Spatula" 15" rear stabilizer.

The swell was waist high, the tide was probably 1.5' and the wind was on the light side.  Roland was just coming in from a winging session - he said proning was a better call.

I caught four good ones.  After the first one I moved the mast forward to get a bit more lift.  The waves behind that first were really fun - long, lots of carves and got to pump back out.

When I got back in, Roland showed me what his rear stabilizer did to his 4.5m2 wing.  I asked La if she would fix it - she said yes.  Stay tuned to see that!

Finished V2 Rear Stabilizers

I helped Noe get through a class paper yesterday - didn't get to sleep until after 12 (she kept going until 2am...).  I got home and looked for wind - it was marginal and I quickly hit the couch for a quick nap.  When I got up, I felt like I wanted to get a swim (prone foiling session) in at WPB... but in order to do that, I wanted to test out the newly thinned out bottom mount rear stabilizer.

I hit the garage and sanded the stabilizer through 40-80-120-180-220-320, then brought it inside to wet sand it through 320-400-500-1000-1500.

These last few that I've been reworking are super thin compared to what they were previously.  In the water, these thinner stabilizers have less drag, they hold/flex/release nicely in the turns, and they are just big enough to push against while pumping - perfect!!!

Grinding Down the Rear Stabilizers

After riding with the stabilizer I just finished, I'm convinced I need to thin out all of the ones I had previously made.  If the camber is too thick, I can feel the extra drag.  The thinner it is, the faster I think I am going (perception).

I ground down two of the crepe spatula stabs I had - one of them was previously thinned out (was the one I was prone foiling with - bottom mount on the Go Foil).

These two are now hovering in the 6.2 ounce range (super light compared to the previous ones I had finished).  I still need to go over this with the sander and wet sand them.

La is going to help me sew covers for these!!!